Presentation Overview: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has added new performance specifications applicable to Federal and State road signs. The new specifications provide the minimum retroreflectivity levels that are to be maintained according to sign types and colors. A sign maintenance program requirement is also being required by FHWA. Previous field studies performed by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and its agencies indicate that signs in Florida deteriorate faster than signs from other states. Florida’s southernmost location, weather and other environmental conditions have been identified as potential factors affecting Florida’s signs. Accordingly, the purpose of the research is to develop a predictive model, based on empirical data, for the service life of the various types and colors of Florida’s road signs according to the factors that the research indicates to be statistically significant for prediction. The predictive model will be a critical element of the sign maintenance program.
The presentation will focus on the initial stages of the research, namely; identifying factors that could be significant to the model, data collection plan and initial model construct.Speaker Biography:Jose Gregorio has over thirty years of industry experience in engineering, research & development and supply management. He started his career in the manufacturing industry where he held production and industrial engineering positions with Motorola, Inc. and Cordis Corporation. He joined Burger King Corporation in 1980 where he served for 18 years in various capacities, including director level positions in Research and Development. In 1999 he joined Restaurant Services, Inc., a Burger King purchasing cooperative, and later transferred to its subsidiary, Supply Chain Services, LLC, where he was Director of Facilities Purchasing and Program Development. Jose left industry in 2006 to pursue an academic career. He moved through the ranks of adjunct, instructor and non-tenured professor at Valencia College – West Campus where he taught statistics and college level mathematics. In August 2015, Jose took a break from teaching to work on a research project with Dr. Oloufa in the Civil & Construction Engineering Department at UCF. Based on this research, Jose plans to complete his Ph.D. in the Interdisciplinary Modeling & Simulation program at UCF. Jose has a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a M.S. in Management Science, both from the University of Miami. He also holds a M.S. in Modeling & Simulation from the University of Central Florida. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Florida and a Certified Purchasing Manager by the Institute for Supply Management.
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