Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security, 4 Volume Set

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY PERFORMANCE MEASURES

RUSSELL LEE

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

1 INTRODUCTION

Transportation security organizations—both public and private—face difficult challenges in deciding which security systems to deploy. Advances in science and engineering continue to offer a wide range of new technologies and systems that might reduce the risks of natural and terrorist threats. Although it is impossible to precisely predict the effectiveness of these systems, it is important to assess how well they are likely to perform prior to commercializing or deploying them. In this regard, it is useful to define a concise set of measures that can be systematically and uniformly used to assess the value of alternative technologies and systems under different scenarios. This article defines a framework for defining these performance measures, suggests specific metrics within this framework, and provides illustrations from previous studies. These metrics are primarily intended for use in science, technology, and R&D organizations in homeland security agencies and offices, such as the US Department of Homeland Security, to assess the value of candidate technologies and systems prior to their commercialization or deployment (i.e. the purchase, installation, and operation of a system).

2 PERFORMANCE MEASURE CONCEPTS

“Measures” in this article refer to ways of gauging how well a system will perform. A broadly defined measure could have one or more specific measures ...