Prepare Work Zone Traffic Management Plans in NSW: Course and Career Guide

Working in traffic control can open the door to several career paths. For experienced traffic management workers, one of the most valuable next steps is learning how to prepare, select and modify the plans used to manage traffic safely around roadworks and worksites.

The Prepare Work Zone Traffic Management Plan (PWZ) course is designed for people who want to develop the skills needed to prepare Traffic Management Plans (TMPs) and Traffic Guidance Schemes (TGSs) in New South Wales.

This guide explains what the course covers, who it is suited to, how assessment works and what the qualification allows you to do.

What is the Prepare Work Zone Traffic Management Plan course?

The PWZ course provides the skills and knowledge required to collect worksite information, assess risk, and select, modify or design traffic management documentation for temporary traffic management activities.

The nationally recognised skill set is:

RIISS00056 - Traffic Management Designer Skill Set

It includes two units of competency:

• RIICWD503E - Prepare traffic management plans and traffic guidance schemes
• RIIRIS402E - Carry out the risk management process

Training and assessment for a SafeWork NSW Traffic Control Work Training Card must be delivered through a SafeWork NSW-approved training provider.

What is the difference between a TMP and a TGS?

Although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably in the workplace, they serve different purposes.

• Traffic Management Plan (TMP): the broader management document that explains how traffic-related risks will be controlled throughout a project or work activity. It may address responsibilities, staging, site access, road users, worker safety, consultation, approvals and monitoring.
  
  
• Traffic Guidance Scheme (TGS): the site-specific drawing or diagram showing how temporary traffic control devices are arranged. This can include signs, cones, barriers, tapers, lane closures, pedestrian routes and other control measures.

A competent designer must understand how the two documents work together. The plan establishes the overall approach, while the scheme shows how that approach is applied to the road environment.

What will you learn?

1. Understand traffic management documentation

You will learn how to interpret project briefs, permits, plans and site information, as well as how to identify the legal, safety and road-authority requirements that apply to temporary traffic management.

2. Design Traffic Guidance Schemes

Training covers the selection and positioning of temporary traffic control measures, including:

• regulatory, warning and guidance signs
• cones and delineation devices
• safety barriers
• portable traffic control devices
• lane closures, detours and traffic-flow arrangements
• safe paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

You will also consider sign spacing, sight distance, trafficable road width, work-area clearances and the characteristics of the road environment.

3. Prepare Traffic Management Plans

Developing a suitable TMP requires more than drawing signs on a plan. You will learn how to consider:

• site hazards and project-specific risks
• traffic volumes, vehicle types and traffic patterns
• posted speeds and operating speeds
• road classification and surrounding land use
• access for workers, plant and construction vehicles
• pedestrians, cyclists and people with accessibility needs
• public transport operations
• neighbouring works, public events and affected stakeholders
• required notifications, permits and approvals.

4. Apply risk-management and compliance requirements

The course connects traffic management design with the risk-management process. This includes identifying hazards, assessing risks, selecting controls using the hierarchy of control and documenting how those controls will be implemented and reviewed.

Course activities draw on applicable requirements and guidance, including Transport for NSW requirements, the Traffic Control at Work Sites framework, AS 1742.3 and NSW work health and safety legislation.

5. Modify plans when conditions change

Temporary traffic management must respond to real site conditions. You will learn how to review and modify a TMP or TGS when there are changes to the work area, traffic conditions, staging, weather, emergencies, client requirements or road-authority conditions.

What skills will you gain?

After successfully completing the training and assessment requirements, you should be able to:

• collect and interpret the information needed to prepare traffic management documentation
• conduct a preliminary risk assessment for a temporary traffic management site
• select, modify and design Traffic Guidance Schemes
• develop Traffic Management Plans for roadwork and worksite activities
• apply relevant NSW standards, legislation and road-authority requirements
• identify the approvals and stakeholder notifications a project may require
• communicate the plan clearly to clients, supervisors, work crews and other stakeholders
• use traffic management design software to produce professional plans and schemes.

Who is this course suitable for?

The PWZ course is best suited to people with practical traffic control or traffic management experience who are ready to move into planning, design, supervisory or coordination responsibilities.

It may be relevant to:

• experienced traffic controllers and traffic management implementers
• traffic supervisors and team leaders
• road construction and maintenance personnel
• civil construction supervisors and project coordinators
• people responsible for planning temporary traffic arrangements
• workers seeking to progress into traffic management design roles.

There are no training-package prerequisites for the two units of competency. However, SafeWork NSW describes the program as suitable for experienced traffic control or traffic management operators and recommends experience in traffic control and implementing traffic control plans.

Entry and enrolment requirements

Before enrolling, participants should be prepared to provide or meet the following:

• a valid Unique Student Identifier (USI)
• the required evidence of identity
• the minimum age and eligibility requirements applying to NSW Traffic Control Work Training
• sufficient language, literacy, numeracy and digital skills to interpret technical documents, calculate dimensions and prepare plans.

Traffic Control Licences can confirm the current identification and enrolment requirements before you book.

How is the course assessed?

Assessment is designed to confirm that you can apply the required knowledge and skills, not simply recall theory. It may include:

• written knowledge questions and activities
• case studies and scenario-based problem solving
• practical activities and assessor observation
• development of Traffic Guidance Schemes and Traffic Management Plans
• development of two Traffic Management Plan projects
  

Participants should expect to interpret technical information, assess risks, justify design decisions and produce documentation that can be clearly understood by the people responsible for implementing it.

What will you receive after successful completion?

Subject to successful completion of all training, assessment, identity and eligibility requirements, participants receive the nationally recognised certification applicable to the completed units. Eligible participants may also receive the relevant SafeWork NSW traffic control work documentation and Prepare Work Zone Traffic Management Plan (PWZ) card.

Your training provider will explain the issuing process and any conditions that apply to your circumstances.

What the PWZ qualification does not allow you to do

The PWZ course focuses on preparing, selecting, modifying and inspecting traffic management documentation. By itself, it does not qualify a person to:

• control traffic using a stop/slow bat or boom gate
• set out or implement traffic control devices at a worksite.

Those activities require the appropriate Traffic Controller or Implement Traffic Control Plans training and a current card for the work being performed.

Why complete PWZ training?

Well-designed traffic management documentation is essential to protecting workers and road users while keeping projects operating efficiently. The PWZ skill set can help experienced workers progress beyond operational traffic control into roles involving planning, design, risk management, approvals and project coordination.

These skills are relevant across road construction, utilities, maintenance, civil works, events and other projects that affect public roads or traffic movement.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need traffic control experience before enrolling?

The units do not have formal training-package prerequisites. However, prior experience in traffic control and implementing traffic control plans is recommended because the course is aimed at people moving into traffic management design responsibilities.

Does this course qualify me to work as a traffic controller?

No. The PWZ course does not qualify you to direct traffic with a stop/slow bat or boom gate. Separate Traffic Controller training and the appropriate SafeWork NSW card are required.

Does PWZ allow me to set up traffic control signs and devices?

No. Implementing a TGS at a worksite requires the appropriate Implement Traffic Control Plans training and card. PWZ covers the preparation, selection, modification and inspection of the plans and schemes.

What software is used during training?

The course includes the use of traffic management design software so participants can practice producing professional TMPs and TGSs. Check the current course listing for details of the software and access included with your booking.

You will receive a 3mth subscription to RoadManager design software,

Ready to progress into traffic management design?

Traffic Control Licences delivers focused, industry-relevant training for people working in the NSW traffic management sector. Our trainers bring practical industry experience into the classroom and explain the planning process in a clear, structured and practical way.

View PWZ course dates and book online

For course information or help with your booking, call 0422 992 400