NCHRP 20-7
Proposed Research Needs Statement
Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety
Rudy Malfabon, Nevada
October 17April 10, 20142015
TITLE
Core Competencies for Key Safety Analyses
BACKGROUND / NEEDS STATEMENT
Highway agencies are experiencing a growing need to address workforce development concerns related to the pending retirement of a larger number of transportation professionals. It is important to begin to plan, or expand planning efforts, to prepare for the loss of institutional knowledge and technical skills that this wave of retirements will bring. In the highway safety field, much of the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities are gained through on-the-job training and mentoring by more experienced professionals, rather than through college coursework. There are many training opportunities available that have been documented (refer to the Highway Safety Training Synthesis/Roadmap, Bahar, 2011, for example), and safety core competencies have also been researched and developed (such as TRB Research Results Digest 332, Core Competencies for Highway Safety Professionals). However, highway agencies need to determine if their staff responsible for various safety-related processes and analyses is adequately prepared.
The nature of highway safety often involves DOT professionals outside of the people “assigned” to safety tasks.This frequently leads to the need for staff without safety experience or knowledge becoming involved in safety processes during project scoping and feasibility; project design and delivery; and even during construction. In addition, construction and maintenance crews can be impacted depending on an agency’s procedures. That doesn’t even consider the outside agencies and stakeholders that have a role in all of this, which is covered in the Road Safety 101 class fairly extensively.In addition to the safety-related processes that need to be included in this research (development of strategic highway safety plans, lists of top crash locations, the state’s data-driven Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), new safety policies and procedures, and so on), other areas with related processes and analyses involving staff beyond a safety office may include incident management, speed studies, road design and design exceptions, and access management and permits. Beyond the DOT, there are also other partner agencies and stakeholders with staff for which safety training and development would be appropriate.
A tool to assist with this assessment and with mapping training opportunities to agencies’ specific positions is needed to support states’ workforce development needs.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research is to assemble information on education and training opportunities related to specific safety processes and analyses and to develop a tool for states to assess their workforce development needs and provide a useable template for safety professionals and managers to identify effective and efficient training and education opportunities currently available.
WORK TASKS
Tasks anticipated in this project include the following:
· Identify the processes used in DOT safety programs including, but not limited to, data-based safety program development and implementation and develop a matrix or catalog of the primary tasks or steps involved in each process. This should include information on the processes, such as guidelines and requirements based on regulatory or department guidance.
· Using existing safety competency models, link the process and program tasks to core competencies from existing competency models. Identify the tools, software, and programs that will assist in performing the work and meeting the requirements and guidance.
· Determine what knowledge, skills, and abilities are necessary to use the appropriate tools and identify training and education opportunities available, noting prerequisites. Identify gaps and develop a brief discussion of courses to address the gaps.
· Develop a tool for highway agencies to identify the staff (by position or job description) that perform these analyses and assess the level to which their staff has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the safety analyses. The tool should also help agencies develop structured on-the-job-training and professional development opportunities, following a model that may include such development activities as mentoring; knowledge management strategies; acceptable succession planning and other creative workforce development strategies.
URGENCY
This research and implementable outcomes and tools are urgently needed to help agencies adequately prepare staff for the demands of the constantly growing safety field, and to prepare for the loss of knowledge, skills, and abilities due to retirements.
FUNDING REQUESTED AND TIME REQUIRED
It is estimated that this research will take 9 months to complete and will require $75,000.
CONTACT PERSON
Dan Magri, P.E.
Highway Safety Administrator
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development
225-379-1871