Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page R1
NATIONAL
NCHRP REPORT 560
COOPERATIVE
HIGHWAY
RESEARCH
PROGRAM
Guide to Contracting ITS Projects
OCR for page R2
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2006 (Membership as of March 2006)
OFFICERS
Chair: Michael D. Meyer, Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Vice Chair: Linda S. Watson, Executive Director, LYNX--Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority
Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board
MEMBERS
MICHAEL W. BEHRENS, Executive Director, Texas DOT
ALLEN D. BIEHLER, Secretary, Pennsylvania DOT
JOHN D. BOWE, Regional President, APL Americas, Oakland, CA
LARRY L. BROWN, SR., Executive Director, Mississippi DOT
DEBORAH H. BUTLER, Vice President, Customer Service, Norfolk Southern Corporation and Subsidiaries, Atlanta, GA
ANNE P. CANBY, President, Surface Transportation Policy Project, Washington, DC
DOUGLAS G. DUNCAN, President and CEO, FedEx Freight, Memphis, TN
NICHOLAS J. GARBER, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
ANGELA GITTENS, Vice President, Airport Business Services, HNTB Corporation, Miami, FL
GENEVIEVE GIULIANO, Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Research and Technology, School of Policy, Planning,
and Development, and Director, METRANS National Center for Metropolitan Transportation Research, USC, Los Angeles
SUSAN HANSON, Landry University Professor of Geography, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University
JAMES R. HERTWIG, President, CSX Intermodal, Jacksonville, FL
ADIB K. KANAFANI, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
HAROLD E. LINNENKOHL, Commissioner, Georgia DOT
SUE MCNEIL, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware
DEBRA L. MILLER, Secretary, Kansas DOT
MICHAEL R. MORRIS, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments
CAROL A. MURRAY, Commissioner, New Hampshire DOT
JOHN R. NJORD, Executive Director, Utah DOT
SANDRA ROSENBLOOM, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, Tucson
HENRY GERARD SCHWARTZ, JR., Senior Professor, Washington University
MICHAEL S. TOWNES, President and CEO, Hampton Roads Transit, Hampton, VA
C. MICHAEL WALTON, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas at Austin
MARION C. BLAKEY, Federal Aviation Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
JOSEPH H. BOARDMAN, Federal Railroad Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
REBECCA M. BREWSTER, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA (ex officio)
GEORGE BUGLIARELLO, Chancellor, Polytechnic University of New York, and Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering
(ex officio)
SANDRA K. BUSHUE, Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
J. RICHARD CAPKA, Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
THOMAS H. COLLINS (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard (ex officio)
JAMES J. EBERHARDT, Chief Scientist, Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies, U.S. Department of Energy (ex officio)
JACQUELINE GLASSMAN, Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
EDWARD R. HAMBERGER, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads (ex officio)
JOHN C. HORSLEY, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ex officio)
JOHN E. JAMIAN, Acting Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
J. EDWARD JOHNSON, Director, Applied Science Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (ex officio)
ASHOK G. KAVEESHWAR, Research and Innovative Technology Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
BRIGHAM MCCOWN, Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
WILLIAM W. MILLAR, President, American Public Transportation Association (ex officio)
SUZANNE RUDZINSKI, Director, Transportation and Regional Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (ex officio)
ANNETTE M. SANDBERG, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
JEFFREY N. SHANE, Under Secretary for Policy, U.S.DOT (ex officio)
CARL A. STROCK (Maj. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ex officio)
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Transportation Research Board Executive Committee Subcommittee for NCHRP
MICHAEL D. MEYER, Georgia Institute of Technology (Chair) ROBERT E. SKINNER, JR., Transportation Research Board
J. RICHARD CAPKA, Federal Highway Administration C. MICHAEL WALTON, University of Texas at Austin
JOHN C. HORSLEY, American Association of State Highway LINDA S. WATSON, LYNX--Central Florida Regional
and Transportation Officials Transportation Authority
JOHN R. NJORD, Utah DOT
OCR for page R3
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP REPORT 560
Guide to Contracting ITS Projects
KENNETH R. MARSHALL
Edwards and Kelcey
Baltimore, MD
PHILIP J. TARNOFF
Independent Consultant
Rockville, MD
S UBJECT A REAS
Highway Operations, Capacity, and Traffic Control
Research Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
in Cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD
WASHINGTON, D.C.
2006
www.TRB.org
OCR for page R4
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM NCHRP REPORT 560
Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective Price $30.00
approach to the solution of many problems facing highway
Project 3-77
administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local
ISSN 0077-5614
interest and can best be studied by highway departments
individually or in cooperation with their state universities and ISBN 0-309-09848-3
others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation Library of Congress Control Number 2006923871
develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to © 2006 Transportation Research Board
highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a
coordinated program of cooperative research.
In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining
program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any
previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating
member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this
publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the
and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States
understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA,
Department of Transportation. FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the
was requested by the Association to administer the research material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate
program because of the Board's recognized objectivity and acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses
of the material, request permission from CRP.
understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely
suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee
structure from which authorities on any highway transportation
subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and NOTICE
cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative
universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the
Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval
research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation reflects the Governing Board's judgment that the program concerned is of national
importance and appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the
matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in National Research Council.
a position to use them.
The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review
The program is developed on the basis of research needs
this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due
identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and
departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the
areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee,
to the National Research Council and the Board by the American they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National
Research Council, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Officials, or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and
Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee
qualified research agencies are selected from those that have
according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research
submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research
contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council Council.
and the Transportation Research Board.
The needs for highway research are many, and the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant
contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of
mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program,
however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or
duplicate other highway research programs.
Published reports of the
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
are available from:
Transportation Research Board
Business Office
NOTE: The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the 500 Fifth Street, NW
National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Washington, DC 20001
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual and can be ordered through the Internet at:
states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore
not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear
herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. Printed in the United States of America
OCR for page R5
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished schol-
ars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology
and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in
1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and techni-
cal matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration
and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for
advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs
aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve-
ments of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the
services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining
to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of
Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative,
to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the
Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate
the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and
advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad-
emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences
and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the
scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and
the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. William A. Wulf are chair and vice chair,
respectively, of the National Research Council.
The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board's mission is to promote
innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary setting,
the Board facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice and policy by researchers and
practitioners; stimulates research and offers research management services that promote technical
excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research
results broadly and encourages their implementation. The Board's varied activities annually engage more
than 5,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and
private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is
supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of
the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the
development of transportation. www.TRB.org
www.national-academies.org
OCR for page R6
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 560
ROBERT J. REILLY, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Manager, NCHRP
ANDREW C. LEMER, Senior Program Officer
EILEEN P. DELANEY, Director of Publications
NATALIE BARNES, Editor
NCHRP PROJECT 3-77 PANEL
Field of Traffic--Area of Operations and Control
LAWRENCE F. YERMACK, PB Farradyne, Rockville, MD (Chair)
PAUL BARRETT, New York State DOT
ANN LORSCHEIDER, North Carolina DOT
JEFF MCRAE, California DOT
J. SCOTT NICHOLS, Texas DOT
JAMES R. ROBINSON, Green Valley, AZ
STEPHEN E. ROWE, Iteris, Inc., Anaheim, CA
JOHN W. STRAHAN, Topeka, KS
DAVID A. ZAVATTERO, Illinois DOT
MAC LISTER, FHWA Liaison
RICHARD A. CUNARD, TRB Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This guide was prepared as a result of NCHRP Project 3-77. decision process presented in the guide. We would like to thank the
Edwards and Kelcey served as the prime contractor. Kenneth R. Mar- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Illinois Department of Transporta-
shall, P.E., Vice President, Edwards and Kelcey, presided as the prin- tion, New York State Department of Transportation, Texas Depart-
cipal investigator and Dr. Phil Tarnoff presided as the co-principal ment of Transportation, and Virginia Department of Transportation
investigator. In addition to the principal and co-principal investigators, for participating in the survey. This research was positively influenced
Jim Haley, Tom Jacobs and James Witherspoon served as contribut- by the cumulative experience and knowledge of the review panel,
ing authors. Javier Ordonez served as a research assistant and provided chaired by Larry Yermack. In several instances, the review panel pro-
invaluable support in the preparation and analysis of the survey of state vided insight and the necessary resources needed to produce this
departments of transportation procurement policies, procedures and guide. Lastly, we are especially appreciative for editorial contributions
practices. Mr. Ordonez also developed the website that automates the provided by the Edwards and Kelcey administrative staff.
OCR for page R7
FOREWORD
By Andrew C. Lemer
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
This report provides guidance on the procurement of intelligent transportation systems
(ITS), including variable message signs, traffic detectors, signal controllers, and a variety of
other hardware and software that entails applications of advanced electronics and informa-
tion management to regulate and facilitate traffic flow. This guide should be useful to gov-
ernment officials, traffic engineers, system integrators, and others involved in the specifica-
tion and purchasing of ITS installations.
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) procurements often entail sophisticated assem-
blages of electronic equipment and software that are challenging to specify because they are
tailored to the unique requirements of the procuring agency and use components embody-
ing technology that can advance substantially in the time between an installation's concep-
tion and realization. Because of these complexities and uncertainties, the low-bid contract-
ing process that transportation agencies traditionally use to purchase capital improvements
often is not the best approach for ITS procurements.
Experience has shown that the ITS procurement method can have substantial influence
on the ultimate success of the ITS installation. The procurement method determines how
responsibilities are distributed and decisions are made, the qualifications of the contractor,
the systems engineering process, and the controls available to the contracting agency. The
procurement method, ideally selected to suit the characteristics of the procuring agency as
well as those of the project, can make or break a project.
The objective of this research was to develop a guide to contracting ITS projects and ser-
vices, which would highlight best practices and recommend contracting strategies and con-
tract types, terms, and conditions for ITS development, integration, system acceptance, war-
ranty, maintenance, and upgrade. The research was designed to address these matters at all
levels, from determining an overall procurement strategy that is compatible with a systems
engineering process; to selecting appropriate contract types and defining contract deliver-
ables, managing the contract and change orders, validating and verifying software, and
accepting the system; to addressing ongoing system support.
Under NCHRP Project 3-77, "Guide to Contracting Intelligent Transportation System
Projects," researchers at Edwards and Kelcey, Inc. (1) reviewed the transportation and tech-
nology literature to identify effective contracting methods and their strengths and weak-
nesses, augmenting the review by surveying state and local transportation agencies; (2) iden-
tified contracting methods used in other industries that might be suitable for ITS
procurements in the transportation industry; (3) characterized ITS projects based on the
project complexity, level of new development required, scope and breadth of technologies
involved, amount of interfacing to other systems, likelihood of technology evolution, and
fluidity of system requirements; (4) described how a systems engineering process may be
v
OCR for page R8
vi Foreword
incorporated into the various contract types and assessed the impact of changing technol-
ogy and requirements, from project conception to completion, on the contract and the
potential implications for contracting flexibility; (5) recommended contract types, includ-
ing new, innovative approaches, for the likely range of ITS procurements; and (6) prepared
the guide presented here.
In addition to this guide, the research team prepared a final report describing their work
and many interim results that may be of value to other researchers and professionals facing
ITS procurement issues. That report is being published simultaneously as NCHRP Web-
Only Document 85 (www4.trb.org/trb/onlinepubs.nsf/). Finally, the researchers developed
an on-line tool that applies the guide's decision-making process; the tool may be accessed
from the project description on the TRB web site (www4.trb.org/trb/crp.nsf/All+Projects/
NCHRP+3-77).
OCR for page R9
CONTENTS
1 About This Guide
2 Assumptions About the Reader
3 Guide Organization
5 Before We Get Started
5 Project Planning
5 Project Feasibility
6 COTS versus Custom System Development
6 Outsourcing
7 The Procurement Process
7 Work Distribution
7 Method of Award
8 Contract Form
8 Contract Type
9 Terms and Conditions
9 Systems Engineering as It Relates to Contracting
11 The Decision Model
14 Step 1Make Initial Decisions
15 Step 2Determine Work Distribution
16 Step 3Define Project Category(ies)
19 Step 4Determine Agency Capability Level
21 Step 5Select Applicable Systems Engineering Process(es) and
Procurement Package(s)
23 Step 6Apply Differentiators
24 Step 7Assess Package and Make Final Selections
25 Step 8Define Contract Scope and Terms and Conditions
27 Contract Terms and Conditions Definitions
32 Appendix A Determining ITS Project Category
(Complexity and Risk)
35 Appendix B Determining Agency
Capability Level
vii
