NZGTTM: a practical risk-first planning checklist
Start with the work and its risks, then explain the controls. A practical preparation and briefing checklist for New Zealand teams.
A useful temporary traffic management plan tells a story: this is the work, these are the people exposed to risk, and this is why the selected controls suit this location. NZGTTM makes that reasoning the starting point. Picking a familiar drawing first and trying to make the site fit it reverses the conversation.
Source-checked . This is an original TTM.plus explainer, not an official standard, training assessment or worksite design. Use the current requirements for your location and the people responsible for the work.
Start with the current New Zealand approach
NZTA describes NZGTTM as a risk-based approach that considers site risks before selecting control types and equipment. Its guidance says NZGTTM has applied to all NZTA maintenance and capital projects since 1 October 2025. WorkSafe recommends reading its guidance on working near live traffic alongside NZGTTM. Check the relevant road controlling authority’s access and submission requirements as well.
Read the source: NZTA: New Zealand guide to temporary traffic managementWorkSafe: working near live traffic
Prepare a one-page conversation before drawing
Use these prompts with the people responsible for the work. This is an editorial preparation aid, not an official NZGTTM form or a traffic management design.
- Describe the task and its stages in plain language. Include getting equipment in, changing stages and removing the worksite, rather than describing only the period when the main task is underway.
- Identify who could be affected at each stage: the crew, delivery drivers, people walking or cycling, bus passengers, neighbouring businesses and other road users.
- Record what is known about the location and what still needs checking. Give each unanswered question an owner; avoid letting an assumption quietly become a design input.
- Compare the proposed approach with credible alternatives. Explain why the choice is suitable and whether it introduces a different exposure elsewhere.
- Agree what a change in conditions would look like, who can reassess the arrangements and how the crew raises a concern.
Make the briefing test the reasoning
A briefing is more useful when people can explain the plan in their own words. Ask the incoming crew to describe the work sequence, the part of the site that needs particular attention and the route for escalating a change. A question that cannot be answered is an opportunity to clarify the plan before pressure builds.
Keep the latest plan, the reason for any authorised change and the handover record together. If the work or surroundings differ from what was assessed, take that difference back through the agreed review process rather than treating yesterday’s arrangement as automatic permission for today.
A question worth taking to your next planning meeting
If someone unfamiliar with this work read our risk assessment, could they understand why we chose these controls? Aim for an explanation that connects the actual work to the decisions. The quantity of equipment on a truck does not, on its own, explain whether the risk has been managed.
Official sources
Links and publication status were checked on 2026-10-22. Follow the source for subsequent changes; a review date is not a promise that guidance will stay unchanged.
Help keep this explainer accurate and useful.