Highway Weather Information Needs & Requirements
description
Transcript of Highway Weather Information Needs & Requirements
Highway Weather Information Needs & Requirements
Paul Pisano
Road Weather Management Coordinator
Federal Highway Administration
4-Step Process
• Step 1 – Information Needs
• Step 2 – Operational Concept Description
• Step 3 – Preliminary Interface Requirements
• Step 4 – Test & Evaluation
Step 1 – Information Needs
• Focus is on decision makers– first understand the information needs of these
users and operators of the transportation system to be able to treat, respond to or cope with weather threats.
• Covered all surface transportation decision makers– 426 needs across 44 decision maker categories
Micro-Scale Meso/Synoptic Synoptic/ClimaticD M#
Need# Warning Operational Planning
1.0 Infrastructure Operators
1.1 Highway maintainer (winter)1.1 control spreader application1.2 control plow1.3 control static (bridge) deicer1.4 observe/report1.5 navigate spreader/plow truck2.1 monitor conditions2.2 prepare2.3 select strategy2.4 assign crews2.5 prepare equipment2.6 activate staff2.7 initial dispatching2.8 contracting2.9 mid-storm management
2.10 cleanup3.1 devise response plan3.2 hire staff3.3 train staff3.4 buy equipment/services3.5 stock stores3.6 budget3.7 schedule seasonal tasks3.8 calibrate treatment controls
Examples of Needs
Decisions
TailoredDecision Support
-----------------filtering, fusion,
presentation
System
requirements
WIST-DSS
Actions
Road Weather Decision Support
(Information Infrastructure)
WeatherServices
Specialized RoadSensors
(ESS)
Communications
Interfacerequirements
Interfacerequirements
OtherITS
Interfacerequirements
Step 2 – Operational Concept Description
• Analyzed winter road maintenance decisions– Originally 10 operational scale decisions– Expanded to 53– Organized into 14 clusters
• Defined essential functions (i.e., system requirements) for the Weather Information for Surface Transportation – Decision Support System (WIST-DSS)
9, 77%
2.I Init. Dispatch
33, 60%
2.F Assign Crews
14, 56%
2.D Prep. Exp.
Time Before Event (Hrs., pseudo logarithmic)
100 030 10 3 -3
41, 40%
2.B Prepare
16, 72%
2.C Get Ready2.E Select Strat.
14, 75%
2.G Prep Equip.2.H Act. Staff
0, 96%
2.K Prime Disp.
3.8, 95%49, 46%
2.A Aware
29
Monitor Detect
Needs: Timing and Confidence
WIST-DSS Essential Functions
Update Clock
Select Context
GenerateScenario
UpdateContext
MonitorConditions
PresentDecision
MakeDecision
conditions_scenario
decision_situation
context_planning
context_parameters
time_local
time_universal
decision_operational
presentation_user
input_user
decision_selector
decision_criteria
scenario_selector
situation_selector
context_operational
decision_file
(to all processes)
context_update
context_selector
query_scenarioresponse_scenario
response_decision
query_decision
Primary InformationInterfaces Computer-Human
Interface
Step 3 – Preliminary Interface Requirements
• Linking decisions to threats• Linking performance threats and environmental
information• Synthesizing the Information Taxonomy
– 212 items necessary to support winter road maintenance decisions
– The 212 items include environmental information, transportation state information, and the treatment asset information.
Examples of taxonomy itemsEnvironmental Information2.1 Operational scale info. to Update Context 2.1.1 Weather 2.1.1.1 Winds 2.1.1.1.1 Wind direction 2.1.1.1.2 Wind speed 2.1.1.1.3 Wind situation 2.1.1.1.4 Maximum wind gust speed 2.1.1.1.5 Maximum wind gust direction 2.1.1.1.6 Stability
Transportation State2.1.5 Surface transportation network status 2.1.5.1 Road network 2.1.5.1.1 Segment characteristics 2.1.5.1.1.1 Traffic density 2.1.5.1.1.2 Traffic speed 2.1.5.1.1.3 Safe speed 2.1.5.1.1.4 Open/closed 2.1.5.1.1.5 Structure condition 2.1.5.1.1.6 Pavement condition (potholes, etc.) 2.1.5.1.1.7 Facility condition 2.1.5.1.1.8 Pavement type 2.1.5.1.1.9 Emissivity 2.1.5.1.1.10 Albedo
Asset Information2.1.4.3 Mobile treatment (crews) 2.1.4.3.1 Status 2.1.4.3.2 Equipment assigned 2.1.4.3.3 Beat completed 2.1.4.3.4 Dispatched beat 2.1.4.3.4.1 Treatment product type 2.1.4.3.4.2 Treatment product form 2.1.4.3.4.3 Percentage of treatment type in mix 2.1.4.3.4.4 Treatment amount 2.1.4.3.4.5 Treatment width
Linking Performance Threats and Environment Information
Performance
Threat
Road Condition
Atmospheric Condition
Threats most relevant to winter road maintenance treatment: Loss of traction
frozen precipitation on surface surface freezing (black ice)
temperature humidity precipitation (type, rate) winds/stability cloud cover insolation
Impaired plowing
snow/ice bonding (incl. surface freezing)
(all factors in surface freezing) precipitation (type, especially liquid content)
Lane obstruction
snow accumulation snow/freeze-related blowdown, slides and meltoff
winds severe storms precipitation (type, rate, history) icing (trees, wire lines) temperature (change rates, history)
Step 4 – Test & Evaluation
• Iterative development of operational systems• “Observing-to-outcome” chain
– Quantifying the relationships between performance improvements and environmental information quality
– Quality of decision support (Where’s the bottleneck?)
• Foretell evaluation – 1st comprehensive evaluation of the entire chain