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The APWA Kansas City Metro Chapter’s Sustainable Infrastructure Committee is hosting this forum of experienced Envision project managers who will share their best practices and useful tips for using the Envision® rating system for infrastructure projects. They will talk about internal practices they have developed after implementing Envision® projects, ways to improve participation in projects and increase efficiencies in planning, and what practices help reduce project costs and hours. Come prepared with your own Envision® stories and with your questions about how this system could be used for your projects.
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On January 22, 2016 a three-day snow storm, known as Snowzilla, dumped a historic 28 inches of snow on the nation?s capital. The D.C. Snow Team cleaned snow and ice from 1100 roadway miles, 241 bridges and 75 miles of the national highway system. The District’s roads were cleared within 48 hours, allowing government agencies and school systems to reopen. During their after-action review, the D.C. Snow Team identified several improvement areas including increasing fleet readiness, specialized staff training, an upgrade of the AVL system, and some organizational restructuring. D.C.’s Winter Maintenance Plan is an evolving document, adapting to changes in the city and identifying opportunities for improvement. They will share the improvements made in 2017 and 2018 snow seasons.
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The immediacy at which the average person expects information regarding public services is at an all-time high. Let’s take a look at the communication pitfalls that snow and ice operations can sidestep by having an effective winter operations communication strategy. We’ll share tips for ways to tell the snow and ice control story in such a way that builds confidence in the operations and garners appreciation for those who work around the clock to keep our roadways safe.
Read MoreCities across the United States face an economic crisis related to aging infrastructure and increasing regulatory burdens. Practical environmentalism requires removing unnecessary regulatory burdens so that limited local, state, and federal resources can be used most effectively and efficiently to clean and protect water sources. This presentation will identify how existing regulatory procedures and flexibility may be used to eliminate or reduce regulatory mandates that will not provide local ecological and public health benefits. You will learn about communities that were able to save millions by using updated scientific data, scheduling authority, judicial review and existing waiver/variance provisions so that more pressing public works projects can be implemented.
Read MoreOver the past two-years, the City of Upper Arlington, Ohio, has sent staff from all levels to the Lean Six-Sigma Bootcamp. A committee has been formed to apply the continuous improvement process to various departmental activities. The lean approach involves making a workplace efficient and effective as possible, reducing waste and using value stream maps. These processes can be used for a range of activities from a simple spring cleaning of your workspace to a full departmental process change. Discover how the City of Upper Arlington is integrating these principles into their operations.
Read MoreThe City of Milwaukee embarked on a CNG program in 2010 with grant money provided by the State of Wisconsin using federal funds. Some advantages of the CNG program have included reduced fuel costs and quieter garbage packers. Attend this session for an overview of the successes and challenges of a CNG program.
Read MoreHillsborough County, Florida, conducted performance review of several operational areas. They gained valuable insight about opportunities to make work processes more efficient and effective. This session will cover the methodology for the reviews and the substantial savings that have resulted from deploying the recommended changes. The County has implemented a complete maintenance management system which is integrated with GIS, allowing them to track work completed and comparing the unit costs and productivity against established benchmarks.
Read More“Get out of the office and circulate among the troops.” We’ve all seen the version of this where the boss joins the crew for a day, poses for a picture in a hard hat, and then is never seen again. Don’t miss this presentation by a public works leader who has adopted a regular, repeating program of inserting himself into workgroups. Every two or three weeks, he spends an entire workday as a member of a crew. He tells the crew to treat him like an extra, if unskilled, pair of hands. Invariably the barriers come down after a couple of hours and after the conversations about sports and families subside, questions are freely asked. Honest answers are a must, but this approach has strengthened relationships, countered bad perceptions, enhanced communication and built trust.
Read MoreThis session will feature presentations from the Netherlands about integrating the concepts of social cohesion and resiliency into the design of public spaces and infrastructure. Presentations will include: • Information about a design instrument that integrates input from all the various stakeholders involved in designing public spaces. • A case study featuring The Resiliency Strategy developed by the City of Rotterdam that includes these components: social cohesion and education, energy transition, cyber use and security, climate change adaptation, infrastructure, and changing governance.
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Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are step-by-step instructions about how to do a job or task properly to ensure consistent and quality results. St. Joseph County, Indiana, will share what they learned while developing and implementing SOPs for winter maintenance operations.
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