AASHTO Committee on Transportation System Security and Resilience - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

AASHTO Committee on Transportation System Security and Resilience (CTSSR)Webinar: Teleworking During the Pandemic

September 1, 2020

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Agenda

 Opening Remarks – Jim Pappas, Deputy Director, Operations & Support, Delaware DOT, CTSSR Vice Chair  Committee on Human Resources

 Maribel Manos, Director of Division of Administration and Human Resources, Kansas DOT

 Committee on Transportation System Operations

 Matthew Glaser, Assistant State Traffic Engineer, Georgia DOT  Chrissie Collins, FMS/AMS Specialist IV, Florida DOT  Brian C. Hoeft, Director of FAST (Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation), Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada

 Committee on Transportation System Security and Resilience

 Robert Burd, Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response, New Jersey DOT  Gregg Brunner, Bureau of Field Services Director & Eileen Phifer, Safety and Security Administrator and Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC), Michigan DOT

 Roundtable Discussion – Led by Jim Pappas, Deputy Director, Operations & Support, Delaware DOT, CTSSR Vice Chair

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Opening Remarks

Jim Pappas, Deputy Director, Office of Performance

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Committee on Human Resources

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Committee on Human Resources Teleworking Policies

Kansas Department of Transportation Maribel Manos, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Director of Division of Administration and Human Resources September 1, 2020

Before the storm…

• Only a handful of employees teleworked on a normal basis prior to COVID-

19.

• Teleworking was not something most supervisors felt would be a feasible
• r a productive alternative.
• Although we had a Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP), it was

primarily focused on how to respond in the event our building was temporarily unavailable, a natural disaster or if we needed to relocate our

• building. Minimal focus was spent on a response to a pandemic that would

require many to telework from their homes for over six months.

Pandemic Response: Baptismal by Fire

• March 5, 2020: KDOT Secretary Lorenz launched an immediate high-priority examination of

Mission Essential Functions (MEF) related to COOP, IT, HR, and planning process so we would be prepared to respond to the Pandemic.

• March 7, 2020: The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Kansas.
• March 11, 2020: Meeting was held with all Continuity of Operations (COOP) designees from State

Agencies to provide an Overview of COVID-19 and how we needed to prepare as an Agency.

• March 12, 2020: Governor Laura Kelly declared an emergency in response to the growing COVID-

19 outbreak in Kansas.

• March 16, 2020: Began allowing MEF employees to telework.

Pandemic Response: IT Infrastructure Changes

• VPN Investments (Software and Hardware):
• AnyConnect - Previous 300 user license / Now 750 user license
• ISE Base license - Previous 100 Base user license / Now 700 Base user license
• F5 user license - Previous 256 user license / Now 1256 user license
• Remote workers before/after:
• Before - 80 AnyConnect and 10 F5 Portal users on average
• Now - 575 AnyConnect and 100 F5 Portal users on average

Please note, these numbers have decreased somewhat as agency employees started reporting back to the workplace.

COOP and Mission Essential Functions Defined Priorities for Teleworking

• Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) was critical in guiding KDOT on where to focus

its resources and to assure that we would be able to continue to support our strategic goal to continue to provide critical services during a disruption such as a pandemic.

• Mission Essential Functions (MEF)

 Of those MEF people identified, who has a KDOT issued laptop? If needed can they use their

• wn electronic devices?

 Could MEF function be carried out from home if properly equipped? If any of the functions can be performed at home, what other equipment is necessary? (Network access from home – VPN, other resources)  Do the identified MEF individuals have the internet access and speed to log-in from home?  How many business days could take place before the function must be completed?  Risk to KDOT if these functions are unable to be met?

Consider Listing Positions Most Suitable for Teleworking in the Policy

A position may be suitable for telework if any of the following examples apply:

• Work activities are portable, can be performed effectively outside of the official work site and are conducive to

supervisory oversight at the telework site.

• Job tasks are easily quantifiable or primarily project-oriented.
• An employee's participation in the telework program will not adversely affect the workload or performance of
• ther employees.
• Technology, information and equipment needed to perform the job offsite are available.
• Security of information and equipment can be provided for efficiently at the telework site.
• Office coverage, access to the customer, team involvement and access to the manager are unaffected by the

employee's location.

• The work of the employee is such that he/she can work and resolve routine problems independently.

Telework is not appropriate for every job, employee, supervisor or situation. Some examples of non-eligible positions include crew positions, shop-based positions, or positions that involve construction inspection work.

Define Telework Site Requirements in Policy

Basic standards for a telework site:

 The environment must be free of safety and fire hazards.  The location must have adequate workspace with access to electrical outlets, as well as an internet connection and/or a telephone connection.  The work area must be separate from on-going domestic activities and provide for the security and safety of work materials.  Temporary telework may require the use of equipment to conduct official business. Employees in this situation should take every caution to ensure that data and information storage follow all security guidelines.

Define Use of Equipment and Security in Policy

• Track equipment being taken home.
• Determine if users have access 24/7 or only during specific times.
• Define who is responsible for operating costs, home maintenance, or other costs incurred by employees in the use of

their homes or other alternate work locations for telework.

• Define if equipment and resources may be used only for business and if only by employees. It will then be the

employee’s responsibility to ensure that all items are properly used.

• If employee-owned computing, phones and smart devices are allowed, let them know if there are any restrictions.
• Inform Teleworkers if they must guard against sensitive data being viewed on monitor screens and ensure that remote-

access communications and stored data cannot be read by unauthorized parties, including their family members or

• thers.
• The policy should include instructions on what to do in the event of loss or theft of Agency equipment.

Teleworking Agreement

• The scope and duration of teleworking should be defined and agreed upon between both the

Agency/Organization in a form of a Telework Agreement. Agreement should include:

• Terms of Agreement
• Rules, regulations and policies such as Workers Compensation, FLSA, FMLA, and other laws apply when working at

an alternative office location.

• Telework Site
• Clearly establish when teleworkers are expected to report to the official work site for events requiring their presence.
• Task/Duties
• Develop and discuss performance plans and goals with employees prior to beginning and review ongoing.
• Communicate assignments and review work regularly to evaluate effectiveness of the telework arrangement.
• Schedule

Additional Items to Assist with Teleworking during or after the Pandemic

• Digitize any relevant physical materials to

make remote working easer.

• Fax Machine
• Filing
• What form/format will meetings take?
• Online/Video
• Phone
• Guidelines for working remotely
• Hours/Work Schedule
• How often or how do you check in with your

manager

• Regularly check-in with employees
• Are employees on target
• Add more frequent shorter meetings
• Be flexible with schedules
• Home schooling
• Daycare / Caretaker
• Support wellness
• EAP
• Lunch/Break Times

Thank You!

Questions?

Committee on Transportation System Operations

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Virtual Transportation Management Center

Matthew Glasser, PE GDOT – Assistant State Traffic Engineer

Continuity of Operations

GDOT – Disaster Recovery Efforts

• In early February 2020, GDOT initiated the development of a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for the

Transportation Management Center (TMC) and District Operations Centers (DOC) to plan for disaster recovery and business continuity.

• By the first of March COVID-19 started to become a threat to operations.
• At this time focus was shifted to the possibility of needing to quickly transition all operations remote.

• ID every task performed by staff (who, when, how often)
• ID every system needed to do the work (software, phones, radios, laptops, headsets,

timekeeping, mobile devices, hotspots)

• ID the IT team who will provide ongoing support (include your vendors who support software,

hardware, etc.)

• Remotely test every system by at least 10% of staff
• ID every task you can’t do remotely, then create workarounds and negotiate process or

expectation changes

• Remotely test every workaround by at least 10% of staff
• Focus added effort on your leadership teams – train how to provide sufficient remote
• versight and quality control

Preparation

Push to go Virtual

• Initial operations

task assessments completed

March 5th

• Limited testing of

remote capabilities from home

March 6th

• Shifted 50% of staff

remote to allow larger scale testing

March 18th

• Metro TMC 70%

remote, all managers and supervisors still on site

March 19th

• Governor issued first

set of formal COVID- 19 orders

March 23rd

• All staff began

remote work

March 24th

Change of Pace

Before After

Virtual Deployment

9 2 1 60 40 10 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Laptop Radio Hot Spot Pre-Pandemic Deployed

Challenges/Lessons Learned

• When an application is dependent on a specific version of a web browser or other application, ensure

automatic updates are turned off or functionality may be lost when an update is applied, as we experienced with FireFox.

• Before wide issuance, send laptops and other like equipment home with several key testers to test all

functionality to ensure you’ve established and applied the proper software and configuration. You can then replicate the image onto other laptops as needed to save time and avoid a need to troubleshoot multiple unique issues. Have them document every challenge encountered and return the equipment for re-evaluation of the configuration.

• Test radios from each Operator’s remote location before making work assignments. The dispatch

function may have to be limited to those individuals that have reliable radio performance from home.

• Use VPN via employee home networks to test the software before emergency strikes while also

connected to other required systems/software to ensure staff can perform all tasks and access all systems while maintaining the softphone functionality.

• Instructed staff to use different VPN’s to spread demand across the available networks (VPN, VPN 1,

VPN 2)

Questions?

Matthew Glasser, PE mglasser@dot.ga.gov

Florida Department of Transportation

Virtual Traffic Management Centers

Teleworking During the Pandemic

Florida Department of Transportation

The Pre-Pandemic Environment

 There was an agency wide teleworking policy already in the works  An Acceptable Use Agreement (AUA) was adopted the prior year  The Traffic Management Center (TMC) had a recent bandwidth upgrade  The practice of a “What If” scenario

Florida Department of Transportation

Rapid Response to the Situation

Thursday March 12 Friday March 13 Saturday March 14 Sunday March 15 Monday March 16 Personal Computer? Internet?

Survey IT Staff

Technical changes made to enable remote work

Remote TMC

All staff working remotely from home

Situation

Implementation of remote work procedures

Adjustments

Group Policy Firewall Multi-factor Authentication Policies

Florida Department of Transportation

A New Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Florida Department of Transportation

Agility and Resilience in the Face of Continuous Change

On-call number for the operators Surplus computers and monitors Creativity and innovation for monitors Computer Logoff and Reboot desktop shortcuts Computer BIOS settings Microsoft Skype and Teams for communication

Florida Department of Transportation

The Operator’s Perspective

The size of screens was a challenge for inventory Compartmentalized operations

 Someone handled calls  Supervisors handled radios  Everyone used Skype to communicate

Improved collaboration Able to run major events without issues Operators became creative

Florida Department of Transportation

Creativity and Innovation

Florida Department of Transportation

Events

March 15, 2020 to June 2, 2020

 13,416 total events  5,948 from camera finds (44%)

Compared to

March 15, 2019 to June 2, 2019

 18,784 total events  9,810 from camera finds (52%)

Florida Department of Transportation

Florida Department of Transportation, District 1

Chrissie Collins, CISSP, CPM, FMS/AMS Specialist IV

• n behalf of Mark Mathes, TSM&O Program Engineer

Teleworking During the Pandemic:

Las Vegas Story

Brian Hoeft

The Work Must Go On

The End

Committee on Transportation System Security and Resilience

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NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

CTSSR: Teleworking during the Pandemic Virtual EOC

09/01/20

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Agenda

• Mission
• Personnel
• Timeline
• Systems
• Challenges / Limitations
• Positives
• Demonstration
• Questions

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Mission

Internal (DOTEOC) External (ESF1)

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Personnel

Management Principal Trans Analyst

• Sr. Trans Analyst
• Sr. Trans Analyst
• Sr. Trans

Analyst Admin Analyst 2

• Sr. Trans Analyst

Team A Supervisor Support Analyst Alternate Support Analyst Team B Supervisor Support Analyst Alternate Support Analyst Team C Supervisor Support Analyst Alternate Support Analyst Team D Supervisor Support Analyst Alternate Support Analyst Administrative Assistant

ESF 1: 66% (72%) DOTEOC: 84%

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Timeline

Virtual

CREOC Mobile CP

SEOC

March 16 April 2 March 20

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Systems

• E Team
• VPN / Office 365
• Shared Drive / Share Point
• Skype for Business / Teams / Go To Meeting
• Mobile Command Post

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Challenges / Limitations

• Schedule
• Daily Phone Contact
• Alternate work locations issues
• Furloughs
• Volunteers

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Challenges / Limitations cont.

• Physical setup
• Mobile Command Post
• Psychological Impact

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Positives

• Shared resource (oem@dot.nj.gov)
• Volunteers
• Mobile Philosophy
• Comfortable with Remote Activity
• Teamwork

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Demonstration

Share Point & One Note

NJ Department of Transportation Office of Emergency Management, Security, and Response

Questions Contact information:

Robert Burd

Robert.Burd@dot.nj.gov / cell: 609-571-0757

Virtual Emergency Operations Center and Managing Multiple Incidents

Coronavirus Pandemic and Widespread Flooding in 2020

Presented By: September 1, 2020 Gregg Brunner, Bureau of Field Services Director Eileen Phifer, Safety and Security Administrator and Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC)

COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SECURITY AND RESILIENCE

What was happening?

COVID-19 Pandemic

• State Emergency Operations

Center (SEOC) activated on

• Feb. 28 and continues,

primarily virtual

• Maintain MDOT operations as

essential services

• Office staff working remotely
• Field staff working with extra

precautions

Civil Disturbance

• Occurred late May into June
• State agencies were expected

to provide resources for response, if needed

Mid-Michigan Flooding

• Occurred May 16 -19
• Rain, flooding, dam failures
• State and federal declarations
• f disaster in five counties with

two MDOT regions

• Ongoing recovery with some

roads and bridges still closed

Employee Furlough Days

• Covered 10 weeks from May 17

through July 25

• Nearly 75 percent of MDOT

employees affected

• Work 32 hours per week with

strict restriction of no overtime

RESPONSE February March April May June July August September COVID Flooding Civil Disturbance Furlough

Blended Process Different Than Normal

Pandemic

• ccurred

Work remotely from home Emergency incident

• ccurred

Some need for in-person work Figure out remote working Implement alternate methods

State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC)

 State Agency Briefings/Conference Calls

• AM/PM, daily, weekly

 Michigan Critical Incident Management System

(MI CIMS) Web Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

• Resource requests
• Information gathering, sharing, reports

 During pandemic, entrance to SEOC by invitation

• nly with screening protocols in place

 Led to virtual process (utilized previously)

Pictured left is the Michigan

• SEOC. Shown below is a

screenshot from the MI CIMS website application (virtual format).

Mid-Michigan Widespread Flooding

MDOT RESPONSE

►Incident occurred during pandemic stay-at-home

• rder and remote working
• SEOC on-site and virtual
• Phone, text, video, and

e-mail

• Emergency contracting

procedures

• Virtual stakeholder

meetings

• Electronic signatures for

contracts and approvals

Upstream flooding, dam failures, downstream flooding

Pictured above is a flooded area with trees over Curtis Road. Shown above is the affected area that included five counties and two MDOT regions.

Mid-Michigan Widespread Flooding (continued)

Video showing the flooding at US-10 over Sanford Lake in Midland County. To view the 33 second video, hover

• ver the

picture and click on the play arrow that appears below the picture.

Public Involvement During the Incident

Post-Event: Site Damage Assessments

Photos of M-30 over the Tittabawassee River in Midland County.

Post-Event: Site Damage Assessments (continued)

Photos of M-30 over the Tobacco River in Gladwin County.

Virtual Site Visits for Damage Assessment

UNIQUE

►Occurred during Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ban on travel ►Staff available at strategic locations where damage occurred ►Streaming video was utilized to conduct and record the meetings ►Participants allowed to ask questions and provide comment

Pictured is a virtual “on-site” meeting with FHWA. Also shown is a snippet of the video stream.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

►Plans in place may not fit all elements of a scenario (emergency management and business continuity plans are a good start) ►Be flexible and willing to adapt to changing environments and circumstances

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

QUESTIONS?

Presented By: Gregg Brunner, Bureau of Field Services Director Eileen Phifer, Safety and Security Administrator and Emergency Management Coordinator (EMC) Telephone: 517-719-0505 (cell) E-mail: MDOT-SafetyAdmin@Michigan.gov Website: www.Michigan.gov

Roundtable Discussion

Led by Jim Pappas, Deputy Director, Operations & Support, Delaware DOT, CTSSR Vice Chair

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