ITS in Academics

ITS University Workshop #5
November 8-9, 2017 | Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia

Day 2 Presentation | November 9, 2017

National Operations Center of Excellence

Presenter: Patrick Son
Presenter’s Org: National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE)

HTML version of the presentation
Image descriptions are contained in brackets. [ ]

<< Return to Workshop Files

The slides in this presentation include the NOCoE | National Operations Center of Excellence logo.

Slide 1: National Operations Center of Excellence

Patrick Son, P.E.
Managing Director

Steven Lavrenz, Ph.D.
Technical Services Manager

[This slide contains three photos of meetings and workshops.]

Slide 2: Our Vision & Mission

Vision:
Provide exceptional services to the transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) community to save lives, reduce congestion, and enhance economic vitality
Mission:
Empower the TSMO community to succeed by enhancing knowledge, skills, and abilities
Founding Partners:
AASHTO, ITE, ITS America, FHWA

Slide 3: Genesis of the Summit

Workforce capabilities are recognized as an increasingly crucial component of realizing the potential of new ITS technology and TSMO applications
September 2015: NOCoE charged with focusing on TSMO workforce development as the centerpiece of its first strategic work program and Annual summit

Slide 4: Current State of the Industry

Three White Papers in advance of the Summit addressed the following areas:

Institutional context for TSMO in transportation agencies
Professional Capacity Building Needs vs. Available Resources
Recruitment, Retention and Career Development

https://transportationops.org/publications/summit-white-papers-1-2-3

Slide 5: Issues for the Summit to Address

Competencies, Education and Training:

Pre-employment education aimed at producing TSMO generalists
Pre-employment education aimed at producing key TSMO-related technical specialists
Position and qualifications specifications (KSAs)
Employment training programs

Recruitment, Retention and Career Development:

Keeping pace with emerging trends in technology/skills
Recruitment
Career development
Retaining top performers

Slide 6: TSMO Workforce Implementation Plan

Develop a repository of Position Descriptions, KSA and Best Practices for TSMO workforce recruitment, retention and career development – Currently underway
Pre-employment education aimed at producing both TSMO generalists and specialists with key support capabilities – Currently underway
Post-hiring education aimed at producing TSMO professionals with key support capabilities – Currently underway
Develop a strategy to elevate TSMO as a core transportation function (Institutionalization of TSMO) – Currently planning

Slide 7: TSMO Workforce Implementation Plan

1. NCHRP 20-7 Project 408 – Started

Transportation System Management and Operations (TSMO) Workforce: Skills, Positions, Recruitment, Retention, and Career Development
Panel selected consultant in July, work scheduled to start soon
15 month project, completion fall 2018
Project Scope and deliverables
- Existing education programs and best practices for recruiting & retention
- Position descriptions
- KSA development
- Strategic Management Framework for recruitment & retention
- TSMO Workforce Guidebook

Slide 8: TSMO Workforce Implementation Plan

2. Pre-employment education aimed at producing both TSMO generalists and specialists with key support capabilities

Convene a forum of transportation agencies, private sector and educators
- What are the key constraints facing educators in offering TSMO related material and successes in overcoming
- What has been the experience of university-based entities providing technical support to DOTs?
- Identify key opportunities for community college, undergraduate and graduate professional education to support content both for TSMO generalists (interdisciplinary) and TSM&O-related specialist disciplines
- Identify pilot efforts that NOCoE engage in to support and promote examples of effective per-employment/hiring TSMO education and training
November 8th: VTTI, Cal Berkley/PATH, Florida International, U of M, South Florida, Washtenaw Community College, University of Memphis & Oregon State as participants

Slide 9: TSMO Workforce Implementation Plan

2. Pre-employment education aimed at producing both TSMO generalists and specialists with key support capabilities

K-12 STEM, understanding Transportation as a career pathway beyond bus drivers
Industry internships that integrate classroom learning to last more than 1 semester/quarter
Compile, prioritize and identify various actions that NOCoE can do
Create a space on our website to share what activities are going on to coordinate with all our partners

Slide 10: TSMO Workforce Implementation Plan

3. Post-hiring education for producing TSMO Professionals

Review current practices for TSMO training
Define an appropriate training “program” and identify elements for all KSAs for both hard and soft skills
Inventory and create a repository in the NOCOE EKTS for all existing training materials by topic and identify key gaps in available training for function/position function KSAs
Develop a modular model training program that addresses any gaps

Develop project approach that coordinates and avoids duplication

ITS JPO, FHWA, NCHRP 20-7 (408), National Network for the Transportation Workforce (NNTW), Career Pathways initiatives, Transportation Workforce Centers

https://transportationops.org/publications/nocoe-2016-workforce-summit-proceedings-and-implementation-plan-final

Slide 11: 2018 TRB Student Competition

Joint NOCoE & TRB competition leading up to TRB Annual Meeting
Students submit an e-Portfolio around recent projects/examples of work in TSMO
Portfolios should be dynamic, engaging, reflect current and future areas of TSMO work/research
Two winning individuals will receive funding for travel to TRB Annual Meeting
Submittal deadline: November 1^st, 2017
RECEIVED 21 e-Portfolios!!

Slide 12: “NOCoE/ITS-JPO Student Competition”

Student team competition to showcase using ITS for real-world TSMO problems
Students are asked to solve real-world problems from DOTs
Live competition at 2018 ITE Annual Meeting (Minneapolis)
Task force organized by ITS PCB Academic Team
- NOCoE: competition information host, provide materials, coordinate judging
- ITE: host live competition, assist in judging, advertisement
- ITS America: Assist in judging, advertisement
- AASHTO: Assist in judging, advertisement
- Regional/Local DOTs: Assist in judging, provide problem statements

Slide 13: Questions?

Patrick Son, P.E., Managing Director
pson@transportationops.org

Steven Lavrenz, Ph.D., Technical Services Manager
slavrenz@transportationops.org

www.transportationops.org

[This slide contains a screenshot of the NOCoE website home page.]

↑ Return to top