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New Guidance for Developing a Project Systems Engineering Management Plan Systems engineering principles, when applied to a project, enable many common pitfalls to be avoided. Studies have shown, for example, that projects fail when requirements are incomplete, there is no user involvement, and expectations are unrealistic. Projects are also doomed when needed resources are scarce, there is too little planning, and project specifications or requirements change unexpectedly. The remedy is a systems engineering management plan (SEMP) that permits more effective project management through a process of determining stakeholder needs, specifying system requirements, building and testing the system, and verifying that it meets the project needs as intended. Checks and balances along the way help make certain that the required system functionality is provided. The FDOT is a national leader in the application of the systems engineering approach to ITS planning and design. Florida and California are the only two states to have developed a FHWA-approved systems engineering management plan of this type. Though the SEMP approach is required to be followed for all FHWA-funded projects, the FDOT employs it on the Florida Intrastate Highway System for all limited-access corridors in the state, regardless of funding source. The FDOT also has introduced a secondary document entitled Writing a Project Systems Engineering Management Plan as a means for project managers to craft a SEMP unique to their particular project. This guidance document is both a tutorial and a template for producing a project-specific SEMP (PSEMP). It provides the correctly numbered outline for a PSEMP and boilerplate text that can be formatted and used “as is” in the PSEMP. Although the PSEMP is created to satisfy an FHWA requirement, the main purpose of the PSEMP is to guide the ITS project manager from project conception to operations and maintenance/retirement in a systematic way, following systems engineering disciplines. It’s a living document in that it is updated continuously as various project steps are completed. Systems engineering processes vary depending on the nature of the project. For software development projects and complicated product developments, systems engineering processes are very extensive. But for projects where existing products are procured and installed based on user-defined requirements, systems engineering processes are not that extensive. Florida’s Statewide Systems Engineering Management Plan, finalized in January 2005, provides an extensive description of systems engineering processes and management controls that can be used in software or hardware development projects, in design/build projects, or in design/bid/build projects. The PSEMP enables the ITS project engineer or project manager to carry out a project using systems engineering principles and methods. Following such processes maximizes the quality of the system being implemented while minimizing the budget and time required for its completion. Hence, it is the responsibility of the ITS project engineer or project manager to instruct his or her staff, as well as consultants and suppliers, to adhere to pertinent systems engineering processes as described in Florida’s Statewide SEMP or the PSEMP, as the case may be. The PSEMP includes tasks to be performed for the coordination and control of ITS deployments of all kinds. Key processes used under systems engineering management for FDOT projects include:
The project manager preparing the PSEMP must describe the project management and control needed to successfully complete the project. He or she must also identify the tasks to be performed to achieve these goals and define the organizational responsibilities required for accountability in the project. The project manager also has the responsibility to ensure that tasks are completed on schedule and within the stated budget, and this entails the application of proper controls.
The figure above shows stages for an ITS project. The project manager’s work starts with project kick-off and ends with operations and maintenance/retirement. Even though there will be various people and organizations that help throughout this process, it is the project’s structured systems engineering management plan that dictates the steps everyone follows to ensure a much higher potential for success than would otherwise be possible. This article was provided by Ashis Sanyal, PBS&J. For more information, please contact Mr. Sanyal at (850) 410-5623 or email Ashis.Sanyal@dot.state.fl.us. * * * *
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Marking the Path to Future Progress
ITS has proven valuable in traffic monitoring, traveler information, commercial vehicle operations, incident management, and communications. ITS makes it possible to apply new tools and concepts in the day-to-day tasks of providing transportation services, while supporting local, state, and national efficiency and safety objectives for the benefit of system users. Still, the FDOT ITS Program is only as good as the plan that guides this important effort. The primary purpose of the ITS Strategic Plan, which the FDOT first adopted in 1999, is to present a 20-year vision for ITS in Florida, and to recommend strategies to achieve this vision. The four main ITS goals in the ITS Strategic Plan are consistent with the mission and goals of the FDOT’s 2020 Florida Transportation Plan. These four goals are:
After five years, it became time to revisit the ITS Strategic Plan, and an update was completed in late 2005. As before, it is the definitive guide for planning, programming, and implementing integrated, multimodal ITS services throughout the state. While the FDOT’s four key goals for ITS have not changed, the strategies for accomplishing them have. In addition, the 2005 update of the ITS Strategic Plan was written to mirror the national objectives of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and ITS America. The update recommends strategies to implement new national initiatives that are consistent with those of the USDOT. Updated ITS Vision, Mission, and Goals Initial Actions Appraisal Strategic Planning Guidelines for ITS Business Plan for the ITS Program Ongoing ITS Activities Final ITS Core Strategies New National and Statewide Initiatives For a downloadable copy of the 2005 update of Florida’s ITS Strategic Plan and any of its supporting technical memoranda or documentation, visit www.floridaits.com/Strategic_Plan.htm. This article was provided by Gene Glotzbach, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office. For more information, please contact Mr. Glotzbach at (850) 410-5616 or email Gene.Glotzbach@dot.state.fl.us. * * * *
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Accelerating Towards a Seamless System
New launches and strategic marketing efforts impressively drove usage up for all of Florida’s systems in 2005. In November 2005, the expanded Central Florida/Statewide 511 Service launched as part of iFlorida. Also, innovative and cost-effective campaigns and promotions were implemented, including an eye-catching 511 Lynx bus, creative radio advertising, and 511 announcements aired at Florida Marlins home games. Web site hits from Florida’s 511 services totaled more than 10 million in 2005. Florida’s 511 Web sites are co-branded, meaning 511 is part of the Web address This makes the address easier to remember and effectively “brands” the site as part of the 511 deployment. Florida’s 511 Web sites provide a variety of information, including travel times, incident/construction information, transit information, and video/camera views. Useful links can be found on all of the sites, including transit authorities, airports, and seaports.
The value of 511 to FDOT and the traveling public increases every day as FDOT continues to meet the challenges faced, listen to the public, and improve the service accordingly. Challenges faced included: technical and institutional issues; interoperability between regional systems (a caller in one regional may get information in another); and providing information in the rural areas not covered by a regional system. These issues were resolved by working with the various entities to enter into agreements and/or procedures in which in all parties involved could be satisfied. Public and private partnerships, along with the quality and continuous improvements to the systems, have culminated in Florida’s phenomenal success in establishing superior 511 services, leading the nation in this emerging ITS field. Going Forward
Based on these factors, FDOT sees great opportunities going forward:
This article was provided by Erik Gaarder, PBS&J. For more information, please contact Mr. Gaarder at (407) 806-4297 or email EHGaarder@pbsj.com. * * * *
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Road Rangers Meeting—Where Do We Go From Here? One of the areas covered in the meeting was the integration of Road Rangers into the SunGuideSM Software for transportation management centers (TMCs). Trey Tillander, ITS Software, Architecture and Standards, led a discussion on how this integration would occur. Initially, the District Four software development, SmartSM SunGuide, would be used to get the state up and running. Then, moving forward with version 3.x of the SunGuide software, we would see integration of automatic vehicle location for dispatching and monitoring of the vehicles as well as the statewide Road Rangers data tracking portion of the project. In the near future this would allow for simplified performance measure monitoring and easier reporting capabilities through the integration of pre-developed reports and Road Rangers vehicle dispatch. Another topic discussed in the meeting was what should, or should not, be standardized statewide with the Road Rangers Program. With the current draft release of the Road Rangers procedure, this was a very interesting topic. The Road Rangers Program has been in place for several years and all the Districts have excellent programs; however, there has never been a procedure for the program. There are things we all agree that need to be standardized, such as uniforms, vehicle color, and equipment; but there are some things that could be at the District’s discretion, such as vehicle type, message boards, and other areas. Trying to develop a procedure has been a tough job, but through working with the team we are almost there. Training seems to always be a topic on our agenda. Trying to determine where we need to go with training is a tough issue. District Six is assisting with this project by surveying service patrols nationally, and the training varies widely throughout the nation. District Six is now looking to see what is being done statewide and the results will be ready in the near future. From these results we hope to determine what we need to do as a state in the future. Steve Corbin, FDOT District Four, and John Easterling, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (FTE), discussed statewide incident coordination. Since the TMCs in south Florida are located so close together, the need for coordination from center to center is very apparent. As a result, the South East Florida Regional TMC Operations Committee (SEFRTOC) was formed. District Four and FTE have seen great benefits from this alliance and believe there is merit to move forward with this concept statewide. This issue is being looked at and we envision a new group, the Florida Uniform Statewide Integrated Operations Network (FUSION), to be formed in the near future. The Road Rangers Program is an exciting area to work in, but trying to standardize things can be a tough nut to crack. The Districts do a great job and the positive response that is received from the public is a true benefit. I look forward to the upcoming changes in the program and seeing it continue to grow and flourish in the future. This article was provided by Paul Clark, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office. For more information, please contact Mr. Clark at (850) 410-5631 or email Paul.Clark@dot.state.fl.us. * * * *
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At its August meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, a group from the membership and the Board heard updates on Transpo2006 and discussed ITS Florida goals and objectives. The August meeting was held at the District 4 transportation management center (TMC) where participants had an excellent chance to learn about the operations and challenges of running a TMC 24/7. The staff, led by Dong Chen, provided an overview of their ITS Strategic Business Plan, a tour of the facility, and showed us how to put SunGuideSM on our hand-held computers! GOALS
Internal goals are to:
ITS Florida goals are implemented by committees. To learn about the committees and how you can participate, go to the ITS Florida Web site at www.itsflorida.org. Transpo2006 Sponsored by the FSITE, ITS Florida, FDOT, and FHWA, this year’s meeting we held will be held on November 27-30, at the Westin Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor. This biennial conference and exhibition brings together experts from the intelligent transportation industry for presentations and demonstrations on how our transportation systems can be made safer, more convenient, and more efficient. A featured event at this year’s Transpo is the Wednesday evening Awards Banquet where FDOT Secretary Denver Stutler will deliver the keynote address. ITS Florida and FSITE member registrations are only $300 until October 15th. You’ll get three days of super presentations, great food, and excellent exhibits. Program tracks on Planning, Designing, Operating, and Advancing our Mobile Society will keep you busy! Our first three sponsors are URS Corporation, MG2 Innovative Technologies, and Beck Consulting Group. Exhibitors have already signed up for more than half of the booths! Two exciting tours are planned. I. TMC TOUR II. TAMPA TOUR Call the hotel (1-800-456-2000) now to reserve your room for Transpo2006. A great rate of $99.00 is available until November 3rd. The rooms are blocked for you under the name of Transpo2006. For more information on Transpo2006, visit the Web site at www.itstranspo.org. This article was provided by Diana Carsey, ITS Florida Executive Director. For more information, please email Ms. Carsey at CarseyD@verizon.net. For more information on ITS Florida, please check the ITS Florida Web site at www.itsflorida.org or contact Diana Carsey, Executive Director, at (727) 409-5415 or email CarseyD@verizon.net. If you wish to contribute an article to the SunGuide Disseminator on behalf of ITS Florida, please contact Erika Ridlehoover at (813) 376-0036, or email Erika.Ridlehoover@transcore.com. * * * *
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Editorial Corner – Back from the Dark Side This metaphor from the Star Wars movies has been used facetiously for a long time to describe a FDOT employee who goes to a consultant/contractor (the dark side). Actually, my 5-½ years in the ITS consulting/contracting community was quite enlightening. Although FDOT does an excellent job at training, and the ITS community as a whole places a high value on knowledge, it’s tough to substitute any training or education for actually doing the work. I put an enormous value on the time I spent in the private sector. I expect the perspectives gained as a consultant and contractor will pay dividends as I coordinate various ITS activities statewide from a familiar FDOT seat. After attending the FDOT ITS Working Group Meeting and FDOT Design Conference on consecutive weeks at the end of July, another thought was reinforced. It’s clear that the ITS community in Florida is a relatively small group of highly qualified individuals. I could look around the room at the ITS Working Group and tell you something specific about 90 percent of the people. Each person brings their own experiences and talents to the ITS community. As a contrast, even though I’ve worked in two Districts – the Turnpike and now Central Office – I walked around the FDOT Design Conference and at times, only saw 4 or 5 people I knew out of hundreds. This brings me back to ITS knowledge and experience. Since we’re a relatively small community, it’s important to keep these qualified ITS professionals in Florida and strive to increase that talent pool. Two of my new charges in the FDOT ITS Program are to enhance the quality and quantity of the state’s ITS workforce and to promote effective ITS research. Unfortunately, for ITS professionals in both FDOT and the private sector, this conflicts with something that we all struggle with…available time. So, we’ll continue to promote efficient ITS knowledge and skills building; and once we’ve acquired the knowledge and skills as a community, do our best to retain it. I welcome your input and suggestions on this important challenge. I’ve appreciated the “Welcome Back” calls I’ve received, and the most common question I’ve heard is, “How does it feel working for FDOT again?” Well, the quick answer is that it’s GREAT. As expected, I’ve noticed that some things are different and some are the same. One of the primary differences is the advances in technology and the resulting efficiency increases within FDOT. A fond example is the green/brown bar timesheets that I recalled are now replaced with electronic timesheets. Another major difference is how much the ITS Program has grown over the last 5 years. For example, the ITS Program in District 5 is probably three times the size it was when I was there 6 years ago. And, I was busy then! What has stayed the same are the FDOT values of integrity, respect, excellence, and teamwork. Many of the folks at FDOT are the same dedicated professionals I worked with 10 years ago. And, believe it or not, some of these same individuals have been working on Florida’s ITS Program for that long. I see the same commitment to FDOT’s mission and values reflected in today’s ITS Program. So, it’s really been easy to hit the ground running. I look forward to many more years working with Florida’s exceptional ITS Program and the people that make it happen every day. I may be back from the Dark Side, but we’re all important pieces of the same outstanding ITS community in Florida! This editorial was provided by Trey Tillander, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations. For more information, please contact Mr. Tillander at (850) 410-5617 or email Trey.Tillander@dot.state.fl.us. * * * * |
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The FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office, through the Traffic Engineering Research Laboratory (TERL), is responsible for approving all traffic control signal devices. Approved devices are kept on the FDOT Approved Products List (APL), a listing of devices that may be relied upon as meeting FDOT specifications, standards, or other criteria. The APL is a means for the FDOT to meet Florida Statute 316.0745, Uniform Signals and Devices, which states, “All official traffic control signals or official traffic control devices purchased and installed in this state by any public body or official shall conform with the manual and specifications published by the Department of Transportation pursuant to subsection (2).” More information on the FDOT APL may be viewed at www.dot.state.fl.us.TrafficOperations/ TERL/APL.htm. Specific approved products in the FDOT APL may be searched at rite.eng.fsu.edu/iapl/page1.php. For more information, please contact Carl Morse, FDOT Traffic Engineering and Operations Office, at (850) 410-5417 or email Carl.Morse@dot.state.fl.us. * * * *
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Congratulations Pete Vega Under Pete’s leadership, the District made great strides in the growth and enhancement of the ITS Program. Additionally, he initiated and managed a number of special projects this year. As we know, Pete is also a vital member of many statewide ITS task teams and committees. Please join us in congratulating Pete on this achievement! * * * * New Faces in the Central Office Traffic Engineering and Operations Office FDOT welcomes Sivam Ramalingam, PBS&J, as a new addition on the ITS General Consultant contract. Sivam obtained his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in May 1995. He began his career as a project engineer and had held several other positions in a construction firm in Malaysia for five years. He was also employed as a project engineer in another firm whereby he supervised the erection work of post panamax quay side gantry cranes. Sivam obtained his master’s degree in industrial engineering at the Florida State University in 2006. Sivam will be working at the Traffic Engineering Research Lab. FDOT is happy to introduce Kelly Christen as a new addition to FDOT’s ITS Program. Kelly is a System Analyst for the FDOT Telecommunications General Consultant, Telvent Farradyne. Kelly will take care of the computer system network needs and maintain the Web site for the Traffic Engineering and Operations Office. Please join us in welcoming both Sivam and Kelly! We would also like to wish the best to Ashleigh
Smith, who has taken a promotion in the FDOT Structures Office. * * * * Congratulations to the Expanding Birriel Family! * * * *
Mark your calendars for this MUST ATTEND event! Transpo2006 is sponsored by ITS Florida, the Florida Section of ITE, FHWA, and FDOT. This conference offers an opportunity to join your peers from all over Florida and the United States to examine developments in ITS and how technology can be used to empower, plan, engineer, manage, and advance our mobile society. Conference information is posted at the Transpo2006 Web site at http://www.itstranspo.org. Once at the Web site, you may secure your exhibit booth location, register for the conference, or review other conference information as it becomes available. Transpo2006 offers excellent sponsorship opportunities. This information is also available at the Web site, or you may contact Karen Crawford at 850-224-7775. Register early to avoid late fees! * * * *
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SunGuide Disseminator September 2006
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