Professional Capacity Building (PCB) for Communications Archived Updates

Over 15 years and five project phases, the Professional Capacity Building for Communications project has addressed the critical need for a skilled rural ITS workforce. Phase 5 recently concluded. Read about the work of this last phase and review a summary of accomplishments for the overall project.

As part of Phase 5 of the Professional Capacity Building (PCB) for Communications project, Aviat Networks delivered a course on Radio Frequency Fundamentals. The course was taught by Technical Trainer Jonathan David and twelve ITS engineers from Caltrans Districts 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9 participated. Read more about the training in this update.

As part of Phase 5 of the Professional Capacity Building (PCB) project, the project team conducted a Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis for data communications training. Read about the results of the assessment and find a link to the full report.

The project research team has started work on a 5th phase of the Professional Capacity Building (PCB) for Communications project. The Kick Off meeting was held via teleconference with the Project Technical Advisory Panel (PTAP) on April 23rd, 2020.

The project team recently wrapped up work on Phase 4 of the Professional Capacity Building (PCB) for Communications project. This phase of the project included development and delivery of a training course on Small Data Center Design, Structured Cabling, and Grounding. The project team also revised the comprehensive training curriculum for transportation communication systems and updated the list of identified training providers.

Another successful training course has been developed and delivered through the Professional Capacity Building for Communications project! Small Data Center Design, Structured Cabling, and Grounding was taught by Philip Isaak, President of Isaak Technologies, October 8-12, 2018. Twelve Caltrans ITS engineers from Districts 2, 3, 5, 6, and 10 attended.

Phase 4 of the Professional Capacity Building (PCB) for Communications project started recently with a Kick-Off Meeting on January 4th, 2017. During the Kick-Off Meeting, the team discussed the project’s major tasks which include procurement, delivery, and evaluation of three courses, revising the Curriculum Scope and Sequence as needed, and updating the list of Identified Training Providers. The project will continue to have an educational focus with the intent of offering Caltrans ITS engineers and technicians high-quality, hands-on, in-depth technical training in rural ITS communications.

Phase 3 of the Professional Capacity Building (PCB) for Communications project was recently completed. The project team researched and revised a comprehensive training curriculum for transportation communication systems that will build the professional capacity of rural intelligent transportation system (ITS) engineers and technicians. This phase of the project included a needs assessment and gap analysis, as well as the facilitation of a training course on Telco Wireless communication technologies.

Twelve Caltrans ITS engineers and technicians gathered for training to expand their skills in Telco wireless communication and its application to rural intelligent transportation systems. Telecom Wireless Fundamentals was delivered by Scott Baxter through TONEX. Students came from areas that are faced with rural transportation challenges, representing Caltrans Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 10, and Caltrans Headquarters.

The 3rd phase of the Professional Capacity Building for Communications project is in progress with a focus on Telco Wireless technologies. As applied to Rural ITS, these topics are related to systems that are leased from telecommunication service providers and include fixed deployments of field elements and communications with a TMC, maintenance yard, or other similar facility.

The 2014 National Rural ITS Conference (NRITS) was held in Branson, Missouri, August 24th-27th. Billed as ITS In The Heartland, this year’s conference provided participants with opportunities to network across many ITS disciplines while discussing a wide variety of ITS topics. Doug Galarus presented Professional Capacity Building for Communications in Session G1 Professional Development Opportunities – Developing Your Skills and those of your Organization.

The third training course for the Professional Capacity Building for Communications project was held September 23-27, 2013, at the Sacramento Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC) in Rancho Cordova, California. The course, Hands-On Ethernet and TCP/IP Fundamentals, was taught by Andrew Walding of Cellstream, Inc. through Dashcourses International. The course was open to ITS engineers and technicians – 11 students representing seven Caltrans districts participated.

Phase 2 of the Professional Capacity Building for Communications project is continuing with a shift to the IP Networking Fundamentals and Usage subject area. The project team is currently working to identify and secure an appropriate training contractor to deliver a course in September. Similar to the prior courses conducted in the PCB project, students will be Caltrans ITS engineers that deploy and maintain ITS systems in the rural areas of their districts.

The second training course for the Professional Capacity Building for Communications project was held September 24th-28th, 2012, at the Sacramento Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC) in Rancho Cordova, California. Mastering Fiber Optic Network Design and Installation was taught by Eric Pearson of Pearson Technologies and was filled to capacity with 12 ITS engineers from six different Caltrans districts.

A course in fiber optic communications is scheduled for September 24-28, 2012, at the Sacramento Regional Transportation Management Center in Rancho Cordova, California. Students will be Caltrans ITS engineers that deploy and maintain ITS systems in the rural areas of their districts.

Phase 2 of the Professional Capacity Building for Communications project is well underway. The content focus for this phase will be plant wired technologies, specifically plant wired core/plant wiring basics, serial connectivity, xDSL and optical fiber.

On October 4th-7th, the pilot course titled RF System Design was held in the training room at the Sacramento Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC) in Rancho Cordova, California.

In addition to developing a comprehensive training curriculum for rural ITS communications, one of the primary tasks for this project is to organize and facilitate a pilot course. Based on the results of the literature review, needs assessment, and gap analysis, along with feedback from the Curriculum Review Committee, the project team chose the plant wireless subject area for the first actual course offering.