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Planning
There are two general approaches to developing projects during the planning stage of the safety management process: the hotspot approach and the systemic approach. The hotspot approach focuses on selecting and treating sites based on site-specific crashes. The systemic approach focuses on selecting and treating sites based on site-specific risk factors (i.e., geometric and operational attributes known to increase crash risk). These two approaches are complementary and support a comprehensive approach to safety management.
The primary difference between the two approaches is the order in which screening and diagnosis occur in the planning stage. The hotspot approach starts with network screening followed by diagnosis (at the site level). The systemic approach starts with diagnosis (at the network level) followed by screening. While there are differences in the application of the two approaches, both focus on preventing future crashes and reducing fatalities and serious injuries. Another commonality is focusing on sites with the greatest potential for safety improvement. In either case, it is important to use reliable, data-driven methods to inform these decisions.
The Planning menu provides access to both both approaches. The hotspot approach is available via the Planning>Screening>Network menu while the systemic approach is available via the Planning>Screening>Systemic menu. Each approach allows the user to create, save and execute a screening scenario. A scenario defines and stores the parameters and specifications under which the screening operation is performed. The planning menu also the user to delete and share the various scenarios created via the Planning>Screening>Manage menu. Finally, the Planning menu provides users with the functionality to develop, manage and implement an Annual Work Program (AWP) via the Planning>AWP menu, where user can prioritize their investigations for the year, selecting sites that were identified using both network screening and systemic analysis.
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