Disruption Impact Estimating Tool--Transportation (DIETT): A Tool for Prioritizing High-Value Transportation Choke Points (2006)

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P A R T 2 DIETT Installation Instructions and User Guide

C O N T E N T S 5 Chapter 1 Installation Guide for DIETT 5 1.1 Software and Hardware Requirements 5 1.2 Standard Installation 5 1.3 Importing Users’ Data 8 Chapter 2 User Guide for DIETT 8 2.1 DIETT Query System 9 2.2 DIETT Spreadsheet—MS Excel 9 2.2.1 The INPUTS Worksheet 10 2.2.2 The OUTPUTS Worksheet 11 2.2.3 The CHOKE POINTS Worksheet 11 2.2.4 Changes to DIETT 12 Appendix DIETT Factsheet

5The Disruption Impact Estimating Tool—Transportation (DIETT) is a scenario-enabled estimating tool for identifying and prioritizing transportation choke points (TCPs) accord- ing to their potential economic impact on U.S. commerce. The software and hardware requirements, installation instructions, and data importation processes for DIETT are summarized below. DIETT is configured to operate in two modes: (1) inde- pendent of CATS-JACE1 and (2) within CATS-JACE.2 How- ever, regardless of the mode of use, independent or within CATS-JACE, the operation and structure of DIETT are the same. For simplicity, in this guide, references to DIETT relate to the independent (non-CATS-JACE) mode. The installation instructions refer to DIETT’s use on personal computers (PCs), but an experienced CATS-JACE operator should be able to readily import DIETT into CATS-JACE. The operation of DIETT requires a user with moderate knowledge of Microsoft Access (MS) Access and MS Excel. The configuration of DIETT requires a set of relatively recent ver- sions of off-the-shelf basic software. For advanced functions, the user will need additional software. 1.1 Software and Hardware Requirements Software and hardware should meet the minimum require- ments listed in Table 1. It is particularly important to have the specified versions of the Microsoft software. DIETT will oper- ate without ArcGIS version 9; however, without it some of the more advanced functions of DIETT will not be available. 1.2 Standard Installation Installation instructions for loading DIETT onto a PC are provided in Table 2. Installation should proceed in the sequence listed. 1.3 Importing Users’ Data The preloaded data are in the “Geodatabases” folder, labeled “tcp.mdb.” New data may be imported to merge with, replace, or augment the preloaded database. The new data or data file may be in MS Access format or in another database format. It is best to import the data from an external source into the data- base. Doing this ensures that the desired fields are loaded. Exhibit 1 shows the database table structure for data imported from the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) database. This data- base structure is recommended for imported or created data. C H A P T E R 1 Installation Guide for DIETT 1 CATS-JACE is the acronym for Consequences Assessment Tool Set-Joint Assess- ment of Catastrophic Events, a program based on a commercial geographic imaging system (GIS). CATS-JACE is a configuration of CATS, a disaster analy- sis system, which is available as an off-the-shelf package. CATS-JACE was devel- oped for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to provide a comprehensive package of haz- ard prediction models (natural hazards and technological hazards) and a casu- alty and damage assessment tools. CATS-JACE has the capability to overlay event characteristics (e.g., dispersion paths), transportation (e.g., rail, highway net- works), population, and business datasets to provide an understanding of the extent, magnitude, duration, and impacts of an event. CATS-JACE also accepts real-time data from local meteorological stations. 2 DIETT was designed to operate within CATS-JACE because CATS-JACE is available to many state transportation and security agencies and because it already contains a relevant, specified optional module, ArcGIS (version 9.0), and other (unspecified) features. For more information on CATS-JACE, please access: http://cats.saic.com/.

Table 2. DIETT installation instructions for a personal computer. 6 MINIMUM SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Software Hardware Microsoft Windows 2000 Pentium III computer or better Microsoft Office XP 1 GB free disk space ArcGIS version 9.0 (optional) 256MB memory Screen resolution set to 1024  768 pixels HELP If you have problems, please check the requirements, make needed adjustments, and try again. If the problems persist, please contact Stephan Parker of TRB’s Cooperative Research Programs at SAParker@nas.edu or (202) 334-2554. Table 1. Minimum software and hardware requirements for DIETT. INSTALLATION 1 Go to www4.trb.org/trb/onlinepubs.nsf and click on “NCHRP Project Reports.” 2 Click on NCHRP Report 525, Volume 11. 3 Save “DIETT ” ZIP file to your computer. 4 Unzip DIETT files. 5 Install DIETT by double clicking on “install.bat.” 6 When prompted, select “Next.” 7 Select the default location or another location, and then click on “Next.” 8 Click on “Install” on the “Ready To Install” screen. 9 Click on “Finish” and wait a few seconds. 10 Click on “Yes” to install the Microsoft.Net Framework 1.1* Setup. 11 Select “OK.” The icon “DIETT” should appear on your desktop. 12 To run DIETT, double click the “DIETT” icon on your desktop. HELP If you have problems, please check the requirements, make needed adjustments, and try again. If the problems persist, please contact Stephan Parker of TRB’s Cooperative Research Programs at SAParker@nas.edu or (202) 334-2554. * Microsoft.Net Framework 1.1 is redistributable software. It is a component of the Microsoft Windows operating system used to build and run Windows-based applications. For developers, the .NET Framework makes it easy to rapidly create powerful software that maximizes performance, scalability, opportunities for integration, reliability, security, and the end-user experience, while minimizing the costs of deployment and management. For more information, visit: http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/technologyinfo/default.aspx

Exhibit 1. Sample recommended database structure—from NBI. 7

8DIETT consists of three submodules. This chapter pro- vides instructions for each submodule. 2.1 DIETT Query System The DIETT query system is the first program to trigger when the DIETT icon is clicked on. It is provided primarily to conduct the initial queries and to process the data for the first- order prioritization of candidate transportation choke points (TCPs). The program is set to transfer 500 fields or candidate TCPs. With a click on the “Next” button, the output of the queries is automatically transferred to MS Excel where it will be further analyzed and prioritized. To start DIETT, click on the DIETT application icon on the desktop.This will launch the application and generate the query page shown in Exhibit 2.To set the parameters for queries, insert the information requested on the query page. At the bottom of the query page, brief instructions are given for using it (see Exhibit 2).A more detailed version of those instructions is given in the seven steps listed below. (Note that circled numbers 1–7 on Exhibit 2 correspond to the step numbers listed below.) Step 1—State. Insert the name of the state to be modeled (for security reasons, data used to illustrate the use of DIETT were altered and entered as the data of an imaginary state— Fredonia). Step 2—Trucks Per Day. Insert the desired category for min- imum number of trucks using the trucks per day. Step 3—Span Length (m). Insert the minimum length of the TCP (bridge) span in meters. Step 4—Records. Track the count of candidate TCPs in the “Records” indicator. If the desired number of records is not reached (500 is recommended), reset the “Trucks Per Day” and “Span Length (m)” parameters. The two parameters should be adjusted in a balanced manner; make adjustments to both the truck and span parameters. Resetting of param- eters may be repeated several times to generate the desired number of candidate TCPs. Step 5—Scoring Method. Select the scoring method by click- ing on the “Scoring Method” button and changing the key parameters, as seen in Exhibit 3. The scoring formula is a means of preselecting on the basis of estimated net trans- portation costs over the detour distance. The net transporta- tion costs over the detour distance are estimated on the basis of average cost per ton-mile and a rough estimate of recon- struction time. Detailed analysis of the cost comes later, in the DIETT spreadsheet tool, after candidate TCPs have been identified and exported. The score for each asset is determined by the following formula: Step 6—Sort on a Desired Category. Most of the column head- ings on the query page, “Value ($1000),”“Detour,”“Traffic,” “Span Length,”etc. (see Exhibit 2), can be sorted on.The user may want to use the sort function if the number in “Records” (see Exhibit 2, circled number 4) exceeds 500. This will cause the program to work with the top 500 records. It is recom- mended that the column “Value ($1000)” be used because it utilizes a weighted approximation of value. Step 7—“Next” and “Quit” buttons. Press the “Next” button to close the query application and open the spreadsheet application. Press the “Quit” button to exit DIETT. Users should also be aware of the following: • When the NBI database is used and the selected records indicate that the bridge crosses over a water body, a default for barge traffic is 4 barges per day, with a detour distance of 1 mile. For rail lines using the bridge, a default of 500 rail cars per day is assumed with 100 miles of detour. These Score = × × Days of Outage Detour Distance Cost per Ton Trucks per Day = − ×mile Days of Outage 3 Span length Meters of Reconstruction per × Day C H A P T E R 2 User Guide for DIETT

numbers (4 and 1 for barge, and 500 and 100 for rail) are automatically entered by the program but can and should be modified later to reflect the correct average daily barge and rail traffic. These adjustments can be readily made in the spreadsheet application.3 • Some calculations may take several minutes. 2.2 DIETT Spreadsheet—MS Excel MS Excel is used to do the following: • Modify default values for key transportation and economic parameters, • Model and sort on transportation impacts of detours and delays, • Model and sort on commerce-related economic impacts, • Accommodate “refinements,” and • Generate the output of DIETT. 2.2.1 The INPUTS Worksheet MS Excel is activated by pressing the “Next” button (see Exhibit 2) or by double clicking on the filename created in the c:\program files\saic\diett\\spreadsheets directory from Win- dows Explorer. The INPUTS worksheet shown in Exhibit 4 will appear. The INPUTS worksheet is designed to generate prioritized lists of TCPs by changing default values for key parameters 9 3 The detour distance for barges, 1 mile, is provided only as a placeholder. When a waterway is obstructed, barge traffic is generally not rerouted; rather, barges wait until the waterway is navigable. For barges, DIETT uses the time delay as the cost variable. In places with good canal networks, rerouting of waterway traffic may be possible. For such places, manual adjustments may be made in the spreadsheet. 1 5 4 3 2 7 6 Exhibit 2. DIETT query page. Exhibit 3. Scoring method box in DIETT.

without requiring the user to study the structure of the entire spreadsheet. Adjusting the default values listed on the INPUTS worksheet should be sufficient for the generation of the top- tier TCPs. Changing the values creates list scenarios (prioritized lists). Summary instructions for making the default value adjustments are provided on the screen. The default values are grouped into those measuring trans- portation impact and those measuring direct economic impact (Exhibit 4). Transportation impact measures the direct cost of the dis- ruption to commercial (freight) shipping by measuring the net cost of using less direct routes—detours. For trucks and rail a $/ton/mile cost is used to adjust for the increased distance, and volume categories (low, medium, and high) are used to estimate the time-delay factor. For barges, costs of delay and cargo losses are the principal cost drivers. The default values provided are generalized,national-level estimates.These should be changed to better reflect state averages, and, for the selected top-tier TCPs, further (regional or local) refinements may be appropriate. Direct economic impact measures the direct economic cost associated with increases in business costs caused by the intro- duction of a detour into freight shipments. The tool considers the costs associated with the increased time shipments spend en route as well as costs associated with altered risk (real or per- 10 ceived). The default values reflect generalized approxima- tions developed by the analysts. The default values should be changed to better reflect state averages, and, for the selected top-tier TCPs, further (regional or local) refinements may be appropriate. After the default values are reset, click on the “Calculate”but- ton, at the bottom of the screen to view results. This will calcu- late all the fields and take the user to the OUTPUTS worksheet (see Exhibit 5). 2.2.2 The OUTPUTS Worksheet The OUTPUTS worksheet contains columns A through CG, but only shows columns A through F and CC through CG. Columns G through CB are hidden. The viewable portion of the OUTPUTS worksheet provides the disruption impact esti- mate. The results are displayed as follows: • Column CC shows transportation-related impacts, • Column CD shows direct economic impacts, and • Column CE shows total impacts. These columns are can be sorted. Column CE is the recom- mended sorting method. After sorting, some of the rows may contain “corrupted”data. These data require adjustment in the CHOKE POINTS worksheet. Exhibit 4. The INPUTS worksheet of the DIETT spreadsheet application.

2.2.3 The CHOKE POINTS Worksheet The CHOKE POINTS worksheet contains the data imported from the DIETT Query System (see Section 2.1 and Exhibit 2). The CHOKE POINTS worksheet contains the raw data used by the algorithms in the OUTPUT worksheet. This is where changes to the raw data are to be performed. Suggested activ- ities include the following: • Review all data for outliers and suspicious numbers—these may be many repeats of large numbers such as 199 or 999 for detour distance, truck traffic that is larger than 30,000 trucks per day, bridge span that is larger than 2000 m, etc. • Review data for missing information for rail traffic, barge traffic, span length, etc. (Note: span length with a value of “0” is a correct entry indicating that an adjacent TCP can be split to accommodate two-directional traffic.) • Correct for number and detour distance for rail. • Correct for number of barges. After the top-tier TCPs are identified, additional refinements can be made to these candidate TCPs. The number of TCPs in the top tier should be about twice the number sought as the final output. For example, if the final list is to contain the top 25 TCPs for the state, the top tier should contain about 50 can- didate TCPs. Refinements to the data should be made to reflect the realistic circumstances associated with the TCP (i.e., refine number of trucks, detour distance, congestion level, etc.). After the data have been refined, go to the INPUTS work- sheet, adjust the default values, and click on the “Calculate” button. 2.2.4 Changes to DIETT An experienced MS Excel analyst can unhide columns G through CB to examine the detailed algorithms used in DIETT. These algorithms reflect generalized relationships and do not apply equally to all circumstances, TCPs, and states. DIETT can be customized to the needs of a particular state. Changes to the spreadsheet should be made so as to maintain structural functionality—the relationship between the imported data and the spreadsheet should be maintained. Save all structural and functional changes to DIETT in a different file. 11 Exhibit 5. The OUTPUTS worksheet of the DIETT spreadsheet application.

What Is DIETT? The Disruption Impact Estimating Tool—Transportation (DIETT) is an electronic analytical tool designed to assist transporta- tion, security, and emergency-preparedness planners as they identify and prioritize potential high-value transportation choke points (TCPs) such as bridges, tunnels, and passes. These high-value TCPs are predominantly located along major commercial trans- portation routes, and a key area of concern is how disruptive events may affect the flow of commercial shipments through TCPs. DIETT calculates the direct transportation and economic impacts (costs) of an event that precludes the use of a TCP, and it prior- itizes on these transportation assets on the basis of economic criteria. DIETT does not calculate replacement costs. Decision mak- ers can use DIETT’s prioritized sets of outputs, along with other risk information, to better focus their capital resources, security, and emergency-preparedness planning. Who Can Benefit from Using DIETT? Although DIETT is specifically designed to assist state departments of transportation and other state security and emergency- preparedness organizations, prioritized state results can be readily merged to identify candidate TCPs for use in regional or national prioritization schemes. Localities and metropolitan areas can also work with area-specific data to assess their TCP priorities. Although DIETT is designed to prioritize on the basis of direct transportation and economic impacts, it can be expanded by adding other criteria of interest to the user and thus can be applied in numerous applications. A generalized schematic of DIETT is pro- vided in Exhibit 1. How Does DIETT Work? DIETT is an auto-executable program that employs commonly used software and user-supplied data to generate a prioritized list of TCPs. It is composed of two interconnected off-the-shelf programs and a set of specified and unspecified optional pro- grams. The off-the-shelf programs are Microsoft (MS) Access and MS Excel. • MS Access is used to select the first-tier candidate TCPs from user-supplied databases and to connect to MS Excel. • MS Excel is used for modeling transportation and economic impacts and for generating the input and output presentation mod- ule. Interim scenario development and final prioritizations are also performed in MS Excel. All of the MS Excel modeling and presentation features are preprogrammed. The MS Excel part of DIETT is structured to calculate the transportation-related and the economic-related impacts (costs) and to facilitate the development of alternate scenarios. Automatic sort functions are included to allow for ease of prioritization. Although DIETT is packaged on its own and can run on its own, in order to fine-tune the prioritizations developed in DIETT, it is recommended that DIETT reside in the Consequences Assessment Tool Set-Joint Assessment of Catastrophic Events (CATS- JACE). CATS-JACE, a configuration of CATS, is a consequence management package that integrates hazard prediction, conse- quence assessment, emergency management tools (including the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability [HPAC] system) and critical population and infrastructure data within a commercial geographical information system. CATS-JACE is available to state agencies and contains ArcGIS (version 9.0), which can be used to refine the detour lengths specified in the base data (e.g., National A P P E N D I X DIETT Factsheet 12

13 Bridge Inventory [NBI]). The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed CATS-JACE to support emergency managers’ training, exercises, contingency planning, and logistical planning, and to cal- culate requirements for humanitarian aid and force protection.For more information on CATS-JACE,see http://cats.saic.com/.DTRA provides CATS-JACE software and training; please see http://www.dtra.mil/toolbox/directorates/td/programs/acec/training.cfm. Detailed installation and operating instructions for DIETT are provided in Part 2 of NCHRP Report 525, Volume 11. For security reasons, data used to illustrate the use of DIETT were altered NBI data from different U.S. states entered as the data of an imaginary state—Fredonia. SECURITY CAUTION When DIETT is used with actual data, the results could not only help users with legitimate purposes, but also those intending to disrupt the U.S. transportation infrastructure. Therefore, DIETT outputs should be guarded, and access should be limited to those with a “need to know.” Exhibit 1. Generalized schematic of DIETT.