FY2019 | ISSUE 1
Malcolm Smith
International Road-E-O Winner
Safety Spot Flash flood safety
Amy Slagle
Making a sustainable difference
Road to Zero
The circular economy
PICTURED: 2018 SWANA International Road-E-O Winner, Malcolm Smith
CONTENTS
DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE PAGE 1
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Master Plan update
AMY SLAGLE PAGE 2 On a mission to make a sustainable difference
SAFETY SPOT PAGE 4 Flash Flood Safety
WHAT DO THEY DO? PAGE 5 Residential Quality Services Team
ROAD TO ZERO
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Slowing, narrowing and closing loops
EVENT HIGHLIGHT PAGE 7 2018 Employee BBQ
NEWS YOU CAN USE PAGE 8 Announcements & upcoming events
MALCOLM SMITH PAGE 9 Our 2018 SWANA International Road-E-O winner
AIMING HIGHER AWARDS PAGE 10 HR CORNER PAGE 13
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Putting words into action
Photos from events
Holiday Breakfast at KGSC
Strategic Initiatives Volunteer Day at Zilker Botanical Gardens
Holiday Breakfast at RLC
Viva la Vida 2018
Director’s Message Master Plan Update BY SAM ANGOORI, PE Austin Resource Recovery Interim Director Austin Resource Recovery has started the process to update the Austin Resource Recovery Master Plan. The current plan was approved by the Austin City Council on December 15, 2011. It is a roadmap for how we will reach Zero Waste as a community and calls for improving and implementing new services, programs and ordinances. The work to update this plan is underway. Staff began the effort with a series of workshops. Aiming to get input from a variety of staff, we included team members from all areas of the department to contribute ideas and provide feedback on the future direction. ARR will hire a consultant to conduct research and analysis, provide recommendations, get public input and draft the new Master Plan. We estimate this process will take 18 months. ARR employees will be kept updated on the process and will have the opportunity to provide input. A few key topics we plan to examine as we update the plan include: • Data currently available and new data that could help if collected • Strategies to keep more recyclable and compostable material out of landfills (i.e. the capture rate) • Methods to communicate to customers and Austin residents about Zero Waste • Analysis of rates, fees and affordability of ARR services • Review of ordinances managed by ARR and how they can be improved, including the Universal Recycling Ordinance, and the Construction and Demolition Ordinance • Approaches to recruit Zero Waste-oriented businesses to the Austin area • Methods to encourage reuse and grow the reuse economy in Austin • Options to collect hard-to-recycle items that are not accepted in the curbside recycling program, such as polystyrene foam, plastic film, batteries, electronics, and paint ARR will also need strong partnerships throughout the community to reach Zero Waste together.
We will have a robust community engagement program during the update of the Master Plan. Input from our customers, citizens and the business community will be critical to help us update our roadmap to Zero Waste to ensure it is both innovative and achievable. I hope you will participate and help us craft the best plan possible.
Progress made toward the current Master Plan
Through the hard work of many ARR employees, and with the support of Council Members and community members, most initiatives in the current Master Plan have been completed. Highlights of the completed initiatives include: • Implementing the Universal Recycling Ordinance, which requires recycling services at commercial and multifamily properties, and requires food-service businesses to take steps to keep organic materials out of landfills. • Beginning citywide expansion of the Curbside Composting Collection program. Currently, there are nearly 90,000 households that have curbside composting service, and ARR plans to expand the service to additional households in the fall of 2019. • Austin City Council approved the Construction and Demolition Recycling Ordinance in November 2015, which requires that building materials from certain construction projects be diverted from landfills. • Expanding hours and services at the Recycle & Reuse Drop-0ff Center to make it a one-stop shop for customers. • Installing over 100 recycling containers in downtown Austin to begin the Recycle-on-the-Go program. • Adding additional items (aluminum foil and hard plastics) to the Curbside Recycling Program. • Developing the Austin Reuse Directory, a directory of local reuse organizations, to encourage reusable household items to be donated (or sold) rather than sent to landfills. 1
Amy Slagle
On A Mission to Make a Sustainable Difference BY EVGUENIA GOLOLOBOVA Public Information and Marketing Intern From deep-sea exploration to managing the Litter Abatement Division, Amy Slagle has done her fair share of plunging headfirst into the deep end. Diving into Waste Growing up in the small town of Madisonville, Texas, Amy dreamed of moving to the coast and becoming a marine biologist. Once she got to college, she started to understand the impact waste has on the oceans she loved and the sea creatures in them. She became passionate about making a difference in the world through environmental science. After declaring her major in geography and environmental studies, she started an internship with the City of College Station in the Public Works Department. This opportunity allowed Amy to work closely with their solid waste management team and ultimately led her to a research and planning position with the City of Austin. Making Waves with the City of Austin In her first role with the City, Amy was heavily involved in coordinating and organizing key projects related to the City’s sustainability efforts, such as working with the Block Leader program, managing in-house recycling for businesses, and helping to implement the very first multifamily recycling ordinance in Austin. Later, she was given the opportunity to work at the Materials Recovery Facility, now known as the Recycle & Reuse DropOff Center (RRDOC), where she worked to help educate residents about the City’s plastic, aluminum can, and paper recycling. There, Amy transitioned to a supervisor role and eventually to a managerial position overseeing the Materials Recovery Facility and the Hornsby Bend grinding operation.
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Although Amy has found all of the positions in her career to be rewarding, her current role as Litter Abatement Division Manager (DM) is her favorite. As a DM, she works toward solving a variety of complex challenges, such as personnel issues, equipment problems, and organizational obstacles. Amy finds there are always new opportunities to make a difference in the department each day. One of her main objectives is to continually work toward the department’s Zero Waste goal. In her division, she manages several teams that support that goal: the Brush Collection and Bulk Collection teams provide services twice per year; the Litter Control team handles downtown and special event clean up, such as South by Southwest; the Dead Animal Collection team removes dead animals from the public right of way; the Street Cleaning team sweeps the City six times per year, and the Boulevard Sweeping team cleans major thoroughfares, such as Lamar and Burnet Road; the Yard Trimmings and Compost Collection teams pick up curbside organics; and the Fleet Management team, which addresses the operational needs of the entire department. Discovering Treasures Since beginning her journey with Austin Resource Recovery 20 years ago, Amy has learned a number of interesting lessons, but the value of teamwork has been the most important. Her admiration for her team stems from their ability to successfully work together to quickly solve the department’s challenges. In Amy’s words, “their vast amount of skills and incredible knowledge of the industry has helped move the department forward in helping to achieve our Zero Waste goal.” Luckily for Amy, the best part of her work is the people who surround her. Her team’s talent and dedication make each
“THEIR VAST AMOUNT OF SKILLS AND INCREDIBLE KNOWLEDGE OF THE INDUSTRY HAS HELPED MOVE THE DEPARTMENT FORWARD IN HELPING TO ACHIEVE OUR ZERO WASTE GOAL.”
day exciting and productive, as all members genuinely care about the wellbeing of their fellow employees and citizens. In fact, one of Amy’s most cherished memories of her time with the City was her team’s opportunity to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Over the course of more than 30 days, workers traveled to Houston to clean debris and brush waste in flooded areas. Working with everyone one-on-one and witnessing the monumental impact they had on Houstonians affected by the hurricane was an unforgettable and touching experience. A Sand-sational Time In her spare time, Amy is an avid world traveler. From the streets of Europe to the trails of South America and Southeast Asia, Amy’s global adventures have allowed her to experience different cultures. She also enjoys sailing in Hill Country lakes, as well as scuba diving—which she has had the chance to practice in exotic waters, including the Caribbean and the seas of Indonesia.
As the only female DM on the operations side of ARR, Amy feels strongly about the role of women in this industry: “I am proud to see more women applying for the operational roles. I’m really looking forward to seeing them progressing through the ranks and making an impact at Austin Resource Recovery,” she said. Amy’s career with the City of Austin has grown tremendously since her start. From her position in research and planning, to holding a supervisory role, to her place as the Litter Abatement Division Manager, Amy has played a critical role in positively transforming Austin’s sustainability initiatives. The goals she has helped Austin Resource Recovery reach, as well as the respect and appreciation she has for her team members, demonstrate what a hardworking and committed asset she is to both the department and the City at-large.
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Safety spot
Flash Flood Safety BY BILL HUCK Department Occupational Safety Manager We can’t deny it: Texas goes big in every way, and when it comes to floods, it wins by a landslide. Unfortunately, Austin is right in the heart of Flash Flood Alley. For everyone at Austin Resource Recovery, that means taking the necessary precautions all year long. Heavy rains and flooding severely affect ARR employees’ ability to serve our customers. Just this July during a rain storm, a mandatory stand-down of all our service vehicles on the road was implemented until the storm passed. When heavy rain or flooding occurs, providing services becomes far more difficult in all aspects. Brush and bulk are washed away and block traffic, making it difficult for our operators to maneuver through already crowded streets. When they finally arrive at their designated neighborhoods, carts filled with trash, recycling and compost float away, requiring our operators to track them down, service and return them to their respective addresses. Low tree limbs and wires also become an issue during heavy rains because the weight of the water causes the limbs to hang lower, making it even more difficult to pass beneath them. Once the rain or flooding has subsided after a stand-down, our vehicles continue and finish their routes. If they are unable to complete the route that day, ARR must pool resources to complete routes from the previous day, in addition to their normal pickups. Sometimes, because of the delay, operations have to extend their work weeks to include Saturday pickups to make up for the time routes were delayed by storms or flooding. Despite these difficult obstacles, our operations have never stopped servicing our customers because of flooding — not even for a single day. One example of our crews’ perseverance and dedication to our customers is the Halloween flood of 2013, where several neighborhoods bordering Onion Creek flooded overnight and five people lost their lives. We continued with our normal service and spent the next month removing all of the debris from the affected neighborhoods. In the first 20 days of the cleanup effort, 798 ARR employees worked a total of 6,287 hours removing more than 3,500 tons of the debris from the flood-affected areas. All of this was completed without a single collision or injury. To help our operators continue to provide such excellent service during floods, please follow these flash flood safety tips (adapted from the Texas Department of Public Safety): • 4
In rainy weather, be alert and stay tuned to local radio or TV.
• Remember to trim low-hanging branches. Maintain an overhead clearance of 14 feet so that, even in wet weather, our service trucks can pass beneath the trees. • Never attempt to drive through flooded roadways. Even in relatively shallow water, tires can act as flotation devices, lifting up big vehicles and sending them downstream. It takes only two feet of water to float a 3,000-pound car. •
Beware that water covering roadways may hide washedout bridges or gouged-out roadbeds. If you attempt to drive across, you may not be driving on a road.
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If you are in a low-lying area when flooding is occurring, get to higher ground quickly. Be sure to avoid canyons and washes that can channel swift water.
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Never allow children to play near ditches or storm drains.
What do they do
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Residential Quality Services Team •
Do not attempt to cross flooded roads or streams on foot. It can take as little as six inches of water to knock an adult off his or her feet. Water may be flowing more rapidly than it appears.
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During stormy weather, do not camp or park vehicles along streams or washes.
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Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to see flood dangers.
To all ARR drivers: Remember to notify Dispatch when you encounter water over the roadway, and find an alternate route if possible. Dispatch also announces road closures through the day during heavy rain.
BY MIKE TURNER Quality Assurance Division Manager The Residential Quality Services (RQS) team is part of the Quality Assurance Division, and their purpose is to gather information about how we serve our residential customers. The main goals of the RQS team are to help identify contamination and participation rates within the City of Austin and to provide suggestions that will help ARR reach our Zero Waste goals. The RQS team also works with other ARR divisions to make processes better. They do this by conducting quality assurance projects, such as efficiency studies, process evaluations and customer surveys. This year, the RQS team has partnered with ARR Operations on two waste characterization studies for the curbside composting program where they identified a two percent contamination rate – one of the best in the country! They also conducted a curbside composting set-out study that identified a 27 percent set-out rate, which is higher than some cities with much older composting programs. Those are just a few examples of how the RQS team is working with other ARR teams to provide better services to customers. The RQS team is currently developing a customer cart check program that will help identify contamination in our recycling and composting carts citywide. Be on the lookout for the RQS team and be sure to say hello.
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Road to zero
Slowing, Narrowing and Closing Loops BY NATALIE BETTS Program Manager, Recycling Economic Development Here at ARR, we often work with used items that are about to be tossed into a bin. Making sure as many of these items as possible go into a bin other than a trash can, whether it’s to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or the composting facility, is critical to Zero Waste. But what can we do to keep fewer items from being tossed out? What if everything around us was designed to be adapted, repaired, or reused? That’s the vision of the circular economy—an economic system where products are kept circulating in productive use at their highest value for as long as possible. It’s a system where products are designed to be repurposed at the end of their first useful life. A transition to the circular economy could make a major positive impact on our economic prosperity – one study estimated that creating a circular economy in Europe would add €0.9 trillion (approximately $1.04 trillion) to its GDP. It also matters for the environment. If fewer items have to be manufactured, then the pollution and carbon emissions caused by that manufacturing are avoided altogether. Take clothing, for example: Clothing in the landfill adds up over time, yet it’s not the biggest contributor to waste by weight. The problem lies in the manufacturing of new clothing; it is hugely impactful to the environment – it takes 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt. That’s enough water for one person to drink for 2.5 years! The greenhouse gases generated by one year of polyester production is equivalent to the annual emissions of 185 coal plants. Buying a used shirt not only keeps something out of the landfill, it also means that one less new shirt needs to be manufactured. At ARR, we are helping Austin transition to the circular economy by educating consumers and businesses about how they can rethink waste. In May 2018, we helped launch Austin’s first Sustainable Fashion Week, with a series of events highlighting how fashion can be designed to be Zero Waste. ARR is also the host of the [Re]Verse Pitch Competition, an annual competition that challenges entrepreneurs to create new business ideas using other local businesses’ unwanted items. This year, we wrapped up the first [Re]Move & [Re]Use, a pilot in the University of Texas’ West Campus area during move-out that aimed to get gently-used items into the hands of reuse organizations, instead of abandoned on curbs and in dumpsters.
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So, how can you help in your everyday life? The circular economy is such a big idea, and so much can seem out of our hands – after all, we don’t manufacture or design products! But every person can make choices that will have a real impact. In fact, you probably already do lot of circular ac-
tivities without thinking about it, whether it’s reusing a water bottle or repurposing today’s butter tub to hold tomorrow’s leftovers. Here are some more tips for making Austin more circular: Think: Can it be fixed? It’s so tempting to throw away or recycle something when it breaks and just get a new one, but by fixing it yourself, you save all the emissions that it would have taken to manufacture, transport and sell its replacement. That’s huge! The library offers repair information, or you can attend one of ARR’s Fix-It Clinics. Opt for reusables: Metal straws, rechargeable batteries, reusable razors, cloth napkins – there are many opportunities to swap out a disposable item for one that can be used again and again. Look for durability: Before you make a purchase, ask yourself how long that item will last. The longer you can keep something and the more uses you can get out of it, the better. Shop thrift: There are so many great second-hand stores in Austin. ARR helps maintain a list of locally-owned ones in our Shop Zero Waste directory at austintexas.gov/shopzero. You can discover unique items and save some cash at the same time. Borrow or rent: If you only need something a few times a year or on special occasions, see if you can borrow it from a neighbor or rent it from a local business instead of having it gather dust in a closet most of the year.
Event Highlight 2018 Employee BBQ
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News you can use
Announcements & upcoming events SANITATION WORKER DAY PROCLAIMED BY MAYOR ADLER Thank you to Mayor Adler for proclaiming June 14 as Sanitation Worker Day!
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KUDOS Please thank all of the members of the ‘overnight’ crew in the downtown area, especially those on Pecan Street and parts of the Red River District. It takes special people to work those hours, perform the work that you do and do it with an eye to the health and safety of the larger community. I want to applaud everyone who is committed to this task. Great Job! – Council Member Houston, District #1
KUDOS We want to take this opportunity to let you know that we very much appreciate your team’s dedication and hard work. I am sure that performing this task under these severe weather conditions must be brutal. They are exceeding our expectations at all levels - great customer service and superb performance. Your department needs to be very proud to have such a dedicated staff. We really appreciate you. Way to go.– ARR Customers
NO GIFT POLICY REMINDER Our customers often show their appreciation for our hardworking collection crews by leaving gifts. This is a reminder for all ARR employees that we are not allowed to accept gifts of any kind, per City policy. If a customer offers you a gift or payment of any kind, always politely tell the customer that you appreciate their generosity, but the rules do not allow you to accept the gift. If a gift is set out with the garbage container, please leave the gift at the curbside. If you would like flyers with this information to give out to any customers who may hand you a gift, please contact your SPOC.
Malcolm Smith
Our 2018 SWANA International Road-E-O Winner BY ALEXANDRA MASCARENO Public Information and Marketing Intern Malcolm Smith greeted me with a big smile and welcoming attitude as he pulled out his safely-kept award and winning gold belt buckle. Malcolm won third place in the Rear Loader category at this year’s Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) International Road-E-O Competition. On September 22, top drivers from all over the United States traveled to Denver to compete in various categories, and Malcolm proudly brought us home a trophy. Malcolm first got involved four years ago when he signed up to participate in the Road-E-O. Back then, he participated in the Automation category. This time he competed in the Rear Loader category because it is what he drives now. When asked if he trained for the competition, Malcolm chuckled and said, “I train every day I come to work! Every day we go out, there’s always an obstacle that you have to get around. We have to keep everybody safe and be able to make it around cars and trees. Every day that I am driving, I treat a tree like it’s a cone and I go around the cone.” His advice to his fellow coworkers who want to take on the challenge next year is to keep practicing.
As I ended my talk with Malcolm, he said the best part of the competition experience was meeting new people, and seeing how everyone has a different strategy when competing. His plan for next year is to compete in the Rear Loader category and win first place. Malcolm is currently a crew leader in garbage collection. If you see him around, make sure to congratulate our ARR champ!
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AIMING HIGHER YAWARDSY
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Aiming Higher Awards are presented to individuals who shoot for the stars, whether through one exceptional action or by regularly going above and beyond.
For more information about Aiming Higher Awards, or to request a nomination form,contact your division awards and recognition committee member:
Jorge Ortega
Jorge constantly kept ARR’s website and social media outlets up-to-date and always came up with new ways to engage our customers with fun, interesting and useful content. He also stepped up to help pick up the slack when coworkers were out of office and even took on entire projects that were not his responsibility in order to help his teammates. He is a marketing rockstar and the true definition of a team player.
Teresa Dixon
Reginald Williams
Reggie consistently goes above and beyond in his duties to ensure he provides the best quality training for new operational employees. He takes a personal interest in assisting employees by following up with each of them to see how they are acclimating to the field and their new work environment. Reggie comes to work every day with a smile on his face and ready to get the job done.
Joel Garcia
Collection Services Willie Simmons Customer Service Juanita Fernandez Diversion Facilities Javier Vazquez Finance Stephanie Hollanders Human Resources Amanda Noble Litter Abatement Regina Valencia Operations Support David Herrera Quality Assurance Andrea Francis Safety John Hollenbeck Strategic Initiatives Ashley Pace
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A coworker would like to acknowledge Teresa for her exemplary work and continual support to the employees and leadership of ARR. Teresa has assisted employees and provided guidance toward successful completion of projects. Teresa is knowledgeable and has a highly effective communication style. She truly exhibits service with PRIDE.
Tony Smith Tony was sweeping his assigned boulevard when a collision happened in front of him. He stopped his tasks and went to aid the wrecked car. The woman was scared and anxious. Tony stayed and talked with her, helping her calm down until EMS arrived to take over. Tony’s actions helped keep a bad situation from becoming worse.
Joel realized there was a fire hazard when he noticed smoke coming from the front of his truck. He quickly jumped into the cab to turn off the hydraulic system and the truck. Joel’s action removed the heat from the exhaust and stopped the hydraulic fluid from leaking through the ruptured hose. He prevented the truck from catching fire.
Kane DeLeon Kane assisted with a soil sampling effort where he spent the entire eight-hour day doing very strenuous work in miserable conditions – it was hot and humid with a lot of mosquitos. He kept a positive attitude and worked diligently until the job was done. In short, he is great team player.
Nathan Shaw-Meadow
Daniel Hernandez
Meagan Herndon Meagan is someone people can count on. Her hands-on assistance has allowed progress with the hiring process of a critical position. Meagan works tirelessly on a daily basis to support ARR.
Nathan makes sure to provide his team and the business community the best service possible; he is responsible and makes updates and processes improvements proactively without being asked. He has managed a data set for nearly 10,000 affected properties as well as thousands of ARR commercial accounts. Nathan is one of the most innovative and thoughtful employees on the Business Outreach Team.
Dextra Marsh
While working downtown, a new employee picked up a box covered in feces, which got onto his hi-vis shirt. Dextra gave the employee his extra work shirt so the employee could change. He saved time by resolving the issue without hesitation and drove back to the yard to get a replacement hi-vis shirt for the employee to continue working.
Christopher Guerrero Chris answered his phone at 2:15 a.m. when a coworker forgot the keys to the front gate facing Todd Lane. Chris arrived minutes later, which saved everyone from down time. He went above and beyond his duties. Chris always has a positive attitude and smile on his face.
Daniel has proven to be a model employee and team member. While home sick, he took care of 30 minutes of testing which concluded ARR’s testing portion. He has consistently performed beyond his performance measures, completing assignments ahead of scheduled due dates, and he takes on additional assignments at the team lead or supervisor’s request. Daniel displays his PRIDE values daily.
Ben Delgado
Ben exemplifies service with PRIDE on a daily basis by taking a personal interest in moving the Training program forward in a positive direction. He also assisted Safety while they were short-staffed in incident response, volunteered for several extra projects, and has filled in for coverage for holidays.
Luis Cadena A customer wants to recognize Luis for years of consistently making sure their trash is picked up. “When my trash was too heavy for me, he made the extra effort to help me get it to the curb. When I had surgery, he again helped me get it back in my yard.” He is friendly, helpful, skilled and a true professional.
David Manor A coworker would like to commend David for his help with a blower malfunction during SXSW. David quickly stopped what he was doing, grabbed the blower, and within seconds it was operating. “He does not complain. He does not question. His efforts are greatly appreciated.”
Nathan Shaw-Meadow, Elizabeth Nelson, Thomas Gleason, Sarah Hoover, Teresa Chapman, Chase Norris, & Selene Castillo
Throughout March, the Business Outreach Team (BOT) answered 2,031 phone calls from the Austin business community related to the Universal Recycling Ordinance. Despite the barrage of phone calls, these employees provided exceptional customer service. BOT worked together, were responsible in scheduling appointments and meetings to ensure the phone line was covered, and innovated solutions to help withstand the drastic increase in call volume.
Christopher Farr & Broderick Hannah Chris and Broderick demonstrated great customer service and a positive attitude. A customer had workers cut down her tree, but it fell in the wrong direction into the middle of the street. Both gentlemen helped the customer get the tree back into her yard. They were quick to respond, courteous, and well-mannered. 11
Christopher Farr, Derrick Steward, Eric Ochoa, Javier M. Martinez & Keiandre Hernandez
The Austin Fire Department (AFD) initiated a wildfire safety initiative clean-up in the Jester Estates subdivision. These five individuals took time out of their busy schedules to coordinate the clean-up of brush set out by the residents. These hard-working individuals collected about 12 tons of brush and also completed their assigned route for the week. AFD was very appreciative.
Karl Harrison & Orlando Reyes
Karl and Orlando took charge of an unfortunate situation. An excavator was broken into. Items were stolen, including the ignition switch and batteries, leaving the machine at risk of being stolen. Orlando took charge and made arrangements for the excavator to get back to City property and obtained quotes for repairs. Karl called the police to make reports and helped secure the machine.
Ismael Figueroa, David Fuentes, Edward Guerrero, Kevin Vizcaino, Matthew Flores, Adam Valdez, Raymond Selby, Terrance Carr, Hugo Elizalde, Benjamin Garza, Jose Ruiz & Dario Thomas
The bulk collections crew has gone above and beyond. They assisted with a 10-day event for South by Southwest, and without any day off, they were reassigned to yard trimmings to help with their peak season for four weeks straight. When they finished, they went straight into their bulk peak season. Any time there is a major disaster, storm or peak season, the bulk collection crew is ready and willing to do what is needed to get the job done.
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Anthony Simms, Daniel Ayala, Ruby Fuentes, Herman Dietrich, Reynerio Ramirez, Robert Tijerina, David Champ, Kevin Reed & Mark Palacios
During SXSW these employees maintained a positive attitude while they coordinated and encouraged each other as they pushed themselves to the limits to clean a large central business district (CBD) and the surrounding area in a short amount of time. Their hard work and dedication leaves the SXSW event and the CBD ready for a new day each day.
Richard Hinojosa
David Haney
The sweeper Richard was running had caught fire and he put it out. After heading to his route, he smelled electrical burning. He grabbed his fire extinguisher, pulled out rags and extinguished the fire. Due to his quick action, the only visible damage was the wires from the control box. Richard saved himself and the City a street sweeper, along with time and money in equipment, damages, and lost time.
The street sweeper David was operating had a hopper fire. He called it in, and when help arrived, the hopper was seeping smoke. David, who had parked next to a water hydrant, had detached his fill hose and was spraying water into the hopper, calming the smoke. Thanks to his fast action, he saved himself, the sweeper, and the City time and money in repairs and employee down time.
Tony Davee, Lorenzo Garcia & Milton Nichols
Tony worked with the methane gas contractor to help design a venting system for the high methane gas readings encountered on a closed landfill. Milton hauled rock from the vendor to a staging area on-site. Lorenzo backfilled the trench with rock, installed pipe and performed finish grading. The methane readings are now below five percent. Had this not been caught, there was a possibility of underground combustion.
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HR Corner
Putting Words into Action BY BLANCHE QUARTERMAN Human Resource Manager Congratulations are in order for Austin Resource Recovery ranking fifth among City of Austin departments for our total response rate to the 2017 Listening to the Workforce survey and a completion rate of 290 surveys for 2018! We want to thank all of you who took the time, got involved, and gave your feedback. It is your input, ideas, questions, and suggestions that provide key insight and highlight areas for improvement. Your Input/Needs
Our Response
More transparency on the decision-making strategy of the Awards and Recognition Committee for “Aiming Higher” awards and Kudos
• A key factor in deciding on “Aiming Higher” awards is the demonstration of the City of Austin’s PRIDE values. • Each fiscal year, a nominee can only be awarded once as an individual and once as part of a group. • Group award recipients choose between $25 recognition pay or 2 hours of administrative leave (ARL). • Individual award recipients choose between $50 recognition pay or 4 hours of ARL. • Nominations for “Aiming Higher” awards are suspended during the month of September, resuming in the new fiscal year on October 1, for budgetary purposes. Employee nominations can be conveniently made on the ARR SharePoint site.
Greater communication and information
• During new employee orientation (NEO), we have begun training employees on the HR Portal, E-Access, and email set-up. We also discuss its importance, as the City of Austin uses the official employee email address and its websites to communicate many key initiatives and messages. • There is now more frequent information via ReNews. • We have worked with the Strategic Initiatives division to provide sign boards, large posters, and flyers to announce key activities, trainings, and educational opportunities. Never hesitate to reach out to us with questions or to request information at ARRHROffice@austintexas.gov or (512) 974-1980.
More training opportunities
• An Education Fair was held early in 2018, and will be provided in 2019 to provide information on local, online, and hybrid educational opportunities. • Healthy Connections, Safety, and HR collaborated on an opportunity for employees to receive Healthy Connections Back Injury & Prevention training and Men’s Health training
1. Additional interview training
1. In August of 2017, ARR Interview Classes were resumed. To date, we have held more than 36 interview classes.
2. Active shooter training
2. The Safety Team coordinated for a subject matter expert to train on this topic.
3. De-escalation training
3. A two-part series was provided: a workshop and a four-hour training by Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI)-certified trainers. 13
Sanitation Worker Day Proclamation
What would you like to see in
ReNews?
Please let us know what you think about this edition of ReNews. Email Ashley Pace at ashley.pace@austintexas.gov with any of the following: • Guest columns • Photos • Employee profiles and recognition • Special projects • Events • Suggestions for improvement
FOLLOW US Be sure to follow Austin Resource Recovery on Facebook at facebook.com/austinrecycles. You can also sign up for ARR’s e-newsletter and read our blog at austinrecycles.com.
RENEWS TEAM Editor – Alexandra Mascareno Graphic Design – Keri Greenwalt Photography – Keri Greenwalt, Alexandra Mascareno, Susanne Harm, and Iby Setzer