On-Site Traffic Management Here Is The Cost:
In February Main Roads Western Australia released an updated version of their code of practice, and one point really stood out for me.
Section 8.2 Clarification – BWTM accreditation required on site when road workers are present
Where traffic devices are used, all work sites shall have at least one person with Basic Worksite Traffic Management accreditation on-site at all times when road workers are present.
In laymen terms, if you are to erect a standalone symbolic worker sign, like a lot of small work sites do, you MUST have an accredited BWTM Ticket holder on site.
Work sites really have two options to fulfill this requirement:
- Contract a traffic management company for the duration of the works
- Employ and train an additional person/s for that worksite with the BWTM ticket.
As I understand, the bottom line with a lot of sites is the bottom line. So I thought I’d look at a simple cost equation to work out the viability of each option.
Option 1: Contracting a Traffic Management Company
This is the more convenient option in a sense, but let’s look at the cost.
On average the cost of 2 traffic controllers and a Ute is $80-$90 per hour. For arguments sake, let’s average that to $85 per hour. If this a short term, two week project, running 10 hour work days, the cost would be:
($85 x 10hours) x 12 working days = $10,200
So for a 2 week project spanning 6 working days a week @ 10 hour working days, the cost is just north of $10,000. Now let’s compare.
Option 2: Employ and Train in-house TM Personnel
To make this a fair equation, we need to train the two in house traffic controllers and evaluate the pay rate they will be receiving. The figures I am using for a pay rate is a generous example.
2 x BWTM Ticket = $900
Time taken to sit BWTM course = 16 Hours @ $32.00 x 2 = $1024.00
Total training cost = $1,924.00
Hourly TC Rate = $32.00 x 2 = $64.00
Using the same amount of working hours as in option 1, the equation is as follows:
($64.00 x 10hours) x 12 working days + $1,924.00 training cost = $9,604.00
As you can see there is an initial saving of $596.00.
This saving goes directly to increasing the bottom line of that work site, and it also increases the potential profit margins of all work sites moving forward as the training cost ($) is no longer applicable.
I do understand that the initial training and employment of the additional TM Personnel can be a burden, however I feel in the long run, the positives outweigh the negatives.
What are your thoughts on this? Is the saving worth the investment, or does the convenience of employing a TM Company outweigh the savings? I’d love to hear the opinions of the industry.
Cheers
What about the ute?