By Michael Pearsall, P.Eng., CVS, CVM, FEC
Building your transportation project team may have gotten a little bit easier recently. Many people, myself included, have seen the benefits of having a strong road safety expert on Value Engineering (VE) studies. Last time I focused on transit; this time I will focus on a specialty member of your VE study team. Mainly this applies more to road and bridge projects, but this team member could also help key transit projects.
In October 2018, a new professional designation was introduced in North America: RSP (Road Safety Professional). This new designation was the result of years of collaboration between a number of transportation and safety-related organizations in the United States and Canada and the Transportation Professional Certification Board (TPCB).
Similar to how SAVE International helps others recognize Value Management as a profession in part with the Certified Value Specialist (CVS) designation, the RSP designation helps recognize road safety as a profession and signifies competency to a recognized level of practice and knowledge. The program has two levels of certification, with currently only the first being populated.
Level 1 (RSP1) is for a broad audience of professionals who have demonstrated proficiency in the foundations of road safety principles. Level 2 (RSP2) is for professionals who have a primary career focus on engineering or behavioral programs reducing road crashes. Level 2 certification holders will be divided between a “behavioral specialty” or an “infrastructure specialty.”
Depending on the nature of your VE study subject, a RSP1 may be appropriate or you may wish to choose the appropriate RSP2. Currently there are about 695 RSP1s in the United States and about 80 in Canada. The first round of RSP2 exams are scheduled for this fall with over 700 people registered.
Having a Road Safety expert on your VE study team can be very beneficial. On more than a few occasions, I have been called in to do a VE study to solve a safety problem. The right road safety expert can review and analyze the collision history and trends and present this as part of the information phase of the workshop. Later during the workshop, the relative safety of various alternatives can be compared and evaluated to help make a value-based decision. I have found on most highway infrastructure projects that the road safety expert is a key team member and the relative success of the workshop can rely heavily on their competency and input. I have also found that executive buy-in to implement workshop results is much easier with the backing of a sound road safety expert. I am very hopeful that the RSP designation will help in finding team members with the appropriate qualifications.
Beware though, all RSPs may not be equal. There are a few different paths an individual can take to get to their RSP designation, and this could influence their connection to your project. So be sure to review the resume of prospective team members and choose one with the appropriate experience.
For more details on the RSP program, please visit the Transportation Professional Certification Board website at www.tpcb.org/certification/rsp.
In closing, I would like to give everyone a reminder that the 2020 Value Summit will once-again have a dedicated track for transportation. However, to make it a full success we need transportation related VE professionals to submit presentations and papers. Mark Gabel of WSDOT has been working hard again this year to make this happen and I can’t continue to thank him enough.
Until the next issue I would like to continue to encourage any transportation professional out there who would like to share their stories to contact me at mike.pearsall@ontario.ca.
Hope to see you all June 6-9, 2020 at the 2020 Value Summit in New Orleans, LA – mark your calendars now!
Print 
PDF