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Volpe Center Highlights - November/December 1999

Economic Growth and Trade

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security

Advance America's economic growth and competitiveness domestically and internationally through efficient and flexible transportation.

DOT 's First "Transportation Research and Education Plan" in Support of One of Secretary Slater's Goals

In collaboration with the different modal agencies of the Department of Transportation (DOT), Dr. Peter Manning of the Transportation Strategic Planning and Analysis Office completed a preliminary draft of DOT's first "Transportation Research and Education Plan." He coordinated the efforts of a departmental team that is providing technical support, and is now incorporating their responses to the initial draft. The plan's framework and conclusions will support Secretary of Transportation Rodney R. Slater in achieving one of his goals as Secretary - building and enhancing the role of learning throughout and beyond the transportation community.

The plan examines Federal transportation research and education initiatives at the higher education level. It serves as a compilation of current activities and provides insights into new, innovative educational techniques, as well as a framework for future opportunities. In highlighting the benefits of the transportation learning enterprise, the plan challenges educators, administrators, and those supporters who are not part of the academic network. The plan is structured around five major issues: building departmental resources in this area, providing targeted investments, supporting innovative mechanisms, developing better sharing between and within the transportation learning community, and enhancing public/private partnerships.

Coast Guard R&D Center Seeks Volpe Center Expertise to Develop New Multiple Award Contracts Program

The Coast Guard Research & Development Center at Groton, Connecticut, is developing its first multiple award contracts program. In the spirit of ONE DOT, it reached out to the Volpe Center for their considerable expertise in this area. On October 5, three Coast Guard contract specialists, the R&D Center Procurement Attorney, andthe lead technical person at the R&D Center involved in developing the multiple award RFP, visited with Volpe Center OMNI specialists at the Center. OMNI is the Volpe Center's Multi-Contractor Resource Base acquisition system and is a prototype for other Federal agencies seeking to streamline and strengthen their own procedures.

Staff from the Volpe Center's Acquisition Division and the Program Development and Resource Management Division participated in the meeting. Mr. Ed Wirtanen discussed the overall approach to OMNI along with the purpose and meaning of some of the innovative and unique clauses and provisions developed by the Volpe Center. Mr. Jerry Luke provided information on how the cost and price analyses of proposals were conducted. Mr. Orin Cook explained how the OMNI III program operates, and Ms. Beth Segal provided specific guidance on how task orders under the OMNI III contracts were competed and awarded. Mr. Bob Robinson explained the instructions for submitting technical proposals in the OMNI III RFPs.

Volpe Center Playing Key Role in Aviation Delay Reduction (FAA)

DOT Secretary Slater has directed that flight delay reduction should be a key FY2000 goal for the FAA's Air Traffic organization. The Volpe Center's Traffic Management System (TMS) team is directly supporting Secretary Slater's goal by assuming a leadership role in several new tasks related to flight delay reduction. TMS is the real-time, operational computer system developed by the Volpe Center that the FAA uses to predict, detect, and handle airspace congestion problems.

The new work requires adding new algorithms to TMS to reduce airspace sector congestion, and developing enhancements to the Traffic Situation Display, the user interface to the TMS. Recently, staff from the Automation Applications Division gave a demonstration of the sector congestion tool to Mr. Jack Kies, Director of the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center located in Herndon, Virginia. On October 15, the Volpe Center provided a revised version of the sector congestion tool to Command Center staff to elicit further comments. The new tools will enhance staff communications between the FAA's Command Center and Air Traffic Control field sites and provide a common situational awareness between facilities to improve decision-making.

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