b'THE SOFT SIDE OF INTELLIGENTMAINTAINING THEdeveloped. These relationships took place on two levels. First, TRANSCOM staff put in considerable time and effort to meet with TRANSPORTATION HUMAN TOUCH IN ITS agenciesfromthefront-lineoperations personneltotheexecutives.Thesecond levelconsistedofmeetingsthatbrought WHAT ABOUT OUR WORKERS? togetherupper-levelagencystaff,where By Bernie Wagenblast supportersofTRANSCOMcouldhelp convince their peers that TRANSCOM was By Elaina Farnsworth worthy of their time and cooperation.IeditseveralnewslettersaboutI tried a different tact. I introduced myselfAsyoumightimagine,therewasmuch Theageofautomationhasarrived!they have since grown to over 500,000learningandmethodsofadaptation.transportation,includingtheAASHTOby name and would engage in some briefskepticismaboutwhatTRANSCOMwas Itstheprogresstowardsintelligentemployees. General Motors increasedThe challenge is for companies to putDailyTransportationUpdateandtheconversation such as what its like beingdoing.Ittookpatienceandconstant transportation,autonomy,andits robotic applications by 10,000 whileprogramsintoplacenowratherthanTransportation Communications Newsletter.upatsuchanearlyhourorwhatsomereassurancethatTRANSCOMwasnot cybersecurity.Thisepicshiftisincreasing its workforce from 80,000 inawaitingthegraduationofcollegeEach day these publications are filled withradiopersonalityIworkedwithwaslikelookingtotakeoveranyonesturf.The justbeginningtobefeltatevery2012 to 105,000 in 2016. In these cases,students whose knowledge, even afternewsitemsabouttechnologyandhowin real life. Id occasionally visit the policelessons I learned as a traffic reporter served intersection. Workers need to grow asincreasedefficiencythroughroboticearningadvanceddegrees,isoftenautomation is giving us new and excitingdepartments so they could put a face withmewellatTRANSCOM.Bymakingan thistechnologydoes,andexecutivesimplementation,oftenincollaborationmore theoretical than practical.possibilities. With all this technology, its easythevoicetheytalkedtoeverymorning.effort to go out into the field to visit bridges, need to guide that growth. withhumans,resultedingrowththatto think that AI can make everything work.Idevelopedarapportwiththesecopstunnels, and operations centers, we were generated new jobs. Im going to provide a different perspective. that encouraged them to be more willingabletodeveloprelationshipsthatwere AccordingtoarecentMcKinsey4. THE RETURN OFtoshareinformationaboutwhatwasmuch deeper than any policy could lay out.GlobalInstitutereport,14percentofMENTORSHIPS &My connection to the transportation fieldhappening.ItwasntShadowcallingthe workers globallyroughly 375 million 2. CHANGING MINDSETS APPRENTICESHIP happened quite by accident. I planned onHillside Police Department, it was BernieSimilar experiences played out a few years may need to switch jobs by 2030 asThe necessity to change the mindsetsSkilledworkersarecriticaltoaspending my career in broadcasting. It justtalking to Bill. Some thirty years later I stilllater when I was co-chairing the operations automationadvancestakeholdinofbothworkersandmanagementcompanyssuccess.Whatbetterwaysohappenedthatmybigbreakinradiorun into police officers who remember megroup for the newly-formed I-95 Corridor theworkplace.Manyeconomicandregardingautomationcantbeto ensure a steady stream of qualified,occurred in 1979, when Shadow Traffic, afrom those phone calls. Coalition. Something as simple as member occupational experts agree that thoseoveremphasized. Many executives areskilled workers with access to ongoingnew company doing reports for the Newagencieshostingoperationsmeetings sameadvanceswillprovidenewjobkeenly aware of the challenges ahead;learningthananapprenticeshiporYork City area, hired me as an on-air reporter.Afterfinishingmyfirststintasatrafficontheirhomefieldhelpedbuy-intothe descriptionsaswellastheincentiveit behooves them in economic terms asmentorship program? Not surprisingly,At the time, I viewed it as just a radio job,reporter, I found myself working for anotherideaofworkingtogether.Thisstrategy to upskill workers and generate highersuppliers of goods and services to keepafewmodelprogramsarebeingbut I later realized it was an introduction toneworganization,TRANSCOM.ThePorthelpedmembersseethisgroupastheir wages. The challenge for workers is topeople in jobs and generate wages. Newimplemented in the automotive industry,a whole new career field. Unlike many whoAuthorityofNewYorkandNewJerseyorganization,notagroupofwhichthey evolve as the technology evolves, whileapproaches to employee developmenthistoricallyknowntodevelopskilledare reading this article, I had no training inestablished TRANSCOM in the mid-1980s.were just a member.thechallengeformanagementistoare required if companies hope to traintradespeople.Theindustrycrisistransportation and did not take classes inTheideawastohavemultipleagencies guide the evolution. workers in time to move into the newandsubsequenteconomicdownturnsubjects such as engineering or planning.operatingvariouspiecesofthenetworkIn all of these work experiences, technology positions needed by automation.resulted in the loss of a generation ofWhatIdidreceiveinmyfiveyearsasin the tri-state area. When problems, bothplayed an important role, but I would argue How does the workforceemployees,atrafficreporter,though,wasadeeperplannedandunexpected,tookplace,that the human side of ITS played a less technicians, transportation engineers,electricians, mechanics, and machinists. understanding of transportation operations. numerous agencies quickly felt the effects.seenandcelebratedpartinmakingthe themanagementsuitedealwith3. RETRAINING ANDThegreatnewsisthatnotonlywillTherewerenoformalmeanstosharetechnologyworkandprovidingafertile thiscomingtransformation?TheRESKILLING theworkforcesurvivethenewageOneofmyfirstlessonsintransportationinformation among agencies. field for it to grow. As we look ahead to answer is to maximize their greatestofautomation,buttheywillthriveinoperationsconcerneddevelopingthe future of ITS, its easy to get excited resourcethe human resourcewithThis is an urgent need and must be theproductivityandearningsifmanagedrelationships with agencies. Between trafficTRANSCOM,fromthestart,dependedabout the possibilities technology presents, several strategies.primary focus for companies investingproperly.Justasautomationrequiresreports,wedcallpolicedepartmentstoupontechnologytogatherandsharebutIbelieveweshouldneverforgetthe inautomationinvestingintherightindustriestocomeupwithnewfind out if there were any incidents causinginformation.Thetoolswerenotveryimportanceofpersonalrelationshipsin 1. EMPOWER FUTURE &training,retraining,andreskillingofbusiness models, so will they need totraffic delays. Keep in mind that this wassophisticatedbytodaysstandards.Forhelping it reach its full potential. nCURRENT WORKERS employees.Fromteachingbasic,adapttheircorporateorganizationsbeforecellphones,trafficcameras,andexample,theywereusingalphanumeric foundationalskillslikedigitalliteracyandculturestoempowertheirfuturetraffic maps. We were entirely dependentpagersandslow-scanvideotocollect Thenumberofjobscontinuestoto teaching logic and critical thinking,workers. Start now. n upon folks at the agencies to let us knowdata.WhatmadeTRANSCOMwork climbthankstonewtechnologiesemployers need to provide continuouswhen there was a problem. There was noweretheinterpersonalrelationshipsthat beingimplemented.Forexample,incentive for them to share information. In AmazonhascontinuouslyinvestedAsCEOofTheNEXTEducation(thenexted.com),Elainafact, they likely wanted to get me off the inroboticinnovation.TheystartedFarnsworth and her team are committed to developing thephone as quickly as possible. Most of myBernie Wagenblast was one of the original Shadow Traffic reporters in AmazonRoboticsin2003andhavenext workforcethe next future person that is equipped withfellow reporters would just say somethingNew York City in 1979, heard on stations such as 1010 WINS, WABC, morethan100,000robotsworkingthe skills to advance global growth. Elaina is an internationallylike, This is Shadow. Anything happening?and SiriusXM. He can now be heard on the NYC subway system, intheirwarehousesbutnotattherecognized public speaker, writer, and thought leader in theThe answer was usually no, even whenPATCO, and the AirTrain at Newark Airport. Hes the editor of several expense of human jobs. In 2011, theyAutonomous Vehicle (AV), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV),there were significant problems.transportatione-publicationsHesalsothehostoftheITETalks had30,000full-timeemployees,andand Cybersecurity industries. Transportation podcast.35 36'