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Georgetown County (GC), a predominantly rural community with limited funding, recently undertook an asset management system (AMS) implementation through its Department of Public Services (DPS) that resulted from a need to replace a 15-year-old work order system. Before AMS, County asset data were a seemingly disparate cache of spreadsheets, systems, and geographic information systems (GIS) maintained within different departments. This presentation will focus on how GC galvanized around a desire to unify AMS data and the process to achieve this result. The assets discussed will include roads, drainage, fleet, facilities, solid waste management, and how County policies were converted to digital workflows. The speaker will also discuss how the County leveraged cloud architecture, which helped them endure a five-month ransomware ordeal. Highlighted will be lessons learned, discerning perception versus reality, and ultimately arriving at the foundation of a strong AMS affording data and financially-driven planning and decision making.
Read MoreThe Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) was constructed in 1936 to treat wastewater from the Twin Cities area. To direct flow to the new facility in St. Paul, large-diameter interceptors were constructed, using combined sewer overflow (CSO) regulator structures to capture dry-weather flow for treatment. Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) hired Brown and Caldwell to modernize and reconfigure Emergency Relief Structure ERS04 and rehabilitate approximately 800 feet of the downstream sewer tunnel(s). The tunnels and two badly corroded drop shafts required rehabilitation design based on scant inspection data. Minnehaha Falls Park, immortalized in Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha” and visited by U.S. presidents, is a jewel to the City of Minneapolis and the site of this complex project. Disruptions to about 850,000 annual park visitors, nearby residents, and groundwater that feeds a legally protected spring, were prohibited. Public involvement and an innovative design approach led to successful implementation with minimal disruption.
Read MoreAs per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) discoveries make news—and cause public panics—all over the country, water utilities, industry organizations, state regulators, and the EPA struggle with how to properly publicly communicate findings in drinking water, wastewater discharges, and biosolids. WaterPIO serves as an independent source of PFAS public information, helping multiple utilities, elected officials, activists, the news media, and customers understand why and how these chemicals ended up in our water and wastewater. From 2017 through today, they have served on several utility PFAS teams and are called in to help state water and wastewater organizations with their PFAS responses when public panic occurs. This presentation will cover two such waves of panic, one in North Carolina and one in Georgia.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered what designers and builders think about their clients or why it matters? David Skuodas works as a project manager in the owner role in the public works industry. He spent years asking vendors in the construction industry, “Why does it matter to be a good client?” Skuodas interviewed over 50 consultants, contractors, and client project managers. He asked them what differentiates a good client from a bad client and how the client affects the cost, schedule, and quality of a project. He also asked them what conditions allow them to do their best work, and conversely, what makes it difficult for them to do their jobs effectively? This presentation lets you peek behind the curtain and find out how designers and builders differentiate between good and bad clients. You will learn how client behavior affects the price and quality of the work and how designers and builders choose their clients.
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Each community seems to have that one spot that always has crashes when winter weather arrives, or bridge that behaves differently than all the others at night. Why is that?…
Read MoreIn a post-pandemic world, public works officials will need to enhance their resiliency, add layers of redundancy, and most importantly–re-configure their systems to operate “virtually everything–virtually.” Beyond simply operating some…
Read MoreOn behalf of the Utilities and Public Rights-of-Way (UPROW) Committee, the presenters will present a “Dare to Ask” session discussing lessons learned from UPROW projects and management that didn’t go…
Read MoreCeasing to provide critical winter maintenance services during the pandemic was not an option. COVID-19 tests public agencies and the critical, emergency, and routine services that are provided to citizens every day. The public works industry has stepped up to the challenges of a worldwide pandemic. In this session, the presenter will walk through the COVID-19 pandemic timeline and how agencies responded over time to safely, effectively, and efficiently provide services to their citizens while keeping their employees and families safe. This interactive session will allow the speaker and attendees to discuss what was done in their organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to share how everyone was able to support their agencies during this pandemic and look to the future to plan for the next pandemic…that hopefully never happens.
Read MoreInstituting large-scale changes cannot happen without employees supporting the process. As employees are charged with implementing the program, it is important that they fully understand why change is occurring and actively participate in the creation of the new process. Recognizing and engaging multiple change champions within your organization is the key to success, because the closer a change champion is to the other stakeholders impacted by the change, the greater your chance of success. This program discusses how to identify change champions, and how Niles tapped the abilities of their change champions to guide, develop and implement new and improved programs, winning the APWA Excellence in Snow and Ice Control and Management Innovation Awards.
Read MoreThe maintenance facility is often overlooked as an asset in snow operations. A proper maintenance facility can have a positive effect on staff morale and help to increase the satisfaction of customers by keeping equipment ready to go. This session will discuss real-life examples from the Town of Lexington, Massachusetts, on how your maintenance facility can be an asset when preparing and implementing snow operations. Discussion will include best practices for setting up your facility considering personnel, equipment, materials, and contractors. Strategies will be discussed as to the importance of including snow operations when considering a new facility or redesigning an existing facility.
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