Florida Department of Transportation's Approach to Teaching Highway Capacity Concepts and Software

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), with support from Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. (Kimley-Horn), has developed a series of innovative training courses on highway capacity concepts and associated software packages. Practicing engineers delivered the training courses via in-class sessions and online webinars on highway capacity concepts and the use of the 2010 Highway Capacity Software (HCS) and the 2012 LOSPLAN software. The classes provided participants with definitions and examples of highway capacity concepts, details related to the software implementation of the highway capacity concepts, and interactive workshops where participants used highway capacity analysis software to analyze real-world scenarios. Participants from both the public and private sectors were invited to attend the training courses, and included traffic engineers, transportation planners, and other individuals interested in highway capacity concepts. In developing these training courses, FDOT strived to provide free and easily-accessible teaching resources. To achieve this, courses were offered free of charge at various district offices around Florida at different times of the year. Additionally, interactive online webinars were held and recorded to allow the training to reach a broader audience and to create a lasting teaching resource. Combined, the teaching approach and training materials made concepts approachable through interactive sessions that included an overview of fundamental concepts combined with advanced analysis techniques. Additionally, printed handouts, electronic course materials, and online recordings created lasting teaching resources for continued guidance following the training sessions.