Concept of Operations

The cities throughout Los Angeles County all manage their traffic signal systems differently. Generally, larger Agencies manage their traffic signal systems daily in a more hands-on manner, while smaller Agencies do not. Likewise, the IEN will be used differently by different Agencies.

Every participating Los Angeles County Agency will get an IEN workstation. In most cases, the IEN workstation will be installed in an Agency’s Local City Control Site (LCCS). The location of the LCCS will vary by Agency. For large Agencies the LCCS may be an actual Traffic Management Center (TMC), but the LCCS is oftentimes the traffic engineer’s office.

The IEN will be utilized in two distinct operational modes: locally and regionally. In local mode, the IEN workstation is one means for an Agency to observe the operation of their traffic signal system (and potentially other ITS devices). There is also a limited control capacity via the local operational mode. (In general, control of a traffic signal system and other devices will be done via a traffic control system operated by the County [with authorization of the local Agency] or by the Agency itself.)

The Regional operational mode is where the power and benefits of the IEN can be realized. When used in this mode, Agencies can monitor traffic signal operations and coordinate incident management activities with adjacent jurisdictions. In addition, effected Agencies can be notified in advance of planned events (road work, parades, etc.).

Some of the more common tasks that Agencies will perform while utilizing the IEN include:

Monitor IEN workstation performance (e.g., workstation operating and presenting live data, etc.), contacting the County if problems are noted.
Ensure that the IEN is updated to reflect the real-world implementation.
Check that field components (controllers, detectors, etc.) are communicating with the IEN and are functioning properly, taking corrective actions as needed.
Monitor traffic operations as needed/desired using the IEN workstation (if there is not a local TCS workstation).
Notify other Agencies and/or the County of any upcoming planned events that may affect them.
Work with other Agencies to develop coordinated incident management plans and implement, as needed.

As stated previously, the level of effort that each Agency spends performing these tasks will vary and range anywhere from an hour or two per week for smaller Agencies that have the County operating their traffic signal operations to one or more full-time staff for Agencies that operate a full traffic control system (where the IEN is a tool in their daily activities).