Highway flaggers are the most visible members of a construction site and are often the most forgotten people on the crew, standing for hours in sweltering heat or bone-chilling cold.
Two entrepreneurial sisters from Larder Lake are out to change the dynamics of this industry practice by providing a trouble-free and problem-free professional traffic control service.
“Traffic control people were the last ones to be relieved, the first ones on the road, these people face tough road conditions, and they’re often neglected,” said Chantal Bruneau of NC Traffic Management.
She co-owns the company with sister Nancy, who started the service in 2011.
Nancy handles the corporate side, while Nancy covers the training and operations end.
The idea for NC Traffic was born with Nancy who learned her craft while working in a clerical position for a highway maintenance firm. On site she was often asked to don a hardhat, reflective clothing and a paddle to direct traffic.
“That’s where I started doing it and I developed a love for it,” she said. “I liked being outdoors, I liked watching the action, just a lot of the different things.”
It may seem like monotonous work, but she assures you it isn’t.
“Every single worksite is different. There are all kinds of different people. You meet people from everywhere. You deal with everybody’s good days and bad days. Some people throw candy at you or give you coffee.”
Their company is a deviation from the traditional industry practice where flaggers are hired as part of road crew for the duration of the project. But the companies typically don’t keep their flaggers.
NC Traffic takes traffic control out of the hands of the contractors and provides a reliable workforce of “career flaggers” that handle road construction jobs, road closures, snow removal, bridge building and environmental remediation work.
The bulk of their staff is based in Kirkland Lake. Their coverage area is northeastern Ontario.
When a call comes in, such as to handle the detour around a traffic accident, staff are dispatched within the hour. During the peak construction scene, they can employ as many as 18.
Personnel are trained according to provincial regulations under the Highway Traffic Act, Ministry of Labour, the Traffic Control Personnel Handbook and Book 7 of the Ontario Traffic Manual. The latter sets the minimum standards for traffic control in work zones.
“We exceed that,” said Nancy. “We want to be extra visible, extra safe, extra clear in our expectations.”
There’s a technique and process to do it right and do it safely, she said.
“If I was driving down this road what would I want to see, how would I want to be treated? I don’t want to go into a construction zone confused on where to go.”
Approaching an NC Traffic site, motorists see plenty of advance signage hundreds of metres out and flaggers waving their stop/slow paddles to increase their visibility.
“On the road I’m very careful that every single one of our staff members flags the exact same way,” said Nancy.
“We do encourage them to make eye contact with the travelling public just so we can build those silent relations,” said Chantal.
It’s that sense of professionalism and consistency in their workplace performance that has gained them regular clients such as Miller Paving – Northern, Pedersen Construction, Thurber Engineering and G & W Jelly’s towing services.
In recruiting, they prefer people with no previous experience in road construction.
Why? Because techniques and procedures can be easily tainted, people are not as alert, not as motorist-friendly, and they just might not be into it.
Keeping their own personnel safe and satisfied is just as important to the Bruneaus.
They lay out their own traffic control plans, as prescribed by Ministry of Labour, identify the hazards, the solutions to those hazards, the equipment being used, and a diagram of the job site. All staff sign off on the plan.
The Bruneaus constantly monitor their personnel, readjusting people and techniques according to the situation. They provide water, bug spray, sun screen, go through cases of hand warmers and make sure their flaggers get adequate breaks when the weather dictates.
“We relieve them, make sure they’re warm, and give them the proper training to deal with every scenario possible,” said Nancy.
NC Traffic is diversifying their offerings with a line of 15 traffic control, traffic calming and wayfinding solutions as a Northern Ontario distributor with Traffic Innovation, a Quebec company, whose catalogue includes post-mounted portable traffic counters that employs Doppler and solar battery technology.
