TSMO Awards

2nd Annual TSMO Awards

The second annual TSMO Awards are now open for submissions until October 11. For this year's awards, we are accepting 1200 word submissions in four categories:

  • Best TSMO Project or Strategy Implementation
  • Agency Improvement: Use of Capability Maturity Model (CMM)
  • TSMO Workforce Development
  • Best Use of Management of Data to Improve TSMO

Just like last year, many of the awards submissions will be developed into case studies to help advance the TSMO practice.

More details on the submission process and these categories can be found below.

TSMO Awards Overview

At the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE), our aim is to support and empower the people who operate the nation’s transportation management systems, by connecting them with experts and sharing best practices to save lives, time and money.

To celebrate their successes, we are holding the 2nd Annual NOCoE Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) Awards to showcase the very best in our industry.

Our goal for these awards is to celebrate TSMO, expand its use in the United States, and share these impactful and creative solutions with a growing audience as we work to improve our nation’s transportation system through more effective management and operations.

We will solicit applications of 1200 words or less, along with additional documentation, allowing us to share their experiences on our website and social media channels.

We will select winners in four primary categories (described below) from which we will select an overall winning submission. Judges will also select a runner-up in each category. The winners from each category will receive travel for one representative to attend TRB 2020 to receive their award and participate in the awards ceremony.

The Four Categories

We've changed the categories this year, just slightly. Each category will have one winner and one runner-up. Each submission can only be for one category. This year’s categories are aimed to solicit the best TSMO practices out there that can be celebrated and shared with the wider community via case studies.

1. Best TSMO project (creative solution) – This award will recognize an actual, implemented project e.g. ATM, SPaT corridor, V2I pilot, ICM; planning or response to a specific event; or other TSMO improvement with consideration of safety, congestion and/or travel time reliability improvements. These innovative practices seek to advance the transportation system via public communications, traffic incident management, special event management, or other activities that save lives, time, or money

2. Agency Improvement: Use of Capability Maturity Model (CMM) elements to improve an agency’s TSMO capabilities – This award will recognize an agency/organization that uses CMM in the agency/organization and how the capabilities in each of the CMM dimensions have been improved through the use of the agency/organization self-assessments and implementation of follow on action plans.

3. TSMO Workforce Development – This award will highlight an agency or organization that has developed a key practice to advance workforce development within their organization or agency or advanced workforce for the TSMO community overall. Activities in the past five years will be considered but innovative practices being implemented currently will also be considered as long as expected benefits are discussed.

4. Best Use of Management of Data to Improve TSMO -  This award will highlight innovate methods being used to manage data that improve the management and operations of the transportation system. Special consideration will be given to activities that demonstrate implementation of improved data management practices across departments/divisions within an organization to demonstrate improvements.  

NOCoE TSMO Overall Winner  – This award will be chosen from among the category winners as the best overall submission and will be announced during TRB 2020. 

Award Submission Eligibility

NOCoE TSMO Awards are open to any city, county, MPO (RPO, COG), state DOT and private sector organizations.

Award Criteria

Applicants should describe a TSMO project or strategy, implemented within the last five years that demonstrates transportation system management or operations success in saving lives, time or money (individually or in combination). Submissions will be judged on the 1200 word written portion  (with weighted sections) as well as supporting documentation that demonstrates an overall public, community and industry impact, creativity and advances TSMO.

Submissions may be shared publicly and on the NOCoE website (unless otherwise requested).

Submission Rules

All applications for the 2019 awards cycle must be submitted no later than midnight on October 11, 2019. Applications must include associated TSMO program planning documents, and may include any supporting documentation that further explains the processes involved. Each submission should include:

  • Name of the organization(s) applying for the award
  • Name of contact applying for the award including:
    • Address (city, state, zip code, country)
    • Phone number
    • Twitter handle (if applicable)
  • Category being applied for
  • Up to 1,200 words  in the following sections:
    • Background - Provide details of history and situation that led to a need for a TSMO solution
    • TSMO Planning, Strategies and Deployment - Provide details of the TSMO implementation process from beginning to end
    • Communications Planning and Execution - Provide details of the communications process with the public, within your agency, and if applicable, coordination with other agencies
    • Outcome, Benefit and Learnings - Provide details of how the TSMO solution worked, any public or community benefit and lessons learned
  • Outline or chart of identifying all of the key people involved in each submission, including the core team on the project and each department involved int he effort.
  • Photographs, diagrams, graphics, logos etc. associated with your submission. Please submit individually in 300 DPI or in the highest resolution possible. Also, any agency/company logos should be submitted in .eps format along with a .jpeg or .png
  • Your TSMO Program plan and/or any supporting documentation about your program

Any supplemental materials that are not included in the case study submission document should be submitted at the same time. Please make sure all supporting documents share a common title (ex. TSMO AZ Case Study, TSMO AZ Photo1, TSMO AZ Diagram1).

Submissions should be emailed to Adam Hopps (ahopps@transportationops.org) no later than 11:59pm ET on October 11, 2019. (Please note, we may use an automated submission platform, but if you submit before that is implemented, please just email your submissions).

Judging Criteria 

15% – Background

30% – TSMO Planning, Strategies and Deployment

15% – Communications Planning and Execution

40% – Outcome, Learnings and Public Benefit

2018 NOCoE TSMO Award Winners

Best TSMO project (creative solution) – Recognizing a successful “on the ground” project that demonstrates the solution(s) of improved system management and operations compared with traditional capacity-based approaches.

  • Winner – Arizona Department of Transportation, US-60 Restripe Project: ArizonaDOT Transforms Road Safety Using Full Suite of TSMO Capabilities (reducing crashes by 70% on an interstate merge) (see case study)
  • Runner Up – Arizona Department of Transportation, ArizonaDOT’s Wrong-Way Vehicle Detection System & State Trooper Co-Location (see case study)

 

Improving your agency’s TSMO capabilities – Recognizing an agency or organization that has successfully integrated CMM/CMF into its structure and the TSMO benefit that came from it.

  • Winner – ITS Heartland Chapter of ITS America and HDR – ITS Heartland’s TSMO University Educational Program (see case study)
  • Runner Up – Florida Department of Transportation, Florida’s Truck Parking Availability System (TPAS) (see case study)

     

    Major incident or special event planning and response – Recognizing an agency or organization’s response to a specific incident or special event utilizing TSMO.

    • Winner – North Carolina Department of Transportation - NCDOT Hurricane Florence Preparation and Response (see case study)

    ***North Carolina DOT was also chosen as the Overall Winner***

    • Runner Up – Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC), Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and Information Logistics, Inc. (ILOG) - 511PAConnect (two-way direct emergency communication between the agency and a stranded traveler’s smartphone) (see case study)

     

    Public Communications – Recognizing an agency for successfully increasing public or specific audience awareness of TSMO solutions and benefits.

    • Winner – Oregon Department of Transportation, @OregonTIMResponders: Use of Social Media to Engage Oregon Responders Across Disciplines and Promote Responder Safety Laws and Practices (see case study)
    • Runner Up – Michigan Department of Transportation, Development and Maintenance of the MDOT TSMO Implementation and Strategic Plan (see case study)