TMC Data Capture for Performance and Mobility Measures Booz Allen Hamilton HNTB TRAC-UW

1. TMC Data Capture for Performance and Mobility MeasuresBooz Allen HamiltonHNTBTRAC-UW

2. Project Team • Booz Allen Hamilton • HNTB Corporation • University of Washington’s Transportation Center (TRAC-UW) • FreeAhead • TÜV Rheinland

3. Presentation Outline • Project Background • Scope of Work • Results • Questions and Answers Source: WSDOT Flickr

4. Problem Statement • Lack of accurate data inhibits ability to monitor and measure TMC performance • As data gathering becomes more automated, potential use of the data increases • Need adequate and accurate means of collecting and archiving performance, mobility and incident management data

5. Scope of Work • Develop a Guidebook • Concepts, • Methods, • Techniques, and • Procedures for collecting and archiving TMC operation data

6. Scope of Work • Provide technical guidance and recommended practices for TMC performance • Monitoring, • Evaluating and • Reporting For transportation system mobility and traffic incident management

7. Scope of Work • Include: • Case studies as illustrative examples • Identify best practices and lessons learned, • at system level • for specific scenarios or locations

8. Guidebook Audience and Users • Targeted end users • TMC managers, • Supervisors • Operators • Also anyone with a role in TMS/TMC • performance monitoring, • evaluation, and • reporting

9. Guidebook Audience and Users • This includes: • State and local DOTs • Metropolitan Planning Organizations • Transit agencies • TMC contractors • Others having a role in the TSM&O • Representatives of EOCs, enforcement agencies and others having a role in emergency transportation operations

10. Approach to Developing Guidebook • Conduct literature search, • Survey practitioners, and • Use the experience of the research team and project panel • Identified: • Needs and starting points of the potential users • Key issues and challenges that are common among TMCs

11. Approach to Developing Guidebook • Acknowledges the diversity of TMCs • Activities performed • Data currently collected • Current expectations for reporting performance • Experience with collecting, reporting data • Provide a process to bridge the gap in capabilities between these diverse TMCs

12. Literature Review • A large volume of literature exists on performance measures for TMC activities and roadway mobility • Available through: • FHWA TIM web site • FHWA Operations web site • NCHRP • NTOC • General web publications (e.g., TAMU Urban Mobility report)

13. Literature • Performance Measures • Output measures • What activities are being undertaken • Outcome measures • What is happening on the roadway (volume/delay) • Supporting documents • Data processing, quality control procedures, and database design, communications design and requirements • Frequently correspond to very specific databases

14. Practitioners • TMCs interviewed ranged from • Those very experienced with performance monitoring (the bleeding edge), to • Those just getting started with performance monitoring, and • Several TMCs somewhere in the middle

15. Practitioner Survey Results • Motivations for performance reporting • Legislative mandates • Agency wide performance initiatives • Formal business linkage – particularly for operations • Use reporting to improve agency cooperation, employee actions, or to judge contractor performance • Plan future investments / resource allocation • Quantification of benefits • To assist in defense of program funding • To assist in competition for additional funding with infrastructure projects

16. Practitioner Survey Results • Performance reporting generally grows as follows: • What we are doing? • How well are we doing those activities? • What is happening on the roadway? • How is what we are doing effecting what is happening on the roadway?

17. Practitioner Survey Results • Initial reporting activities • Description of activities being performed • Number of incidents responded to by size of incident • Number of DMS messages posted • Size and operational condition of equipment/staff • Number of devices / staff • Number of operating devices / staff on duty

18. Practitioner Survey Results • Second level TMC reporting activities generally include • Detailed quantification of activities being performed • Review resource deployment, trends, staff review • Detailed incident descriptives for trend reporting • Log of incident types, timestamps, actions taken • Number of incidents lasting more than 90 minutes • Time required to post DMS messages • Captured video of event activities • Size and operational condition of equipment/staff • Time required to repair equipment

19. Practitioner Survey Results • Second Level Reporting: Mobility Reporting • Volumes, delays, reliability • Reported as travel times, congestion by location, revenue (HOT lanes), severe weather response • Most TMCs are now reporting current conditions • Not all TMCs are actively summarizing / reporting roadway performance • Increasing use of private sector probe data • Still need agency collected volume data

20. Practitioner Survey Results • Third Level Reporting: advanced TMCs are actively working on improved analysis and reporting of • Cause, effect, timing of disruptions • Responses to those disruptions • The effect / effectiveness of those responses

21. Third Level Activities • “After action” reports across agencies and summaries for improving agency response and interaction • Particularly use of video of incident scenes • Before and after reports on road conditions after new activities are undertaken • Benefits analyses for programs (cross cutting analyses)

22. Guidebook Overview • Two volumes: • Guidebook • Reference Manual • Different than originally planned • More effectively meets the needs of different audiences

23. Final Report Overview • Two volumes • Set up for users to read chapters as needed • Find what you want quickly • Helps reader consider: • Regional / local concerns • Rural / urban / suburban differences • Geographic coverage area • Current vs. future data availability • Budget justifications • Basic vs. advanced measures discussed

24. The Guidebook Volume • Guidebook: • Executives and upper management the audience • An overview of measures and issues • The “what” and “why” of performance monitoring • Helps an agency get started in performance management

25. Reference Manual Volume • The details of “how” to do performance management • A synopsis of each performance measure (or group of related performance measures), • An overview of each measure’s • Usefulness, • Required data sources, • Primary calculation steps or equations, • Examples of useful variations of the measure, • Issues or implementation considerations • Example applications from TMCs around the country

26. Both Volumes • Contain introductory material • Acknowledge that each TMC is different • Provide advice that says to report • On activities performed • Over the geographic area the TMC covers • Start with “basic” measures, and grow to become more advanced to meet changing TMC needs

27. Both Volumes • Technical material split into four sections, reflecting potential TMC roles and reporting needs • TMC operations • Incident response • System mobility • Cross-cutting • One chapter per set of measures

28. Other Material • Guidebook • Lessons learned • General guidance and considerations • Reference Manual • Case studies • Examples • References to more details / examples

29. Reference Manual Checklistfor every type of measure

30. Recommended Approach • Basic measures • Simple • Common to all TMCs working in a topic area • Next compute additional measures from basic data • Supplementary information to aid management • Finally, produce advanced measures • Meet specialized needs

31. TMC Have Different Roles & Responsibilities • Performance measures should reflect the activities performed by that TMC • TMC Operations • Incident Response • Mobility • Cross Cutting

32. TMC Operations Chapter • Purpose & need for measures • Categories of measures • ITS infrastructure • TMC operational responsibilities • Staff performance • Specialized operations • Future trends • Data collection and management

33. Purpose • Measure the TMC’s ability to meet goals and objectives related to performing its key functions of • Monitoring, • Operating, and • Maintaining traffic management and traveler information systems

34. ITS Infrastructure / Traveler Info Services • Number of Devices • Coverage • Miles covered • AADT exposed to DMS Source: WisDOT Bureau of Traffic Operations, Statewide Traffic Operations Center (STOC) 2011 Annual Performance Measures Report

35. ITS Infrastructure / Traveler Info Services • Use (agency) • Number of times equipment was used by TMC staff Source: RIDOT Traffic Management Center Incident Statistics (4/1/12 to 6/30/12)

36. ITS Infrastructure / Traveler Info Services • Use (public) • Number of times traveler information services were used/viewed by the public

37. ITS Infrastructure: Operational Status • Device Availability/Maintenance Activities • Average Device Availability • Number of repairs/trouble tickets by device type Source: VDOT Hampton Roads Transportation Operations Center 2011 Annual Report

38. TMC Operational Responsibilities • Number of calls received • Number of incidents managed/responded to • Detection source/how notified Source: Houston TranStar 2010 Annual Report

39. TMC Staff Performance • FDOT District Six identified and set targets for the key operational performance measures • Can also track staff retention / turnover Source: FDOT District Six ITS Annual Report (Fiscal Year 2010-2011)

40. Reference Manual Checklistfor every type of measure

41. Data Sources • Need to obtain data from existing automated systems • May require developing new output formats • Data sources • Operator event logs • DMS operating status and message log • ITS maintenance logs • Asset management systems • 511/website system usage reports

42. Future Trends • A growing emphasis on delivery of individualized travel information • Private sector Smartphone apps • Waze • Inrix • BUMP.com • Need to make real time data feeds available • Track who is using those feeds • Downtime of those feeds

43. Incident Management Chapter • Purpose and need for measures • Categories of measures • Traffic incident statistics • Incident time • Full-function safety service patrols • Future trends • Data collection and management

44. Purpose of IR Reporting • Describes the need for incident response activities • Number of disruptions occurring • Describes incident attributes • Allows informed decision making • Resources needed • Appropriate deployment of those resources

45. Incident Management: Basic Incident Statistics • Number of incidents, by: • Type or severity • Location • Time of day, day of week, time of year • Duration of incident

46. Incident Management: Basic Incident Statistics • Track incident characteristics, e.g., • Tractor trailers/semi involvement • Lane blockages • Rollovers • Secondary crashes

47. Incident Management: More Advanced Incident Statistics • Incident counts by duration • Major: 2 hrs+ (or 90 minutes+) • Moderate: 30 min – 2 hrs • Minor: < 30 min. Source: Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices

48. Incident Management: More Advanced Incident Statistics • Secondary Crashes • a) within an incident scene or • b) within the queue, including the opposite direction, resulting from the original incident Source: RIDOT Traffic Management Center Incident Statistics 2011 Annual Report

49. Incident Management: Advanced Basic Measures: Incident Time Incident Timeline

50. Incident Time (Contd.)