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So Liquids 101 told us why we use liquids. Liquids 201 focuses on the how of using liquids. How do we actually get, store, transfer, and apply liquids directly to the pavement. In this session, we will cover brine making, storage of liquid materials, the systems needed to transfer liquids from storage to trucks, and the equipment needed on the trucks to store liquids on the trucks and deliver liquids from the trucks to the road. We will also discuss typical application rates, how those rates vary depending on type of storm and the strategies you are pursuing, and what you should expect in terms of outcomes when using liquids in these ways. We will also present tested methods for providing your workforce with the needed training to implement a successful liquids program.
Read MoreAccurate equipment calibration is a cornerstone best management practice for winter maintenance operations. Yet, many agencies do not recognize or understand its value. Attend this session for a first-hand account of how smart equipment calibration can lower overall program costs and minimize environmental impacts.
Read MoreThis session will cover the roles of managing people in the public works fleet environment.
Read MoreGood asset management calls for utility owners to provide for the life extension of aging pipes where feasible. Products currently in use include Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP), pipe relining, and spray on applications. Each of these methods utilizes the existing pipe as a carrier for the new lining. During the installation, the pipeline is taken out of service which results in an interruption in service. Installation and repairs can take from several hours to several weeks. In most circumstances, it remains the obligation of the municipality or utility agency to continue to provide service during the rehabilitation process. To maintain service to customers, a pumping and by-pass system needs to be established before the sewer or water line is taken out of service. Maintenance projects like CIPP and spray on methods tend to follow a performance-based design/build approach leaving the specific application to the contractor. But what about the by-pass? Contractors may not be as familiar with the local environment as the local public works department or engineer. Pre-planning may be needed. By-pass routes, if long or within a congested community, can be an expensive and challenging process rife with environmental permit requirements, evaluation of easement rights/right-of-way, and conditions imposed within intergovernmental agreements. As by-pass systems can be a significant cost component of the repair project, planning and permitting the route in advance of the project can reduce uncertainties for the contractor which many times can yield lower costs to the owner.
Read MoreIn many American cities today, we talk about encouraging bicycling and making it safer while at the same time we continue to construct unprotected bicycle facilities where the typical user does not feel encouraged to ride and most bicyclists do not feel safe or comfortable riding in. Constructing unprotected bicycling facilities falls short of helping agencies achieve many of their goals including to reduce GHG, improve public health, increase alternative mode shares, and enhance bicycle safety. Often, unprotected bicycle facilities are selected during an alternatives analysis due to their significantly lower cost compared to protected facilities and the lack of comparable differences between the two types of facilities. This presentation’s approach to addressing this issue focuses on identifying the potential differences in bicycle ridership on a facility-specific and network-wide basis between protected and unprotected facility types. First, presenters will show how they analyze the difference in potential ridership impacts between protected and unprotected bicycle facilities based on roadway characteristics and area demographics using a predictive statistical model. Second, applying a grid-theory based analysis, presenters will show how they analyze the network wide impact of creating new connections within the overall network. This type of analysis leverages data from around the country to give decision makers, the public, and engineers & planners an easily replicable way to quantify the potential ridership and GHG benefits of protected facilities.
Read MoreReduced budgets. Deteriorating infrastructure. Now more than ever, in the wake of the COVID-19 economic impact, making the most of your taxpayer resources is critical to the health of your road networks. Learn to use free web-based tools and calculators that were designed especially for road managers and public works officials to assist in making data-driven decisions for annual pavement maintenance and asset planning. RoadResource.org, the free and unbiased industry tool from PPRA, features resources for public works officials, including asset management calculators for preserving and maintaining roads, as well as downloadable communication tools that can be leveraged with taxpayers and elected officials. Join the builders of this resource as they walk through how-to’s such as optimizing life cycle cost, evaluating remaining service life, and prioritizing road projects through cost-benefit value; all in service to making the best use of taxpayer dollars. After nearly six years of research, planning and development among public works officials, experts in the pavement industry, and researchers in the field, these strategists have identified the important key traits, concepts, and approaches of the most successful road managers in North America, and leveraged them into these usable learning tools. At a time when infrastructure budgets are reduced, gas and sales tax revenues are down, yet costs and demands around pavement maintenance continue to climb– every road manager owes it to their taxpayers to push each dollar as far as it will go. These free tools can get you (and your decision-makers) where you need to be.
Read MoreThe City of Milan, Italy, will present an overview of their recently deployed online Business Process Management system. The system leverages geospatial intelligence to improve coordination of right-of-way activities, streamlines and improves the permitting process for activities that impact the right-of-way, and improves coordination with internal and external stakeholders. The City of Milan is the economic capital of Italy. It is facing many city and district rehabilitations, and a business development that changed the city shape and perception after Expo 2015. Milan has 1.5 million residents and sees 5 million commuters daily. With a constantly growing economy, the city must improve its internal procedures to shorten permit delivery, using technology for a better control of the municipal area and to maintain a high urban décor. The city will discuss the challenges faced in moving from their historical management practices to a more industrialized process. The city will also highlight the realized benefits of implementing standardized procedures and processes: reduced review/approval times; exposed opportunities to improve coordination internally and externally (Dig Once); reduced impacts due to roadway closures; changing roles of permit coordinators; workflow improvements; and future developments. The goal of Milan’s Geospatial Intelligence Automation is industrializing procedures to speed up any review process. Connected geographic information enables improved communication through a one stop internal and external portal. Automation decreased processing time and human labor, especially for data entry, communication and controls. The shift to more employees working from home or remote locations has highlighted the necessity of having online systems for managing permit applications and right-of-way activities. Online systems with streamlined and well thought out workflows are critical to for city employees and applicants.
Read MoreAdvancements in telecom service can make city governments more efficient in responding to their citizens’ needs and enrich the lives of its residents. But the expansion of fiber services can also impact your city’s utility poles in ways you did not realize. Learn how to effectively work with telecom partners while protecting your community’s utilities and landowner rights. Discussion includes considerations for city-owned utility poles versus leased and the critical importance of updating easement documentation to include fiber.
Read MorePipelines that carry flows under pressure represent a special set of challenges for water and sewer rehabilitation. Historically, the most common renewal technology employed has been to replace the pipeline using open cut construction. Part of the reason for that choice has been a lack of trenchless rehabilitation technologies appropriate for pressurized pipelines. A lack of investment in the aging pressure pipe infrastructure, coupled with growing congestion both above and below ground, has accelerated development in the trenchless rehabilitation industry. With an ever-increasing number of proven trenchless rehabilitation technologies, how does a utility owner or engineer determine the appropriate technology to specify? This presentation briefly reviews many of the common and emerging trenchless technologies for pressurized pipeline rehabilitation and provides a basic framework that can be utilized to evaluate and select an appropriate solution. Presenters will review the concept of structural classification of pressure pipe linings as defined in AWWA publications, which is a critical component to selecting an appropriate trenchless technology. They’ll also review several case studies that demonstrate how the basic framework was followed to select a trenchless technology solution.
Read MoreLeadership is about moving people to action on a mission. At its heart, leadership is about influence. Influence is the indirect or intangible way that we move others. The problem is that how leaders create influence has permanently changed. It used to be that we could move our colleagues because of what we were. Our role in the organization, our job title, our experience, and our education among other accomplishments provided more than enough influence. It was credentials first and the person behind the credentials second. Now, due to the pandemic, due to technological change, due to wider social pressures, we are seeing the rapid acceleration of a new trend. Effective leadership is less about what we are and more about who we are. The credentials still matter, but the person behind the credentials matters more than ever. The New Leader Way focuses on the core human skills that create the most compelling leadership influence in the modern workplace. The pandemic, technology, and social pressures will continue to radically reshape our communities and our organizations. It’s time for a new leadership philosophy. This is The New Leader Way.
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