When I first looked into Ops Academy I was skeptical that someone in my position would gain a lot of insights into TSMO. I could not have been more wrong. The framing of the prestudy, the in-person week of training, and relationships built over the course of this program has made it one of the best work-related experiences I have had in the 20 years at my DOT.
The Operations Academy is a great experience and valuable course for professionals looking to make connections and hear from industry experts on the importance of TSMO.
Completing the Operations Academy program has been an incredibly valuable experience that deepened my understanding of transportation systems management, interagency coordination, and performance-driven operations. I gained a comprehensive perspective on how data, technology, and collaboration can be leveraged to improve safety, reliability, and efficiency within transportation networks. The Operations Academy equipped me with both the technical knowledge and leadership perspective to strengthen our agency’s operational effectiveness and to support a more connected, resilient, and efficient transportation system.
The Operations Academy helped me better understand how to manage transportation systems and work with other agencies effectively, including using collaborative ideas to work with partner agencies. I learned useful strategies to improve safety and efficiency to programs I manage on a daily basis. This has been challenging and very thought provoking, but the reward of learning so many new skills, paired with meeting so many transportation professionals has left me with invaluable knowledge.
As I have recently become a manager, this program has given me a ton of knowledge that I can use to feel more comfortable in my role and gives me confidence to be a leader in TSMO for the department. Connections made from this program will last my entire career and that is invaluable.
This helps give a broader understanding and interest in TSMO efforts both within my organization and what else is out there. Combined with this knowledge, is industry contacts. I now have a community to query with when I have a TSMO challenge.
The Operations Academy provided a deeper understanding of how all aspects of transportation operations connect from planning and data management to real-time decision-making. I’m leaving with practical tools to strengthen collaboration across districts, improve data-driven performance management, and advance initiatives that make our transportation system safer and more reliable for everyone.
Although the cost of the program itself has an associated dollar amount, the value of knowledge gained, relationships established, and hearing about out-of-the-box thinking makes this program priceless.
The ability to look at more aspects of the roles in my team and the group opened my eyes to what people are working on. I realized there are so many facets to the organization and where we can have an impact.
As someone new to the world of TSMO/ITS, I believe that the lessons I learned in the Ops Academy will be a solid foundation of knowledge and resources to build my career off of.
