IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF OPERATIONAL ALTERNATIVES FOR MATERIALS DATA BANK

The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) has expended considerable effort in assessing the fire performance characteristics of materials used in transit vehicles. The collection and dissemination of pertinent flammability information are an important part of this research. The large volume of data associated with the flammability characteristics necessitated the establishment of a system for storing the data in such a manner that it would be easily available upon request. In the past, a request for such data required a search of files, journal articles, and manufacturers' literature. To address these problems, a plan for a computerized information storage and retrieval system was devised to accommodate such data queries. This report is intended to provide a review of the organization and operation of UMTA's Materials Data Bank which was established and is maintained by the Transportation Systems Center (TSC). Contained within the Materials Data Bank are two basic categories of information: (1) non-metallic materials flammability data, and (2) fire extinguisher data. Included in this review are the reasons for the Bank's establishment, details of its contents, present operational status, and the identification and evaluation of operational alternatives directed at improving its visibility and its usefulness to the technical community. It is recommended that the best method for managing and disseminating the technical data will be accomplished through TSC. A notice of the availability of this system will be published in the Federal Register.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Systems Center

  55 Broadway, Kendall Square
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  Office of Tech Development & Deployment, 400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Hathaway, W T
  • Bogner, C E
  • Litant, I
• Publication Date: 1980-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 35 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Building materials; Buses; Data banks; Data collection; Emergency vehicles; Fire prevention; Fire resistant materials; Fires; Flammability; Flammability tests; Information dissemination; Information processing; Information retrieval; Rapid transit; Safety; Toxicity; Urban transportation
• Old TRIS Terms: Flammability testing; Public service vehicles; Rapid transit railways
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I35: Miscellaneous Materials; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00328279
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT-TSC-UMTA-80-15 Final Rpt., UMTA-MA-06-0051-80-2
• Contract Numbers: DOT-MA-06-0051
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 12 1982 12:00AM