Intertraffic Innovation News | May 2020
NEW INNOVATION FROM IRD FOR SHARING DATA ACROSS MULTIPLE WIM SITES
The main use of data created at commercial vehicle weigh-in-motion (WIM) inspection stations is to screen vehicles for weight, credential and safety violations, to determine which vehicles need static weighing and inspection. Traditionally, commercial vehicle screening sites only used data for that sorting function and to present information to enforcement staff.
Optimising staffing at sites requires knowledge of the times of day when there is the most need for inspection. Up to now, operators across several weigh stations would have to tally inspections by time of day and submit their records for analysis.
A new option for quickly reviewing operations is IRD’s Central Data Management System (CDMS). This modern, dashboard-oriented, cloud- hosted solution, CDMS enables system-wide and station- level historical reporting and data analysis, as well as data quality checks, automated maintenance monitoring, E-Screening data management and virtual weigh station (VWS) integration. Managers responsible for multiple screening sites can view information from all of them through a single interface.
The CDMS dashboard supports programme management by providing an immediate overview of
operational performance, using key performance indicators (KPIs) related to operations and shows operational or system performance trends, without having to search through system reports for detailed information.
The CDMS dashboard ensures that the overall system can be easily monitored at a high level for optimisation across multiple stations to achieve the agency’s objectives. Seamless integration with other IRD weigh station applications including the real-time operator display software, virtual weigh station software, VI2M data reporting software, and iMMS maintenance management system makes the CDMS a valuable addition to any commercial vehicle enforcement programme. www.irdinc.com
Wireless sensors enable more inventive applications
Loops’ days are numbered! According to Sensys Networks, that’s because agencies are discovering more and more traffic applications for safety and traffic flow that cannot be solved effectively with traditional loops. In instances where accuracy is critical and distance from power access is a challenge, wireless sensors are stepping up to do the job.
Sensys Networks quotes an example from Chinkum Bank, England. The combination of poor visibility and vehicles that turn across opposite lanes of traffic, causing traffic to queue and stop without warning, creates a hotbed for safety and traffic flow issues.
To remedy this, the local traffic agency leveraged speed and length information from magnetometers produced by Sensys Networks and installed by Clearview Intelligence. The installation warns drivers in advance to slow down as they approach these junctions when vehicles are stopped ahead, avoiding a potentially dangerous scenario.
The system feeding these automated warning signs is impressively simple. Wireless sensors were chosen specifically for their accuracy and ability to be placed at distances that are impractical for inductive loops. Speed detection sensors monitor if there is any slow moving traffic signifying queuing vehicles. Meanwhile, presence detection sensors monitor any stopped traffic waiting to turn into the side roads. An additional presence detection sensor monitors traffic driving towards the main road. The data from the sensors furthest from the control cabinet is relayed wirelessly via a repeater unit. This data is then used to trigger warning signs so drivers know if traffic is stopped or turning up ahead.
In addition to this use case, wireless sensors are especially advantageous for applications like adaptive control, midblock and advance detection, and metering on highway entrance ramps. Now, with wireless sensors in their toolkit, agencies are expanding the boundaries of what is possible for improving safety and traffic flow in their roadways.
www.sensysnetworks.com
