Developing, Demonstrating, and Deploying Large-Scale Systems
The Volpe Center's Demonstration and Deployment Office brings together an understanding of transportation systems and project management expertise to facilitate the development, deployment, and operations of large-scale integrated worldwide systems including traveler and freight transportation systems. (Photo courtesy of Charles McCarthy)
The Volpe Center's Office of Demonstration and Deployment Programs has proven expertise in developing and deploying large-scale, complex systems in many arenas and for many agencies across the transportation modes. Many of the projects undertaken by the Office of Demonstration and Deployment are global and multiyear; they range from information technology (IT) deployment to new-hardware installation to security systems design.
Project managers and technical experts in a variety of disciplines collaborate to develop and implement an integrated strategy to meet clients' goals. As part of the Department of Transportation (DOT), Center staff understand federal requirements, including our client's system acquisition processes, the complex regulatory requirements, and the needs of different stakeholders.
The Volpe Center's broad perspective includes research and development, a pragmatic application of advanced system technologies, systems engineering, system implementation, institutional factors, economics, and strategic planning.
· Deploying large-scale systems
U.S. CAPITOL COMPLEX SECURITY. The Volpe Center was responsible for the design, development, integration, and deployment of a new physical security system for the U.S. Capitol complex. (iStockphoto.com)
We deploy both large- and small-scale systems, from information technology to physical security systems. We apply a systems approach and couple it with our broad project management experience and our understanding of the technical complexities and logistical challenges involved in operational system deployment.
· Implementing large-scale infrastructure modernization
As a federal entity, we help our clients to implement new business processes and technologies on a global scale. We upgrade system components and carry out large-scale infrastructure modernization.
· Providing support 24/7 for critical missions
Our project teams provide rapid-response technical support—around the clock, seven days a week—for the mission-critical systems of federal, state, and local government agencies, including emergency support, help desk, and operations.
· Providing life-cycle system support
We help our customers to validate and articulate needs and support system development from conception through implementation and maintenance. While maintaining a holistic view of the client's enterprise, our multidisciplinary staff brings the right skills to each phase of a system's life cycle.
· Employing best practices
Using a knowledge-based approach to new products and systems, our development teams follow best practices that ensure quality computing services and real IT efficiencies. Our goals are to continually improve processes, to reduce the number of defects, and to offer a user-based approach to evolving requirements.
· Offering integrated support to federal, state, and local government
The Center works closely with state and local governments to provide vital transportation, public safety, and security products and services to their constituents.
Deploying large-scale systems: From information technology to physical security systems
Design, deploy, and maintain information technology
FMCSA Information Technology Systems. The primary mission of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. FMCSA relies on dozens of information technology (IT) systems to help it achieve its mission. The Volpe Center has played a key role in defining, developing, implementing, maintaining, and operating information systems for FMCSA headquarters, its field offices, and state partners. Many systems are hosted at the Volpe Center.
FMCSA IT systems ensure that the industry and the state agencies responsible for carrier enforcement have accurate, accessible data to properly address motor carrier safety issues ranging from inspection reports to vehicle, driver, and company safety histories. We have helped FMCSA to develop web-based tools to provide access to statistics and analysis as well as tools to monitor, track, and store enforcement information. We have also developed websites that provide carrier information to the public and applications that support field inspectors as they address compliance issues for hazardous materials. We also provide critical operational and technical support for enforcement officers.
The knowledge gained from these deployable technologies helps FMCSA to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities and deliver a program that contributes to a safe and secure commercial transportation system.
Examples of FMCSA Systems Developed by the Volpe Center
Analysis and Information Online (A&I): Provides descriptive statistics and analyses on commercial vehicle, driver, and carrier safety. (http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov)
Electronic Document Management System (EDMS): Used for storage and retrieval of essential FMCSA documents.
Enforcement Management Information System (EMIS): Used to monitor, track, and store information related to FMCSA enforcement actions.
Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS): Captures data from field offices.
Data Transfer Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER): Displays carrier information available to the public. (http://www.safersys.org)
Query Central (QC): Retrieves safety compliance and enforcement data from multiple sources.
Hazardous Materials Package Inspection Program (HMPIP): Both field and central systems collect and store information used to record compliance problems with hazardous material packages.
PORT OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. Volpe Center teams have visited more than 22 ports domestically and internationally to collect information and provide guidance on logistics and operations and on physical and informational systems security. (Photo courtesy of William Baron)
Design and deploy physical security systems
The Volpe Center's experience in developing security systems extends back to the early 1970s. We have designed and implemented systems for many federal government facilities, including the Department of State headquarters, the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the DOT. Responding to increasingly sophisticated and emerging technologies, the Center has introduced integrated security systems that use "open architecture" and combine features such as access control, intrusion detection, closed-circuit television (CCTV), and digital video recording. Our security teams have in-depth knowledge of the operational requirements of transportation organizations as well as of transportation and security technologies. The Center's experience with physical security systems has been invaluable in helping the nation to address increasing concerns with transportation system security. We understand that policies, procedures, and training are critical components of system deployment. Each system is tailored for the client's needs.
DOT Headquarters Security System. The new DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C., is the first cabinet-level building to be designed and constructed in the nation's capital in more than 30 years. The Volpe Center is designing, procuring, and installing a security system for the 1.35-million-square-foot facility. The objective is to implement an integrated security system that is compatible with Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), which directs all federal agencies to establish more uniform standards for issuing government identity credentials. The system integrates a systems and command, control and monitoring center; CCTV; digital video recording; and IPbased access control. It complies with guidelines that direct all federal agencies to provide the capability for a common identification card that will allow employees and contractors to gain access to federally controlled facilities and computers.
THE MBTA SILVER LINE IN BOSTON. Boston's newest transit servicethe Silver Lineprovides improved service from sections of Boston to the downtown area and to Logan Airport. The project, one of the Federal Transit Administration's showcase projects for bus rapid transit (BRT), uses advanced bus technology, with many features that enhance safety, comfort, and convenience for riders and has resulted in dramatically increased ridership. The Volpe Center has played a key role in designing and implementing a security system for the Silver Line. (Photo courtesy of William Baron)
Boston's Silver Line. As the City of Boston's only bus rapid transit line, the recently opened Silver Line makes a significant contribution to the city's transportation system by providing easy access to Logan International Airport. The Volpe Center team designed, developed, and implemented an integrated security systemfor the Silver Line, including access control, intrusion detection, and CCTV. An automated vehicle screening system ensures that only Silver Line buses and other authorized vehicles can enter the dedicated tunnel. The system was designed so that it can be expanded systemwide. In addition to increasing security, the improved situational awareness provided by the new system benefits safety and operations management.
Boston's Emergency Operations Centers. The Volpe Center is currently developing operational concepts and integrating technologies supporting the City of Boston Mayor's Office of Emergency Preparedness for nine emergency operations centers within the metropolitan area. On the basis of site surveys and analysis, the Volpe Center presented designs that have been endorsed by the mayor's office and its municipal partners and, over the next several months, it will procure and install the equipment. The Volpe Center team will provide training to emergency management personnel on how to use the new decision-support technologies. The Center is developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for facilities that will provide guidance on how to respond to events in their own jurisdiction and how to coordinate across jurisdictions. This builds on our previous experience with design and implementation of facility security upgrades and command centers as well as emergency preparedness, and on our ability to coordinate major acquisitions.
Implementing large-scale infrastructure modernization
The Volpe Center can assist clients with the effective, timely acquisition and sustainment of information systems and the support of those systems throughout their life cycles. Our teams are recognized for delivering solutions tailored to customers' evolving needs. We help clients to identify requirements and maintain a continuous dialogue about evolving needs.
National Airspace System (NAS) upgrade. The Center's continuing support for NAS improvements exemplifies synergy between engineering and project management skills. In a major effort to make Department of Defense (DoD) air-traffic control (ATC) facilities interoperable with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ATC facilities, the team is replacing DoD's terminal radars, voice-switching systems, and automation systems as well as consolidating several existing informational displays into a single unit. While each component is critical individually, together they create a dramatic, positive difference for air-traffic controllers all over the world.
Providing support 24/7 for critical missions and large-scale systems
CIREN centers have been established at eight trauma centers inmajor research and teaching hospitals. Data on actual crashes are collected and analyzed.
NHTSA's Crash Data Collection Programs. The Volpe Center provides operational support to the field staff of NHTSA's crash data collection programs— the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) and the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN). Since 1986, NASS Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) have been established at 60 locations across the country and CIREN centers have been established at eight trauma centers in major research and teaching hospitals throughout the country. Data on actual crashes are collected and analyzed, and this knowledge is used by engineers and manufacturers to design safer vehicles and by physicians and researchers to improve the treatment of accident victims.
The Electronic Data System (EDS)—the automated system that supports both NASS and CIREN—was developed and is being updated, enhanced, and maintained by the Volpe Center. The Center also hosts that system and the centralized repository for all NASS/CIREN data. The repository provides a common database into which the PSUs and trauma centers can add actual injury case data. After sanitization and quality checks are performed, the Volpe Center and NHTSA make the data in the repository available through a website to researchers throughout the United States.
Providing life-cycle system support — responding to user requirements
Aviation Safety Systems. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) depends on inspections and robust information systems to identify safety problems with air operators, aircraft, air agencies, and air personnel. The Center is participating in FAA's multiyear System Approach for Safety Oversight (SASO) program, aimed at redesigning the oversight processes of the Flight Standard Service (AFS) and the U.S. aviation industry in order to achieve the highest level of safety and efficiency. The functionality of the several aviation safety systems, developed by the Volpe Center, will be incorporated into this program (see sidebar).
Volpe Center-Developed Aviation Safety Systems
Safety Performance Analysis System (SPAS): Accommodates inspectors' information needs by highlighting potential problem areas, using safety performance measures, and providing timely, reliable access to existing data.
Air Transportation Oversight System (ATOS): Supports inspectors' surveillance of major air carriers in order to identify safety trends and correct root problems.
Flight Standards Automation Subsystem (FSAS): Compiles automated information systems used by AFS to plan, record, and track aviation surveillance, certification, and other safetyrelated activities.
Flight Standards Information Management System (FSIMS): Provides FAA with a web-based electronic library of aviation safetyrelated publications and a portal to other related documents.
Enforcement Information System (EIS): Maintains data on FAA enforcement actions against airlines, pilots, mechanics, and other certificated aviation personnel and entities.
As the SASO program develops, the current suite of AFS information systems and decision-support tools will be redesigned and integrated to better meet the information requirements of new system safety-based business processes. SASO will analyze, assess, and, when necessary, reengineer current AFS business processes in order to incorporate state-of-the-art system safety practices. These changes will elevate AFS and the aviation industry to a national standard of system safety by implementing a comprehensive set of world-class system safety practices. The new practices will emphasize the proactive identification and evaluation of aviation risk factors and enable AFS to efficiently focus its oversight efforts on the highest-risk areas. In addition, AFS's new processes will support a more collaborative relationship with aviation certificate holders and empower them with greater responsibility for safety management within their organizations.
Maritime Domain Awareness is currently defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as "the effective understanding of anything associated with the globalmaritime environment that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment of the United States."
Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). Since the 1990s, the Volpe Center has played a critical role in developing and applying advanced technologies that have made it possible for mariners to detect the presence and determine the position of other vessels quickly and accurately, regardless of weather or location. The Maritime Safety and Security Information System (MSSIS), developed by the Center for the U.S. Navy, provides a networked capability to gather and disseminate information about commercial vessels. The system has enabled the Navy to extend its MDA capabilities to include information about commercial vessels equipped with automatic identification system (AIS) transponders. MSSIS collects and disseminates real-time data derived from AIS about vessel movements.
The Center currently supports this capability in Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa. Our technical assistance has included network system and site design; hardware procurement; system deployment, installation, and integration; development of testing and evaluation plans; and overall program management. The Center is also assisting the U.S. Coast Guard in deploying the national AIS network throughout the United States.
Employing best practices
The Volpe Center's highly trained, certified project managers adhere to industry standards and employ best practices to respond to evolving business management processes. New wide-ranging project management experience enables us to undertake large-scale global technology upgrades and integration.
FMCSA COMPASS. By employing best practices in modernizing and streamlining business processes, the Center has provided leadership in supporting FMCSA's development of COMPASS, a program that will help the agency to reach its goal of reducing highway fatalities due to truck and bus accidents. COMPASS will optimize many of FMCSA's business processes and improve the agency's IT functionality.
COMPASS is an FMCSA-wide initiative transforming the way that the agency does business. This system will provide a single source for safety information and data and will incorporate substantial data quality improvements to better facilitate intelligent decision making. The ultimate goal of COMPASS is to use IT to improve the agency's ability to save lives.
Offering integrated support to federal, state, and local government
State and local agencies have a growing role in implementing the nation's transportation policies and systems, and the Volpe Center has a growing role in integrating services and information provided by all levels of government. A key component of our support is the ability to determine and help implement the right systems for each level of government to facilitate the sharing of information, processes, and resources. The Center establishes effective partnerships that offer seamless integration.
PIPELINE SAFETY. With more than 2.3 million miles of pipelines in the U.S., the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration depends on partnerships with the states to ensure pipeline safety. The Volpe Center is developing systems that streamline this partnership. (iStockPhoto.com)
U.S. DOT PHMSA State Pipeline Processing System (SPPS). The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration(PHMSA) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) is authorized to reimburse a state agency up to 50 percent of the actual cost of carrying out its pipeline safety program, including expenditures for personnel and equipment. The Volpe-developed SPPS streamlined the integration of grants.gov (mandated for grant processing throughout the federal government) for the state pipeline safety grant program. SPPS provides a central, standardized input and tracking system for a successful cooperative relationship with 52 state pipeline safety offices. In addition to developing the system and providing enhancements, the Volpe Center team operates the system, conducts training for both federal and state employees, and provides help-desk support to the states.
A collaborative approach
The Center can utilize innovative contracting vehicles to facilitate novel partnerships between government, industry, and research institutions. Ongoing collaborative relationships with a wide network of private organizations, government agencies, and major institutions of higher learning, such as MIT, means that the Center can apply the best minds available to solving problems at all levels of government.
Conclusion: Understanding transportation system complexities
Asystems approach to transportation issues involves analyzing and defining the factors that affect transportation systems and implementing solutions that incorporate a life-cycle approach to problem solving. We have a deep understanding of the transportation system, its technologies and disciplines, and the responsibilities, perspectives, and objectives of the industry. This understanding informs our comprehensive approach: improving the transportation system, one component at a time, keeping in mind the whole as we work on the parts.