MCDOT’s Highway Services Recognized by Public Technology Institute for Snow IQ System

For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 24, 2020

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) Division of Highway Services was awarded a 2020 Public Technology Institute (PTI) Solutions Award Honorable Mention for outstanding work using technology to improve service to the public. MCDOT led a collaborative effort in the development and release of a new, robust snow management application, known as Snow IQ, that provides storm clean-up information. For the public, Snow IQ provides real-time information so travelers can make informed decisions during disruptive winter storms. Within MCDOT, Snow IQ also provides vital information to improve resource management of personnel, equipment, contractors and materials.

PTI, which is part of the Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), annually recognizes cities and counties from around the country that have implemented or updated innovative technology solutions within the past 15 months that positively affected local government performance and service to the public. MCDOT was honored in the Safety and Emergency Management category.

MCDOT’s Snow IQ is a mobile automatic vehicle location (AVL) system that combines contemporary AVL technology with metrics, navigation and surface mapping technologies -- all delivered through an application that runs on everyday handheld devices. MCDOT designed and commissioned the development of Snow IQ with outsourced assistance by Eastbanc Technologies. Snow IQ operates on a cloud platform, Microsoft Azure, and runs on any Android or iOS platform regardless of the device manufacturer or cellular carrier. This enables County personnel, private contractors, assisting in clean-up efforts, and residents alike, to simultaneously access information with almost any handheld device.

A demonstration of the system can be viewed online at: youtu.be/m214g7cVhmQ.

Established in 1971 by several major national associations representing state and local governments and now powered by CompTIA, PTI actively supports local government officials through research, education. View PTI press release online.

Learn more about MCDOT’s highway projects by following @MontCo_Highways on Twitter, or visit montgomerycountymd.gov/dot-highway.

For ongoing updates, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, visit the department website at montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, subscribe to MCDOT news releases or subscribe to MCDOT’s ‘Go Montgomery!’ newsletter.

For transportation updates related to COVID-19 health crisis, visit MCDOT’s transportation resource page for COVID-19.

Media Contacts:

MCDOT: Hannah Henn, Hannah.Henn@montgomerycountymd.gov
CompTIA: Roger Hughlet, 202.503.3644, rhughlett@comptia.org

Release ID: 20-183
Media Contact: Hannah Henn 240-777-8389