News

Following the successful delivery of three Introduction to ITS courses that were undertaken in 2022, the next course is planned for 21 and 22 June and will take place in Birmingham.

The course aims to outline an understanding of the principles of the use of ITS, including new technology, and also provide confidence on the principles and practices of its deployment. The course will provide a useful insight into ITS and assist those seeking professional registration through the ICTTech route provided through the IHE.

The new technologies are often beyond the skills taught in traditional traffic engineering courses, and so can be challenging for practitioners to understand, procure and deploy. They will also require new skills sets in data, IT security and the user’s experiences that can be provided by other people, but where a basic understanding of the principles will help delivery.

New transport polices and services are also on the horizon, ranging from highly automated vehicles and road pricing, to kerb management that will also need a basic understanding of the ITS principles they are built on.

Working with the IHE to deliver the courses, Andy Graham of White Willow Consulting Ltd commented: ‘I am delighted to respond to the IHE’s request to bring together a team of experts experienced in the aspects of ITS that local authorities need most guidance on, especially when moving from more traditional services. By bringing our knowledge of local authority needs and success stories in connected vehicles, new data, standards, and ITS for signals, I believe we can offer new content and updates for not only IHE members but also all of those practitioners working in the sector needing help in using ITS in their day-to-day jobs and making investments future proof.

‘We had a great response to the previous three courses in 2022 and think we raised awareness of the new technology coming through to experienced signals people, provided evidence of new data and services to people starting their careers, and an understanding of procurement and standards for everyone. We look forward to seeing many more traffic signal engineers on the next course.’

IHE chief executive officer Steve Spender added: ‘Following the success of the three courses last year we hope that many more people will come forward for this important training. This course is an important step toward filling a gap in the training of those working within ITS in the highway sector and will provide a good base for those considering professional registration through the ICTTech route offered by the IHE.’

Details for the course can be found at www.theihe.org/courses/introduction-to-its/