Domestic Scan Proposal Form
AASHTO is now soliciting proposals for a Calendar Year 2016 US Domestic Scan Program (NCHRP Panel 20-68A).
Selected scan topics will be investigated by one of three ways: (type 1) site visits to three to six locations for approximately a two week period or less, by webinar; (type 2) peer exchange; or (type 3) conducted by a group of eight to 12 transportation professionals with expertise in the selected topic area. Proposed topics should meet the following criteria:
· Address an important and timely need for information by transportation agencies;
· Are of interest to a broad national spectrum of people and agencies;
· Are complex and also “hands-on,” meaning they lend themselves particularly well to exploration through on-site visits; and
· Are sufficiently focused that the tour participants are able to investigate and understand key issues in the limited time available on the tour.
Before submitting your proposal it is highly recommended that you read What Makes a Good Scan Topic Proposal http://www.domesticscan.org/what-makes-a-good-scan-topic-proposal
This form is designed to collect the full length of your proposal. Sections requiring essays have unlimited space for you to use. Contact information has some limited text. Use your TABà key to advance to the area where you need to complete information.
Proposals should be returned no later than OCTOBER 15, 2015.
IMPORTANT NOTE on How to save your document: LastNameFirst Initial, underscore_Organization Acronym _CY2016.
Saved Document Name Example: VitaleM_AASHTO_CY2016
If you have more than one, add a number after first initial: VitaleM1_AASHTO_CY2016
Domestic Scan Proposal Contact Information
Name / LORENZO PARRA / Address / 50 Massport Haul RoadTitle / Director- Highway Operations Center / E-mail /
Member Department / Massachusetts Department of Transportation / Telephone number / 617-946-3029
AASHTO Committee / SCOTSEM/STSMO / Date of submission / 10/14/2015
Title of Proposed Scan: Processes for Acquisition and Deployment of Advanced Traffic Management Systems/Advanced Traveler Information Systems
Problem Statement (What topic is to be examined? What drives the need for the scan? Why now?)
This scan will help address a fundamental problem state DOTs may encounter when new technologies are developed to support traffic incident management and there are “gaps in knowledge” with respect to how these new technologies can be deployed. Advanced Traffic Management System and Advanced Traveler Information System (ATMS/ATIS) products are saturating the market with claims that they promote traffic incident management efficiencies, generate accurate performance measures, enhance customer service, and ensure workplace and public safety from a dynamic user-friendly platform, capapable of managing multiple traffic management tools and devices on different types of roadways.
This domestic scan will help bridge the gaps between different conditions, ideas, concepts, and principles associated with the acquisition, design, deployment, and operations of these complex systems. The scan will attempt to codify how these systems are being deployed in different jurisdictions, reviewing the capabilities and functions of these systems and how they can be narrowly tailored in their design to address jurisdiction-specific needs and requirements, in the immediate and the long term, from a modular and scalable operating platform. In the end, the scan may help rectify disparities in the understanding of how these systems perform incident management functions, and mitigate different interpretations relative to how they support continuity of roadway operations.
As new technology emerges, Traffic Management Centers are being tasked with new responsibilities beyond incident management, and it is critical that these deployments consider not only how they work in environments that include traditional Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) devices, but also how they may be able to adapt to environments in the areas of security, facilities, video sharing, data fusion, SCADA systems, complex tunnel operations, and the need to interface with other emerging transportation systems.
The scan will seek to identify a core group of states that have deployed ATMS/ATIS products, and help bring greater awareness and understanding to other states that are considering or are currently in the systems engineering process for the deployment of a new system. It is imperative that information relative to these systems be collected, processed, and assessed so that states are better equipped to engage in the systems engineering process, develop concepts of operations and identify system requirements that address not only immediate functionality but also the secondary interfaces the system may need to feature as new technologies are introduced.
These deployments are significant investments that have an enormous impact on budgets, operations, planning, performance measurement, and archiving and organizing data from multiple sources. It is critical that the challenges associated with successfully acquiring and maintaining this type of system be identified so that states have familiarity with the rapid advances made in this industry, are more aware of the system features available in the market, and can learn from the lessons of other states that have deployed these systems. Ultimately, this scan addresses the problem of “gaps in knowledge” with respect to a new technology’s current capabilities, its ability to interface with emerging technologies, and its ability to meet future needs and new demands that will be placed on traditional Traffic Management Centers.
Scan Scope (What specific subject areas are to be examined? Which cities and states might be visited? Which agencies/organizations (including specific departments or types of staff if applicable)?
The areas to be examined would include a review of systems and their respective attributes and features, and identify features and attributes that should be added in an integrated system. The examination would explore how different jurisdictions developed an acquisition or procurement strategy and secured systems engineering support for the concept of operations and system requirements, including how the jurisdictions developed detailed requirements and procurement/acquisition documentation. The scan would focus on a number of common issues that states are likely to encounter throughout the ATMS/ATIS deployment process. The scan would identify the acqusition methods used by the case-study states, and how existing legacy systems impacted the acquisition and deployment process. The scan would identify the benefits of different deployment paths, including those where deployment was achieved with concurrent systems in place, or where a complete system overhaul was utilized with a measured impact to operations. The scan would also review how jurisdictions advanced a phased approach to deployment where in Phase One, an entity may have deployed, implemented, tested, and operated key elements of a new system, and in Phase Two completed integration of all systems into a single platform. Phase Three might look at how the systems are being used in support of interoperability where control centers might be able to link their systems to systems at other states or systems used by other transportation agencies and public safety partners in the same jurisdiction.
The scan would provide insight into how states handled decision making with respect to interfacing with current systems or integrating broad based functionality into a new system. The scan should also examine how states grappled with the growth of technology, specifically in building an ATMS/ATIS that is modular, scalable, and adaptable. The scan should identify how budgetary, institutional and operational contraints impacted decision making. Finally, the scan would offer insight into the methodoloogy or the indices used by states to prioritize system requirements. States that would be scanned would include those that have deployed these systems in a dynamic manner and are ahead of other states in their deployment. The scan team would involve experts in the field of operations, communications engineering, information technology systems engineering, and intelligent transportation systems planning and programming. The recommender suggests a scan of the states of Texas, Florida, California, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Georgia.
Anticipated Scan Results (What key information is to be gained? What information is to be shared after the scan? Who would the audience be for this information?)
Information from the scan would inform decision making with respect to ATMS/ATIS deployments. States can learn what to do right and what not to do in advancing a project of this magnitude. States would learn how the systems’ actual functions differ from those expected and advertised, and if these systems operate from a single platform as promoted by the system vendors. Best practices in how to procure, how to deploy, and how to phase the system into an operations environment would be reviewed and shared with other states. The scan would provide states with guidance in how to best deploy an ATMS/ATIS that can adapt to the growing demands being placed on Traffic Management Centers. The audience for this report would be Traffic Management Centers across the country that are currently grappling with managing multiple field devices from separate platforms or stand alone systems. ATMS/ATIS deployments are meant to streamline operations by adding efficiency to operator workflows. Assessing that capability would be part of the scan process.
Benefits Expected (Including potential impacts on current technology or procedures)
The benefits associated with this scan will precipitate changes in the way a jurisdiction might deploy a system, and will result in some standard checklists that should be used as a guide for the deployment of these types of systems. The benefits also would support policy making decisions with respect to these systems and how they are used. A jurisdiction may realize that the systems can be used in a broader manner than they are currently or that the systems need to be scaled back to function properly and efficiently. The scan would help other states avoid the common “pitfalls” encountered throughout the systems engineering process, procurement process, and system deployment process. By providing states with an acquisition blueprint, the results would help states save time and money throughout the life of the project. The scan may very well result in vendors augmenting the capabilities of their respective systems to better reflect the needs of Traffic Management Centers nationwide.