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Task 1: Conduct Literature Review, Engage Leadership, and Determine SOM Staffing
Estimates
Task 1 involved four major subcomponents. First, the research team built on the preliminary
literature review by further investigating the results of NCHRP Project 20-77 and other current
materials to more clearly understand the workforce trends impacting SOM occupations. Second,
we engaged transportation leadership across the United States to describe current and anticipated
future SOM employment needs and the technical knowledge requirements for SOM careers.
Third, we reviewed U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Transportation (DOT)
information to determine if SOM staff positions are adequately addressed in employment
statistics. This involved developing estimates of national and regional (e.g., by state) needs for
SOM staff, for the years 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Finally, we determined whether staffing
needs represent new employment or reclassification of existing positions. Each of these four
subtasks is described in this section.
Subtask 1.1--Conducting the Literature Review. To fully understand SOM occupations, our
team conducted a literature review to identify and assemble information from United States and
international published research, technical reports, conference presentations, and case studies on
SOM employment trends. An overview of the documents we reviewed is provided in Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1
Literature Review Sources
Previous TRB projects including the following ICF's Transportation Recruitment, Development and
NCHRP Projects: 20-77, Transportation Operations Retention Practices Database, which extensively
Training Framework; 20-24(40), Analysis and cataloged over 150 `Best-Practice' recruitment,
Benchmarking of State DOT Recruitment and Hiring development, and retention programs for NCHRP
Practices; 20-24(48), Analysis and Benchmarking of (created for NCHRP Project 20-81).
State DOT Human Resource Activities; 20-24(50), In-
Service Training Needs for State DOTs; 20-72, Tools to Database of Best Practices in Recruitment and
Aid State DOTs in Responding to Workforce Workforce Management of DOT Contractors
Challenges; and TRB Special Report 275: The identified during a project for the Florida Department of
Workforce Challenge. Transportation.
ICF's Related Industry and Private Sector Professional Human Resources (HR) organizations,
Benchmarking Database that includes data ICF has which provide publications and published surveys by
collected on recruitment and retention practices during organizations with specific expertise in recruitment,
similar studies with Fortune 500 companies, related retention, and workforce development issues such as the
federal and state agencies, and local and national Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the
member associations. Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychologists
(SIOP), the International Public Management
Surveys and research conducted by AASHTO, Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), and the
Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at
(AMPO), International City/County Management Rutgers University.
Association (ICMA), and state leagues of municipalities.
Technical reports and relevant studies conducted by
NCHRP Research Results Digest 327: Transportation private- and public-sector organizations such as the
Implications of Emerging Economic Development Department of Defense, the Department of Education,
Trends, published by the Transportation Research Board Federal Transit Administration, and other federal
in August 2008. agencies and state and local organizations.
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Exhibit 1 (Continued)
Literature Review Sources
Journals devoted to applied problems in Position description and skills databases, such as the
organizations, such as Personnel Psychology, Academy Occupational Information Network (O*NET) and the
of Management Journal, Public Personnel Management, National Transportation Training Resource.
Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of
Organizational Behavior. Industry journals, such as Transportation and
Transportation Quarterly.
The primary outcome of the Task 1 literature review was to establish a preliminary definition of
past, current, and future SOM employment trends. This understanding informed subsequent
project activities.
Subtask 1.2--Interviewing Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). To further develop an
understanding of the SOM workforce, specifically concerning the current and anticipated future
SOM employment needs and the technical knowledge requirements for SOM careers, our team
conducted interviews with a representative group of SOM subject matter experts (SMEs). These
SMEs had at least 5 years' experience in various SOM careers and were identified through their
involvement in one of the following: NCHRP Project Panel 20-86, AASHTO Highway
Subcommittee on Systems Operation and Management, and/or NCHRP Project Panel 20-77.
SMEs were also selected across diverse and geographically dispersed transportation agencies
that further varied in size and community distinction (such as urban versus rural).
All experts participated in a 1- to 2-hour telephone interview to discuss opportunities and
obstacles they saw in careers in the SOM field. Using the preliminary literature review findings,
we developed a protocol comprised of open-ended questions and probes that allowed for
investigation of the factors that facilitate and challenge career growth, as well as the specific
career paths that incumbents have followed to pursue an SOM career. For example, the protocol
included questions regarding the types of jobs, work responsibilities, education, and training
which helped SMEs progress toward their current SOM career.
In total, we interviewed 24 SOM experts. Exhibit 2 provides the positions and represented
agencies of the SOM experts who participated in these interviews.
Exhibit 2
SOM Interview Participants
Position Title Representative Agency
Program Manager for Transportation Engineering
AASHTO
Operations
Transportation Staff Consultant Bergmann Associates
Deputy District Director of Operations California DOT
Chief, Division of Research and Innovation California DOT
ITS Branch Director Colorado DOT
TMC Operations Manager Delaware DOT
Systems Preservation Engineer FHA
Assistant Chief Engineer (Operations) Idaho DOT
Branch Manager for System Operations Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Director of Transportation Maine DOT
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Exhibit 2 (Continued)
SOM Interview Participants
Position Title Representative Agency
Deputy Director, Office of Highway Development Maryland State Highway Administration
Chief, Recruitment and Examination Division Maryland State Highway Administration
Director of ITS Programs Massachusetts DOT
Systems Operations and Management Engineer Michigan DOT
Director of System Management Missouri DOT
Deputy Director/Chief Engineer Nevada DOT
Executive Director, Statewide Traffic Operations New Jersey DOT
Manager of ITS Operations New Mexico DOT
Special Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer New York State DOT
Director for Systems Operations, Office of Traffic
New York State DOT
Safety and Mobility
Director, Workforce Development Appalachian Transportation Institute
State Traffic Engineer, Transportation Mobility and
North Carolina DOT
Safety
Operations Director Utah DOT
Chief of Operations Virginia DOT
Subtask 1.3--Determining SOM Staffing Estimates. To generate staffing estimates for SOM
occupations, our team mapped SOM-related work functions to standardized occupational codes
(SOCs or O*NET-SOC Code) developed by the Employment and Training Administration of the
Department of Labor (DOL). This mapping exercise allowed our team to identify DOL standard
occupations that include the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) characteristic of SOM
occupations. KSAs are often designated as mandatory or desirable and are defined in the
following manner:
Knowledge statements refer to an organized body of information usually of a factual or
procedural nature which, if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible. A
body of information is applied directly to the performance of a function.
Skill statements refer to the proficient manual, verbal, or mental manipulation of data or
things. Skills can be readily measured by a performance test or proficient manipulation of
things where quantity and quality of performance are tested, usually within an established
time limit.
Ability statements refer to the power to perform an observable activity at the present
time. This means that abilities have been evidenced through activities or behaviors that
are similar to those required on the job.
Next, our team generated and analyzed current and future occupational estimates for SOM
occupations through the use of SOC codes. We conducted this analysis at the national, regional
(i.e., Northeast, South, Midwest, and West), and state levels. Our historical estimates provide
information on the change in SOM-related occupations during the time period between 2005 and
2010. Our future occupational reports provide information on projected changes for SOM-related
occupations between 2010 and 2015, as well as 2010 and 2020.
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