The Role of Transportation Professionals in Transportation Security

1. The Role of Transportation Professionals in TransportationSecurity Eva Lerner-Lam, Aff., ASCE President, Palisades Consulting Group, Inc. Vice President, Transportation and Development Institute of the ASCE Presented to the ASCE Cleveland State University Student Chapter Thursday, April 21, 2005

2. Overview of Presentation • What is “T&DI”? • Nature and Background of Transportation Security • Today’s Challenges • Role of the Transportation Engineer • Future Trends

3. ASCE Institutes There are seven full-service, self-governing Institutes within the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) that serve the needs of all members of the civil engineering project team in specific areas.

4. Transportation and Development Institute of ASCE • Established in 2003 • Over 14,100 members • Non-ASCE members eligible • Acknowledges importance of disciplines (law, architecture, public administration, etc.) in transportation and development • $125/year for non-members • One free Institute membership for ASCE members ($20 each additional Institute)

5. T&DI Vision “A global leader for integrated transportation and development that is safe, secure and sustainable”

6. T&DI Board of Governors • Robert D. Stevens, Ph.D., P.E., AICP, F.ASCE, President • Eva Lerner-Lam, Aff. M.ASCE, Vice President • Louis F. Cohn, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, Treasurer • Kumares C. Sinha, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, Past President • Essam Radwan, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE • Larry G. Mugler, AICP, M.ASCE • C. Michael Walton, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE • Jonathan C. Esslinger, P.E., F.ASCE, Director & Secretary

7. T&DI Technical Activities Technical Activities Division ExCom Planning And Development Design, Construction Maintenance Operations And Safety Cross Cutting - Intermodal - Airport Planning & Operations - Planning & Economics - Land Use - Environmental Issues • Airfield Pavement • Highway Pavement • Construction • Local Roads & Streets • Geometric Design • - Transportation • Safety • Transportation Operations • Public Transport • Rail Transportation • Automated People Movers • Advanced Technologies • Infrastructure Systems • Research • Transportation Security

8. T&DI Administrative Activities Administrative Activities Division ExCom Awards Membership Publications Conferences Policy Education Standards Nominating

9. T&DI Products & Services • 3 Journals • Quarterly Newsletter • Specialty Conferences • 10th Automated People Movers (May 1-4, 2005, Orlando, FL) • Pavement Conference (Fall 2005, Atlanta, GA, Tentative) • 9th International AATT Conference (August 13 – 16, 2006, Chicago, IL)

10. T&DI Products & Services • Specialty Conferences (Cont’d.) • 29th International Air Transport (Summer 2006) • Intermodal Conference (2006 – Tentative) • 10th AATT Conference (2008) • Smart Growth (Date TBD)

11. T&DI Products & Services • Continuing Professional Development • Transportation Security (Web – Based) • Hot Topics in Transportation (Web – Based) • Roadside Design • Context-Sensitive Solutions • Work Zone Traffic Control

12. T&DI Products & Services • Low Volume Road Pavement Guide • Local Road Design Manual • Standards, such as Automated People Movers • Awards Program

13. T&DI Transportation Security Committee Technical Activities Division ExCom Planning And Development Design, Construction Maintenance Operations And Safety Cross Cutting - Intermodal - Airport Planning & Operations - Planning & Economics - Land Use - Environmental Issues • Airfield Pavement • Highway Pavement • Construction • Local Roads & Streets • Geometric Design • - Transportation • Safety • Transportation Operations • Public Transport • Rail Transportation • Automated People Movers • Advanced Technologies • Infrastructure Systems • Research • Transportation Security

14. T&DI Transportation Security Committee • 41 members • Includes engineers, planners, architects, security professionals, researchers, operators, owners • Civilian government • Military government • Private sector

15. T&DI Transportation Security Committee ExCom Infrastructure Operations Education • Chair: Charles Barker, P.E., ARM, M. ASCE • Vice Chair: Tadi Ramakrishna, P.E., M. ASCE • Past Chair: Eva Lerner-Lam, Aff., ASCE • Secretary: Stephen F. Duffy, Ph.D., P.E., M. ASCE

16. T&DI Transportation Security Committee Activities • Education and Outreach Course: Transportation Security 101 • Synthesis of Practice: Homeland Security Color-Coded Warning System • Webinars: Transportation and Security Experts Sharing Best Practices • Task Committees: • Enabling Professional Discourse in a “Security-Sensitive” Environment • Guidelines and Best Practices for Roving Security Inspections

17. Nature and Background of Transportation Security • Security is: • Protection against crimes • Security is NOT: • Safety, which is protection against accidents

18. Nature and Background of Transportation Security • Pre-9/11 • Emphasis on law enforcement • Focus was not on counter-terrorism, infrastructure hardening, mitigation, emergency response or recovery • Post-9/11 • Playing “catch up” on the above

19. Good Security is Good Security • Non-terrorist • Terrorist [Opposite is also true…]

20. Key Strategies Prepare and Prevent Non-TerroristThreats TerroristThreats Transportation Systems Deter & Mitigate Deter & Mitigate Respond and Recover Protect

21. Transportation Modes • Aviation • Public Transit • Highways • Rail • Pipeline • Navigable Waterways • Ports • Bridges • Tunnels

22. Past Breaches in Security: August 6, 1927 Two bombs in two NYC Subway stations December 7, 1993 Colin Ferguson kills 6, injures 17 on LIRR at rush hour December 15 and 21, 1994Edward Leary explodes two bombs on the NYC subway system, injuring 53 people October 9, 1995 "Sons of the Gestapo" kills 1, injures 65 on sabotaged Amtrak Sunset Limited in Arizona desert November 27, 1998 Deranged passenger on a Seattle Metro bus kills bus operator, one passenger and injures 32 others. May 2, 2001Bus hijacker in LA crashes into a minivan, killing the minivan driver and injuring seven others. One Subsector: Public Transit

23. Moscow, August 8, 2000 • Eight people died and more than 50 were injured after a bomb ripped through one of Moscow's busiest underground walkways creating carnage during rush hour

24. New York, September 11, 2001 • Two hijacked jetliners hit the World Trade Center in New York • PATH and MTA subway train stations are destroyed

25. Madrid, March 11, 2004 • Bombs were loaded onto the early morning trains as they passed through a suburban station en route for Madrid • 10 bombs detonated by mobile phone exploded on four trains in three stations during the rush hour, killing 190 and injuring more than 1,430

26. Tactical Elements of This War • A sports bag containing an unexploded bomb was discovered in the wreckage of one of the Madrid train cars

27. Tactical Elements of This War • A cell phone was found in the bag, rigged to act as a detonation device

28. Tactical Elements of This War • The unexploded bomb contained about 22 pounds of a whitish-colored plastic explosive

29. Tactical Elements of This War • Also packed in the bag was a large quantity of bolts and nails, the potentially deadly shrapnel

30. Today’s Challenges • Re-organizing Government • Bolstering competencies and efforts in: • Counter-terrorism • Infrastructure Hardening • Response • Recovery • Education and Outreach to professionals and general citizenry

31. “Catching up”: Re-organizing Government • Department of Homeland Security, established 2002 • Consolidated 22 agencies, 180,000 employees • Purpose: To be the unifying core for the vast national network of organizations and institutions involved in efforts to secure the nation

32. “Catching up”: Re-organizing Government • Created as part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. • Originally organized in the U.S. Department of Transportation; moved to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2003 • Charged with developing policies to ensure the safety of U.S. air traffic and other forms of transportation.

33. “Catching up”: Re-organizing Government • National Strategy For Homeland Security (2002) • Organizing for a Secure Homeland • Critical Mission Areas • Intelligence and Warning • Border and Transportation Security • Domestic Counterterrorism • Protecting Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets • Defending against Catastrophic Threats • Emergency Preparedness and Response • Foundations • Law • Science and Technology • Information Sharing and Systems • International Cooperation

34. “Catching up”: Re-organizing Government • National Response Plan (2004) • Integrates domestic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery activities into a single all-discipline, all-hazards plan. • Forms the basis of how the federal government coordinates with state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector during incidents.  

35. “Catching up”: Re-organizing Government • National Incident Management System (2005) • Integrates effective practices in emergency preparedness and response into a comprehensive national framework for incident management 

36. “Catching up”: Re-organizing Government • Major challenges: • Differences in operating policies, procedures, cultures • Implementation (definitions, policies, procedures, guidelines, best practices, etc.) at the regional, state and local levels • Lack of funding

37. Bolstering efforts • Counter-terrorism • Intelligence gathering and sharing • Infrastructure Hardening • Engineering must include terrorism as a design constraint • Response • Unified National Response Plan • Incident Management System • Recovery • ??? (Virtual absence of current activity!)

38. Education and Outreach • Major objective of T&DI—through its Transportation Security Committee • Other ASCE Institutes are also incorporating Security • ASCE 2005 Infrastructure Report Card includes Security as a new category • Ready.Gov (www.ready.gov) • “Don’t be afraid, be prepared” • ReadyBusiness • ReadyAmerica • ReadyKids • The Infrastructure Security Partnership (www.tisp.org)

39. Future Trends • Strategic planning phase is transitioning to implementation phase • Must understand the interdependencies between and among critical infrastructures • Need to prioritize initiatives and monitor the programming and expenditure of funds against a backdrop of continued fiscal austerity • Increasing sense of complacency until the next major attack

40. Role of the Transportation Engineer • Include Security as a design constraint in all activities • Planning • Design • Construction • Mitigation • Response • Recovery

41. Role of the Transportation Engineer • Seek (and demand) security education and training • Course curricula • Certification programs • Exercises and drills

42. Role of the Transportation Engineer • Raise awareness of importance of Recovery planning and preparedness

43. In Conclusion • There is a significant role for the transportation professional to play in securing our multi-modal transportation systems • Membership and participation in professional societies (such as T&DI) can help transportation professionals develop careers and help secure the nation

44. References • Transportation and Development Institute (www.tanddi.org) • American Society of Civil Engineers (www.asce.org) • Presidential Actions (www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/) • Ready.Gov (www.ready.gov) • Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov) • Transportation Security Administration (www.tsa.gov) • Federal Emergency Management Agency National Incident Management System (http://www.fema.gov/nims/)