The agency is the first in the nation to help hundreds of its employees earn the “Safety Certification for Transportation Project Professionals” (SCTPP) credential endorsed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has made a major commitment toward improving safety in and around the state's roadway construction work zones. The agency is the first in the nation to help hundreds of its employees earn the "Safety Certification for Transportation Project Professionals" (SCTPP) credential endorsed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

SCTPP Commission Co-chair David Walls, president & CEO of Texas-based Austin Industries, announced the state agency has entered a partnering contract with ARTBA's Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) to enable 500 TxDOT employees to sit for the professional certification exam in their Fiscal Year 2019.

The SCTPP program in May earned ANSI accreditation under ISO/IEC 17024:2012 international standard. The exam is administered nationwide at Pearson VUE Test Centers. ARTBA-TDF manages the program.

The SCTPP is targeted at significantly elevating safety awareness among the thousands of non-safety professionals in the industry — planners, designers, field supervisors and inspectors — who are in decision-making roles from project conception through completion. The aim, Walls said, is to bring thousands of more "eyes" to the task of identifying and mitigating potential hazards for workers and motorists commonly found in transportation work zones — skills identified through the professional certification exam.

As part of the partnering contract, TxDOT employees will be given 24/7 access to online SCTPP prep courses available at www.puttingsafetyfirst.org/prep-courses/. The transportation project-specific courses have been pre-approved for Professional Development Hours (PDH) to meet licensing requirements for engineers in Florida, North Carolina and New York. The 38 states that follow the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Model Rules for continual professional competency accept the PDHs as well.

ARTBA Chairman Bob Alger, president and CEO of Connecticut-based The Lane Construction Corporation, commended TxDOT for its commitment to reducing the number of deaths and injuries that occur in the state's road work zones each year. He predicted other state transportation departments would follow TxDOT's leadership in engaging the safety certification program.

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