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The City of Pickerington, Ohio, used a multi-faceted approach for public outreach for its $8 million upgrade to the State Route 6 project. This roadway carries well over 50,000 vehicles per day and serves as the primary freeway access for the majority of the city's 45,000 residents. Regular lane closures, new medians, drainage improvements and roadway surfacing were all expected to cause major headaches for motorists and businesses. Learn how the City was able to develop supporters for the project within the community who, in turn, used social media to share the information the City was providing and expressed excitement for the coming changes. The City was able to maintain continued public support for the duration of the project despite several major unforeseen challenges.Learning Objectives: Plan a multi-faceted public relations program for public works projects.Achieve public buy-in and support for a project before it even begins.Maintain public buy-in and support for a project during chaotic construction activities.
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Each garage across the United States hosts its own unique struggle when it comes to snow removal. Variables like road composite, plow speed, and road conditions vary from lane to…
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Sometimes relationships sour, and you know it is time to move on. But often the best course of action in a dysfunctional work family is unclear. Talented public works leaders have options, but figuring out what is right for you and your family, especially while still navigating an unhealthy workplace dynamic, can be very challenging. This presentation will offer advice and tips for surviving and thriving in a difficult work environment. We'll also discuss the best options for ""breaking up"" with your workplace, including anticipating, preparing for, and reacting to being laid off or fired.Learning Objectives:Know when their workplace relationships are ""on the ropes""Discover ways to improve a dysfunctional workplace.Handle a layoff or termination with grace and dignity.
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The Center for Sustainability (C4S) hosts a roundtable discussion on the challenges, solutions and resources that can help communities develop a comprehensive sustainability plan for winter road maintenance including materials…
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Following a challenging winter season in 2015-2106, the City of Omaha, Nebraska recognized the need to update its winter maintenance operations plan to be relevant in terms of actual operational…
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This session is designed to provide tools and insights to people responsible for managing pavement networks – roads, parking lots, and airfields. In this session, you will learn about the capabilities of the PAVERA""A Sustainment Management System and future development direction. You will hear from a city that is using PAVERA""A to direct its pavement management efforts and learn from their experiences. There will also be a presentation on a full implementation of PAVERA""A at the FBI Academy that will include the use of GIS mapping and mobile technologies to facilitate data collection in a secure area – as well as work planning data that is assisting the Academy in advocating for funding. Time will be provided during and after the session to interact with the speakers and get answers to your questions.Learning Objectives: Receive an introduction and development updates to the USACE PAVERa Sustainment Management SystemExplore how GIS mapping and mobile technologies can be used for data integration.Prioritize pavement maintenance based on measurable data.
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Two maintenance workers for the City of Olympia wanted to build an automated valve-turner that would save money, increase efficiency, and reduce repetitive motion injuries. The lead worker took a risk on the idea and, with management support, he managed the team's workloads and schedules and gave the workers the resources to build and test their idea. Learn how the lead w5orker was able to manage concerns from other employees, keep the whole team motivated, and encourage creativity and innovation. In the end, these workers won the APWA Washington Chapter's 2016 award for ""Achieving Dreams through Empowered Public Works Teams.""Learning Objectives: Create an environment where maintenance workers are empowered to innovate.Manage workload and schedules so that corrective and preventive maintenance goals are met.Communicate successes and failures with management to gain support.
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With changing weather patterns, winter maintenance practices are now being implemented in states where deicer chemicals and plowing have not been heavily used in the past. In recent years, the Southeast portion of the United States has seen greater need for information on how deicer chemicals work, the benefits of a winter maintenance plan, and how to deal with increasing public expectations on how roads should be maintained during snow and ice events. This session will be delivered by two top winter maintenance professionals who will share their expertise and stories to provide advice and cutting-edge information for those less experienced in winter operations.Learning Objectives:Recognize the importance of having a winter maintenance plan.Obtain information on best practices for deicing chemicals and other snow and ice treatments and technologies.Establish a communication plan to be able to convey more information to the driving public during a snow and ice event.
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The Canadian Prairies endured a catastrophic spring and summer in 2016. A wildfire in early May prompted a month-long evacuation of 88,000 people living in Fort McMurray. The fire melted water valves in affected homes, which filled basements, draining ash and gravel into the wastewater collection system. They also had to deal with concerns about toxicity and habitat preservation. In July, an oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River resulted in a shut-down of the water treatment plant intakes to protect the potable water supply from hydrocarbon contamination. Large-scale temporary pipelines and pumps sourced from hundreds of miles away provided water supplies.Learning Objectives:Examine their own critical infrastructure and plan for ""what if"" scenarios.Explore the possible unanticipated impacts from disasters on water and wastewater infrastructure.Assess assess critical risk factors in water and wastewater infrastructure and develop plans for recovery of compromised systems.
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This presentation will provide a basic overview of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and evaluate its emerging role in the damage prevention industry for protecting critical infrastructure and public works. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how the technology works, what utility locate data look like and how to interpret it, how GPR compares to other locating equipment, and the role of GPR in damage prevention with specific steps to maximize a successful GPR survey. In the overview of GPR technology, this presentation will summarize the mechanism that GPR uses to image the subsurface and then explore the two main variables that drive depth of location: antenna frequency and material properties. Next will be a review of several case studies from utility locating projects showing both 2D and 3D data. The comparison of these two views will help attendees understand the benefits and limitations of both visualizations. Then I will compare GPR to EM locators, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of each and ultimately making the case that these are complimentary mapping techniques. Finally, this presentation will present a variety of ways that GPR can be used on locate projects including those with non-ideal conditions and offer a few steps to enhance the likelihood of a successful survey.The people who will benefit most from this presentation are managers of government agencies and engineering firms that conduct damage prevention projects and utility locates as well as those that are considering GPR technology or want to maximize its potential. In addition, locate technicians will find the discussion of GPR basics and the comparison to other technology useful.Learning Objectives: Investigate buried utilities to minimize potential damageExplain the limitations of GPR to clients and agenciesRecommend appropriate use of GPR in a variety of conditions
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