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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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Asset management can mean different things to different people. A good formal asset management system should be one that is tailored to your organization. This session is designed to provide an overview of asset management conceptual elements, as well as some recommended foundational elements associated with an organization’s formal asset management system.In addition, the APWA Asset Management Task Force is developing resources to assist APWA members with the continued development and refinement of their asset management system. An overview of these developing resources will be provided with a more detailed review of the drafted “”Asset Management Road Map””.Learning Objectives:Describe the elements of an effective asset management system.Determine how to tailor an asset management system to the needs of your organization.Discover the resources that APWA’s Asset Management Task Force has developed to help you create and refine your asset management system.
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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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The fleet industry has seen massive change over the last 10 years and continues to evolve. We are flooded with new technology, regulations, fuel types and sustainability efforts that have…
Read MorePublic Works professionals work behind the scenes to make our communities better. However, most people do not even realize we exist. Public Works is EVERYWHERE – from state or local agencies, to engineers, consultants, contractors, inspectors, and vendors that work for these agencies, we are the men and women that make the quality of life better and improve our communities everyday by providing core services. As industry leaders, we need to continue to raise awareness of Public Works. This CLL program will provide you with new innovative ways to raise awareness for your agency and for the profession of Public Works.
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