Metro-Nashville Justice Integration Services, 2006 - 2007

Requirements gathering, analysis, and definition for re-engineering Metro Nashville's Criminal Justice Information Systems.  Work closely with the office of the Public Defender and the Criminal Court Clerk to gather requirements for new web-based Justice Information System.

Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN)

• Authored the Tennessee Department of Safety's original CVISN Top-Level Design and Program Plan - The original grant amount was $1,480,000.00
• Successfully completed, as an individual effort, the CVISN program plan and design documents for the State's MCSAP agency in August, 2001
• Monitored the CVISN program through weekly meetings and updates from all participants in the program
• Created regular progress reports on the CVISN projects and reported directly to the local FMCSA director
• Collaborated with the University of Tennessee, Volpe Transportation Research Center, the IFTA and IRP director, and third-party vendors to successfully design and implement the State's CVIEW
• Prepared and regularly reported on the CVISN budget

As a result of the successful completion of this grant and the CVISN Top-Level Design and Program Plan, Tennessee was one of the first ten states to achieve its Level-One Certification. The CVISN Level-One Certification procedure was completed by Tennessee on September 30, 2003. A  Level-One Certification was granted to Tennessee the same day. The CVISN program came to fruition on time and under budget.

Expanded Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN)

• Authored the Tennessee Department of Safety's Expanded CVISN Program Plan, Phase I - The original grant amount was $100,000.00
• Gathered stakeholder requirements and specifications for Tennessee's Expanded CVISN Plan
• Successfully completed Tennessee's Expanded CVISN Phase I program plan and design documents in May, 2006

Tennessee's Expanded CVISN Phase I program plan was accepted by FMCSA in June 2006.

Commercial Motor Carrier Safety Research, Analysis, and Development

• Negotiated and authored the Safety, Research, and Analysis contract between the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Department of Safety

The contract was approved by the State, and the University at $5,000,000.00 over five years, which enables the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Department of Safety and the University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to collaborate on many commercial vehicle safety, enforcement, data, and technology research programs.

High Incident Commercial Vehicle Collision - Enforcement Presence

• Negotiated and authored a grant between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Tennessee Department of Safety in the amount of $250,000.00 for enforcement of commercial vehicle safety
• Gathered highway and geography-specific data on commercial motor vehicle collisions where serious injuries or fatalities occur frequently
• Analyzed State and Federal statistical data to produce commercial motor vehicle activity, volume, and fatality projections for selected geographies and transportation corridors in Tennessee
• Prototyped a fatality analysis Geographic Information System using ESRI's ARCView 8.3 and Tennessee's commercial vehicle collision data
• Prepared and reported regularly on the project's budget

As a result of this effort, the Tennessee Highway Patrol is working (March 2007) the enforcement plan outlined in this grant in order to reduce commercial motor vehicle collisions and fatalities in geographies where the number of those collisions is unusually high.

Performance-Based Brake Testing (PBBT)

• Negotiated and authored a grant between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Tennessee Department of Safety in the amount of $250,000.00 for Performance-Based Brake Testing of heavy vehicles
• Collaborated with Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers, State commercial vehicle enforcement executives, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to establish site preparation, inspection pit, and brake tester installation requirements
• Researched, selected, and created brake tester bid specifications for which the State released an invitation to bid
• Prepared and reported regularly on the project's budget

As a result of this effort, the Performance-Based Brake Tester site preparation is underway, the contracts have all been awarded, and the tester is expected to be operational by summer, 2007.

HAZMAT Vehicle Remote Disabling

• Negotiated and authored a grant between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Tennessee Department of Safety in the amount of $250,000.00 for remote disabling of vehicles carrying hazardous materials
• Collaborated with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Department of Safety, and the University of Tennessee in creating a plan to evaluate and identify remote disabling technologies and capabilities
• Prepared and reported regularly on the project's budget

As a result of this effort, early in 2007, several companies demonstrated to Oak Ridge, UT, FMCSA and the Tennessee Department of Safety that a heavy vehicle or school bus can be shut down gradually, or immediately using remote and satellite technologies. A  As a result, consideration for incorporating disabling technologies into highway safety and security plans will continue.

Virtual Inspection Station for Heavy Commercial Vehicles

• Authored a grant between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Tennessee Department of Safety in the amount of $250,000.00 for the State's first virtual inspection for heavy vehicles
• Researched and gathered requirements from the enforcement, regulatory, and technology communities in order to synthesize a plan and set of specifications for a remote commercial vehicle virtual inspection station
• Collaborated with vendors of license plate reader, weigh-in-motion, imaging, and vehicle classification equipment
• Authored the complete specifications for the virtual inspection station to meet the requirements of all stakeholders
• Negotiated and authored cost-share memorandum of understanding, Commissioner-to-Commissioner, between Tennessee's Transportation and Safety agencies
• Prepared and reported regularly on the project's budget

As a result of this effort, Tennessee's first virtual inspection station is scheduled to go into full operation by the end of April 2007.   The engineering, construction, and 50% of the costs were provided by Tennessee DOT as outlined in the cost-share MOU.   The site in Unicoi County, Tennessee, will monitor commercial vehicle traffic on I-26 northbound twenty-four hours a day.

Commercial Vehicle Collision Data Improvement

• Authored a grant between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Tennessee Department of Safety in the amount of $436,000.00 for commercial motor vehicle collision data improvement
• Analyzed the current motor vehicle collision records systems and propose new solutions to address specific problems
• Established baseline compliance levels of Tennessee's commercial vehicle collision data and encoded the MMUCC, SAFETYNET, ANDI-D20, and NHTSA data collection requirements into a collision report document content model (XSDL)
• Researched, designed and prototyped a comprehensive commercial vehicle data validation and verification technique using XML and Internet web application technologies
• Provided expertise and advice regarding available information technology solutions to Commercial Vehicle Analysis Reporting System (CVARS), Fatality Analysis Reporting System, and enforcement operations directors
• Provided technical advice to the director of information technology regarding software development, training, and skill sets required for deployment and maintenance of a commercial vehicle collision data solution
• Prepared and reported regularly on the project's budget

The commercial motor vehicle collision document content model was finished, and its first release to Tennessee's Department of Safety was in October 2006.   The Department intends, and continues to attempt, to deploy a solution that includes the prototyped XML technologies as well as the XSDL document content model all of which were produced as a result of this project.

Performance Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM)

• Authored a grant between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Tennessee Department of Safety in the amount of $400,000.00 for the Performance and Registration Information System Management pilot program
• Collaborated with Tennessee's FMCSA director, IRP and IFTA director, and with the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division to gather requirements for the PRISM program
• Prepared and documented the PRISM program's budget
• Advised Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division of technology solutions that would meet the requirements of the PRISM program

As a result of this effort, Tennessee received one of the highest dollar amounts granted by FMCSA for carrying out the PRISM program plan.   The IRP and IFTA division began printing PDF417 bar codes on commercial vehicle ýcab cardsý which contain all registration pertinent to roadside and enforcement operations.   Significant changes were made to the IFTA and IRP systems that allowed the IRP and IFTA to identify high-risk carriers at the time of registration.   Interfaces to CVIEW for nightly updates to vehicle and registration information were also developed under this program.

Commercial Driver License Improvement, Covert Operations (CDLIS), I and II

• Authored two grants between the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Tennessee Department of Safety - Phase I - $620,000.00, Phase II - $300,000.00 - for covert operations at commercial motor vehicle driver license examining and road testing sites
• Collected and analyzed data, and arrived at conclusions about the Commercial Driver License records system
• Proposed new solutions to address specific areas of potential fraud and lack of due process regarding CDL examiners and candidate drivers
• Evaluate Internet-capable video cameras and video recording equipment to be used at the CDL sites and roadside scale houses

The planning and deployment of capabilities established by these grants is ongoing.  The Department of Safety has made significant changes and continues to improve the integrity of the CDL program in Tennessee.