ITS Product Evaluation and Approval
The FDOT Traffic Engineering Research Laboratory (TERL) has delegated authority to evaluate and certify traffic control signals and devices, per Florida Statute 316.0745. The TERL develops and updates standards, specifications, test procedures, and testing capabilities to evaluate and approve transportation equipment and quality management systems of equipment suppliers. It ensures that equipment listed on the FDOT Approved Product List (APL) meets FDOT minimum requirements for products, is safe, and is of high quality prior to use in Florida. In addition, as part of the APL process, the TERL ensures that the quality management system of equipment suppliers listed on the FDOT Acceptable Quality System List meets FDOT minimum requirements for quality systems. The TERL’s own quality management system is undergoing continuous improvements towards becoming compliant with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17065, a US recognized and widely accepted quality standard for product certification bodies.
The TERL statewide ITS device approval program and the APL provide benefits to FDOT Districts and expressway authorities; county and city maintaining agencies; and contractors, vendors, and consultants doing business in Florida. These benefits include reduced duplication of effort, improvements in the consistency and uniformity of project designs, establishment of statewide purchasing agreements with competitive pricing that can be used by other agencies, improvements in the consistency and repeatability of product approvals, and improvements in overall product performance and quality. Becoming ISO 17065-compliant will not only improve the TERL’s efficiency and quality of its services to equipment suppliers, contractors, and other government agencies, it will also enhance its credibility among equipment suppliers through leading by example.
As the FDOT ITS General Consultant, Atkins provides a multidisciplinary team of full-time staff to support the TERL.
Additional information on ITS product evaluation and approval, the TERL, and the APL is available on FDOT's web site at http://www.dot.state.fl.us/trafficoperations/Traf_Sys/Traf_Sys.shtm.
For questions regarding FDOT's ITS Program, please see Contacts.