Building and Maintaining Your Statewide Crossing Inventory

Transcription

1 Building and Maintaining Your Statewide Crossing Inventory 2015 National Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Training Conference Arlington, TX 03 Nov worldwide

2 Presentation Outline Inventory purpose Options Challenges Keys to success Tool demo Other considerations

3 Inventory Purpose Information and Tools Increase accuracy Facilitate cooperation Enhance cost effectiveness Expand data access Improve Safety Identify / track projects 3

4 Information Statewide inventory, including: Location Info Crossing Features Traffic Controls Photos Crossing Locations Accident Data Prioritization Calculations Project Information

5 Tools: Database/Decision Support RAIL (Core) FieldRAIL WebRAIL Business Logic RAIL Database Inventory, Assessments, Photos 5

6 Inventory Options 1. Statewide field inventory effort Inventory/confirm all crossings in field and office Pros: confidence in database, strong foundation for decisions, easier to maintain Cons: large, expensive effort 2. Set up and improve database over time As crossings are visited/upgraded/changed Pros: less costly, targeted expenditures Cons: less confidence in currency of data and resulting decisions Either way: more (knowledgeable) users = better database

7 Field Inventory: Challenges Complexity of inventory Tremendous number of data fields Non-expert inventory crews Unfamiliar terms and equipment Large geographic area Crews working independently Many stakeholders to keep in the loop Railroads Local government DOT or PUC regional/district staff

8 Field Inventory: Definition of Success SAFE work without incident Consistent, repeatable, complete data Efficient inventory with minimal repeat visits

9 Field Inventory: Keys to Success Piloting Training Management strategies Tools / Technology Success

10 Pilot Project Proof of concept Data to collect Test tools and systems Fix bugs/problems Document processes Tools Data Procedures

11 Field Crew Training Training is critical Safety and security Subject expertise Uniformity of data Accuracy of data Exception handling Pilot staff = trainers Field crews + alternates Additional field supervision

12 Management Strategies: Quality QA/QC - early and often - set good habits Real-time tracking and review by managers Automatic checks for obvious errors Wrong type of data Missing data Illogical combinations Continuous communication Continuous training Feedback loop between managers & crews Continuous improvement of process and tools

13 Tools: Field Equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) Measuring devices Field manual Field computer (rugged) Data collection tool Pre-loaded map of crossings Other reference materials Digital camera w/ GPS GMRS Radios

14 Tools: FieldRAIL Rugged tablet Built-in data checking Automatic uploading Built-in camera GPS integrated 14

15 Tools: RAIL Core (Office) Powerful searching Integrated GIS map Data review & correction Assignment to field crews QA/QC functions 15

16 Systematic QA/QC Process built into RAIL management tool Allows for data review and acceptance Issues can be addressed / corrected immediately

17 WebRAIL Online application Simple and intuitive Subset of RAIL functions For external partners External data collection? Traffic counts Bus counts 17

18 Tool Demonstration

19 Other considerations Grade Separations / Private Crossings? What else do you want to get out of your inventory? Sight distance / stop-yield analysis Traffic counts Dip / hump signs Inadequate storage queue issues Identify crossings for consolidation / closure What do you want to store in your inventory database? Documents related to crossings/projects Diagnostics / assessments Complaints / incidents / disputes Who should have access to your inventory?

20 Questions