9. Operation, Maintenance, and Evaluation
This is the longest stage, the one in which the ICMS is utilized to improve the movement of people and goods through the corridor. The system must be continually evaluated to ensure that the performance objectives are being met. It is also crucial to ensure that the ICMS continues to function properly through on-going operations and regular maintenance, the definitions and responsibilities for which have previously been identified and documented in the Operations and Maintenance Plan (Refer to Section 7).
Operations and Maintenance
Operations and maintenance involves planning for and then executing several activities. Operations focuses on operating the ICMS on a day to day basis (i.e., monitoring travel conditions and events within the corridor, and activating and monitoring the appropriate response plans), hiring and training system operators, and updating and revising the response plans (i.e., "tuning" the ICMS as well as the network systems) as needs and conditions dictate.
Maintenance involves all processes that keep the ICMS, and the network-specific ITS system, performing satisfactorily. This can include inspection and proactive actions such as cleaning and replacement of components prior to the end of their rated life (i.e., preventive maintenance), making repairs and correcting faults when they occur (i.e. remedial maintenance), replacing components that have become obsolete or unsupported, and hiring and training maintenance staff. Software maintenance involves both correcting malfunctions (bugs) when they are discovered and making minor modifications as needed to improve functionality. Any upgrades of equipment and software enhancements to improve the system's performance should be carried out in accordance with the systems engineering process.
Evaluation
The initial evaluation of the ICMS is the "system validation" as discussed in the previous section. Following this initial validation effort, the system should be continuously evaluated for its overall effectiveness in terms of meeting the objectives and performance metrics as defined during the System Conception stage. If not, it may be necessary to improve the response plans under which the ICMS is operating. It may also be necessary to modify the corridor boundaries and/or enhance the operational strategies included in the ICMS, followed by new scenario plans that incorporate these new or modified borders and strategies.
The evaluation process should also include re-calibration of the corridor models, based on actual operating experience, followed by new performance analyses (i.e., simulating the corridor under modified or new operational scenarios, different boundaries, and combinations of ICM strategies). Such a performance analysis should also be used to evaluate any major enhancements of the ICMS.
Finally, as the ICMS changes and evolves, be it new and additional scenarios and response strategies, improved operations and maintenance practices, new stakeholders, enhanced functionality, and/or expanded corridor boundaries, these institutional agreements between the corridor stakeholders and agencies need to be kept up to date to reflect any such changes.