This report presents the second phase results of a two-phase study on advanced data acquisition technology for maintenance management systems. The first phase study outlined the requirements and design considerations for applications of new technologies to various maintenance data collection scenarios. In the second phase, field demonstration, testing and evaluation of representative technology in three state transportation departments - Maryland, Connecticut and Arizona - showed the potential for local and state highway agencies to significantly improve traditional approaches to maintenance data collection. Electronic clipboards, laptop and hand-held computers, bar-code scanners, voice recognition system, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, mobile cellular communications, and digitised maps were customised for applications involving work scheduling, work reporting and roadway feature inventory updating by highway maintenance field managers. In addition, these technologies were evaluated in regards to sign inventory and maintenance management. The findings and synthesis indicate that agencies that wish to adopt some of the advanced data acquisition technologies can expect to enhance their overall productivity and efficiency from automated data collection and processing operations. A videotape documenting the field demonstrations is a companion to this research report. (A)
Samenvatting