# Presentation: 723157

## 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

## Examples of Needs

**Examples of Needs**

## Key Organizing Concept:

**meso **

**(minutes-6 hrs.)**

**synoptic **

**(6 hrs.-week)**

**climatic **

**(weeks+)**

**micro **

**(current-minutes)**

**use caution **

**route/diversion **

**time/break **

**go/no-go **

**load manage **

**protect work/stock **

**set signals **

**set & issue warnings **

**close/open/restrict routes **

**respond to emer. call **

**report calls/threats**

**trip mode **

**veh. equipage/prep **

**trip route/time **

**destination **

**inquire/search **

**dispatching  **

**event decisions **

**schedule jobs **

**harvest/plant **

**emer. resource readiness **

**triage **

**bring assets online **

**protect work/stock **

**treat vuln. **

**plow/salt/drain **

**warn/evacuate **

**suppress emissions**

**work schedules **

**store/ship **

**budget **

**order stock/goods **

**design facilities **

**locate facilities **

**provide capacity **

**provide backup **

**allocate land uses **

**allocate transport **

**Key Organizing Concept:**
**Information and Decision Scales**

**“****Warning”**

**“****Operations”**

**“****Planning”**

## Road Weather Decision Support

**Road Weather Decision Support**

## 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)

## Needs: Timing and Confidence

**33, 60%**

**2.F Assign Crews**

**Needs: Timing and Confidence**

## WIST-DSS Essential Functions

**WIST-DSS Essential Functions**

## 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 items

- Environmental Information
- 2.1	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 State
- 2.1.5	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 Information
- 2.1.4.3	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

**Linking Performance Threats and Environment Information**

## 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