August 22, 2024
Innovation of the Month: Next-Generation Traffic Incident Management (TIM)
Effective traffic incident management requires collaboration among multiple agencies, including law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services, and transportation departments. The main goals are to minimize the duration and impact of traffic incidents, enhance the safety of responders and road users, and ensure the smooth flow of traffic. In Texas, the City of Frisco designed an in-house program called SAFER (Situational Awareness For Emergency Response) to provide their local firefighters, EMTs and police officers immediate access real-time information while responding to emergencies.
SAFER, introduced in 2009, was initially developed to ensure the safety of students during school emergencies. The system includes an app for each dispatch and command center, a mobile app for first responders, and a web-based app for external users.
Over the years, the SAFER platform has evolved into a broader application incorporating several data integrations and dozens of geographic information systems (GIS) data layers to support the growing needs of the City of Frisco and its partner organizations. The platform now integrates multiple databases, offering features such as aerial maps, live camera feeds, dispatch details, floor plans, and automated vehicle locations. A data sharing partnership with Waze™ also allows for bi-directional integration of crowdsourced data such as traffic congestion, incidents, and road hazards while sharing City sourced road closures and traffic incidents.
SAFER also introduced an alternative dispatch method called closest to dispatch (CTD) in 2017, which assigns available units to emergency calls based on measured route times instead of traditionally assigned coverage areas. This method measures route times using automatic vehicle location (AVL) data and roadway speed limits which reduced response time by 62 seconds for Priority 1 Call Types, which are calls involving injury, fire, pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcycle, or entrapment incidents. The SAFER program enables first responders and administrators to make informed decisions when seconds count, benefiting both responders and citizens.
Learn more about the SAFER program on its webpage. To learn more about Next Generation TIM technologies that your agency can use to protect motorists and responders after a traffic incident, please contact Joe Tebo, James Austrich, or Paul Jodoin, FHWA Office of Operations.
Give Your Strategic Workforce Development Program a Head Start
If your agency doesn’t yet have a strategic workforce development (SWD) program, now is the perfect time to start one. The SWD EDC-7 team has a number of resources and on-demand webinars that can help you jump-start your program and start cultivating opportunities to identify, place, and train workers in the highway construction workforce.
The SWD Starter Kit can help you discover what the future of your workforce development program may look like. This document provides links to national resources and example programs from other States to help you generate ideas while developing an innovative program that is right for your area.
If your agency has wanted to start its own program but hasn’t known quite where to start, this Starter Kit should be your first stop.
To learn more about Strategic Workforce Development, contact Chrisy Currier, FHWA Office of Infrastructure, Tina Hooper, FHWA Massachusetts Division, or Rhonda Motley, FHWA Nevada Division.
Stay Up to Date on the EDC Innovations That Interest You Most
EDC teams are always on the move! If you blink, you could miss out on important webinars, case studies, tools, videos, and more. To never miss information for the EDC innovations that interest you most, visit the subscription page and select the topics you’d like to receive updates on directly from the teams that coordinate them.
Recent bulletins:
Local Aid Support 8/15/24
Next-Gen TIM 8/12/24
SWD 8/8/24
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About EDC
Every Day Counts, a State-based initiative of the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Innovation and Workforce Solutions, works with State, local, and privatesector partners to encourage the adoption of proven and underutilized technologies to deliver transportation projects more efficiently, enhance safety forall users, support a sustainable and resilient infrastructure, and incorporate equity inproject planning and delivery.
EDC News is a weekly publication highlighting successful EDC innovationdeployments across the country.
Disclaimer: The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this document only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. They are included for informational purposes only and are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or endorsement of any one product or entity.
Except for the statutes and regulations cited, the contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the States or the public in any way. This document is intended only to provide information regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies.
Recommended Citation:
U.S Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
EDC News; August 22, 2024
Washington, DC
