Woldesenbet, A K (2014) Highway infrastructure data and information integration & assessment framework: A data-driven decision-making approach. PhD thesis, Iowa State University, USA.
Abstract
State highway agencies invest a large amount of resources in collecting, storing and managing various types of data ranging from roadway inventory to pavement condition data during the life cycle of a highway infrastructure project. Despite this huge investment, the current level of data use is limited and is raising concerns whether the growing amount of data adds value to users and offers meaningful return on data collection efforts. This study presents a holistic approach that can systematically integrate and bridge data with information and decisions through incorporation of a unique and proactive performance assessment technique to improve the utilization of a growing amount of data in transportation agencies. With a focus on enhancing the active utilization of data and measuring level of data use, this research delivers i) Integrated Data Quality Assessment Framework ii) Three-tiered Hierarchical Data-Information-Decision-making Framework and iii) Highway Infrastructure Data Integration (HIDI) index, new data and information performance assessment tool. The study presents an integrated requirement analysis to identify the satisfaction level of various highway decision-makers in current data use and determine the quality requirements of highway data in an integrated and objective manner through the application of fault tree analysis. A three-tiered hierarchical framework is presented to understand the relationship between data and information and identify their use in supporting highway infrastructure decision-making processes. As part of this framework, key players in decision-making processes are identified and quantified through the application of a social network theory. A new index called, HIDI is also developed to evaluate the status of data utilization that may serve as Highway Infrastructure Data Report Card and help justify the return on investment on the continuous and growing data collection efforts. This research study will allow agencies to interlink data, information and decisions and to develop active utilization plans of currently existing databases to place the right information in the hands of decision-makers. It will enhance the development of new data collection scheme and information generation plans to support key decisions that, historically, were not well-supported with information and data. The study uses pavement management data as a primary data set to illustrate the application of the framework and it also uses preconstruction service data as a case study and a validation data set. This new framework may be used as a benchmarking example for SHAs in the area of data and information integration to make effective and reliable decisions through data-driven insights.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Jeong, H D |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | highway; inventory; pavement; benchmarking; infrastructure project; integration; investment; life cycle; case study |
| Index terms: | return on investment, transportation agency, integration, decision-making, life cycle, data-driven decision-making, database, inventory, fault-tree analysis, social network theory, decision-making process, agency, information integration, highway infrastructure, quality assessment, holistic approach, case study, performance assessment, benchmarking, validation, infrastructure project, satisfaction |
| Subjects: | performance measurement, information systems, professional development, transportation engineering, organizational analysis, value management, quality assurance, infrastructure and transport systems, sociology, assessment methods, data collection methods, risk management, civil engineering, data management, project delivery, economic analysis, decision analysis, business, inventory management |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Quality Management, Human Resources, Digital Applications, Risk Management, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here