The business community must be prepared for a variety of emergencies ranging from natural disasters to terrorist attacks. Additionally, businesses must be prepared to continue operations even when events interfere with business as usual. For businesses, protection of critical resources is paramount in emergency planning. However, employee mobility during and after an emergency is less often considered, although it is an equally significant aspect of the business continuity. The objective of this paper is to explore how metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), as coordinators of regional transportation decision making, can promote regional business continuity after an emergency. The focus of the study is the role of transportation demand management strategies in supporting employee mobility and business continuity. This paper summarizes the results of a 2008 study commissioned by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the MPO for three of California's urbanized areas. The study represents the MPO's first step toward the development of an emergency management and business continuity plan for its six-county region. Based on 20 interviews with government agencies and private companies across the United States, as well as a review of government and industry publications, the paper highlights best practices–-including public–private partnerships, resource-sharing protocols, and technology applications–-for maintaining employee mobility and business continuity following an emergency situation. The study also presents five case studies based on public- and private-sector experiences that highlight lessons learned, and planning and coordination efforts aimed at supporting employee mobility after an emergency.
Increasingly, performance measurement has become part of the transportation conversation, particularly as the measurement relates to the funding of programs and new projects. Political signs indicate that performance measurement is expected to play a greater role in the next U.S. surface transportation reauthorization legislation. Although there has been movement toward the adoption of performance measurement throughout the transportation industry, no standards exist. The challenge is to find comprehensive metrics that can be applied across transportation programs. Even within arenas such as transit, demand management, and highway, no standard for metrics exists. This study identifies trends in performance measurement for transportation demand management (TDM) programs (e.g., commuter outreach, ridesharing, telecommuting programs) to offer a starting point to move toward standardized measures. Although no two TDM programs are completely alike, the use of a specific set of measures as a baseline will help the industry to set both standards and expectations for performance. This study summarizes the findings from an analysis of performance measures used by 10 TDM programs in the United States; more than 130 measures were included. On the basis of those programs, the paper highlights trends and best practices seen around the country. The study concludes with recommendations for states, regions, and municipalities to consider in developing an outcome-focused approach to TDM performance measurement.
Performance standards state requirements in terms of required results, with criteria for verifying compliance but without stating the methods for achieving required results. A performance standard may define functional requirements for the item, operational requirements, or interface and interchangeability characteristics. A performance standard may be viewed in juxtaposition to a prescriptive standard, which may specify design requirements, such as materials to be used, how a requirement is to be achieved, or how an item is to be fabricated or constructed. A performance standard for spill prevention specifies the outcome required, but leaves the specific measures to achieve that outcome up to the discretion of the regulated facility. In contrast to a design standard or a technology-based standard that specifies exactly how to achieve compliance, a performance standard sets a goal and lets each regulated facility owner or operator decide how to meet it. Since 1993, U.S. Federal regulations complied with Executive Order 12866, which specifies the use of performance standards. Thus, it is not surprising that the 2002 revisions of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency'S Oil Pollution Prevention regulation, which was first published in 1973, included several performance-based provisions. The regulation requires nearly every significant oil storage facility in the nation to prepare a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan. Regulatory provisions that had set prescriptive standards or design requirements in 1973, allow much more flexibility today. This poster presentation briefly examines the trend toward performance-based environmental regulations in the U.S. and the evolution of the Oil Pollution Prevention regulation.
Regulatory agencies in the United States represent the Executive Branch of the Federal Government in implementing and enforcing rules, and these agencies are required to follow certain procedures when writing those rules. At a minimum, the agency must publish a notice explaining the proposed rule, request comments, and state the basis and purpose of the final action. This paper provides examples of instances where an agency has revised the rule as a result of comments received or has otherwise been responsive to the commenter'S argument. For example, with regard to oil pollution planning and preparedness policy, commenters on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency'S proposed revisions to the Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan rule raised the idea of a minimum container size for applicability of the SPCC rule and EPA included such a minimum for the first time in the final rule, thus reducing the burden of the rule for many facilities. Federal agencies are required to request public comments on the issues presented in their proposed rules to enable the agencies to evaluate the new or revised provisions. With agencies now accepting electronic comments through web sites, regulated parties can easily participate in this process. As this paper shows, many agencies that regulate oil pollution planning and preparedness are very responsive to suggestions, and members of the regulated community have an opportunity to influence public policy decisions in this area.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.