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CHAPTER THREE
CASE STUDIES
This chapter details case studies from several transportation Implementation Plan
and governmental agencies, consultants, manufacturers, and
other agencies. These case studies focus on why visualiza- Research and Development
tion has been used, how it has been applied, and what the
lessons learned from its use are. The UDOT visual team, recognizing the value of visualiza-
tion technologies, has for the past 10 years researched and
implemented its use within design projects (see Figure 21).
A requirement for all research is the compatibility of visual
CASE STUDY 1: UTAH DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION tools with UDOT's primary CADD application, Micro-
Station. Currently, there are no formal research and develop-
Contact: ment directives at UDOT for visualization. To facilitate the
Engineering Technology Support Manager for IT research and development effort, the group's engineering
Utah Department of Transportation technology support manager for IT participates on the TRB
4501 So. 2700 West Task Force on Visualization in Transportation (ABJ95T) (9).
Salt Lake City, UT 84119-0100 This task force has helped to formulate alternatives and keep
the group current on visualization technologies. The support
manager also relies on hardware and software vendors to
Organization keep informed on current and future technologies. UDOT
also relies on consultants for visualization support services.
The use of visualization technologies is overseen by a group To organize a pool of qualified consultants, UDOT submit-
of engineering technology support (ETS) personnel, includ- ted a request for qualifications, "Standard Requests for
ing four individuals who have visualization experience. The Qualifications--Visualization Pool" (see Appendix B). This
visual team is actually part of the overall information tech- request for qualifications was authored by the support man-
nology (IT)/CADD group (which has nine people) for ager and others to properly assess the capabilities and quali-
UDOT. Although the ETS personnel do not yet have a for- fications of consultants. The ultimate direction of which
mal business plan, guidelines, or job titles for visualization, visual technologies to use is determined by the UDOT ETS
the group is actively completing a variety of visualization group and the project manager. The group regularly creates
projects and conducting research and development on the visuals in the following formats: 2-D and 3-D renderings,
technology. photo-simulation, and animation.
The past 2 years have seen the UDOT ETS group begin to
Why the Need for Visualization at UDOT? use virtual reality-based, real-time simulation technologies for
its projects. The group would like to see visual tools used more
The ETS group is highly motivated to use visual technolo- during the design process, specifically using 3-D CADD. The
gies and is driven by a combination of in-house directives group observes that most visuals are created after important
and requests from UDOT's project managers. The primary design decisions are made. For example, visuals are requested
purpose of generating visuals has been for public involve- for a public presentation of previously designed projects.
ment projects where there are controversial issues and where Although visuals are effective in helping to educate the pub-
decisions with significant ramifications need to be made. lic, they are an added expense to a project. If 3-D CADD were
Unless the visualization project is completed as an in-house implemented, visuals would be part of the process from the
research project, the need for visuals is directly linked to the beginning and would be easier and less costly to produce.
project manager. The group has been recognized throughout
UDOT for generating visuals. Project managers regularly There is no ongoing base visualization budget at UDOT. A
consult with the group on whether or not visuals should be project level budget is created, and specific visualization hard-
used on their projects. However, there is no formal procedure ware and software needs are expensed as part of the project.
in place for a project manager to use when determining if This process is relatively new at UDOT. No longer are there
visuals are needed for their projects. separate budgets for planning, design, construction, and so
