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Transition Plan-Executive Summary Transition Plan BACKGROUND As part of the Strategic Highway Research Program anti-icing techniques and Road Weather Information System (RWIS) technology were identified as areas within highway operations, winter maintenance, that showed promise for use. As a result two SHRP projects were developed. Project H-207 examined the emerging technology of Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) and project H-208 considered the development of anti-icing technologies. At the conclusion of the SHRP, the work conducted by the Anti-icing project team and the participating states was expanded and continued under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Test and Evaluation Project 28 for an additional two years. The result of this work produced the Manual of Practice for an Effective Anti-icing Program: A Guide for Highway Winter Maintenance Personnel1. Based on the success of these programs during SHRP and subsequent studies, Anti-icing / RWIS was identified as a technology area by the AASHTO Task Force on SHRP Implementation to be included in the Lead State Program for continued implementation efforts. Professional staff of states, agencies, and private industry involved in early implementation efforts were identified to form the core of the Lead State Team for Anti-icing / RWIS Technology Group. These agencies were:
While this team was one of the largest of the Lead State teams, it has been very successful at advancing the implementation efforts in this technology area. The strength of the team was due in large part to their energy and enthusiasm for the technology. Team membership cut across institutional boundaries to include both snow and ice practitioners and managers from traditional and non-traditional professions. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Beginning with the first Annual Lead State Workshop in 1996, there have been four consistent themes the Team believed important to the implementation of this technology. These themes were articulated through the establishment of the goals and associated strategies. These four themes are:
The complete set of accomplishments is listed in the Proceedings of each Annual Meeting and attached as an appendix to this report. Some of the more notable accomplishments of the Team are listed:
WORK IN PROGRESS The work underway at the time of transition involves two discrete projects and two continual projects.
A project looking at the documentation of the benefits and costs associated with the technology has been funded through NCHRP Project 20-7. A project team has been formed and a contractor selected to perform this work. Because the technology area is broad and there are many opportunities to realize benefits, this study will focus on case studies for particular installations. The project attempting to develop a formal training program for RWIS / Anti-icing is moving forward in such a way as to leverage the talents and resources of several agencies and groups. Through SICOP and the Winter Maintenance Policy Coordinating Committee (WMPCC), a technical working group has been formed to spearhead the development of a computer based training program for this technology. All indications are that the AURORA Group will participate along with individual state and local units of government to fund this project. Ongoing projects include the maintenance of the Web Site, maintenance of the snow and ice "List-Serv", and outreach efforts all appear to have financial support for the short term. The mechanism for outreach has taken shape in the form of regional user group meetings. In order to overcome difficulties associated with out of state travel, many of these meetings are conducted at common state lines or where three states come together. In other instances, the FHWA has sponsored exchanges and scanning trips where travel has been funded at the Division level. Lastly, the web site and e-mail has been utilized to exchange information and "trouble shoot" application of the technology between users.
LEAD STATE POSITIVE LESSONS LEARNED The success of this Team has been in large part due to the fact that the team members were dedicated stakeholders in both their own agencies snow and ice program and in the advancement of new promising technologies. The second major contributor to the success of the team was the multi-disciplinary make up of the team membership. Team membership cut across many layers of agency management and included professionals from areas not normally associated with winter maintenance. LEAD STATE CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME Through the course of the Lead State efforts there were several obstacles to overcome. The most common theme deals with the uncertain availability of financial support to accomplish strategies and goals associated with implementation. Along with the uncertainties of funding came the availability of staff hours to conduct the required work. Major implementation efforts, such as the benefit - cost work, formal training program, and marketing plan, required a level of effort beyond the individual volunteer level. As it turned out, many of our Team members were working on these tasks as part of their regular duties and their agencies willing to share their efforts with the Team. While the ultimate funding of the Team's implementation strategies were obtained, there was always a hunt for funds. This could have been overcome if there was an identified source of funds, as we discovered late in the game by utilizing NCHRP and SICOP. TRANSITION This team's activity will be transitioned into the AASHTO Sub-committee for Maintenance, and more particularly that sub-committee's task force for snow and ice. The leadership and primary support for the teams continued implementation activities will be coordinated through the AASHTO Winter Maintenance Policy and Coordinating Committee (WMPCC) and the associated SICOP. Additional Support will be derived through the Transportation Research Board Sub-committee on Winter Maintenance (A3C09) with liaisons with APWA and NACE.To this end, the WMPCC - SICOP, whose membership included representation from each AASHTO region, APWA, NACE, Pacific Northwest Snowfighters (PNS), and AURORA, has been modified to include the Lead State Team Leader, an AASHTO - Sub-committee on Maintenance Task Force on Snow and Ice member, and the Chairman of the TRB Sub-committee on Winter Maintenance (A3C09). This robust team now includes membership from each of the major groups playing a significant role in the implementation of new technology in snow and ice control. The opportunity for implementation successes under this plan for transition is high, as the SICOP has a mechanism for funding implementation projects. 1 Publication Number FHWA-RD-95-202, June 1996 Excerpt: Proceedings 1996 AASHTO Lead States Workshop |
See also the web site for the AASHTO Technology Implementation Group