Jennifer Symoun
Good afternoon or good morning to those of you to the West. Welcome to the Talking Freight Seminar Series. My name is Jennifer Symoun and I will moderate today's seminar. Today's topic is Advancing a Foundational Component of USDOT's Smart Roadside Initiative - National Standards and Specifications for WIM technology.
Before I go any further, I do want to let those of you who are calling into the teleconference for the audio know that you need to mute your computer speakers or else you will be hearing your audio over the computer as well.
Today we'll have four presenters - Tom Kearney of the Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations, Dan Middleton of the Texas Transportation Institute, Tina Butcher of NIST, Weights and Measures Division; and Will Schaefer, Director of Vehicle Programs for CVSA.
Tom joined the Federal Highway Administration in February, 2000. After serving for seven years as a Statewide Planner in the New York Division Office, Tom joined the Office of Freight Management and Operations in May, 2007, and currently serves as Freight Operations Program Manager. He also manages FHWA's Truck Parking Program. Tom has helped deliver the National Highway Institute's training course entitled Highway Program Financing since 2001 and further supports NHI serving as a Master Instructor. Prior to joining FHWA, Tom worked fourteen years at New York State Department of Transportation working in a variety of transportation planning related work areas.
Dan Middleton is the Program Manager of the System Monitoring Program at the Texas Transportation Institute. He is responsible for developing research programs related to the use of microprocessor-based systems and testing state-of-the-art sensors of various types for monitoring vehicular characteristics. The sensors include a variety of non-intrusive and intrusive technologies. Weigh-in-motion represents a significant component of this research. TTI is providing technical support to the Federal Highway Administration on the current project, "Integration of weigh-in-motion technology into NIST's Handbook 44".
Tina Butcher joined the staff of the Office of Weights and Measures of the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) in 1987. With the exception of developmental assignments in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program and the NIST Director's Office, Tina has spent the bulk of her time at NIST working in the area of legal metrology device technology. She managed the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) from 1994 to 2000 and has served as Group Leader to the Legal Metrology Devices Group from 1994 to present. Tina has served as editor of NIST Handbook 44 and as technical advisor to the NCWM Specifications and Tolerances Committee, the NTETC Measuring Sector, and a variety of other task forces and committees such as NCWM Liaison Committee, the NCWM Task Force on Safety, and the NCWM Task Force on Energy Allocation.
Will Schaefer has worked for 12 years in commercial vehicle safety and environmental regulatory policy at the federal and state levels, starting in the engineering department for the American Trucking Associations, followed by a year with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and seven years with the Truck Manufacturers Association, where he supported the TMA Brake Committee. In 2008 he joined engineering and management consulting firm New West Technologies before starting in December of 2010 with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. He is a 14-year member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Today's seminar will last 90 minutes, with 60 minutes allocated for the speakers, and the final 30 minutes for audience Question and Answer. If during the presentations you think of a question, you can type it into the chat area. Please make sure you send your question to "Everyone" and indicate which presenter your question is for. Presenters will be unable to answer your questions during their presentations, but I will start off the question and answer session with the questions typed into the chat box. If we run out of time and are unable to address all questions we will attempt to get written responses from the presenters to the unanswered questions.
The PowerPoint presentations used during the seminar are available for download from the file download box in the lower right corner of your screen. The presentations will also be available online within the next few weeks, along with a recording and a transcript. I will notify all attendees once these materials are posted online.
One final note: Talking Freight seminars are eligible for 1.5 certification maintenance credits for AICP members. In order to obtain credit for today's seminar, you must have logged in with your first and last name or if you are attending with a group of people you must type your first and last name into the chat box. I have included more detailed instructions in the file share box on how to obtain your credits after the seminar. Please also download the evaluation form from the file share box and submit this form to me after you have filled it out.
We're now going to go ahead and get started. Today's topic, for those of you who just joined us, is Advancing a Foundational Component of USDOT's Smart Roadside Initiative - National Standards and Specifications for WIM technology. As a reminder, if you have questions during the presentation please type them into the chat box and they will be answered in the last 30 minutes of the seminar. Our first presenter will be Tom Kearney of the Federal Highway Administration Office of Freight Management and Operations. There are no slides accompanying this presentation.
Tom Kearney
Thank you, Jennifer. I think we won the award for the longest titles in Talking Freight this year. I know this topic is not a topic that a lot of the participants bump into on a regular basis so I thought it would be a really good session to make our freight community partners aware of this very important initiative that is underway. I it appreciate the time that Dan, Tina and Will have taken from their schedule to share information with our stakeholders. Weigh-in-motion is a key technology that Federal Highway is looking at as an integral part of virtual weigh station concepts which lead to the Smart Roadside Initiative. The Smart Roadside Initiative is a collaborative partnership between Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with their regulatory statutory interest in regulating truck activities. Federal Highway Administration does have oversight responsibility of weight limits that apply to trucks traveling on the interstate highways. WIM is included in this is the palette of technology to within the wireless road inspection program as an integral part of the virtual weigh station concept being supported by Federal Highway Administration. These activities come together under Smart Roadside. Weigh in motion was embraced in Europe in the 1990s and 2000s underneath the research framework project called COST323. Since the standard for weigh in motion had been considered to be adopted as standard specification in Europe, our European partners are still working on that. To support enforcement in the use of the tool to make informed decisions of pulling of pulling vehicles out of the travel stream, providing minimal disruption to travel and to the supply chain as we pull the vehicles of interest that need closer inspection. With the growth of truck VMT these past few years, although we had the economic downtown, we are watching and hope for economic recovery in the United States. Truck VMT will be an indicator of that recovery and the growth in travel. To support our enforcement community's interest regulating truck weight, weigh in motion technology is seen as a key technology. To complete the package for enforcement and complete the package of specifications for weigh in motion, standards and technology series of guidebooks, in this case Handbook 44. An effort is underway supported by Federal Highway to explore the feasibility in develop code for consideration to modify the handbook and get weigh in motion standards and specifications provided in the handbook. So that the officer has a good reason to tell the judge why he pulled one driver over instead of another
With that, I would like to introduce Dr. Dan Middleton with the Texas Transportation Institute, our principal investigator to help run this project on the day to day basis.
Dan Middleton
Thank you, Tom. For those of you not familiar with Handbook 44, I realize Tina will be talking about that, but one of the key thoughts that struck me is that the basic goal of Handbook 44 is uniformity and design testing, installation, and performance of projects like WIM technology and subsequently, showing prosecution agencies the validity of WIM technology. The project overview is shown here. I will talk about the motivation and some of the objectives, the technical approach, and the working group that has been established. It is a group of stakeholders who are helping us make the right decisions and giving us guidance. I will talk about the WIM standards. Finally, I will talk about next steps that are on the immediate horizon.
On the motivation, Tom mentioned that we are projecting high truck traffic growth as time goes on, even accelerated growth in trucks. We have limited enforcement resources to deal with motor carrier enforcement, including compliant carriers. In the past, we have spent a fair amount of effort on carriers that are compliant and those which are weight-compliant is less than 1% of those are in need of being weighed. We need a tool do we can use such as weigh in motion to separate out those that are compliant in the weight aspect from those who may not be.
There is inconsistent use of the technology that is available, including WIM, to support the enforcement activities. This leads to a compromised quality aspect and a lack of trust or confidence in the technology over time. There is a lack of coordination and shared technology and data exchange within agencies which includes enforcement, transportation, prosecution, regulatory agencies that adds to the enforcement cost. We like to see agencies working together and sharing data. We've seen ineffective penalties and prosecution procedures that encourage rather than discourage overloading as a routine business practice within the industry. Finally, we are experiencing the use of performance measures that are focused on citations issued rather than based on reduction in overloading. We want to get that right. We want to use the right metrics to measure success. There is growing consensus among motor vehicle enforcement agencies at the state and federal levels that we need to rely on key technologies such as WIM technology. This is being advanced at the state level and ongoing Federal Highway Administration initiatives. Tom has mentioned the Smart Roadside Initiative and there are others like virtual weight stations and CVISN. Those are all the technology side of what we are in the midst of here.
I want to talk a little bit about the Smart Roadside Initiative. This will be achieved through the application of operable technologies and information sharing between in-vehicle, on the road, and freight facility systems. Again, weigh in motion fits well and is a key component as we move forward in this activity. I mentioned the objective for the study is to develop a proposed amendment to the Handbook 44 related to WIM technology
We are not proposing to use WIM for direct enforcement. We think we can improve on what is being done and what is going pretty well in a lot of cases but feel like we can make some improvements. I might also mention every state adopts the handbook in some form although they don't adopt every update. They might wait for a couple of years before they adopt a new handbook, but at that point it becomes a law in their state.
On the technical approach we have carved out five tasks in the project that we are working on. The first three are basically complete. We developed the project work plan. Task 2 was to develop a working group, which we have already done. It is a group of stakeholders. Task 3 is to solicit stakeholder input. The kickoff meeting happened July 28, 2011. Task 4, which is forthcoming, is to develop a draft WIM scale code which will be disseminated and discussed and has the content shown here. Of those points beginning with Definition, Application, etc. we think the working group will probably be of most value in the User Requirements of the draft WIM code. We will start with what we already have; it will be based on stakeholder input and use the guidance provided there. Starting with the existing standards and specifications that will come not just from the United States, but from elsewhere as Tom mentioned. We have a great deal of interest from our overseas partners and we will be listening to them as well. We don't want to forget expert guidance from this staff. Supporting documentation will be provided at the end of our project.
Let me talk a little bit about the working group charter which we've established for the working group. That involves the member roles, who the members might be, representation and the roles and responsibilities of each. Two categories of members were established early on--participating members and observing members. Participating members can vote in all decisions whereas observing members do not vote. They might be Federal Highway staff or non-United States participants in the working group. Today we have 39 members in this working group so it is a fairly large group. Again, only participating members have voting privileges in the proceedings. We've established rules of order for voting and making decisions within the group. It will be orderly, and move methodically as decisions need to be made. We've established a communication and information exchange in terms of how do we communicate this with this large group and make that efficient and timely for all those involved so that everyone can respond and have good exchange in the process. The representation of the working group is categorized in this slide. I will not read all of these, but you can see the major groups that should be involved in this process are actually involved here. We have 39 total members represented in this group. We have state DOTs, law enforcement, etc. We think we have the right groups involved here to make this process move smoothly. I mentioned earlier that we will start by considering existing WIM standards. If you're familiar with any of these, you are probably familiar with the first one E1318-09. We will use it as background material to build on as well as some other documents that are listed here and some that are not. We are aware of a European standard that will be made available soon that we will consider as well.
Finally, the next steps for the working group and the overall project in general are proceedings from the kickoff meeting will be forwarded to this panel. We began drafting the proposed WIM scale code based on some of the documents that I mentioned and soliciting input from the working group members. We are planning and conducting a second working group meeting which will be upcoming in the next few weeks. We will identify WIM system User Requirements and discuss that as we go. I will just close with my contact information in case anyone needs it.
Jennifer Symoun
Thank you, Dan. We will get to the questions at the end of the webinar. I will now turn it over to Tina Butcher at the NIST Weight and Measures Division.
Tina Butcher
Good afternoon everyone. Dan has talked to you about a document called NIST Handbook 44. I have been asked to give you an idea on how a code for WIM may be included in that handbook. In today's presentation I am going to touch on the objectives of the work group that Dan had mentioned in his presentation. I will give you some information about the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and then I will give insight into NIST Handbook 44 including its purpose, scope, how it is adopted and organized, and then how a code would be developed that might also be included in Handbook 44. I will finish by explaining how we would propose an adoption of requirements for weigh-in-motion devices into Handbook 44.
To give you an idea of the overarching objective we are looking at, the Federal Highway Administration has developed the workgroup that Dan mentioned to draft a new weigh-in-motion Scales Code which would be used to pre-select and screen vehicles on a commercial highway weight enforcement applications. I've been asked to give you an overview of what that process might look like and to explain what the handbook itself is.
Before we get started I want to give you a background on who we are. NIST is a non-regulatory agency of the US Department of Commerce. The National Bureau of Standards was our name up until about 1988 when our responsibilities were expanded and we were renamed the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Weights and Measures Division has a legal responsibility to promote uniform standards of weights and measures within the United States to facilitate commerce, as we are part of the Department of Commerce. The United States Constitution gives Congress the charge of fixing the standard of weights and measures. That is another way of saying that we want standards used in commerce to be the same no matter what state or location you're in. Congress has delegated that responsibility to the Secretary of Commerce who has delegated the responsibility to NIST. NIST has charged the Weights and Measures Division with the task of trying to get uniform standards of weights and measures across the country. We are authorized to work in cooperation with the states and the private sector through the Organic Act to develop uniform laws, regulations, requirements, and test procedures. One of the things that we do to promote that uniformity is to publish a document titled NIST Handbook 44. We publish this document on an annual basis. Handbook 44 is a comprehensive set of requirements for weighing and measuring devices that are used in commerce as well as law enforcement. A goal of Handbook 44 is to try to eliminate any weighing or measuring device that will give inaccurate results or that could be used to facilitate fraud so that the buyer doesn't receive what he or she has paid for or the seller doesn't receive fair payment for goods and services. Handbook 44 has a very long history. As a little bit of trivia, when we were known as NBS, one of our first publications was NBS Miscellaneous Publication Number 1. This publication was a precursor to what is now called Handbook number 44. In 1949, it first appeared as Handbook 44. It was periodically updated after that time, but kept the name "Handbook 44," which it still does today.
With regard to what Handbook 44 covers, this is outlined in the "General Code" section of the handbook in a paragraph called "G-A1." This tells you what Handbook 44 does and does not apply to. The General Code applies to any device that is used in commercial service. By commercial we mean if you have a weighing or measuring device that is used to buy or sell commodities like bread or apples or anything by weight or measure. It is also used for devices that are used to determine the charge for a service that is rendered based on a weight or measure. For example, a taxi meter. It also applies to any accessory to a commercial device such as a cash register, printer, scanner or service station console. One point of interest is it applies to devices used in law enforcement. As an example, a wheel-load weigher, axle-load scale, or a single- or multi-load platform vehicle scale used in law enforcement purposes; those are covered in Handbook 44.
This slide shows Handbook 44 requirements. Because NIST is not a regulatory agency, the requirements in Handbook 44 do not have the force and effect of law until they are adopted into the law and regulation of the state or local jurisdiction or another federal agency. Handbook 44 requirements are based upon proposals developed through another organization called the National Conference on Weights and Measures or "NCWM." The NCWM is a private, nonprofit organization that was established by NIST back in 1905. The NCWM brings together regulatory officials who enforce weight and measures requirements, manufacturing companies, parties that use weighing and measuring equipment, and anybody else that might have an interest in developing standards that would apply to weighing and measuring equipment or packaged products. The National Conference was first established by NIST to try to get those parties together, with the idea that if everybody could agree upon a single standard, it might encourage uniform adoption and implementation in individual states. The way the NCWM works is that only regulatory officials can vote on proposals. Those regulatory officials that would go back into their respective jurisdiction and adopt a particular handbook like Handbook 44. While regulatory officials are the only ones that can vote on the proposals, any member or any interested party can provide input and comment on any proposal put forward to the NCWM.
As to how Handbook 44 becomes a regulatory document, most states adopt the document through reference in their weights and measures law. NIST publishes another handbook called Handbook 130, which includes a model set of weights and measures laws and regulations. Many states will adopt section 4 of that handbook as a tool by which they will reference Handbook 44. Dan also mentioned that some states will adopt an earlier version of Handbook 44. The current edition is 2011, but many jurisdictions are following an earlier version. That typically has to do with how they adopt the handbook in their particular jurisdiction. Some states will incorporate the handbook into regulation through their administrative procedures process; this process is not used frequently because it is a cumbersome process and could take a couple of years to do. With regard to this community, some states adopt the document by reference to their transportation law. There are some highway weight and enforcement agencies that have adopted Handbook 44 as they apply to highway applications. Handbook 44 has been adopted by all states, not necessarily the same version for commercial weighing and measuring applications. This was one of the things that attracted the Federal Highway Administration to use Handbook 44 as a starting point; because it is still widely used and disseminated, and it might be a good focal point for people to get a document and regulation in place that would meet the needs of all the parties that are affected by it.
Inside of Handbook 44, there is an "Introduction" section at the beginning. The Introduction section tells you a little bit about how tolerances are developed, how proposals are put forward for consideration. It will give you an overview of how the handbook is organized and applied and contact information. The technical content in the document lies largely in the general code which applies to all devices regardless to whether it is a taxi meter, vehicle scale, a gas pump, the "General Code" applies to all wait and measuring equipment covered in the scope of Handbook 44. The specific codes apply to individual classes or types of devices, for example, there is a single code which applies to liquid measuring devices. At the end of the handbook, there are a number of appendices which include the section called "Fundamental Considerations." This is where you can find things like the theory of the tolerances that are in Handbook 44; the kind of inspection equipment needs to be used to verify accuracy; the kind of action might be taken against the device that is found to be out of compliance, etc. In addition, there are conversion tables in the back which include information on how to convert from metric to the customary system as well as definitions for terminology.
If we're looking at the weigh-in-motion project, is interesting to note how Handbook 44 is organized with regards to individual codes. As mentioned earlier section 1 includes the "General Code" which applies to all devices. Section 2 is the section that we are particularly interested in for weigh-in-motion work. This section includes codes for scales, belt conveyor scales, motion scales such as automatic weighing systems, and so on. We are thinking that this might be the most logical section to target for the weigh-in-motion code. The remaining sections apply to other device types such as measuring devices and capacity measures. Section 2 is probably where we'll end up looking when it comes time to including a weigh-in-motion code.
Within each code in the handbook there are other sections that will be of interest to you as you see the weigh-in-motion handbook requirements develop. In section "A. Application," you will see codes designated with the letter "A." Any code that has a designation of an "A" in front of it refers to the application of that code. It will tell you what device type that code applies to and also what device it does not apply to. It will tell you right up front whether a particular code that you're looking at applies to the device you are using.
Any code designation that starts out with a letter "S" refers to specifications for the device. The "Specifications" relate to the design of the equipment, how it is put together, how the unit of measure is presented, whether there needs to be a printer, and so on. The Specifications are directed primarily to the manufacturer of the device, but these paragraphs are also important to the regulatory official who has to enforce them. The must have an understanding of them to make sure they're applying them correctly. Even the user may want to take a look at the sections because that will explain an application and whether the device is designed to meet the particular needs they have.
The "N" section or the "Notes" section applies to the official testing of devices. Here is where requirements are laid out for devices to be tested for accuracy or other performance related testing.
The next section is the "T" section or the "Tolerances" section. The Tolerances section will fix the limits of allowable error. This is the section that tells you how accurate a device has to be to be considered acceptable.
The "UR" section includes information on "User Requirements." This applies to selection of the scale or measuring device, how it is installed, any caveat or restriction on how the devices to be used and maintained. These are directed to the owner operator, but they should be of interest to the inspector. The inspector needs to make sure that the users are following these requirements. The manufacturer has to be aware of them to make sure that the design meets up with the final intended use and application.
With regard to the Federal Highway Administration Weigh-in-Motion Working Group, the code will be developed along the line that Dan had mentioned. The starting point would be to develop a draft of the code as a starting point for everybody to look at. As Dan mentioned, that has been developed and will be distributed. In keeping with the idea that we would like to see this ultimately end up as a Handbook 44 code, the draft follows the Handbook 44 format. The first task is to agree and to define the scope of that new code. As you recall, I mentioned the A section of the code of the application section that is the part of the code that will define what will not be included within the proposed code. That will be the first tack that the workgroup needs to take on. Following that, each of the remaining code sections that I mentioned, Specification, Notes, Tolerances and User Requirements will need to be developed. The overall approach that the workgroup needs to take is the approach we typically take when a new code is being developed in Handbook 44. This is to take a draft or "straw man" and refine it through an iterative process where we get input from people who would be affected by the code. The idea is not to reinvent the wheel, but to build upon any current state of knowledge that exists in a particular community, in this case the weigh-in-motion scales system standard. Dan mentioned ASTM 1318 as something that will be particularly useful for the working group. If we ultimately want to see the document in Handbook 44, it is desirable that we follow the format and content requirement so that it will fit nicely into that document in the end. The iterative process would include getting input from stakeholders, discussing any issues that would arise from that input, making modifications to the draft, and achieving consensus that the draft would reflect and support input that had been it obtained. The process may go on until the workgroup achieves a point where they feel like they have a consensus on the final draft code.
Once the workgroup has finished developing a final draft code, then comes the part about trying to get it adopted into Handbook 44. Earlier, I mentioned the organization called the National Conference on Weights and Measures; it is an organization that is made up of weights and measures officials, manufacturers of equipment, users, etc. That organization has to be approached with the proposed code to see if it can be included in that handbook. There is an established process and under that process a proposal has to be supported by at least one regional weights and measures association. If it is supported, it can advance to the national level. At the national level, there is an organizational called the NCWM Specifications and Tolerances (S&T) Committee. That committee reviews and makes recommendations to either continue to develop the proposal, retain as informational, put it forward for a vote or withdraw it. Those decisions are made based upon input that is received in open hearings and in writing. There are opportunities to provide input as the code is being developed. As a point of information, we've advanced an item to the committee just to get it on their radar screen that the Weigh-in-Motion Work Group has been established and is working on a draft that they hope to ultimately bring back to the National Conference on Weights and Measures for consideration.
In summary, the agency that I work for, National Institute of Standard and Technology publishes Handbook 44 to promote uniformity. It has been widely adopted for commercial weights and measures application. It was seen as a good starting point for an effort undertaken by a Federal Highway Administration Weigh-in-Motion Work Group. The idea is that the Work Group would actively seek input from stakeholders in the weights and measures community including officials, manufacturers, users, and the others who have an interest. The final draft code would be submitted to the NCWM for consideration with the opportunity for additional comment through that forum.
I will wrap it up with that. I understand we will have some questions at the end at which time I will be glad to answer any that you may have. Thank you.
Jennifer Symoun
Thank you, Tina. Our finer presentation will be given by Will Schaefer, Director of Vehicle Program at CVSA.
Will Schaefer
Thank you for the introduction. I want to give a perspective of our state members. Many of whom are weigh in motion equipment users. This will be a little bit about why it is important for standardization to occur and why standardization in Handbook 44 would be a good outcome for weigh in motion. I want to give a little background about whom we are and that will help to illustrate our perspective.
In the United States our federal regulations in transportation are implemented and enforced by the states. States have the flexibility to also regulate. There is opportunity for inconsistency from state to state. Our organization was formed in 1982 in an effort to bring uniformity between states of those regulations and enforcement. Our organization brings to its membership the state agencies who conduct commercial vehicle enforcement as well as associate members who are both industry and other outside groups, academia, insurance, law firms, engineering, etc. Our principal members are state agencies that do commercial vehicle enforcement. Their perspective on weigh in motion comes from this. Our principal mission is to promote vehicle safety and security. That said, our state members have a significant undertaking in the US. There is federal funding for commercial vehicle enforcement, and it is matched by state contributions. Our organization includes membership from Canada and Mexico, but today I'm speaking on the United States experience from those agencies.
Part of the challenge is we have 2.5 million roadway miles in the United States, 700,000 or so motor carriers. Perhaps a little less than that number, but it is a large number of carriers. We have 12,000 certified inspectors across the US. In order to cover those number of vehicles for the miles that are covered, we inspectors need tools to help them conduct their and enforcement activities.
You will note in the lower right-hand side there are 33,000 fatalities on highways and a little over 3,000 involve large trucks. That is the lowest since data has been recorded. The fatalities have been coming down, but the number of vehicles it is going to continue to rise. Through 2008, we had 9 million registered large trucks. This is vehicles 10,000 pounds GVW or more. It means that the issue of enforcement will continue to be an increasing challenge. With vehicle miles traveled you can see this illustrates the current day traffic flow. Projections are that traffic will increase. Things such as weigh in motion as a tool will be indispensable.
We need these tools at our disposal. The Smart Roadside Initiative was mentioned earlier by Tom. We are actively engaged in supporting that. It is a multi-year, multi-agency effort to develop and demonstrate some of these tools that enforcement can use. Weigh in motion is integral to the Smart Roadside and Initiative. Why is weigh in motion important? We can look at a snapshot of 2007 inspection data. These are the top 20 driver violations for the calendar year 2007. Size and weight violations in terms of volume of violations issued are second only to local laws such as speeding. Local law violations are first, but the second is size and weight. The states are charged with enforcing the safety of vehicles, the public, and the infrastructure and the investment in that infrastructure. It is not only the security aspect of our nation's highways and the element that adds to enforcement.
Weigh in motion when properly used and in a standardized manner, provides a very useful screening tool to commercial vehicle enforcement at the state level. I have to state examples that I wanted to bring to the discussion. Washington State has weigh in motion experience in which they have 12 way stations, four ports of entry, and internal ports, and seven internal scales all using weigh in motion. Their systems use weigh in motion as a screening tool and that includes the vehicles equipped with transponders that can be read by a transponder reader, a unique vehicle identification, a license plate reader, engages in that interaction. The motor carrier safety rating is check through vehicle when motion system. Weights are compared to the manifest. Outlier vehicles can be directed to the weigh station for static weighing for enforcement purposes. That makes it a very helpful tool in the arsenal of the state commercial vehicle enforcement.
Here are a couple of images of the systems in use. Washington's experience is that 5% accuracy suggests that it is not directly used for enforcement, but it is used for screening. And helps them multiply the resources that the state can put into that enforcement. I wanted to note that in Washington State the implementation was a joint effort by the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Department of Transportation. The Washington State DOT installs all equipment and the Washington State Patrol is responsible for maintaining and conducting enforcement
Wisconsin has a similar experience. Wisconsin State Patrol and Department of Transportation worked together to establish the state's coordinated safety and weight enforcement program. The methods and equipment are similar to Washington. The key element is that it is a tool that can be used as long as it is maintained and needs some standardization. That helps illustrate the need for standardization in overall weigh in motion systems. Both Washington and Wisconsin have reported positive experience using these technologies. They think it's a useful tool. Wisconsin makes a note that maintenance of the equipment is crucial for confirming that they are operating correctly down the road.
Just a few conclusions or observations, we see a correlation between enforcement and safety performance of motor carriers. The weigh in motion systems help us use that or conduct those inspections more efficiently. It helps enforcement target those motor carriers and vehicle that need attention. It also enables greater throughput of vehicles for enforcement purposes. We see weigh in motion as a cost effective for safety. I believe we will have question and answer following this. Thank you very much.
Jennifer Symoun
Thank you, Will. We will start the question and answer session with the questions posted online. We have plenty of time. Will, we have a question for you. Are all of these weigh in motion systems in Wisconsin and Washington load cell weigh in motion?
Will Schaefer
I believe, I do not have that at my fingertips, but I can look into that I provide an answer off-line if that is okay.
J. Symoun
Sure, that is fine. We will go back up to the top. Most of these came up during Tina's presentation, but anyone feel free to answer. True or false, weigh in motion is not used for enforcement purposes?
Tina Butcher
I don't think I can really answer this right now. There is no weigh-in-motion requirement for highway weight enforcement in Handbook 44. Of course, H44 requirements only become enforceable when adopted by a state or local jurisdiction. I think this goes into the other question that came from Aves Thompson as to what is the purpose of the proposed amendment to Handbook 44. Tom, I do not know if you might want to speak to that.
Tom Kearney
I will go back to Steve's question. I think what you are asking is there anywhere which weigh in motion is being used for direct enforcement? There is; in Belgium it is being used for direct enforcement at low speed entry points to rest areas. There is no static scale weighing that occurs. France is doing a lot of research right now setting up a control segment by which they can conduct controlled weighing using WIM technology. Once again that is low speed WIM used for direct citation in one location in France. France is looking to more ambient late use the WIM technology for direct enforcement
In the United States, it is not being used as direct enforcement, certainly not at highway speed. It is not our intent to do direct enforcement. The WIM technology manufacturers are important partners in the project. Cardinal Scales is on the National Conference of Weights and Measures. Steve is on our project oversight team. Darrell Watkins is in the process of welcoming him as our working group chairman. We have a lot of representation by industries and manufacturers of the WIM equipment. WIM technology is for screening to assist officers standing before the judge and have the trucker being claimed that he is being picked on; we want that officer to be able to demonstrate to the judge that he has just caused for pulling that truck and then he had good probability of a violation based on WIM technology reading. It will not be used for direct enforcement as the violation will still be read from a static scale.
J. Symoun
Thanks, Tom. How many states have adopted the law enforcement codes of Handbook 44?
T. Butcher
This is Tina. Our agency does not track the adoption of various sections of Handbook 44 by highway weight enforcement agencies. There is a table that summarizes which jurisdictions at the State weights and measures program level have adopted Handbook 44 that we include in another of our publications called NIST Handbook 130. That summary primarily reflects adoption of Handbook 44 for the commercial weights and measures applications. We really do not have a tally for the adoption of Handbook 44 by highway weight enforcement agencies.
T. Kearney
I would like to throw in a footnote on the previous question. Brian Taylor who is a landmark expert with weigh in motion in North America is currently with Intelligent Imaging Systems. He typed in a little into the chat box saying that England has been using weigh in motion as direct enforcement on slow speed scales for over 20 years.
J. Symoun
Please review the purpose of the proposed amendment to Handbook 44.
T. Butcher
Jennifer, this is Tina. Tom touched upon that in his response to Steve's question with regard to the intended application being for screening applications.
T. Kearney
Thank you, Tina.
J. Symoun
Does any aspect of this effort address using the WIM data to provide information for enforcement and operations?
T. Kearney
Absolutely, that is exactly what the purpose is. Standards and specifications for weigh in motion regarding supporting enforcement in their operations to be able to allocate resources by time of day, by geographic location, knowing where the loadings are most heavy and occurring on the network for research management purpose. The Handbook 44 having a standard covering the tools specification allows for a transfer of information amongst and between states and different enforcement agencies. Everyone will understand exactly what the quality of the data is, how the data measurements are occurring, the devices will be subject to uniform standard regarding performance for use. Yes, it is regarding the planning stage of the project, this project would positively benefit that.
Will Schaefer
Part of our mission as an organization is to help maintain and develop uniform training inspections and enforcement. To that end, this would certainly help us as users of weigh in motion equipment both for consistency as well as for utilizing information that is collecting to help us make us decisions at the enforcement agency level.
J. Symoun
Is there any data available on the correlation on a vehicle's weight and decreased safety?
T. Kearney
So Eric, I am going to reengineer your question a little bit and listen to Will for his response. Is there any correlation between the practice of illegally overloading and how does that relate to decreased safety?
Will Schaefer
That helps me out a little bit. Our experience seeing a correlation between safety practices, it's more broadly that. Those who are running overweight or running outside the limits of the regulations tend to be less safe operators. That is corroborated by the motor carrier safety rating experience in the reporting from at FMCSA and they're compliance safety accountability and safety management profiles.
T. Kearney
Before Belgian went to use WIM for direct enforcement, they did a global scan to tackle this question. We looked at that study in 2006 after we did the Europeans scan of use of technology for enforcement. We looked at the study and found it was built on a lack of compelling robust data. As a follow-up to the 2006 scan, Dr. Dan Turner at the University of Alabama did a study, and evaluation on what kind of data is available. As we know, when a truck is exceeding its gross haul weight, the brake systems are less dependable, the performance of the vehicle becomes more unpredictable, and therefore the risk of the vehicle goes up. We know that in the hallway, but we do not have good information at our fingertips to be able to quantify that relationship. Currently, Federal Highway Administration is working with Motor Carrier Safety Administration to advance a study to tackle this area. They are getting up to a project that is funded to build that relationship. Make measurements and understand that relationship is. Thank you for setting the table for me, Will, and thank you Eric for asking the question.
J. Symoun
How do you anticipate handling the different topographies conjunction with the weigh in motion code?
T. Kearney
I need clarification from the questioner on what topography she is talking about
T. Butcher
This is Tina. I can give a general thought to that with regard to how Handbook 44 addresses variations that are anticipated from site to site. The section called "User Requirements" will typically include requirements for installation and use that are very general in nature, but recognize that there are variations site to site. When the word topography is used, I would think of the approaches. Are they level and how will the scale be installed? There is a provision that would give some general guidelines and then leave it to the official within the individual jurisdiction to address whether or not a specific installation was appropriate, level, etc. A similar approach could be taken with the weigh-in-motion draft code, and the specific requirements will depend on the kind of effect will the topography has on the accuracy and performance of the system.
J. Symoun
You did answer the question. Will technology ever find a way to accurate weigh at high speeds?
T. Kearney
I could throw this to Brian Taylor as Brian knows the answer to this in his sleep. Right now it does accurately measure, but what is measured is through the tires to the roadway surface. It is picking up the dynamics that occur within the vehicle and it is also introducing other noise through the impact temperature, wind that naturally occurs around a truck as it is traveling down a roadway. Think about a truck or a car hitting a pothole and how the weight comes down. You see this oscillating relationship of the weight of the truck above its actual static weight, below its actual static weight as the vehicle is being measured. Work is being done with the WIM technology to normalize this to the static weight. If you understand exactly the performance of that curve and then how use that oscillating curve to come up with a dependable estimate of actual static weight. Today, any WIM manufacturer will put something on a WIM scale, they've weigh very accurately. It is that unit that they are measuring that is unstable, not the capability
W. Schaefer
I think you also answered the other question on how will the code addressed the topic of accurately weighing liquid loads at highway.
T. Kearney
That is a tough one. When we were down at the international meeting in Brazil, they were wrestling with that one. They are very concerned about liquid transport and accurate readings using WIM technology. You add another level of instability to a unit that you are trying to measure.
J. Symoun
Where can we find a list of the working group members?
Dan Middleton
This is Dan. I can provide the list. If you provide your contact information, I would be glad to do that.
J. Symoun
The use of WIM technology for direct enforcement seems like the use of radar guns for speed enforcement. We have a goal in the US to be able to use WIM technology for direct enforcement?
W. Schaefer
I don't know the answer to that.
T. Kearney
I can answer that in terms of a Mohawk Indian seven generations removed. Down the road, yes. What we want to see is a community of weigh in motion users locally come closer and closer together to create a dialogue, sharing information in moving toward that end. At this point, to come up with a robust, adequate screening approach to effectively estimate static weight of the vehicle and therefore pull in vehicles that need to be measured on a static scale that is the immediate focus of what we're trying to do here. Eventually, Joe Crabtree if you want me to tell you the picture in my mind, it is a weigh in motion scale that will hand off a reading to a roadside piece of the equipment that will validate the on-board weighing system and that information is correlated. Direct enforcement within that sense of the vehicle knowing and a roadway estimating and get a clear picture of the actual. Does that meet those gathered for direct enforcement? Probably more closely it is a step on the path. Right now, that is the intelligent access program in Australia is what they are doing it. They are using WIM technology to directly enforce truck movement. Yes, eventually, but not soon.
J. Symoun
There was a comment typed in. I seem to recall that the IMF required Brazil to install WIM technology to qualify for loans to develop their highway system. Does anyone know anything about that?
T. Kearney
Brazil just posted the International Society for Weigh in Motion for a WIM technology conference in April. There is no loan. There is a $60 billion motorway update initiative. Brazil's GDP grew by 35% last year. They are doing very well and they're trying to recover what they call the lost decade; the decade of military rule transitioning to democratic rule where there was an underinvestment and public infrastructure. We have been in dialogue with Brazil to assist them as they move forward in building the motorway system. An element of their construction program is introducing weigh in motion technology built into the original construction of the upgrade of the motorway system. There are a lot of international WIM technology providers that can add more detail on the funding. It is not contingent on the money being available. It is a requirement that was written into law as part of the motorway system update. There is a huge amount of money that they have set aside for a WIM technology investment.
J. Symoun
Isn't another big benefit of WIM technology that it saves time and fuel cost for compliant vehicles?
W. Schaefer
Certainly motor carriers use the opportunity to benefit from this type of sorting. They absolutely support that.
J. Symoun
Can you elaborate on-board WIM technology?
T. Kearney
On board sensor is placed on the trailer next to the axels and they measure the downward pressure of force to the access. Right now in the Intelligent Access Program they may be a required element for an oversized the occult to be able to go out and operate on whatever class of roadway they are approved to operate on. That information is broadcast via commercial mobile radio services back to the permit office. In the state of Victoria, permit officials watch that loaded make sure they stay on the approved routing. They are required to be calibrated every 3 to 4 months. They are very stringent on the calibration and the data being accurate that is produced by the systems.
On board weighing systems are available in the United States. There are some companies that use them for their own loading purposes, but we have not tapped into them for enforcement.
J. Symoun
I don't see any additional questions. We can see if anyone on the phone wants to ask any questions. Feel free to continue typing in questions.
Operator
If you would like to ask a question over the phone please press star and then the number one on your telephone keypad. We will pause for just a minute. We do have a question from Barry Mason.
Barry Mason
Do we know what states are 'probable need' states? States that need to know what the probable cause is before they bring the truck in.
T. Kearney
I don't think we know the answer to that one, but I will put it over to Will.
W. Schaefer
I do not have that answer.
B. Mason
Is that part of the purpose that we are trying to achieve by standardization? So when they do go to the judge, they have probable cause?
T. Kearney
I would prefer the term just cause instead of the probable cause. Just cause is that there is a public interest in knowing whether the vehicles need to be pulled out for closer inspection. I don't know which states operate under which standards
B. Mason
Do we know if it would help the Handbook 44 as it relates to the static scale requirements that the static scales be used when can be to justify the accuracy of the WIM to constantly validate the accuracy of the WIM to within tolerance of that prescribed legal for trade document?
T. Butcher
I don't know if this will answer your question completely, but right now there are other applications in Handbook 44 that deal with dynamic weighing applications. In almost all of those applications, the test protocol does require that there be a static scale used to verify loads that are then weighed on the dynamic scale. The static scale would serve as a reference scale that would be used to verify the accuracy of the weigh-in-motion scale. With regard to routine everyday use, that might be a question for Tom or Will, with regard to how those scales might ultimately be used by the user in a daily application. In official testing, we would see the need to require verification of reference weights.
B. Mason
Thank you
Operator
There are no further questions on the phone at this time.
J. Symoun
We did have one question. Tom, can you clarify where on board WIM technology is being used. Is there a reference document?
T. Kearney
There is a lot of documentation regarding the performance based standards initiative in Australia. I am sure they would have a publication that lays out exactly what the requirements and the use of the on board weighing systems are. I can hunt that down. Bill, send me an e-mail and remind me and I can get it for you.
J. Symoun
Tina, what section of the Handbook 44 deals with dynamic weighing?
T. Butcher
There are a couple of codes that deal with dynamic weighing applications. In addition there are specific code paragraphs within the "Scales Code" that deal with some dynamic applications as well. It might be good if you would e-mail me and I can talk with you directly. There is an Automatic Weighing Systems Code, which deals with dynamic weighing in packaging applications. There is a Belt Conveyor Scale Systems Code, which deals with products like coal or gravel moving across a conveyor belt. There is a Multiple Dimension Measuring Devices Code, which deals with the dynamic weighing of high speed packages. And there are specific code requirements in the Scales Code, which deal with in-motion railway track scales and others that deal with the dynamic weighing of livestock carcasses. I would be glad to go over the specific sections with you.
J. Symoun
Thank you. That is all other questions for right now. I will go ahead and start closing out.
Operator
We do have one other question on the phone.
B. Mason
Do we know if WIM technology is being used as a weight-mile tolling anywhere in the US.
T. Kearney
Right now there are only four weight distance taxes operating in the United States. I think they are in New York, Kentucky or Tennessee, and I forget where the other two are. Oregon might be one of them, but I know they are in court about their tax all the time. There are only about four surviving from about 27 to 30 states which tried over the last 20 years. As far as I know, in the United States there is no use of WIM to be able to calculate a fee that would be applied to a truck distance tax. In the world, I am not aware.
B. Mason
Thank you
Operator
There are no other questions on the phone at this time.
J. Symoun
I think we will go ahead and wrap up for today. I want to thank all of our presenters for your presentations today and think everybody in attendance. The recording of today's event will be available in the next two weeks. The presentations are available for download in the bottom right corner of the screen and they will remain up after the webinar today. As a reminder if you are an AICP member and want to receive credits for attending today's seminar, make sure you are signed in with your first and last name or you type your name into the chat box. I encourage everybody to download the evaluation form and e-mail it to me after you have completed it. The next seminar will be held on October 19. This webinar is not currently available for registration, but I will send out a notice through the LISTSERV. I would encourage you to join it if you haven't already. With that, that should be it for the questions and we will go ahead and end for the day. Thank you everybody and enjoy the rest of your day.
