 MISSIONAdvance the implementation of roadway and bridge technology in the municipal arena by providing decision makers a total, start to finish, unbiased, real-time project experience of field applied technologies and processes. INTRODUCTIONProfessionals in public and private arenas have long recognized in order for research to deliver a favorable return on investment, effective methods for communicating positive results must be initiated. Of no less importance is the substantial cost savings that can be realized by speeding up the discontinuation of outdated, less effective processes. During the 1980s the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) together with State Highway Agencies (SHA) introduced the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) to provide this type of information exchange to support local road and bridge agencies. LTAP quickly proved to be an effective mechanism for delivering training, reference materials and related support services to local agencies. LTAP’s hands-on technology transfer experience attests to the fact that results of major public or privately-funded research generally has few problems reaching SHAs or major metropolitan areas, but the information exchange process slows considerably, for various reasons, in finding its way to the local end user. A second barrier to the information exchange process is overcoming political and professional implementation realities faced by every local public transportation agency. Federal, state and metropolitan agencies generally have the talent, funding and interactive capacity to stay abreast of, and refine new technologies for their use. Less urbanized agencies, responsible for building or maintaining nearly 3,000,000 miles of America’s roads and more than 29,000 bridges, generally are not as fortunate in these areas. An information exchange mechanism must be developed which can reduce or eliminate the financial, professional and political risk public agencies face when committing hard-to-come-by funds to implement technology when little or no practical field experience exists. The Product Demonstration ProgramThe Product Demonstration Showcase (PDS) program has been created to overcome these natural barriers. Each PDS must include these five elements:
This unique format hastens the implementation process by creating a neutral information exchange environment providing the checks and balances professionals require for an informed and more timely decision. In keeping with our stated mission, the PDS program is presented as an information exchange process to provide federal, state and local professionals and elected officials an opportunity to gain practical, unbiased, hands-on experience with applied new promising products and services. By showcasing technology in this unique format, professionals gain the insights necessary to evaluate promising products or services. Each PDS focuses on new or upgraded solutions to local road and bridge problems. Exclusive industry demonstrations are limited to products or services currently in field use by the hosting agency. The process for establishing PDS program is as follows:
Each Showcase agenda will include:
From the participating industry partner:
Neither the LTAP or participating public entities, present a PDS event as an endorsement, implied or otherwise, for a particular product, service, technology or vendor. Distribution and CommunicationThe national PDS Operations Center will archive, distribute, and respond to service requests for training materials, case histories, evaluations, field
level needs assessment programs, and research summaries and reports (federal, state, industrial, etc.). A PDS Operations Center has been established at the University of Florida to
support the Showcase development process as well as handle the archiving and distribution responsibilities. Tracking PerformanceQuantitative PDS assessments will be made annually. From these assessments measurement of the implementation of the technology demonstrated at each PDS will occur. Each PDS will be tracked for as long as implementation of a technology can be determined as a best practice and attributable to a specific PDS. Financial AspectsEach Showcase will generate registration fees to cover the costs incurred developing, hosting and tracking Showcase results. These fees also include costs incurred by the sponsoring local LTAP Center as applicable. To maintain the neutrality and integrity of the Showcase process no fees will be incurred by the host agency or participating vendor. The entire focus of these Showcases is to attract participation from agency and elected decision makers, therefore every effort is made to keep participant registration fees reasonable. To date, the highest fee charged was $129 for a two-and-a-half-day Showcase in Gulf Breeze, Florida, October 24-26, 2001. PDS JustificationMeasuring ImplementationShowcases that have been conducted to date:
More than $147 million in implementation has taken place as a direct result of these six Showcases in less than three years. This figure does not include the hosting agency project investment or any federal, state or private enterprise implementation. These figures reflect only implementation by local agencies as a direct result of a specific Showcase. Measuring ImpactThe residual impact of a successfully implemented new technology produces substantial and practically infinite long-term benefits. Using the Unpaved Roads Solution Showcase, July 29, 1999 as an example, upon completion of the project, implementing agencies were able to realize immediate, sizable and continuous long-term impact on their road maintenance budgets. One agency was able to sell 14 of their grader fleet of 18 thus experiencing an immediate and sizable return on their initial project investment. This agency was then able to reassign those operators to other tasks helping the agency address other resident service issues. By reducing their grader fleet by 14 units they also substantially reduced supporting maintenance and operations payroll costs which included continual savings on such items as gas, oil, spare parts and insurance. These realized savings are substantial and will deliver a positive budget impact year after year. We will measure resulting impact savings and include this figure as a separate line item in 2004 and will include it in all subsequent reporting documentation. In SummaryToday, every aspect of transportation struggles to keep pace with the explosion of new technologies created by public demand for improved services. Add to this the pressure on public agencies to maintain their current infrastructure, often with less money, and you begin to understand the importance of the technology transfer challenge. Coordinating with industry, local agencies, SHAs, LTAP and other U.S.DOT technology transfer programs, the PDS provides a new mechanism for overcoming many historic implementation challenges, thus moving a vast number of public agencies much closer to the mainstream of the technological revolution. Of equal importance, this unique program moves participants closer to the model American partnership where each stakeholder gains according to their specific interests, including the taxpayer. Approximately 90 to 120 days are needed to adequately prepare and promote a PDS. |
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