Nighttime Construction: Evaluation of Worker Safety Issues

The objective of this research study was to identify and measure the effects of nighttime construction conditions on worker safety and to investigate the performance of different high-visibility garments worn by construction personnel on highway projects under different lighting and weather conditions. After a comprehensive review of the literature, an analysis of Illinois accident records was conducted to identify the type, frequency, severity, and share of accidents caused by worker visibility problems in construction work zones. Three surveys were administered to Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) operations personnel, resident engineers, and contractors involved in nighttime construction to identify safety concerns on the part of these participants and to compare the results. The questionnaire investigated issues associated with the risk of workers being involved in accidents with the driving public and with equipment operating in the work zone, the efficiency of high-visibility garments, the effects of visibility problems on various critical factors, sources of high-visibility garments, fabric/material preferences, local practices, and high-visibility garment selection criteria. A comprehensive list of manufacturers and distributors of high-visibility garments was compiled. A survey was administered to DOTs other than IDOT that make use of high-visibility garments in nighttime construction. Based on the findings of the surveys, a set of six high-visibility garments was selected for testing. The findings of a series of tests run on these six vests, conducted under different work, lighting, and weather conditions, indicated that the safety vest recently adopted for use by IDOT performs best.