1. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 26 Potential for Improvement Additional data –Accidents concerning guardrail –Citizen complaints –Observations of resident engineers –Expansion of guardrail catalog Use a consistent, reproducible method

2. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 27 Prototype Information System Getting-started and introductory worksheets –Allows user to familiarize themselves with the system Data entry forms –Include original and new data types

3. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 28 Prototype Information System (cont.) Definitions worksheet –Defines column headings for data entry Summary statistics and visualization –Instantly updated when new data is entered –Future possibilities when more data is available

4. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 29 Summary Worksheet

5. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 30 Percent Guardrails Needing Improvement, by Number

6. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 31 Percent Guardrails Needing Improvement, by Length

7. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 32 Coverage of Guardrails vs. Accidents Bubble size is DVMT

8. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 33 Benefits Prototype gives VDOT an information system to assist in corridor evaluation Decisions will be more consistent and defensible Knowledge of resident engineers stored electronically for future analysts Foundation for continuous improvement

9. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 34 Recommendations Start recording more data Begin to keep records of decisions Continue to investigate uses for a Geographic Information System (GIS)

10. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 35 Multiple Objectives in the Selection Among Candidate Sites

11. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 36 Motivation What candidate sites should have installation or upgrade of guardrail within a budget constraint

12. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 37 Features of Evaluation Method Selects locations for installation or upgrade Starts with candidate hazards, e.g. along a single corridor Explores various objective functions and constraints Implemented in Excel spreadsheet for VDOT Residencies

13. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 38 Potential guardrail sites Candidate Sites

14. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 39 Data Needs

15. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 40 Vehicle miles per day Severity miles (product of severity and length) Severity vehicle miles (calculated from severity, length, and ADT) Location Installation/upgrade costs Factors Used in Evaluation

16. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 41 Severity of Hazard AASHTO Roadside Design Guide (1996) –Slope –Curvature –Speed –Size of hazard –Nature of hazard –Other obstacles Leads to a numerical scale between 1 and 10

17. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 42 Objectives of Guardrail Selection

18. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 43 Overview of Example Select among the ten candidate sites Maximize miles of road protected Subject to cost total cost < $30,000

19. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 44 Calculated Attributes of Each Site

20. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 45 Example (cont.) Total length protected: 0.3 miles Total cost: $29,750 Optimal sites to fund

21. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 46 Comparison of Solutions Solutions can be compared to show the consistency of need at a location Budget constraint kept constant Example: –Locations 3, 6, and 8 are recommended by all models

22. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 47 Comparison of Solutions (cont.)

23. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 48 Comparison of Solutions (cont.)

24. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 49 Comparison of Solutions (cont.)

25. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 50 Summary Used subsequent to screening The spreadsheet provides multiple ways to select sites under the budget constraints Comparing different solutions reveals the locations most appropriate for installation or upgrade

26. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 51 Software Demonstrations

27. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 52 Web Site http://www.virginia.edu/~risk/guardrail Public reference for guardrails and treatment of issue Communication between VDOT and UVA/VTRC team

28. Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems University of Virginia, Charlottesville 53 Web Site (cont.) Purpose Guardrail photos Presentations Project team Contact information Related links Software downloads