| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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Overall, EXAT has established a corporate plan of FY 2012 – 2016 under vision “A worthwhile Choice, Advanced Development, Care for the Environment” by determining the operational strategy for creating knowledge-based and innovation-based organization. The main strategic objective is to drive EXAT into a learning organization to achieve a High Performance Organization. The strategy is transformed into practice by developing proper action plan which is evaluated via State Enterprise Performance Appraisal (SEPA). Research and development activities as a framework for ITS development are included in the action plan. Thus, ITS development has been deployed using well-defined three following strategies.
ITS Human Resource Development Strategy - EXAT has arranged two PhD scholarships for selected staff since 2004. EXAT also provided technical transfers for 9 technical staff and engineers at cooperative expressway agencies in Japan (2 groups from 2011-2012 under MOU), and dispatched 2 engineers under JICA, Japan.
Cooperative Strategy - EXAT focuses on institutions and agencies with experience in expressway management through a Public-Private-Academic Partnership and being members of engineering organisations such as ATRANS and ITS Thailand. EXAT has also contributed MOUs with three Japanese expressway companies and technical collaborations with leading universities in Thailand and abroad. This has made EXAT accomplished several ITS projects; e.g. the Study and Development of ITS System Master Plan and ITS Center Establishment (ITS Phase 1) established in 2011. The study comprises short, medium, and long-term plans of ITS development. Then the ITS Center was officially opened in 2012 for installing and evaluating the ITS system. There are a number of projects which were initiated to support the operation of the ITS Center including studies of Travel Time Estimation, Automatic Incident Detection System, and Origin and Destination Survey using mobile phones. The findings help support the efficient operation of the ITS system. Also in late 2012-2013, the ITS Pilot Corridor Project on the Kanchanaphisek expressway (ITS Phase 1.5) and the development of ITS Center (ITS Phase 2) had been preceded by employing those findings to the actual use of the Kanchanaphisek expressway. The study provided calibration and validation of equipment purchased from abroad to work well with the local environment. This has made the accuracy of the ITS system improved over 85 percent which will be a generalization framework for other expressways.
Benchmarking Strategy - EXAT has preceded the academic papers to show the process of ITS system development, methods and tools of the experiment including reviews of academic work from seminars in both Thailand and abroad. The studies have also been published in recognised journals to gather comments and feedback from academic experts. Finally, those outcomes are collected as EXAT’s Knowledge Management (KM). Consequently, the implementation of ITS center’s 7 subsystems was achieved, they are; Automatic Data Collection System, Smart Variable Message Sign (Smart VMS), Data Exchange System, Schematic Map System, Devices Monitoring System, Automatic Incident Detection System, and EXAT ITS System.
After the ITS system on the Kanchanaphisek expressway is fully operated, the systems is monitored every day, Reveal preference surveys to improve ITS implementation and users’ satisfaction surveys are conducted regarding the requirements of SEPA in the category of customer and marketing focus. Aside from the internal evaluation, EXAT also managed surveys to evaluate users’ satisfaction relating the traffic information provided and the overall expressway services in 2013 and 2014 in order to improve serviceability. The results show that users’ satisfaction improves to 85 percent, far above the goal of SEPA which at 85 percent. The results will be used to improve services and ITS development to reach the HPO and be transferred to other expressways under the ITS Master Plan.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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The initiative is started from the technical and users’ requirements to support traffic management, also facilitates organisations having access to the real-time traffic information. The ITS development is in cooperation with several schemes as follows:
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with best-practice organisations - the MOUs aim to exchange knowledge and experiences via technical-transfer programmes. This builds staff’s capability to be ready in the rapid change of technological environment. The best-practice organisations include Hanshin Expressway Co., Ltd., Metropolitan Expressway Co., Ltd., and West Nippon Expressway Engineering Chugoku Co., Ltd., Japan.
MOUs with educational institutions on technical collaboration - they are the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), Chulalongkorn University, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, and Khon Kaen University.
Cooperation agreements on traffic management by sharing real-time traffic information with related organisations - the organisations are Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning which establishes overall transportation plans and ITS development master plan, Traffic and Transportation Department which provides traffic information through EXAT Smart VMS, Thai Traffic Police which supports traffic information on the expressways for managing traffic flow, and Intelligent Traffic Information Center (iTIC) Foundation which reports traffic conditions.
Cooperation agreements with public media – they are Thai TV Channel 3, JS100 radio station, and FM91 Trafficpro radio station, to broadcast traffic information on expressways. Additionally, EXAT has also created our media channels to communicate and obtain feedback and comments from users such as EXAT website and mobile applications.
Internal collaboration - IT Department supports the IT connectivity, Maintenance Department provides suggestions on monitoring the system, Traffic Control Department and EXAT Call Center 1543 give requirements on the needs of routine operation, and Expressway System Engineering Research and Development Division coordinates among those mentioned departments creating the effective ITS system development in EXAT.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The resources that used to develop the ITS system consist of financial and human resources. For financial resource, EXAT has allocated fiscal budget for developing ITS research studies, tests, demonstrations, seminars and technical conferences, and ITS system deployment and applications every year. In FY 2013, the budget allocation of the ITS system (this includes comparative study of various types of sensors, a study on cost-effectiveness, a study on calibration and verification) was 0.93% of total annual budget. The budget was divided into three portions: permanent employee wages 0.46%, seminars and conferences, demonstrations and trainings 0.01%, academic works and studies 0.01%, and equipment and installation 0.44%. The allocated budget was purposely applied for research studies to find out the needs of initiating a Master Plan in development as well as conducting analysis and testing of system, technology, and traffic devices (e.g. sensors, VMS). The budget also included supplying related tools and equipment for maximum effectiveness of the ITS system performance. In FY 2015, the allocated budget for ITS development and installation as well as research study is dramatically increased to 2.5 %, because ITS deployment has been proven to alleviate traffic congestion successfully. EXAT will keep tracking the budget allocation continuously.
For human resource, ITS development actually requires multi-skill personnel from multidiscipline. The Expressway System Engineering Research and Development Division is assigned to be in charge of the ITS development directly. The key personnel in this division are composed of engineers and experts in various fields such as traffic and transportation, computers, telecommunications, and information technology. To gain the mentioned expertises to build up staff’s capability, those key persons are purposely assigned to work together to determine the needs of the system, the integration of traffic data, and the appropriate technology and methods in collecting and processing real-time traffic information. Accordingly, sharing of knowledge and expertises are made, and then various tests, complex analysis and new algorithms development can be successfully done. The professionals then evaluate such traffic information for the actual use of traffic management and then present the analysed traffic data to the public. The process of human resource development requires relevant knowledge from related departments within EXAT and from universities and private companies in the light of technical collaborations.
Besides, external organizations as partners in ITS development also provide EXAT a support via important tools and equipment. For example, Intelligent Traffic Information Center (iTIC) Foundation, a non-profit organization that serves as a traffic information center of public and private sectors, advocated EXAT servers for connecting traffic data in order to improve the data quantity and quality of real-time traffic information to be more accurate and updated. The main objective of iTIC is being the center of traffic information that distributes such information to the public for reaching the maximum benefit in reducing traffic congestion and increasing road safety for the people and the nation.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The most successful outputs can be divided into 4 aspects by focusing on each major stakeholder. They are;
Firstly, ITS Human Resource Development has been achieved. In 2012, EXAT received over 10 ITS specialists and engineers. They have been assigned to prepare Knowledge Management (KM) such as Thai and English ITS textbooks, internal technical manuals, and several articles and papers for academic conferences in order to support the ideas of sustainable and transferable ITS development and finally to gain a Learning Organisation (LO).
Secondly, ITS applications have been accomplished. The applications include Smart Variable Message Sign (Smart VMS), Schematic Map System, and Automatic Incident Detection (AID) System in order to provide such as traffic conditions, CCTV information, toll rates, and emergency calls through website and mobile applications. At present, the system accuracy is above 85%, the number of user increases 5-20% per month.
Importantly, AID system functions as an accident warning system in advance using newly-developed algorithm models. This application’s capability monitors and detects accidents within 3-5 minutes with a lower false alarm rate. This is faster than the EXAT existing operation (10 minutes).
Thirdly, Data Exchange System among related transportation agencies including Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, Traffic and Transportation Department, Thai Traffic Police, iTIC Foundation, and the internal department, EXAT Call Center 1543 has been achieved. The system is utilised for gathering the real-time traffic information on expressways and roads, processing data, and the system then provides the guided information to the related users. The system is developed under the web service protocol with acceptable levels of security. EXAT also conducts survey studies to obtain user’s needs to improve the system efficiency twice a year.
Lastly, technical collaborations with universities under Public-Private-Academic Partnership (PPAP) scheme have been achieved. This scheme is not only made to accelerate the ITS innovation and development, but also to support the universities’ studies making new concepts and ideas to meet the need of ITS proficiency by allowing an access to EXAT’s real-time traffic information system of the Kanchanaphisek expressway for scholars, researchers, lecturers, and university students.
Additionally, EXAT has made a 1-year economic analysis regarding travel time savings and vehicle operating cost savings applying the ITS system on the expressways. For this specified corridor, the average speed increased by 0.36 %, the benefits is 1.33 Million Baht/month, Benefit Cost Ratio (B/C) is 9.58 times, and payback time is 3 years.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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EXAT has continuously developed the ITS system by obtaining and evaluating from stakeholders’ needs both internal and external organizations. The results have been bought to improve the system performance. These results have also been delivered to plan the ITS development for the entire expressway network and to minimise system errors. These could enhance the ITS system to be more effective and result in more precise traffic information provided.
For internal control, EXAT determines the ITS development plan in advance and put into the action plan annually under the Corporate Plan FY 2012-2016 and reports the follow-up of the activities in the internal control system and risk management system. The progress must be reported monthly and quarterly. In addition, the report of the efficiency of the ITS center’s 7 subsystems must be documented daily and monthly. If the operation faces any problem, all concerned persons must help resolve to prevent any further negative impact on the whole system within a defined short period of time. The development is also put into the Master Plan of the Corporate Information System and tracks the progress monthly and quarterly. Besides, EXAT has surveyed the satisfaction of internal staff e.g. officers from EXAT Call Center 1543 and from the rescue teams twice a year to improve the ITS system and future development. Moreover, EXAT has delivered several papers and articles for academic conferences and journals to obtain experts’ feedback and comments. For example, the 1-year economic analysis on the expressways has been accepted and to be presented at the 9th National Transport Conference, 2014.
For external evaluation, EXAT has studied and surveyed drivers’ behaviour of how they decide to use the expressways under the influence of real-time traffic information once a year for improving the services. The findings show 5% of expressway users are most likely to choose expressways when light traffic occurs. But if there is traffic congestion on the expressways, 8% of users are likely to switch to alternatives. This indicates that the real-time traffic information under ITS deployment influences driving behaviour and is very beneficial to expressway users. EXAT also conducts a study of expressway users’ satisfaction once a year for improving the services. In 2014, the result shows that the users’ satisfaction reached more than 85%.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Although EXAT had studied the ITS Master Plan and made a methodical implementation, there were three main obstacles which were overcome i.e. limited budget, lack of human resources, and technological incompatibility.
For the budget issues, the ITS system needed a number of imported sensors installed along the expressways. EXAT spent 65 million Baht on previous ITS projects. As a result, very high investment affected overall annual budget, and could have made discontinuity on the ITS development. To solve this, EXAT divided the ITS development into phasing arrangement – e.g. EXAT should have considered the installation of sensor at 1 km interval (accuracy about 90%), but EXAT did 2 km interval with accuracy of 85%. Thus, the budget required could be more than halved, but the accuracy was reduced only slightly.
For the human resources issue, it is undeniable that multi-discipline is needed in this rapidly changing technological environment. Thus, EXAT has managed the technical transfer programmes by dispatching experienced staff to attend ITS courses in the Best Practice organizations. After their return, the staff are responsible for accomplishing KM projects related to the ITS system, and for publishing internationally acknowledged textbooks, articles in journals and technical manuals which are updated regularly.
For the technological incompatibility issues, ITS equipment should be constantly updated for the best performance. This is most likely to bring incompatibility between the existing system and the newly-updated devices. To overcome, EXAT provided technical studies and manuals, and standard of new devices’ installation and replacement as well as technical specification procurement.
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