Developing Real-Time Freight Performance Measures

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Developing Real-Time Freight Performance Measures
Crystal Jones FHWA Office of Freight Management
October 20, 2004
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Why Performance Measures?

• Performance measures provide mechanism for
  understanding system performance by states and
  MPOs
• Performance measurement improves the management
  and delivery of products and services
• Performance measurement demonstrates the
  accountability of Federal stewardship of taxpayer
  resources.
• Performance measurement helps justify programs
  and their costs --Given limited budgets, etc.,
  another tool for informing investment decisions
  at a national, state or local level
• Performance measurement is mandated by the
• Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
• of 1993.

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What are the benefits of performance
measurement?

• Set goals and standards
• Detect and correct problems
• Manage, describe, and improve processes
• Document accomplishments
• Gain insight into, and make judgments about, the
• effectiveness and efficiency of programs,
  and
• processes
• Determine whether organizations are fulfilling
  their vision and meeting strategic goals
• Provide measurable results to demonstrate
  progress towards goals and objectives

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The FPM Project is not

• A mechanism to distribute federal funds,
• A program to identify specific trucking
  companies operations and routes,
• A means to collect regulatory data on operations,
  including Hours of Service compliance, speed,
  etc.

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FHWAs FREIGHT PERFORMANCE MEASURE PROGRAM

• Global Connectivity Strategic Objective
• "Facilitate a more efficient domestic and global
  transportation system that enables economic
  growth and development
• Develop baseline indices and performance measures
  for truck travel on the interstate system and
  border crossing time and delay
• Provide data and analytical tools to support
  operations research of truck traffic delays along
  freight significant corridors and at border
  crossing
• Understand the difference between Freight PMs and
  general PMs
• Assist States and MPOs with freight planning
  tools

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Global Connectivity

• Desired Outcomes
• Reduced barriers to trade in transportation goods
  and services
• More efficient movement of cargo throughout the
• supply chain
• Goals
• To reduce travel time in key highway freight
  corridors.
• To reduce delays of commercial vehicles processed
  at
• National Highway System border crossings
• Measures (Tentative)
• Travel Rate and Buffer Time on Freight
  Significant Highways
• Border Crossing Time

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Cooperative FPM Research Team

• Federal Highway Administrations Office of
  Freight Management
• American Transportation Research Institute
  (formerly ATA Foundation)
• Technology Vendors
• University of Minnesota ITS Institute

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Accomplishments to Date.

• Travel Time on Significant Corridors
• Identification of Freight Significant Corridors
• I10, I70, I65, I45 and I5
• Review of Data Collection Technologies
• System Alpha Test
• System Beta Test
• Border Crossing Time
• Conducted initial meeting with various
  stakeholders (Ambassador and Pacific Highway
  complete, Peace Bridge schedule for end of
  October)
• Collaboration with TC on their Border Wait-time
  Study

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Step 1 Identification of Freight-Significant
Corridors

• Multi-System Process Used to Identify Primary
  Freight Corridors
• Freight Analysis Framework
• Industry Surveys Website Solicitations
• Technology Vendor Databases
• Information Cross-Factored to Generate
  50-Corridor Corridor Compendium

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Step 2 Developing Appropriate Freight
Performance Measures
a) Analysis of CVO Operational Issues -
Delivery/Transit Times - Down Times -
Routing/Dispatching Impediments b) Understanding
Transportation Planning Objectives -
Performance Measures - Bottlenecks
Impediments - Data Collection - Modeling
Calibration - TIPs, STIPs, Policy Plan
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Step 2 Developing Appropriate Freight
Performance Measures Continued

• Tracking Changes in Travel TIMES
• SPEEDS by LOCATION Can Provide
• Identification of General Bottlenecks
  Impediments
• Corridor Flows
• Longitudinal Changes by Corridor (seasonal,
  monthly, daily)
• Model Calibration Data

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Step 3 Selecting an Optimal Tracking System

• Technologies Considered
• Satellite-Based Systems
• Terrestrial Wireless Systems
• Hybrid Systems
• On-Board Systems
• Fixed-Site Systems

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Alpha Test Tasks Results

• Sophisticated Carrier ID Cleansing System
  developed for private sector Data Privacy issues
• Special Truck Tool software developed to relate
  truck data to US DOT maps
• Time and Speed extremes purged (one standard
  deviation to eliminate stopped trucks and speed
  errors)
• Alpha test successfully tracked speeds by
  corridor locations (manual calculations)

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Beta Test Development

• Truck Tool reconfigured and automated
• Developed virtual mile markers software to
  accommodate missing points on maps
• Ran real-time data through system
• Truck travel data automatically converted into
  travel times and speeds by location

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Beta Test Results

• Real-time location and travel data can be
  automatically converted into travel times and
  speeds by location
• Micro-deviations in speeds can be used to
  identify bottlenecks and system impediments
• FPM system can typically differentiate temporal
  bottlenecks from infrastructure bottlenecks

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Infrastructure Versus Temporal Bottlenecks

• Infrastructure Bottleneck
• Basis Weigh Station on I-5 between Los Angeles
  and San Diego.
• Test Showed a temporal drop in segment traffic
  along corridor.
• Temporal Bottleneck
• Intersection of I-5 and I-10 in Los Angeles
• Differences in Peak and Non Peak travel times
  were documented

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Beta Test Recommendations and Areas of Additional
Study

• FPM system could benefit from more robust data
  collection
• Integrate different data types technologies or
  increase trucking polling points
• Visualization mapping software needs improvement
• FPM system requires improvements in GIS data
  sets digital mapping of corridors (and
  mile-markers) would allow for corridor
  customization

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Key Border Challenges

• Some key border crossing points are seriously
  congested and transit times and the associated
  transportation costs are high.
• Physical infrastructure (transportation and
  other) at some border crossings require upgrading
  
• Clearance and Inspection procedures change and
  vary
• Localized data collection systems differ
  dramatically

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What We Heard at the Border

• Greater Frequency of Truck Position Data
  Collection
• Current Data and Integration of Other Types of
  Data
• Time Frame for a Useable Product
• Factoring in elements outside the control of
  transportation system
• Staff
• Brokers

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Next Steps

• Expand corridors from 5 to 25
• Expand project input to include more MPOs State
  DOTs
• Develop and test Buffer Index
• Work with international stakeholders (including
  Transport Canada) to develop Border Crossing
  Performance Measures
• Negotiate data sharing agreements
• Align freight performance measures with DOT/FHWA
  performance measurement approaches

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Key Take-Aways

• Need the Input of Groups like TBWG on
• Who are the correct audiences to discuss the
• project/program and its applications?
• Any related studies on travel time, GIS, truck
• speeds?
• Are other agencies using border measures?
• What are the correct border measures to
• incorporate per 1000 trucks, per day, hour
  etc.?
• How can we involve your organization

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Conclusions
FPM PROGRAM/PROJECT WILL PROVIDE baseline
freight performance measures that accurately
reflect what we accomplishing, in quantitative
terms, right now, at the present time YOUR INPUT
AND INPUT FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR WILL
PROVIDE measurable, time-based targets that
explicitly stipulates, also in quantitative
terms, what measure of performance we expect
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FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations,
USDOT

• The success and growth in every business
  activity is dependent upon how an organization
  utilizes its critical data
• Anonymous
• http//www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight
• Crystal Jones
• 202-366-2976
• Crystal.Jones_at_fhwa.dot.gov