Remote monitoring - a review of the facilities that are needed on a traffic signal site

A two-year partnership to trial a new remote monitoring (RM) system for traffic signals was formed by West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and TSUK. WSCC chose the Buck Barn Traffic Signals for the initial trial. The site is a high-speed rural junction where the A254 dual carriageway is crossed by the A272. There is a second junction on the west arm of the main intersection providing access to a service area. Both junctions are operated by a single Sentinel controller running MOVA4.2. The three components of a typical remote monitoring facility are described: the installation software, a communications facility, and an outstation. West Sussex is able to interface the Buck Barn site remotely via a user friendly PC based application. A summary is given of a typical instation initiated monitoring session. Details are given of the automated operation and of the development and consequences of running RM.