CHAPTER 2. SAFETY PLANS Section 1. Basic Safety Plan Considerations

 

 

Section 1. Basic Safety Plan Considerations

2.1  OVERVIEW.

Airport operators should coordinate safety issues with the air carriers, CARC Airway  Facilities, and other airport tenants before the design phase of the project. The airport   operator should identify project safety concerns, requirements, and impacts before making arrangements with contractors and other personnel to perform work on an airport. These safety concerns will serve as the foundation for the construction safety plan and help maintain a high level of aviation safety during the project. The airport operator should determine the level of complexity of the safety plan that is necessary for each construction project and its phases. The safety plan may be detailed in the specifications included in the invitation for bids, or the invitation for bid may specify that the contractor develop the safety plan and the airport operator approve it. In the latter case, the invitation for bid should contain sufficient information to allow the contractor to develop and determine the costs associated with the safety plan. In either case, safety plan costs should be incorporated into the total cost of the project. The airport operator has final approval authority and responsibility for all safety plans. Coordination will vary from formal predesign conferences to informal contacts throughout the duration of the construction project. Details of a specified safety plan, or requirements for a contractor-developed safety plan, should be discussed at the predesign and preconstruction meetings and should include the following, as appropriate:

1. Actions necessary before starting construction, including defining and assigning responsibilities.
2. Basic responsibilities and procedures for disseminating instructions about airport procedures to the contractor’s personnel.
3. Means of separating construction areas from aeronautical-use areas.
4. Navigational aid (NAVAID) requirements and weather.
5. Marking and lighting plan illustrations.
6. Methods of coordinating significant changes in airport operations with all the appropriate parties.

2-2.  SAFETY PLAN CHECKLIST.

To the extent applicable, the safety plan should address the following:

1. Scope of work to be performed, including proposed duration of work.
2. Runway and taxiway marking and lighting. 
3. Procedures for protecting all runway and taxiway safety areas, obstacle-free zones (OFZs), object-free areas  (OFAs), and threshold citing criteria outlined in CARC Publication AN 14-I “Aerodrome Design and Operation”, and as described in this Publication. This includes limitations on equipment height and stockpiled material.
4. Areas and operations affected by the construction activity, including possible safety problems.
5. NAVAIDs that could be affected, especially critical area boundaries.
6. Methods of separating vehicle and pedestrian construction traffic from the airport movement areas. This may include fencing off construction areas to keep equipment operators in restricted areas in which they are authorized to operate. Fencing, or some other form of restrictive barrier, is an operational necessity in some cases.
7. Procedures and equipment, such as barricades (identify type), to delineate closed construction areas from the airport operational areas, as necessary.
8. Limitations on construction.
9. Required compliance of contractor personnel with all airport safety and security measures.
10. Location of stockpiled construction materials, construction site parking, and access and haul roads.
11. Radio communications.
12. Vehicle identification.
13. Trenches and excavations and cover requirements.
14. Procedures for notifying ARFF personnel if water lines or fire hydrants must be deactivated or if emergency access routes must be rerouted or blocked.
15. Emergency notification procedures for medical and police response.
16. Use of temporary visual aids.
17. Wildlife management.
18. Foreign object debris (FOD) control provisions.
19. Hazardous materials (HAZMAT) management.
20. NOTAM issuance.
21. Inspection requirements.
22. Procedures for locating and protecting existing underground utilities, cables, wires, pipelines, and other underground facilities in excavation areas.
23. Procedures for contacting responsible representatives/points of contact for all involved parties. This should include off-duty contact information so an immediate response may be coordinated to correct any construction-related activity that could adversely affect the operational safety of the airport. Particular care should be taken to ensure that appropriate Airways Facilities personnel are identified in the event that an unanticipated utility outage or cable cut occurs that impacts CARC NAVAIDs.
24. Vehicle operator training.
25. Penalty provisions for noncompliance with airport rules and regulations and the safety plan (e.g., if a vehicle is involved in a runway incursion).
26. Any special conditions that affect the operation of the airport and will require a portion of the safety plan to be activated (e.g., low-visibility operations, snow removal).  

Section 2.  Safety and Security Measures

2-3.  OVERVIEW

Airport operators are responsible for closely monitoring tenant and construction contractor activity during the construction project to ensure continual compliance with all safety and security requirements. Airports must meet standards for access control, movement of ground vehicles, and identification of construction contractor and tenant personnel. In addition, airport operators should use safety program standards, as described in Chapter 3 of this Publication, to develop specific safety measures to which tenants and construction contractors must adhere throughout the duration of construction activities. At any time during construction, aircraft operations, weather, security, or local airport rules may dictate more stringent safety measures. The airport operator should ensure that both general and specific safety requirements are coordinated with airport tenants and ATCT personnel. The airport operator should also include these parties in the coordination of all bid documents, construction plans, and specifications for on-airport construction projects

2-4.  VEHICLE OPERATION AND MARKING AND PEDESTRIAN CONTROL

Vehicle and pedestrian access routes for airport construction projects must be controlled to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized entry of persons, vehicles, or animals onto the AOA. This includes aircraft movement and no movement areas. The airport operator should develop and coordinate a construction vehicle plan with airport tenants, contractors, and the ATCT. The safety plan or invitation for bid should include specific vehicle and pedestrian requirements. The vehicle plan should contain the following items:

1. CARC rules and regulations for vehicle marking, lighting, and operation.
2. Requirements for marking and identifying vehicles in accordance with CARC Publication AN 14-I, Aerodrome Design and Operation.
3. Description of proper vehicle operations on movement and no movement areas under normal, lost communications, and emergency conditions.
4. Penalties for noncompliance with driving rules and regulations.
5. Training requirements for vehicle drivers to ensure compliance with the airport operator’s vehicle rules and regulations.
6. Provisions for radio communication training for construction contractor personnel engaged in construction activities around aircraft movement areas. Some drivers, such as construction drivers under escort, may not require this training.
7. Escort procedures for construction vehicles requiring access to aircraft movement areas. A vehicle in the movement area must have a working aviation-band, two-way radio unless it is under escort. Vehicles can be in closed areas without a radio if the closed area is properly marked and lighted to prevent incursions and a NOTAM regarding the closure is issued.
8. Monitoring procedures to ensure that vehicle drivers are in compliance with the construction vehicle plan.
9. Procedures for, if appropriate, personnel to control access through gates and fencing or across aircraft movement areas.

2-5.  CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEE PARKING AREAS

Designate in advance vehicle parking areas for contractor employees to prevent any unauthorized entry of persons  or vehicles onto the airport movement area. These areas should provide reasonable contractor employee access to  the job site.

 2-6 . Construction Vehicle Equipment Parking

 

2-7.   RADIO COMMUNICATION TRAINING

The airport operator must ensure that tenant and construction contractor personnel engaged in activities involving unescorted operation on aircraft movement areas observe the proper procedures for communications, including using appropriate radio frequencies at airports with and without ATCTs. Training of contractors on proper communication procedures is essential for maintaining airport operational safety. When operating vehicles on or near open runways or taxiways, construction personnel must understand the critical importance of maintaining radio contact with airport operations, ATCT, or the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency, as directed by airport management. Vehicular traffic crossing active movement areas must be controlled either by two-way  radio with the ATCT, escort, flagman, signal light, or other means appropriate for the  particular airport. Vehicle drivers must confirm by personal observation that no aircraft is approaching their position when given clearance to cross a runway. In addition, it is the responsibility of the escort vehicle driver  to verify the movement/position of all escorted vehicles at any given time.

2-8. FENCING AND GATES

Airport operators and contractors must take care to maintain a high level of safety and security during construction when access points are created in the security fencing to permit the passage of construction vehicles or personnel. Temporary gates should be equipped so they can be securely closed and locked to prevent access by animals and people. Procedures should be in place to ensure that only authorized persons and vehicles have access to the AOA.

Section 3. Notification of Construction Activities

2-9.  GENERAL

In order to maintain the desired levels of operational safety on airports during construction activities, the safety plan should contain the notification actions described below.

2-10.  ENSURING PROMPT NOTIFICATIONS

The airport operator should establish and follow procedures for the immediate notification of airport users and the CARC of any conditions adversely affecting the operational safety of an airport.

2-11. NOTICES TO AIRMEN (NOTAMS)

The airport operator must provide information on closed or hazardous conditions on airport movement areas to the FSS so it can issue a NOTAM. The airport operator must coordinate the issuance, maintenance, and cancellation of NOTAMs about airport conditions resulting from construction activities with tenants and the local air traffic facility (control tower, approach control, or air traffic control center. Appendix 3 in this Publication is a sample NOTAM form. Only the CARC may issue or cancel NOTAMs on shutdown or irregular operation of CARC-owned facilities. Only the airport operator or an authorized representative may issue or cancel NOTAMs on airport conditions. (The airport /operator is the only entity that can close or open a runway.) The airport operator must file and maintain this list of authorized representatives that include their corresponding signatures  with the FSS. Any person having reason to believe that a NOTAM is missing, incomplete, or inaccurate must notify the airport operator.

2-12. AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND FIRE FIGHTING (ARFF) NOTIFICATION

The safety plan must provide procedures for notifying ARFF personnel, concerned parties and other emergency services if construction requires shutting off or otherwise disrupting any water line or fire hydrant on the airport or adjoining areas and if contractors work with hazardous material on the airfield. Notification procedures must also be developed for notifying ARFF and all other emergency personnel when the work performed will close or affect any emergency routes. Likewise, the procedures must address appropriate notifications when services are restored.

2-13. NOTIFICATION TO THE CARC

For certain an airport project, JCAR part 77 requires notification to the CARC. In addition to applications made for construction, JCAR part 157, Notice of Construction, Alteration, Activation, and Deactivation of Airports, requires that the airport operator notify the CARC in writing whenever a project involves the construction of a new airport; the construction, realigning, altering, activating, or abandoning of a runway, landing strip, or associated taxiway; or the deactivation or abandoning of an entire airport. Notification involves submitting CARC Form No. 157-1 Notice of Landing Area Proposal to Chief CARC office. Also, any person proposing any kind of construction or alteration of objects that affect navigable airspace, as defined in JCAR part 77 must notify the CARC. This includes construction equipment and proposed parking areas for this equipment (i.e., cranes, graders, etc.). CARC Form No. 157-1, Notice of Proposed Construction or Alteration, can be used for this purpose and submitted to the Chief Commissioner Office. (See Publication 77-2, Proposed Construction or Alteration of Objects that May Affect the Navigable Airspace.) If construction operations require a shutdown of an airport owned NAVAID from service for more than 24 hours or in excess of 4 hours daily on consecutive days, we recommend a 30-day minimum notice prior to facility shutdown. In addition, procedures that address unanticipated utility outages and cable cuts that could impact CARC NAVAIDs must be addressed.

 2-14 . Work Scheduling and Accomplishment

Airport operators—or tenants having construction on their leased properties—should introduce the subject of airport operational safety during construction. The airport operator, tenants, and construction contractors should integrate operational safety requirements into their planning and work schedules as early as practical. Operational safety should be a standing agenda item for discussion during progress meetings throughout the project. The contractor and airport operator should carry out onsite inspections throughout the project and immediately remedy any deficiencies, whether caused by negligence, oversight, or project scope change.