Organizations such as the Oklahoma Transportation Authority (OTA) have long relied on outside consultants to provide on-call assistance and technical expertise for the construction and maintenance of facilities. Indeed, the charters of many toll agencies require the retention of a third-party consultant to provide counsel on best practices. In the information age, the traditional model for managing a transportation system has shifted. Today, authorities must spend just as much time thinking about routers and random-access memory as they do roads and rebar.
America’s roads have never been smarter, and smart roads mean different things to different organizations. For user-funded agencies such as the OTA, technology means efficient toll collection, fewer backups and high-performance operations. For agencies that rely on government funds, such as the state departments of transportation, technology optimizes existing capacity to ease gridlock and enhance safety. Whether user-funded or tax-funded, America’s transportation agencies rely on technology-based solutions to effectively manage their infrastructure.
Advances such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and electronic toll collection (ETC) have proven to be popular and economically wise solutions to many transportation problems. However, the effective management of these systems demands the attention of experts specifically trained in the field. Although most agencies, including the OTA, maintain a staff of skilled information technology (IT) specialists, technology is reaching a point where in-house resources may benefit from the assistance of an outside consultant.
In Oklahoma, rapidly evolving technology prompted the OTA to solicit bids for a consultant to focus solely on the technology needs of the agency. After careful review of the candidates, HNTB Corp. was selected to serve as the OTA’s general technology consultant (GTC). Just as the traditional general engineering consultant has aided authorities for years with the design, construction and oversight of facilities, the GTC will ensure the same level of expertise and assistance for all of the organization’s technology-related endeavors. While many organizations are asking for more technology support from consultants, the OTA-HNTB relationship is the first by any toll authority or state department of transportation based exclusively on technology needs.
This new GTC agreement between the OTA and HNTB provides an interesting case study in the 21st century client-consultant relationship. As modern transportation agencies evolve to include smarter highways with more IT functions, consultants must understand this trend and recast their model of the relationship to reflect increased demand for technology-based solutions. The modern general consultant must be part engineer and part computer scientist.
A symbotic relationship
One of the most daunting tasks associated with the evolving role of IT in transportation is the number of organizations involved. A modern highway—with ETC, ITS, geographic information system, asset management and a host of back-office IT solutions—relies on an army of vendors and contractors to keep the system running.
With so many entities involved in supplying, installing and maintaining the OTA’s technology infrastructure, it helps to have one arbiter responsible for sorting through all of the details to deliver a single, clear solution to the OTA.
However, it is important to remember that the role of liaison between vendors and client is not a one-way street. Just as the GTC must provide clear messages to the OTA on behalf of vendors, it must work on behalf of the authority to ask the right questions to the right vendors in order to get the best answers for the OTA.
In addition to juggling relationships with numerous vendors, the OTA also must contend with one of the longstanding truisms of technological evolution: As technology improves, the pace of that evolution increases. Keeping abreast of advances in hardware and software, and continually evolving standards and regulations, is a full-time job in itself.
Under this new arrangement, the OTA can concentrate on running its facilities while consultants trained in specialized fields keep up on the latest advances in technology.
Finally, the OTA-HNTB relationship allows for the careful consideration and implementation of the best technology solutions for Oklahoma. As a consulting firm working with numerous transportation authorities throughout the U.S. HNTB can bring to the table the best practices of many different agencies. Similarly, the OTA understands the needs and priorities of Oklahomans and can determine which of these solutions is best for the state.
Given the complex and ever-changing nature of technology, the ability to make decisions based upon the experiences of others and the unique needs of the local community is essential.
Meeting technological needs
While the OTA is a modern toll authority with a successful ETC program and a staff of seasoned IT professionals, the constantly evolving landscape of technology demands a diverse team of experts. The complexity of these technological needs is what makes the use of a GTC so appealing to the OTA. Although there is more than enough work to keep a staff of IT professionals occupied, the specialized nature of many IT tasks demands individuals trained in specific skills.
The demand for the talents of any one specialist is not great enough to warrant the full-time employment of a staff member. Rather, the OTA requires a team of experts in diverse subject matter able to respond to individual tasks on call as needed.
Through the efficient use of outside contractors, the OTA is able to deliver the highest level of service and reliability to its customers while controlling costs and tolls.
Acting as the liaison
One of the best ways to learn is through sharing information with peers, and public entities such as the OTA—unlike for-profit businesses in the private sector—do not have the same concerns about competitors infringing on trade secrets or stealing customers. Thus, transportation authorities can share information and innovations with their peers more freely. Given HNTB’s national reach and relationships with transportation agencies of all types and sizes, the firm can easily act as a liaison connecting the staffs of various organizations and facilitating the free exchange of ideas.
One of the most common complaints associated with toll facilities is stopping to pay the toll. Between backups at toll plazas and digging for change in the cup holder, it is easy to see why many motorists dislike toll roads. ETC has resolved these objections and has proven to be quite popular with motorists.
While the convenience of paying tolls without stopping is the most popular selling point to consumers, the ability to use the same transponder at multiple facilities carries significant appeal as well. As evidenced by the huge success of the E-ZPass system used by numerous tolling authorities throughout the Northeast, interoperability is an integral part of ETC’s success.
Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma all operate tollways, yet none accept the others’ transponders. As general engineering consultant to authorities in Kansas and Texas, and now GTC to the OTA, HNTB is well-positioned to serve as a liaison between all three authorities as well as ETC vendors if interoperability is an issue they wish to pursue.
In addition to these states, several others in the region are carefully examining tolls as a means to pay for improved and expanded transportation infrastructure. Should other states opt for tolls, regional ETC interoperability may become a more prominent and viable option.
As the trend toward regional interoperability continues to grow with systems such as the Northeast’s E-ZPass, California’s FasTrak and Florida’s SunPass, many within the industry are looking toward the next step in interoperability. Groups such as the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association are beginning to examine options for a uniform national standard that could be used by all tolling authorities. As this debate unfolds, a consultant with national experience developing ETC systems for numerous authorities may well prove a valuable resource.
Already at work
This new relationship represents more than a set of forward-looking statements about the future of regional cooperation or hypothetical labor savings; it is already at work helping the OTA with numerous task orders.
Soon after the contract was signed, HNTB began work on projects in both the field and the back office. Current endeavors include an ETC system assessment, development of new network and desktop security procedures, intranet improvements, software application development and IT resource assistance.
Other projects in the near future include staffing a full-time ETC manager and the development of a geographic information system to enable the OTA to optimize the management of its maintenance operations.
As the contract unfolds, resources may be tapped for any number of technology-related services on an as-needed basis.
A look ahead
The retention of a GTC does not suggest that the traditional client-consultant relationship is obsolete. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that transportation agencies must carefully consider IT resources when shopping for a consultant. Whether an agency opts to retain the services of one company capable of delivering engineering and IT solutions in one integrated package, or chooses to parcel out those responsibilities to separate companies, one thing is clear: Technology’s role in the client-consultant relationship cannot be ignored and will continue to play an increasingly prominent role in the successful operation of modern highways. TME
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