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Title:

State of the Practice of Automatic Vehicle Location for Winter Maintenance Operations

Accession Number:

01046267

Language:

English

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2007 Paper #07-3003

Abstract:

This paper reviews usage of automatic vehicle location (AVL) for winter maintenance applications as identified through a study conducted for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. AVL is a vehicle-based technology that builds on the need for communication of data between a center and maintenance vehicles in the field, especially with respect to the location of a vehicle. It supports a variety of applications, using both real-time and historical data. The use of AVL for winter maintenance has reached a certain level of maturity, with successful deployments by several transportation agencies. Consequently, there is a rich repository of documented experience on lessons learned and best practices for use of AVL in winter maintenance operations. Some of the major themes include the need for thoughtful integration of AVL into an existing vehicle fleet and with the variety of expected users and sensor packages, and the need to consider the communications requirements of the various technologies. Through several years of demonstration and evaluation, many of the problems which plagued earlier AVL deployments, such as sensor protection, communications availability, and GPS accuracy, have been addressed. The level of support from the vendor community has improved as AVL vendors have become flexible, adapting and customizing systems to fit specific customer requirements. Vendors also provide customized maps, statistical analysis, and reports as requested by the customer. AVL users generally plan to sustain or increase their use of the technology, and there are a number of transportation agencies performing AVL pilot projects to further the use of AVL in winter maintenance activities.

TRIS Files:

HRIS

Report Numbers:

07-3003

Media Type:

CD-ROM

Pagination:

18p

Authors:

Strong, Christopher K

Phone: 406-994-7351
Fax: 406-994-1697
chriss@coe.montana.edu
Montana State University, Bozeman

El Ferradi, Nabil

Phone: 406-994-6114
Fax: 406-994-1697
nabile@coe.montana.edu
Montana State University, Bozeman

Shi, Xianming

Phone: 406-994-6486
Fax: 406-994-1697
xianming_s@coe.montana.edu
Montana State University, Bozeman

Monograph Accession #:

01042056

Publication Date:

2007

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2007/1/21 to 2007/1/25
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 USA

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 USA
Order URL: http://gulliver.trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=7286

Features:

Figures (1) ; References (18)

Index Terms:

Automatic vehicle location; Global Positioning System; Maintenance; Maintenance vehicles; State of the practice; Technological innovations; Technology; Vehicle-based technology; Winter; Winter maintenance

Subject Areas:

Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I62: Winter Maintenance

Last Modified:

Apr 23 2007 7:49AM