Policies and Processes that Support Mainstreaming Transportation Systems Management and Operations

4. GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Although the research uncovered examples of how transportation agencies have used policies and processes to advance TSMO mainstreaming, it is apparent there are areas that are not yet being addressed or fully considered for TSMO-focused policies and processes. Currently, there are gaps in established policies and processes across agencies, in part because TSMO programs and plans are generally only a few years old, and many recommended strategies or actions have not had sufficient time to be fully implemented or evaluated. Areas where there are gaps for mainstreaming TSMO include:

• Planning and programming
• Data management
• Contracting and procurement
• Emerging technology
• Asset management
• TSMO integration with other modes, jurisdictions, and decision support processes.

Each of these areas present opportunities for advancing and mainstreaming TSMO across agencies and they are described briefly below.

Planning and Programming

A critical area for mainstreaming TSMO is planning and programming. While this is an active area of mainstreaming for several agencies interviewed, generally, transportation agencies have not yet formally included TSMO in their planning and programming processes. Most State DOTs focus on capital construction projects, which may include the construction or deployment of ITS or other capital intensive TSMO tactics. The integration of TSMO into planning and programming elevates consideration of TSMO strategies to a strategic level within the agency, which can help mainstream TSMO. By examining TSMO options early in the planning process, agencies can start with considering lower-cost, less-intensive strategies and then progress to more-intensive solutions.

Some State DOTs, as highlighted under this theme in Chapter 3, have begun to address this through policy and process changes. According to Washington State DOT’s website, “WSDOT is working with policymakers to create a budget structure and legislative policy that allows the agency to fully maximize a Practical Solutions approach to project delivery and daily operations” (Washington State DOT 2020). Washington State DOT’s Practical Solutions approach looks at TSMO solutions prior to considering capacity improvements, mainstreaming TSMO directly in the planning process. Iowa DOT integrates TSMO into its planning process and the development of its 5 Year Program, as shown in figure 5, moving TSMO activities from a collection of activities in “the back of the program” to a focused part of the programming process.

These activities illustrate the opportunities created for mainstreaming TSMO by formally incorporating it in programming and budgeting policies and processes. A common approach to funding or budgeting for TSMO is to include operational elements in capital projects. This allows deployment of physical assets but does not necessarily accommodate management and procedural elements, ongoing operations, or asset management, and there is often a risk of the TSMO elements being cut from construction projects when project costs exceed available funding. This approach also makes it difficult to gain a realistic picture of agency investment levels in TSMO. Elevating TSMO to a designated budget category and including it in formal programming processes can be helpful for better establishing TSMO as an important part of how the agency delivers mobility services to its constituents.

Programming and budgeting typically focus on construction and maintenance. Including TSMO as a budget category and revising planning and programming processes to address operational needs and TSMO strategies can be an important step to mainstreaming. Elevating TSMO in the process shifts the perception of TSMO as a project “add-on” to a viable alternative or complement to address system needs.

Data Management

TSMO strategies and applications can produce and use vast amounts of data. These data can support a wide array of business activities, including planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance. Effective operations require real-time and historic data to support decisionmaking and system management. TSMO as a source and user of data can benefit from being mainstreamed in agencies’ data management policies and processes by making data usable, sharable, and accessible across the agency. To enable these capabilities, TSMO can work with information technology (IT) staff, or other data management personnel, to develop storage and management policies and procedures and data governance that support all potential users. Additionally, TSMO programs can grow IT capabilities within their staff to allow many of the data management functions to be handled within the program.

TSMO data are often siloed within operations groups or isolated for specific applications, which limits data effectiveness and usefulness. Managing, integrating, and sharing transportation system data from ITS and operational deployments can support more data‑enabled decisionmaking and resource allocation. Data shared across an agency can mainstream TSMO by supporting other functional areas and highlighting opportunities for enhancing system management. Mainstreaming TSMO data for use across the agency may require new partnerships between agency staff responsible for supporting data management and potential users. A regional or statewide ITS architecture is an important tool in collaborating across DOT Divisions and with other agencies on the use of data from ITS deployments. Data policies and processes can support the role of TSMO data in enhancing decisionmaking in all functional areas of the agency.

Contracting and Procurement

Contracting and procurement in DOTs focus on design, construction, and maintenance services. TSMO strategies are generally connected to the construction and maintenance of highway infrastructure. Many of the traditional approaches to procuring and contracting at DOTs may not fit the nature of TSMO activities because TSMO is more service‑oriented (e.g., traffic incident management) or involves technology and system applications (e.g., traffic monitoring or system integration). Procurement personnel may not be as familiar or experienced with the standards and specifications for quickly evolving technology or understand the long-term implications of procuring proprietary systems for deployment by their agency. Additionally, standard DOT contract language may not be appropriate for technology applications.

Updating contracting and procurement to better address the services and technologies associated with TSMO enables implementation and acceptance of TSMO strategies. Contracts with data providers are a good example of where traditional contracting may not be prepared to negotiate the value of DOT‑provided data in exchange for third-party data. Until such non‑traditional contracting and procurement situations are addressed in agency processes and policies, it may be difficult for TSMO to be fully integrated and mainstreamed.

Policies and processes that address data ownership and sharing, value and use of agency right-of-way and assets, management and risk of operational services, and other aspects of contracting and procurement that may arise in the advancement of TSMO are often needed. Policies that require consideration of TSMO strategies in all contracts may also be helpful to mainstream TSMO across agency activities.

Emerging Technology

Technologies that are used to manage and operate the system are emerging and evolving quickly. Emerging technologies are often found in TSMO strategies and tactics. Understanding how these technologies support other business functions, such as planning, design, construction, maintenance, and asset management, can mainstream TSMO. This can be supported through processes that bring the use of TSMO technology and the resulting data or information into these business areas. Examples can be seen in the application of monitoring and traffic management technologies in work zones. Policies and processes for reviewing emerging TSMO technologies and examining their application across business functions could strengthen their deployment and integration to reduce application costs and mainstream their use.

Asset Management

Asset management and TSMO both work to preserve and maximize the functionality of the system. A formal integration of TSMO and asset management through policies that guide how they work together, a review and development of processes that bring TSMO strategies into asset management, and an addition of asset management goals and considerations into TSMO decisionmaking can all support TSMO mainstreaming. State DOTs’ relatively new focus on developing transportation asset management plans (TAMPs) and on TSMO program development and plans provides opportunity for the two areas to work cooperatively to preserve and enhance the management and operations of transportation systems. Each State is required by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)¹ to develop a risk-based TAMP for the National Highway System. Although not required, States may include TSMO assets in their TAMPs. TSMO provides a strategic approach to system management and operations, and with a growing interest by State DOTs to incorporate ITS and other traffic control devices in their TAMPs, there are increasing opportunities to align and mainstream TSMO in asset management.

Asset management’s focus on optimizing the performance and cost-effectiveness of the system aligns with TSMO objectives and provides a natural area for coordination and support. Many TSMO strategies lend themselves to the objectives of asset management, and opportunities exist to include TSMO strategies and principles into asset management planning processes.

TSMO Integration with Other Modes, Jurisdictions, and Decision Support Processes

TSMO maximizes the performance of transportations systems and works across modes, agencies, and disciplines to improve system efficiency, reliability, and safety. In considering gaps in TSMO mainstreaming, it is useful to look at multiple modes, jurisdictions, and disciplines to develop multimodal, multi-agency programs and projects. Integrated corridor management is an example of how agencies and modes can work together to build an integrated, multimodal approach to system mobility. Traffic incident management is another example of working across jurisdictions and disciplines to provide enhanced reliability and safety. Formalizing business rules and procedures supports mainstreaming these strategies throughout and across agencies and shifts the way organizations work together. Sharing data through formal processes and agreements supports effective decisionmaking (real-time and investment). Successes in more of these applications can provide a foundation for more extensive mainstreaming.