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Building a Multi-jurisdictional Public Works Emergency Management Framework

In 2014, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation launched a multi-year initiative to build public works emergency management capacity for a jurisdiction of almost 14 million people covering 386,000 square miles. We'll discuss the building of a province-wide debris management framework, an innovative public-private public works surge capacity system, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for rapid damage assessment, and the development of multi-jurisdictional incident support systems.Learning Objectives: Initiate public works emergency management capacity at the local and state/province levels.Provide examples of techniques to build stakeholder support for collaborative capacity building projects.Determine how government organizations can work with each other and with the private sector to enhance state/province and local public works emergency management capacity.

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Managing Operator Fatigue during Winter Operations

Many organizations split crews into two, 12 hour shifts during winter operations and some run as many as 16 hours or remain on duty until the event is over. Operator…

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Someone is Going to DIE!! Did that Get Your Manager’s Attention?

Ever think that the public service departments (i.e. Police and Fire) get all the glory, but what people don’t realize is without YOU, they are not able to do their jobs? If that pothole is not filled, if that pipe is failed, if that road is impassible after a storm, if the fire is in the woods and the fire department can’t get to it without YOUR help, if the traffic signals are not operational, if the stop sign is down, if that police car is in the shopa.and the list goes ona.who is called to come to the rescue? We need to change our mindsets, we need to have our public service departments advocating for usa.but how do we get them to do that? They dramatize how people will DIE if they don’t have that new fire truck or new police station to service the publica.well, we can be just as dramatic a..use them to help your cause. Come to our interactive session to creatively think of ways to be heard and get what you need.Learning Objectives:Persuade the public service departments to be on your side.Advocate your cause with a little help from your public service departments.Initiate creative ways to band together with your public service departments.

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Wednesday Workshop: An In-depth Introduction to the Envision® Infrastructure Rating System

EnvisionA is an easy to use, flexible resource that facilitates the development and maintenance of sustainable infrastructure. It provides value at every step of the process – from the earliest planning stages throughout operations. It is a comprehensive framework of sixty sustainability criteria that address the full range of environmental, social, and economic impacts to sustainability in project design, construction, and operation. This tool can be used for infrastructure projects of all types, sizes, and locations.Join us for this review of the tenets of the triple bottom-line, the application of sustainability in public infrastructure, and the basics of how EnvisionA is applied to projects. We'll take a look at different types of public works projects and review how the rating credits are applied.Learning Objectives:Identify the type of leaders that can best serve your public works operation and the community at-large.Discuss the importance of building resiliency into to public works infrastructure and services.Develop a public outreach program that deploys social media and other communication strategies to increase the presence and reputation of public works with your community.

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Lessons Learned in the Setup and Calibration of Ground Speed Controllers

Hear an operator's perspective for setting up and calibrating ground speed controllers in a bottom up organization. Discussed are lessons learned over 18 years of working with many generations of…

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The Economy Got You Down?

When budgets tighten and technology fails, how do you keep your agency moving forward? It might be time to look outside of conventional methods.This session is a case study of…

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Driving Innovation with Next-Level Professional Development

How do you get employees to stretch their boundaries and take on new initiatives and projects? Google famously lets its engineers spend up to 20% of their time on side projects. While we can't all be Google, some of their approach can be applied to encourage creative thought and problem-solving. The City of Des Moines Public Works Department has added a unique wrinkle to the pre-existing professional development program. The professional development form includes four goals; the first three are built by the employee and the supervisor. The fourth goal must stretch the employee's boundaries, forcing the employee to learn a new skill, acquire new knowledge or an ability that will help expand his or her job definition. Employees have come up with some really creative projects that will impress you!Learning Objectives: Adapt a traditional, professional development program into one that includes employee innovation.Drive innovation with experienced staff who know their jobs and do them well, but don't stretch beyond that.Build an employee retention tool that is interesting and exciting for both new and current employees.

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Emergency Preparedness from a Facilities Perspective

Facility managers know the importance of maintaining a safe and functional building for occupants on a daily basis. But, how prepared is your facility to withstand a hurricane, earthquake, flood, or fire? Do you conduct regular assessments of your facilities' roofs, utilities, and emergency life systems? Do you have a preventive maintenance program? What back-up systems are in place to support emergency operations, including fuel supply and generators?Learning Objectives: Identify facility deficiencies that would impact emergency preparedness.Anticipate ""Are You Ready?"" through preventive maintenance best management practices.Prepare facilities now to support emergency operations for specific issues and hazards.

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Pokemon Go! How Augmented Reality (AR) is Working for Alameda County Public Works

PokAmon Go introduced the world to augmented reality. Thanks to the simplicity and mass popularity of this game application, techno-consciousness has been expanded and creative ways to deliver valuable information to field staff, work crews, and citizens have been generated. AR is proving to be incredibly powerful for public sector uses, helping governments get more tangible use out of all the data they track and maintain. Alameda County, California, is putting in an AR system that will allow workers to track the county's 7,000+ streetlights and traffic signals. For example, when a worker points a smartphone at a streetlight, the system will fetch the relevant GIS and asset management data. This could be just the beginning. The County's 311 system might be the next project they tackle.Learning Objectives:Enhance and encourage the use of leading-edge technology for public works applications.Increase productivity and efficiency using augmented reality technology.Envision how AR technology might be used for various public works functions.

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Through the Looking Glass: Using Metrics to Easily Communicate Your Success

There is a lot of pressure on local governments today to transition to a more citizen-centric form of service delivery that is transparent, holds government accountable, and provides an easy pathway for community members to be actively involved in decision making. This interactive session will feature a case study of how Nashua, New Hampshire, used data to successfully communicate its sustainability successes. We'll walk you through a process to link available data/metrics to implemented programs and provide you a worksheet template and a resource list you can take home.Learning Objectives:Establish a protocol to meet the growing pressure for transparency in operations.Identify specific metrics that ""tell the story"" of project or program success.Improve communication with community members.

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