1 Welcome to the Maintenance Decision Support System Stakeholder Meeting Paul Pisano, Team Leader Road Weather Management Federal Highway Administration Washington, DC MDSS Stakeholder Meeting Falls Church, VA August 10-11, 2006

2 Welcome! 8 th MDSS Stakeholder Meeting since 2000 Nearly 90 participants –32 representatives from 28 state DOTs –4 from local DOTs –7 from academic institutions –30 from the private sector representing 20 companies –11 from the U.S. Government –3 from the Canadian Government

3 MDSS: Historical Participation Including: NY State Thruway Authority City of Indianapolis DPW E-470 Public Highway Authority (Denver) District of Columbia DOT City/County of Denver City of Grand Prairie Dallas Area Rapid Transit Participation 2000-Present

MDSS Participation Municipal & Int’l Participants Ontario Ministry of Transportation Environment Canada City of Grand Prairie, TX Dallas Area Rapid Transit City/County of Denver, CO New York State Thruway Authority 2/3 of the snowy states are represented at this meeting

5 Meeting Logistics Mitretek Systems is a secure facility –Check in/Check out at the security desk in the south lobby when entering/exiting the building –Always wear your ID in the building –Your ID limits you to the immediate vicinity of the auditorium and cafeteria –You can access the cafeteria, phones or restrooms at any time, unescorted

6 Building Layout Smoking Area Cafeteria Food Service Auditorium Stair Well Men Women Patio Guard Display Tables To Parking Garage South Entrance Check In Table South Lobby North Lobby To Marriott Elevators phones Access to 2 nd Floor is locked Doors Locked HR Room Coffee lunch

7 Vendor Tables 8 companies will have table top displays in the hallway between the south lobby and the cafeteria during breaks/lunch. 1.Meridian Enviro Tech/SAIC 2.Vaisala, Inc. 3.Boschung America 4.IWAPI, Inc. 5.Int’l Road Technologies 6.ThomTech 7.DTN/Meteorlogix 8.QTT/Surface Systems Inc

8 A Final Word on Logistics Smoking is only permitted in the designated area (access thru cafeteria) Phones are available in food service hall Light refreshments will be available during breaks Cafeteria is open 7am-2pm for additional items 1 hour designated for lunch in the cafeteria – pay for your own

9 Meeting Objectives Continue stakeholder collaboration Provide an update on current MDSS activities, technologies and strategies Promote and encourage the MDSS market through interactive discussions Reduce ambiguities between what the DOTs want and what the market may provide Openly discuss future directions for MDSS

10 FHWA Involvement in MDSS Bring advancements in weather forecasting directly to the surface transportation community Conduct high risk research that neither the states nor private sector would undertake or could afford Develop an open system in a manner that would build a sustainable market for MDSS products & services

11 Questions to Consider (1 of 3) Based on the bullets from the last slide, does the stakeholder community embrace these objectives? If so, is there a need to define what type or types of commercial deployments are envisioned? Is the modular approach to deployment viable or should the system be promoted as an end-to-end service? Is it feasible to promote both?

12 Questions to Consider (2 of 3) Should there be a “common definition” of what constitutes an MDSS (e.g., minimum set of capabilities)? If so, what would they be? What constitutes “success” for MDSS? How significant are outstanding research and science questions for MDSS? How should this be funded?

13 Questions to Consider (3 of 3) Should training materials beyond the current AI/RWIS CBT be considered? Should the extension of DSS functions (e.g., summer maintenance) be pursued under a different model?

14 Session 1 Where are we now? chaired by James Pol