October 2015

Second training course for road operators

One of the aims the CLEAN-ROADS project intends to achieve is to optimise the competence and practice of road operators. This can be accomplished by putting operators in the condition for working at their best, that is, by using new ICT tools and attending continuing education courses on winter road maintenance.

After the success of the first course held in October 2014, this year the Autonomous Province of Trento – in collaboration with TIS innovation park and Famas System – organized a second training course for road operators.

The course covered topics such as the chemistry of salt as anti-icing substance, the application of meteorology to the road sector and the description of winter road maintenance practices from a nearby administrative division. With such a program the course aimed to provide road operators with further knowledge on the project's matter and to foster collaboration / consideration among those actively involved in winter road maintenance practices and issues.

The course took place in Belli Hall, Province Palace, Trento, Italy. Four presentations, repeated on three consecutive days (6, 7, 8 October), attracted more than 200 road operators. Invited speakers presented the following talks:

  • Ilaria Pretto introduced the project's progress and pilot activities planned for winter 2015-2016. [slide] [video]

  • Graziano Guella explained the chemical principles underlining salt's preventive action on icy roads. [slide[video]

  • Alberto Lenisa presented practices and ICT tools adopted by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano for winter road maintenance. [slide[video]

  • Thierry Robert-Luciani described how the weather forecast can be put to use in winter road safety. [slide[video]

At the end of each daily session the Autonomous Province of Trento supervised a round-table discussion [video] where road operators could share their work experiences and provide new ideas for future developments in the CLEAN-ROADS project.