Military approach to network-focused operator training for traffic management centers: a case study from the Utah Department of Transportations's traffic operations center

This thesis is a summary of work performed by the Utah Traffic Lab (UTL) to develop a training program for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Traffic Operations Center (TOC) operators. Operators who were normally trained on the job are now trained at the UTL prior to beginning work at the TOC. In order to conduct the training, the UTL began with the UDOT TOC mission statement and applied a military approach to develop individual training tasks required of operators. The UTL then organized these tasks into a concise, two-week training course that could be taught offsite at the UTL. The authors also updated the UTL video display and advanced traffic management system (ATMS) software package to mimic that of the TOC. This gave access to all ATMS devices in the Salt Lake City network and allowed the trainers to evaluate operators in a simulated work environment. Finally, the program was evaluated and adjusted after several iterations. Although training operators offsite is not a new technique, the UTL used the unique approach of focusing training on the regional transportation network and branching off into other relevant topics when appropriate. The UTL found that understanding the local and regional transportation network was the single most important factor in efficient incident management on the roadways. Likewise, incident management is the most important skill of the traffic operator. Other skills such as communicating efficiently with other agencies and operating ATMS devices are relevant and must be taught, but they are secondary to an understanding of the transportation network. This paper is a critical overview of the training methods developed.