Features

*Zeina Nazer, secretary general of ITS-Arab, introduces the rapid evolution of Intelligent Transport Systems in the Middle East and North Africa and talks about the special challenges and opportunities this represents, both for the industry and her organisation. Over the past six years, ITS-Arab has focused on promoting Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) at the policy and decision making echelons, while developing ITS specifications at a project design level throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MEN

The 17th IRF World Meeting & Exhibition, to be held November 9-13, 2013 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is set to be an event that any industry professional can benefit from in numerous ways. The World Meeting’s strength lies in its solid foundation of eight components, each interlocking and with and building off of the others. Executive sessions will feature standard presentations by industry experts, followed by questions and answers in a panel format. The technical sessions, driven by the yearlong call for paper

The use of sophisticated machine control technology has helped halve the schedule required for a road contract – Jeff Winke. By using the latest machine control systems on the equipment fleet, a US contractor has managed to halve worker hours, machine time and overall costs. “We chopped 50% off the contract schedule,” said Jim Swenson, licensed professional land surveyor for Oregon Mainline Paving based in McMinnville, Oregon. “The project was completed a year ahead of the two-year schedule,” he explained.

A leading WIM system manufacturer is playing a key role in efforts to reduce the number of overloaded trucks costing developing economies around the world billions of dollars in accidents and damage to roads, while another company has won a major contract in South America. Guy Woodford reports. The prevalence of overloaded trucks on the road networks of developing countries and the accidents and structural damage they cause wastes valuable, limited resources in some of the world’s poorest economies, diverti

In the Intelligent Transportation Systems world, the concept of managing roadway or transportation corridors is not new. Smart Corridor concepts have existed for some time, such as the Santa Monica Smart Corridor system from the 1990s. Across the world, a new emerging model for operating roadway transportation networks called integrated corridor management (ICM) has emerged. This is particularly true in California, where several new ICM projects have or are being deployed. There is a new paradigm for corrid

German traffic analysis consultant and software maker PTV, which produces the well-known Visum and Vissim strategic traffic analysis and micro-simulation tools, has launched a new assessment tool aimed at studying traffic impact of new developments. PTV Vistro is claimed to be the first all-in­ one-solution for transport analysis and signal optimisation, an easy-to-use software that can be used to conduct traffic studies which are often a mandatory part of development applications and planning approvals.

A quick look at various software development in highways – Adrian Greeman. Software for BIM processes, internet cloud based computing to link site and office, and the use of laser scan point-cloud data continue to be the central themes for major software suppliers in the road design area. Developments go hand in hand with the recent strategic agreements that firms like Autodesk and Bentley Systems have made with major survey companies, Topcon and Trimble respectively. The tie-ups, along with acquisitions, m

Advances in transmission technology will help to optimise machine performance – writes Mike Woof. As construction machines have become more sophisticated, so have the transmission systems used in items of equipment. Advances in electronics and software in particular have allowed the development of integrated transmissions. These operate more efficiently and help optimise power delivery from an engine, boosting torque response and cutting fuel consumption and emissions at the same time. The smart electronics