NTL Record

Title Methods for Evaluation of Track Inspection Technology Effectiveness
Record ID 69197
Personal Name
Creator
Bruzek, Radim; Maymand, Sajjad; Drape, Gaylen; Smart, Katrina; Tunna, John
Corporate Creator ENSCO, Inc
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and Development; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development and Technology
Publisher United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration
Publication Date 20200201
Language English
Abstract Guidelines, including recommendations for sample size, are needed in the design of track inspection technology evaluation tests. This report provides and overview of recommended methods for evaluating the effectiveness of different types of track inspection systems. These methods produce performance measures that can be used to validate the technology against ground truth, which is often difficult to obtain, and to compare technologies. As sufficient test samples are needed to make valid comparisons, sample size is also addressed by, for example, grouping flaws of similar size into bins and by combining repeat inspections. The report describes each of the evaluation methods and demonstrates their application to the evaluation of a track geometry measurement system (TGMS). The relatively new Model-Assisted Probability of Detection (MAPOD) technique, which combines actual results with those from computer models of the inspection technology, could usefully be demonstrated on one or more track inspection technologies as part of future efforts.
Rosap ID dot:44002
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/44002
TRT Terms Correlation analysis; Railroad tracks; Statistical reliability; Statistical analysis; Probability
General Subjects Correlation; receiver operating characteristics; probability of detection; repeatability; reproducibility
Geographical
Coverage
United States
TRIS Online
Accession No
1733336
Report Number DOT/FRA/ORD-20/03
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/69000/69100/69197/DOT-FRA-ORD-20-03_20200228.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository