Introduction

1. Traffic Engineering Quality Control Research Objectives Benefits to Industry Introduction • Improve the quality of approved devices used in the field • Redirect the responsibility of maintaining quality standards to the manufacturers • Reduce the number of device complaints and defect issues between FDOT and manufacturers • Develop a quality control / assurance program for all companies interested in selling traffic equipment for Florida use • Improve in-house experimental procedures • Develop vendor training program • Aimed at helping companies developing their quality assurance programs • Quality control and assurance methods enable the detection of unwanted process variability contributing to poor quality or defective product • The key to ensuring product quality is placing these methods in the hands of operators, production engineers and supervisors Methodology Methodology Preliminary Results • Improvement of in-house experimental procedures • Gain a thorough understanding of the current approach to conducting experiments • Evaluate the set-up with recommendations on how to improve its efficiency • Training • Identification of the areas most in need of training and the preparation of a short course in each of these areas (2-4 hour courses) • Develop quality control/assurance program • Accumulate information on current quality operations from surveys, plant tours and interrogations • Provide recommendations to vendors to establish or improve upon their quality control and assurance program • Quality control / assurance program for Florida DOT Traffic Operations has been developed and implemented • Fifteen vendors are undergoing evaluation • Several companies have been successfully qualified