Flagmen are among the first roles cut from a crew and among the hardest to do without. The situations that call for one, and why they should not be a spare pair of hands.
A flagman, banksman or traffic marshal controls the point where moving vehicles meet people on foot. It is a small role on a staffing schedule and a large one in what it prevents, and it is consistently the first position dropped when a crew is trimmed — usually by absorbing it into somebody else's job.
Where the Requirement Comes From
What governs traffic marshalling on your site is your traffic management plan and the conditions set by the authority having jurisdiction for the works and the road. Those documents, not a general rule of thumb, decide how many marshals are needed and where they stand. Treat this guide as a prompt for what to check in them, not as a substitute.
The Situations That Usually Call for One
Reversing movements, because the driver cannot see behind the vehicle. Site access points onto a public road, where site traffic crosses traffic that is not under your control. Pedestrian routes crossing a vehicle route inside the site. Lifting zones where loads travel over or near an access. Excavation or works encroaching on a carriageway. Deliveries into a confined yard where the vehicle has to manoeuvre rather than pull through.
Why It Should Not Be a Shared Role
The reason to resist combining marshalling with another task is simple: the job is continuous attention. A marshal who is also unloading, or also signalling a crane, is not watching the interface at the moment they are most needed. That is the specific failure mode, and it is why splitting a rigging crew's signalling from traffic control is worth the extra position.
What to Send With the Request
The locations to be covered and how many at once. The shift pattern and whether cover is needed outside normal hours. Whether any position is on or adjacent to a public road, because that changes the requirement. The duration. And whether the flagmen need to work alongside a lifting team, so the roles are kept distinct.
Who Employs Them
Flagmen we deploy are employed by Active Labors Supply under our MOHRE Employment Agency Licence, on our visas and Wage Protection System payroll, with medical insurance and PPE issued by us. The traffic management plan, the permits, site induction and supervision remain with the party running the site, as they must.
Where to Start
Flagmen are supplied in Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ajman. Where the need arises around lifting rather than general site traffic, say so in the request: a banksman signalling a crane and a marshal controlling traffic are different positions and are often confused in a single request.
A Note on Economising
Cutting a marshal saves a day rate. It does not remove the vehicle movement, the reversing or the crossing — it only removes the person watching them. If the position is in your traffic management plan, the saving is not a saving.
Related Guides
riggers and banksmen, scoping a general helper request and scaffolding crews.