ThinkTransit Product Showcase 2023
This year at ThinkTransit we did something a little different. Instead of doing the usual PowerPoint product update looking at the state of Vontas and Trapeze products, I led a talk show-style discussion focused on just two products— Vontas OnSite and Trapeze RISC.
These two products typified the new Agile-based product development process used by both companies. Instead of delivering an exact solution as outlined in an RFP, or creating something in isolation from the customer, both teams first understood the problem, proposed solutions, and then developed the product a piece at a time.
This process doesn’t presume how to solve a problem. It starts with defining the problem first and then working on a solution with the people who will use the product.
In this 45 minute discussion, you’ll learn how Trapeze RISC (Risk, Incident, and Safety Compliance) didn’t start out anything like it is today and Vontas OnSite came from turning an RFP on its head and trying something completely new and revolutionary. Listen to the whole discussion here or on your favorite podcast app.
Originally the RISC team thought agencies needed a solution to create Safety Management Systems or corrective action plans, but after talking with transit agencies it was clear, what was really needed was a way to get a handle on all the safety data stuck in data silos.
From that discovery, RISC was born as the solution to help agencies get a better handle on their safety data. Agencies can see what’s really going on and then make data-driven decisions. Following the adage you can’t fix what you don’t know, with RISC agencies can see what’s working, and what isn’t.
Vontas OnSite had an entirely different origin. The project originally started as part of an RFP with COTA (Central Ohio Transit Authority) with entirely different set of technologies planned. As luck would have it, Vontas was experimenting with new Ultrawide Band (UWB) technologies that would make the proposed RFID solution obsolete before it was even in place.
Working with COTA, Vontas forged a partnership to trial new technology and work together to deliver “yes and…” solution to make sure COTA knew exactly where their buses were in the yard at any moment in time. With the project completed, COTA can’t imagine life without Vontas OnSite or going back to the paper and pencil manual process it replaced.