Get Better Results in Less Time on Your Connected Vehicle Deployment
JULY 14, 2020 // JEFF VARICK
If your city is leading a Connected Vehicle pilot deployment program, you can expect the project to fall behind schedule by months — and possibly even years, if you don’t assemble the right team up front. It’s an unfortunate reality, because you’re taking on a completely new kind of initiative. Every SmartCity’s project is unique, and best practices are still being discovered. But what if there was a way to ensure a more successful CV deployment project, in less time? Brandmotion Solutions recently completed a connected vehicle deployment project in Tampa, Florida, that caught the attention of SmartCities nationwide. The Tampa CV Pilot, led by the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA), was one of three pilots awarded by the USDOT in 2016 for testing CV technologies using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC). Thanks to excellent project leadership by the THEA Project Manager, Bob Frey, and his pioneering use of the Vehicle Integrator role, the Tampa project wrapped up a year ago. It is currently collecting data from nearly 1000 vehicles, while the other two pilots launched at the same time are still ongoing and not expected to be completed soon. What made the difference?
Connected Vehicle Projects Can Be Frustrating
Connected Vehicle pilot programs aren’t the core business for most City Project Managers. City infrastructure managers are deeply familiar with challenges like roadway capacity and intersection technology, but adding technology and receiving data from demonstration vehicles is outside the typical ITS skillset. There are many unique decisions to be made.
- Which OBUs should you use?
- Which vehicles are candidates for demo?
- Which City fleet partners are the best choice?
- How do you ensure that you get good results?
- What security system should you use?
- Who are the right partners?
These are just a few of the questions and challenges facing any city manager responsible for planning and performing a pilot deployment. More than ever, expert partner qualification and selection rises to the top of the list, because few cities own the kind of resources to make these projects happen on their own.
Your CV Integration Can Save Time and Frustration
Bob Frey at THEA was forward-thinking. He saw the benefits of hiring a single partner to act as vehicle integrator and installer on the vehicle side of the program. After a visit to Detroit and a tour of MCity at the University of Michigan, THEA hired Brandmotion Solutions to run the entire vehicle side of the project. Brandmotion Solutions is an end-to-end provider for everything related to connected vehicle integrations — from OBU sourcing and testing, to system validation and large scale installations. Here’s what you get when you make Brandmotion your one-stop shop for vehicle integration.
1) Better results in less time
The familiar CV project model hires a project manager, who then hires OBU suppliers, application graphic designers, harness makers, antenna suppliers, installers, interoperability test engineers and other specialists who are needed to make the program come together. Because these teams have typically never worked together before, there’s a lot of stumbling through the project during handoffs and communications. Extra meetings are needed, and a lot of time is spent just figuring out how to work together. Brandmotion Solutions lets you remove the excess players from the equation. Because our internal teams are constantly collaborating, we’ve optimized our processes for efficiency and performance. A single partner with greater efficiency means you’ll get better results in less time.
2) Single point accountability
When a project management firm hires subcontractors, they inherently introduce a messy communication chain:
- Multiple parties have to weigh in on decisions.
- Complications are never simple to resolve.
- Differences in organizations mean misunderstandings easily arise.
- Information has to pass through several channels.
Who’s accountable? Not only is it hard to figure out where the buck stops, but you can’t always tell who’s supposed to be doing what. Your CV integration can avoid these obstacles by sourcing the entire vehicle-side project to a single Vehicle Integrator. Because all the teams are internal, everyone is on the same page, working under shared assumptions, using a streamlined communication process they’re familiar with. And you always know where the buck stops.
3) Deep vehicle expertise
Many project management firms have deep experience on the roadside technology portion of a connected vehicle program. They’ve built their businesses on infrastructure. But they don’t have the experience or expertise to understand the OBU technologies and integrations. While they have great project management experience, it doesn’t translate well from infrastructure to vehicle. Brandmotion brings a depth of knowledge and experience that few organizations can provide, because we’ve been leaders in integrating vehicle safety technologies for years. We’ve seen every side of connected vehicle programs, we have a solid history with OBU suppliers, and we bring unparalleled expertise to every project.
4) Wealth of resources
Often, even large project management firms have limited available resources to dedicate towards the OBU efforts. They may only provide one project manager, one technician, and an engineer. Brandmotion may be smaller, but we have a wealth of personnel resources. We can supply several installers, a project manager, a technical team, and sales personnel. Your CV pilot deployment program will be fully equipped with all the resources you need to ensure the most efficient integration possible.
Don’t Sweat Your CV Deployment Project
Connected Vehicle integrations may have a reputation for getting messy and extending too long, but you can get better results in less time. Rely on an integration specialist that has the expertise and resources to manage the entire OBU effort. Don’t just hire someone to provide the components — trust an end-to-end partner who can deliver a fully integrated system for vehicles of all sizes and types. Start optimizing your Connected Vehicle pilot deployment project.
