New Traffic Management Office Elevates Traffic Control Services

AWP Safety is innovating a new approach to traffic control management. Already North America’s leading traffic control company, AWP Safety is transforming the industry through its technology, scale and portfolio.

Joe Spencer, vice president of business development, shares how the company’s new Traffic Management Office (TMO) helps major utility, broadband and roadway infrastructure companies elevate their worksite safety, traffic control spend and operational efficiency.

Q: what is a “Traffic management Office”? 

It’s inspired by the concept of a Program Management Office (PMO), which many organizations create to centrally manage strategic projects. The purpose of a Traffic Management Office (TMO) is similar in that it enables AWP Safety to serve large, complex customers more strategically. These customers have demanding traffic control requirements across several regions, states or business divisions, which they often managed locally and disparately. This can lead to work delays and budget misses. With our TMO, we work with leaders at these customer companies to look at their traffic control needs holistically.

Q: How does the TMO set AWP Safety apart from other traffic control providers?

Often, the value proposition of a traffic control partner is a specific product or service, like flagging or barricades. AWP Safety’s differentiator is the technology we use to plan, forecast and generate business insights for customers that result in safer, more compliant and more cost-effective work sites. We ask ourselves, and our customers, how can we integrate our planning, delivery and closeout processes so we can all work better? The TMO allows us to have those conversations at any level of a customer’s organization.

Q: What benefits can AWP Safety customers expect from the TMO?

We’re focused on adding value in five key areas.

The first is planning and scheduling. We strongly believe that traffic control should be the first call a customer makes, not the last. When traffic control experts have a seat at the planning table, it helps construction delivery crews avoid surprises later. For example, does the work require permits? What’s required to get the permit? How long will it take? All of that impacts work schedules and can cause delays if not planned for in advance.

That plays into three other areas: engineering, permitting and safe execution. Engineering and permitting are about being proactive. We ensure complex projects have safe, accurate traffic control plans, and worksites are permitted correctly so work can start on time. On work day, our field teams set up worksites that deliver on quality, safety and compliance so customers can focus on their work. Because of our investment in digital technologies, we’re leading the industry in governance and reporting. We track, analyze and share data that helps customers make more informed decisions about their traffic control needs and internal operations.

Finally, we add value to our customers’ financial processes. The TMO oversees accurate, timely and customized billing to streamline accounting processes.

Q: Can you share an example of how the TMO has helped a customer make a more informed business decision?

Absolutely. In reviewing data, we recently found that one electric utility provider was cancelling 20% of their jobs with us. Through collaboration in planning, leaders discovered that some of their teams over-scheduled their own line crews to ensure they
would have enough workers to complete work on any given day. It revealed two opportunities: improving their own scheduling practices, and avoiding cancellation fees by not over-scheduling traffic control.

Q: How can the TMO help customers meet industry trends?

Increases in government infrastructure spending means that infrastructure work is heating up. It’s more important than ever that companies work as efficiently as possible. We can help them do that, like we’re doing currently with Ervin Cable Construction, LLC. We’re protecting Ervin Cable crews as they complete a multi-year project for Ubiquity Group to deliver high-speed internet and more consumer choices in Arizona, California, Nebraska and Texas.

It’s a complex project with different traffic control needs across multiple municipalities. Backed by our TMO, the project has a dedicated AWP Safety project manager, field supervisor and billing specialist. This setup has resulted in more efficient work, real-time troubleshooting and better traffic flow on busy city streets. It is AWP Safety’s capabilities, such as the TMO, that will help keep critical projects like this moving forward.

You can learn more about how AWP Safety helps customers keep pace with trends in infrastructure in this Q&A with Daniel Latta, vice president of sales.

Interested in leveraging AWP Safety for your next project? Learn more about AWP Safety consulting services.