RESPEC.COM
50 years of success 2019 | ANNUAL REPORT
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2019 | respec Annual report
Table of
Contents
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04 06 08 10 24 26
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Our Leadership Message from the CEO
Board of Directors Walter D. Jones, Lead Director* Todd J. Kenner Jason T. Love
2019 Highlights
John S. L. Morgan Stephen T. O’Rourke* Alfred J. Serrano* Marvin D. Truhe* *External Director
A year of celebration: RESPEC’s 50-year anniversary
Corporate Officers Todd J. Kenner Chief Executive Officer/President
Philip A. Welling Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer
Innovative Projects
Jason D. Miller Chief Information Officer
Steve L. Steinheimer
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Blast Vibrations
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LaPrele Dam
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Modernizing Montana Water Rights
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Cybersecurity for new Mexico
Senior Vice President, Mining & Energy
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Platte River Decision Support System
Denise Q. Brickley
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L.G. Everist and D&I Railroad
Jay R. Nopola
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Mile High Flood District
Vice President
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Oceana haile gold mine
Vice President
Senior Vice President, Data & Technology Solutions
Jason T. Love Senior Vice President, Water & Natural Resources
John S. L. Morgan
Vice President
Kerry L. DeVries Leo L. Van Sambeek Vice President
Meagan L. Chaddick
2019 Financials
Vice President
Rick R. Moser Vice President
Russell A. Persyn Vice President
Stephen Kan Vice President
Advancing our Youth
Karla R. Lipp Corporate Secretary
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Message from
The CEO
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Throughout our history, we have kept our approach to business simple: it begins and ends with hiring talented and caring people. You get that right, and everything else comes together. We are excited about our future and are confident that the next generation of leadership will continue to build upon the history and success of RESPEC.
Todd kenner
We finished the decade with a flourish—2019 marked the 50th year in business for RESPEC, which is an amazing testament to our talented employee-owners. During our first half-century, RESPEC evolved from a highly specialized, focused research company working with the US Department of Energy to a strategically diversified consulting company doing business throughout the US and in more than 53 countries. We are continuing to build the core technical expertise that established the company while expanding our complementary technical capabilities and services. Throughout this past year, we continued to grow the company and create opportunities for professional growth. This year, 2019 marked 10 years of continued net revenue growth with an increase of 9.1 percent. Over the past decade, RESPEC has successfully grown our net revenues at a compound annual growth rate of 11 percent. We continue to commit 50 percent of pretax, prebonus, preretirement profits back to employees through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and bonuses. As a result, our employee-owners have enjoyed the financial benefits of consistent double-digit revenue growth. Even more importantly, by expanding the company, we are creating opportunities for advancing our employees’ professional development through the 400-plus clients we serve and the 800-plus projects we manage annually.
gold-mining industry. To continue the success of the last 50 years, RESPEC rolled out the Vision 2025 strategic plan. Vision 2025 sets forth our strategic pathway for the next 5 years. RESPEC’s strategic vision is to evolve from an engineering, science, and technology company into an Integrated Solutions Partner (ISP). The ISP vision requires an enhanced focus on collaboration, expanding on our resources, and client intimacy. As an Integrated company, we are working across the organization and capitalizing on our breadth and depth of technical know-how and experience. Our Solutions are achieved by applying technology and using the subject-matter expertise in our market sectors to create real-time, decision-support solutions. As Partners, we are focused on building client intimacy to solve complex challenges. As an ISP, our subject-matter experts and technologists partner with our clients to create solutions for a dynamic world. In closing, we finished 2019 with two of the strongest financial quarters in the company’s history. Through your efforts, we once again returned value to all of our employee-owners through the ESOP. Thank you to every RESPEC employee for your contributions this past year and as we move into our 6th decade of business.
RESPEC’s organic growth has been strong and consistent; however, a key component of our success has also been the strategic acquisition of additional technical capabilities. In March 2019, Mine Development Associates (MDA) joined RESPEC. With more than 30 years of experience in the mining industry, MDA is a recognized leader in the precious metals marketplace. Located in Reno, Nevada, MDA is at the center of Nevada’s
Todd Kenner CEO/President
50 50 Years of Business
Continued Growth
Financial Success
ISP Vision
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2019
Highlights
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RESPEC hired 75 employees in 2019 to increase our market presence.
RESPEC celebrated its 50-year anniversary.
Employees
577 Clients
RESPEC successfully provided support to 577 clients with over 1505 active projects in 2019.
RESPEC attended 55 conferences, career fairs, and community events worldwide.
Brett Belzer, Rapid City, was named the 2019 Young Engineer of the Year by the Black Hills Chapter of the South Dakota Engineering Society (SDES).
184 Courses
184 training and college courses were taken company-wide.
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In conjunction with our client (South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources), our project, the “Big Sioux River Flood Information System”, won the 2018 SDES and ACEC/SD Joint Award for Outstanding Engineering Achievement.
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RESPEC Welcomes Mine Development Associates (MDA) and Terrasource Software
In 2019, RESPEC announced the acquisition of Mine Development Associates, Inc. (MDA) and TerraSource Software, both Nevadabased companies. For more than 30 years, MDA has served the mining industry with geological expertise and engineering services. MDA has a proven track record of advising clients on mining projects in every stage of exploration, development, and production in metals with specialized capabilities in resource modeling, competent person’s reports, optimizing mine designs, and planning production schedules. TerraSource has been providing sales, training, and technical support for several exploration- and mining-related software programs, including Surpac™, MineSched™, Whittle, and ArcGIS, since 1996. TerraSource has developed GeoSequel®, a drillhole and sample data management application for exploration and mining.
Incidents RESPEC celebrated zero health and safety incidents in 2019.
RESPEC Appoints New Vice President in Data & Technology Solutions
91% RESPEC boasts a 91% participation of eligible employees in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Employee growth: RESPEC promoted 47 individuals in 2019.
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As a go-to leader in the Data & Technology Solutions (DTS) business unit, Denise Brickley is an integral player within the IT federal services arena. Since joining RESPEC in 2013, she has been responsible for delivery management Denise Brickley and direction for all DTS projects. Denise’s commitment to understanding clients’ need is exemplified by effectively and positively guiding teaming relationships and partnerships to achieve successful project outcomes. With her vast experience in quality, program, and operations management in multiple industries, she delivers a broad range of successful and profitable technology-based programs. Denise was instrumental in developing and championing a project management office for RESPEC, and she was a key leader in the strategic planning and 2025 Vision development initiative. Congratulations to Denise, and we look forward to continued growth in 2020!
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A Year of
C e l e b r at i o n
Our story RESPEC’s story began when five free-thinking engineering professors and an attorney joined forces with a beginning capital of $1,000 in Rapid City, South Dakota. For 50 years, RESPEC has had many achievements, including innovations in predictive mapping, water modeling, underground mapping, video monitoring, remote reporting, and integrating heightened security with advanced information technologies (IT) for large-scale operations.
1969 The beginning
1970–1979 1980–1989 The seventies
// In 1971, RESPEC’s first job was commissioned with the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SD DOT). // First contract with Sandia National Laboratories was awarded.
The eighties
// Work shifted from rock-salt projects in Texas to tuff-rock environments in Nevada. // Project work expanded to Saskatchewan for IMC at the potash mine.
1990–1999 2000–2009 2010–2019 The nineties
The new millennium
The decade of expansion
// Work with rock mechanics was expanded through the purchase of surplus laboratory equipment from the federal government.
// RESPEC was awarded the American Council of Engineering Companies Grand Award for work with the Belle Fourche Irrigation District.
// Established strategic alliances with regional companies to secure new project wins in Wyoming, Minnesota, and surrounding areas.
// A new IT division was created and employed 70 dedicated IT staff for Sandia National Laboratories.
// The South Dakota Engineering Society awarded RESPEC the Outstanding Achievement Award for the Rock Block Monitoring System for Mount Rushmore.
// Big Sioux River Flood Information System project, a collaboration between Data & Technology Solutions (DTS) and Water & Natural Resources (WNR), created predictive modeling for more than 8,500 flood scenarios.
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Innovative
Projects
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Blast Vibrations Creating a regression model for surface vibrations from underground metal operations Client Name Confidential
Feasibility Analysis
United States
Surface-Vibration Prediction
November 2018–August 2019
Protecting the Community
For a due-diligence effort, our mining client needed to ensure that blasting vibrations for an underground mine would not affect the homes and buildings of a nearby community once the mine was operational. Concerned with meeting community requirements, safety standards, and environmental regulations, the mining company needed RESPEC’s expertise to better understand the adverse impact of planned blasting operations. RESPEC was hired to perform a feasibility analysis and meet the challenge of predicting vibration without any preexisting data. Our work included evaluating blast vibration amplitudes that could potentially be generated at surface structures above the proposed mine. RESPEC ultimately established a regression equation for surface vibrations that result from underground blasting to be tested and compared to additional blast vibration data from similar operations across the industry.
metal mining operations to collect surface-blast vibration data produced by heading and stope blasts: Dragon Mining’s Jokisivu Mine, Nyrstar’s Middle Tennessee Mines, and Lundin’s Eagle Mine. The data included blast-vibration amplitude values, seismograph records, blast design geometry, charge weights, and detonator delay and sequence designs. The collected information was used to produce a regression equation and summary dataset that could be used by our client’s proposed underground mining operation to evaluate blast-vibration amplitudes that would be generated on the surface above the proposed mine.
new ways for the client to control and reduce the dangers of blasting (e.g., flyrock, air blast, ground vibrations, and dust) to ensure mine safety and meet environmental regulations. The project is proceeding under RESPEC’s guidance for further testing to predict more specific vibrations at the site. The project is gaining community support and our team is confident in finding the right plan for blasting the area in a way that reduces vibrations on local housing.
RESPEC’s team was successful in identifying problem areas before the mine’s start-up. We also devised
Literature reviews of published blasting documentation provided little information, data, or models on surface-blast vibrations produced by underground mines. At the client’s request, RESPEC collected blastvibration data from underground operations and developed an underground-to-surface blast-vibration regression equation. Our team worked with three underground
Plan View of the Closest Structures to the Stopes.
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LaPrele Dam Creating early-warning sensors for dam and rock motion to ensure public safety Wyoming Water Development Commission, LaPrele Irrigation District
Technical Complexity
Douglas, Wyoming
Uniqueness
2019
Extreme conditions
Known for solving the world’s toughest scientific and technical challenges, RESPEC designed a customized solution for Wyoming’s LaPrele Irrigation District (the District) in the rocky terrain of Wyoming’s Converse County.
risk of catastrophic failure. Approximately 175 people would be at risk below the dam if it would fail at the restricted elevation, and such a failure would almost surely destroy the Interstate 25 bridges over LaPrele Creek west of Douglas, Wyoming.
As one of the only engineering companies that specializes in both irrigation and rock mechanics, RESPEC was hired by the Wyoming Water Development Commission in coordination with the District to assess the entire District, including LaPrele Dam, a private Ambursen-style dam located below a rugged, weathered canyon wall several hundred feet tall. The 130-foot-high colossal dam, which was completed in 1909, was threatened by obvious loose boulders perched immediately above the dam on the canyon walls—the largest weighed an estimated 410,000 pounds. Other boulders were present higher up on the canyon walls, but evaluating them would require rope access.
The RESPEC rope team spent 3 days at the dam in September 2019 using ropeaccess techniques and rappelling skills to map boulders and stratigraphy on the higher, rattlesnake-infested canyon walls. After data were analyzed, more than a dozen boulders were determined to be threatening to the dam.
RESPEC also found significant cracking and weak concrete in the dam that required structural monitoring. The dam has been determined to be “past its useful life” and is classified as “High Hazard,” meaning that a failure would result in loss of life and loss of critical infrastructure. The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office has placed a restriction on the reservoir water level to reduce stress on the dam and the
The RESPEC instrumentation team designed a custom data acquisition system (DAS) that uses displacement transducers and GEOKON crackmeters. RESPEC fit the most threatening boulder with a string potentiometer that can detect movement as slight as 0.01 inch. The dam was fitted with five crackmeters that have a resolution of 0.001 inch and a camera that checks the reservoir water level behind the dam. The camera replaces typical water-level-monitoring equipment and eliminates its logistical, safety, schedule, and budgetary limitations. The sensors and camera are tied into the solar-powered DAS, which uses a cellular gateway to send data to an online dashboard. The solution provides a powerful safety mechanism for the small irrigation district,
the irrigators that rely on the reservoir, and the people who live in and travel through the area. RESPEC’s creative, crossdisciplined team successfully worked under extreme conditions to create a unique and customized solution for an important part of Wyoming’s infrastructure.
RESPEC offered
a solution for the endangered canyon and waterway when no one else could. Technical challenges in extreme conditions appeal to RESPEC’s multidisciplinary team.
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Modernizing Montana Water Rights Replacing a legacy application for a mission-critical Water Rights Information System to benefit government and public record keeping and interaction The Montana Department of Natural Resources Water Resources Division
5-year sole-source contract
Helena, Montana
Mission-Critical Application
2016–2021 (ongoing)
High-Touch Partner Client
As an expert in water-rights engineering, RESPEC also provides clients with comprehensive data and technology services to modernize and upgrade government agencies to better serve the public. Since 2016, RESPEC’s Data & Technology Solutions team has worked closely with the State of Montana to upgrade its Oracle Forms and Reports
application for Project Trident, which was formerly called the Water Rights Information System (WRIS). Project Trident bridges the State with the public. The State monitors usage data for every water well that exists in Montana. On the public side, individuals need to understand and manage their water rights related to real-estate ownership or using adjacent waterbodies—to legally use water but not own it. At the project’s onset, RESPEC’s team provided assurance to Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) that the proposed
software architecture and design would work within conservative funding goals. Our team then performed the proofof-concept phase and proved that the proposed architecture and technology would effectively upgrade the DNRC’s unsupported Oracle application, which was nearly 20 years old. With RESPEC’s help, the DNRC will transition to a new webbased application that will culminate in a user-friendly, public website for monitoring water rights. Our team is currently active in Project Trident’s Reporting Phase and focused on migrating Oracle Reports to Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).
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I have been very impressed with the level of sophistication that RESPEC has shown in managing the project
with the Montana Department of Natural Resources Water Resources Division. They continue to identify and complete all of the large and small tasks that need to done to make a project successful. I am very glad that they are our partner on this project.
Microsoft SSRS will provide a highly supportable, scalable application that is far less expensive to maintain. In the Forms Phase, RESPEC will redesign the application and take the existing technology to a new web-based platform. Our team will also provide training to bring the DNRC staff online with the sustainable new application. In the Public Website Phase, we will update and implement the publicfacing web structure so that internet users can download their water-rights abstracts from the DNRC website. The final phase will include implementing ad hoc reporting. As an industry leader in data and technology solutions with more than
// Millie Hefner Water Rights Bureau Chief, DNRC
// Chris Kuntz Data & Systems Manager, Office of Information Technology, DNRC
30 years of experience in water-resources and water-rights engineering, RESPEC has designed high security into Project Trident to support the DNRC’s mission and protect its data. These solutions for tracking water rights and usage are robust and broadly applicable to many state agencies concerned with safely storing and using confidential public data.
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Cybersecurity for New Mexico Researching and writing security policies and procedures to assist the State of New Mexico with election systems security New Mexico Secretary of State
Improving election security
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Protecting State agencies
2019–2020
Standards compliance
Improving election security is an urgent need in every state. RESPEC understands the vulnerability of largely digitized election systems that must be protected from interference, disruption, and manipulation. In serving the proactive New Mexico Secretary of State (SoS), an office that protects voter and business information, RESPEC’s primary project goal was to help the SoS harden their cybersecurity. Our project led to improving security in the State’s election infrastructure while ensuring the accuracy, accessibility, and confidentiality of voter information used in election systems. In 2019, RESPEC conducted a discovery assessment on the SoS’ cyber policies and procedures to determine areas needing additional security hardening. The assessment was conducted against 17 major areas of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special
Publication 800-53, which is a catalog of security and privacy controls for US federal information systems and the standard to which critical systems must be compliant. RESPEC’s assessment secured a contract beginning in 2019 and continuing through June 2020 to enhance the SoS’ existing cybersecurity policies and procedures.
In 2020, RESPEC’s team will use the Enterprise Security Plan to create a new System Security Plan that is specific to the environment, components, and access points of the SERVIS system. When the project is completed before the 2020 elections, New Mexico’s election system will be among the most secure in the nation.
The project consists of two major phases. Phase 1 focused on the umbrella cybersecurity policies and procedures for the main SoS offices. Phase 2 developed a System Security Plan for the State Elections Registration & Voting Integrity System (SERVIS), which is the main election system for New Mexico.
RESPEC’s team is proud to contribute to projects that protect confidential data and keep election systems safe and secure for free and fair elections.
RESPEC helped strengthen
Cyber Security for the New Mexico Secretary of State by customizing cyber security policies and procedures to fit their specific needs.
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Platte River Decision Support System Helping Nebraska capture excess stream flows for storage and groundwater recharge to increase future water availability and reduce additional regulatory controls Nebraska Department of Natural Resources
Client driven
Platte River–Statewide Nebraska
Design Focused
July 2018–Present (Multiphase)
Interdisciplinary Solution Delivery
The Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (NeDNR) has surface-water, groundwater, and floodplain management as well as natural-resources planning responsibilities. As a part of its mission, the NeDNR permits and manages water use along the Platte River, which flows from Wyoming and Colorado in the west and moves east across Nebraska to join the Missouri River on the eastern border. In its management role, the NeDNR balances water rights and other economic implications with in-stream and adjacent habitat requirements. RESPEC and our partner, EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC, began work with the NeDNR by conducting a 5-day project Design Sprint to support their staff in designing a clear vision for a Decision Support System (DSS) to track excess flows along the Platte River in Nebraska. A storyboard and web-based InVision prototype were developed during the Design Sprint based on the unified vision, goals, and options generated during the week-long session. The prototype was tested with potential users on the last day of the sprint. Our team then developed an automated daily excess flow calculation engine and a C# .NET/Angular application that provides results in dynamic and intuitive tables, maps, and charts.
Building off the initial application for excess flow calculation and review, we have continued our work by developing a permitting application system in which the State of Nebraska’s partners can propose and document projects eligible for receiving excess flow. At the core of the decision support process, we built project ranking and event allocation modules that allow the NeDNR to prioritize submitted projects and, when excess flows are identified, allocate and track water for those that meet the department’s resource management goals.
RESPEC has a solid
understanding of the Platte River Basin and its stakeholders. We are proud to deliver innovative IT solutions and expertise in modeling and decision support for Nebraska’s goal of “Water Today. Water Tomorrow.”
The DSS dashboard calculates excess flow reach-by-reach across the Platte River and provides the volume available by date, including a 7-day forecast. The daily calculation computes a real-time downstream estimate to ensure that diversions in one segment of the river do not diminish water rights in downstream sections.
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L.G. Everist and D&I Railroad Planning and permitting a major quarry expansion into the Big Sioux River Floodplain Disaster-response river modeling and permitting to replace a railroad bridge over the Big Sioux River L.G. Everist and d&I Railroad
Received state engineering award for Bridge Project
Eastern South Dakota
6 RESPEC Locations
October 2017–Present
Integrated mining and water solutions
RESPEC’s team has expansive knowledge of the Big Sioux River Basin in eastern South Dakota. Two recent area projects include a quarry expansion on the floodplain and a disaster-response project to replace a washed-out railroad bridge. L.G. Everist, Inc. (LGE) planned to expand their Dell Rapids East Quarry but faced significant challenges that included relocating two creeks and expanding the existing quarry on the Big Sioux River floodplain. RESPEC conducted an initial feasibility study that focused on impacts to water resources and identified an alternative to protect the quarry and ensure negligible impact to the 100-year flood elevation. Follow-up collaboration between RESPEC’s Mining & Energy and Water & Natural Resources business units brought valuable elements of mine planning into an optimized solution and sequencing for the expansion. RESPEC also addressed a major flooddisaster challenge for the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SD DOT) railroad line. When record-breaking floods hit in March 2019, an ice jam on the Big Sioux River devastated the 375-foot-long Dakota & Iowa (D&I) Railroad Bridge T-648. As a vital component of the D&I Railroad, Bridge T-648 is critical to transporting quarry rock for LGE. The significant bridge loss disrupted business and increased aggregate pricing because LGE’s quarry
transportation was cut off from its major market base in Sioux City, Iowa. To quickly design the replacement bridge, RESPEC worked closely with Civil Design, Inc. in Brookings, South Dakota. RESPEC’s team obtained the required permits to complete the expedited construction on schedule. In 4 months, the new bridge was ready for use. With demonstrated success on the super-rapid, disaster-response project, RESPEC’s team was proud to serve South Dakota and one of its most vital business lifelines.
RESPEC’s diligence with permitting agencies enabled a 4-month turnaround for the new bridge.
RESPEC’s help with
the mine expansion would secure L.G. Everist reserves for another 50 years of operation.
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Mile High Flood District Offering broadly applicable digital-platform design practices combined with modern web and cloud technologies to create user efficiency and ease in data sharing Mile High Flood District (formerly Urban Drainage and Flood Control District)
User Friendly
Denver, Colorado
Intuitive
2019, 5-Day Design Sprint
Transformational
The Mile High Flood District (MHFD), formerly Colorado’s Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD), comprises eight watersheds in the Denver metropolitan area (an area of 1,608 square miles). Like many government agencies, the MHFD was previously behind the technology curve and needed better ways to monitor stream management and watershed master planning efforts. MHFD’s data and information products were based on cumbersome pdf files and had become too difficult to comprehend because of file sizes and complexities. The capability to easily reference data, problems, solutions, improvements, and plans was crucial to streamlining MHFD operations. The MHFD’s traditional approach to information sharing was ready for a transformative technology makeover that would consolidate massive data and reduce excessive emails and telephone calls among its 43 local government partners. In early 2019, the MHFD reached out to its long-time advisor, RESPEC’s Denver office, to imagine a new approach to more closely align MHFD’s operations with its capabilities for sharing technical and administrative processes. RESPEC introduced a client-engagement, design-center strategy—the Design Sprint methodology invented at Google Ventures—to quickly produce innovative pathways and solutions.
After our 5-day Design Sprint workshop with the MHFD, RESPEC produced a clear vision of how digital platforms could be used to create a solution. The Design Sprint produced a digital prototype of the platform on Day 5 and successfully validated the desired outcome while producing a road map for how RESPEC could build a digital platform to integrate a wide range of technical and administrative functions. RESPEC’s team mapped out a program of interactive web development to provide a Google Cloud-hosted platform and integrate a wide range of data, project management, engineering, planning, and administrative functions. By achieving the project goal, RESPEC gave the MHFD and its partners a proposed platform for realtime situational awareness of watershed conditions and plans to streamline the approval process and quickly identify opportunities for building funding partnerships. Built around an engaging, responsive, mobile-web experience, RESPEC’s digital solution design for the government agency offers the same speed and user experience of modern consumer applications.
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Dashboard
User-definable analytics at your fingertips
Design
Familiar and user-friendly design allows for an overall pleasant experience
Search
With sophisticated search functions, users can easily and quickly find the information they need
Results
Map and digital cards display critical project information
Data Sharing RESPEC’s platform provides a Zillow type experience for capital improvement project development, budgeting, scheduling, and management analytics for the 43 local government partners.
Quick, reliable access for uploading and downloading data for stormwater models and stream-condition assessments
Map
In just 5 days,
RESPEC provided a progressive vision for the MHFD to better perform its mission and serve the needs of decisionmakers for protecting people, property, and the environment. With broad applicability for industries that are becoming more digitally advanced, RESPEC’s services include innovative design practices combined with the modern web and cloud technologies across current and future vertical markets and specific locations.
Intuitive selection tools for developing capital improvement projects to solve selected streamcondition problems
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Oceana Haile Gold Mine Improving drilling-and-blasting operations in a hard-rock mine OceanaGold
Drill-and-Blast Engineering
Kershaw, South Carolina
QA/QC Analysis
April 2019–October 2019
Operational Optimization
Established in 1827, South Carolina’s historical Haile gold mine was one of the first operating gold mines in the US. Today, the mine is owned by OceanaGold, a global gold-mining company. RESPEC began working with the OceanaGold Haile operation to assist the mine in establishing a drill-and-blast engineer role for a future hire. Our work also involved collecting baseline quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) data to be used in tracking changes
and improvements to the drill-and-blast operation. RESPEC’s team targeted drilling accuracies, blast performance, and the design plan versus actual data. After successfully establishing the new drill-and-blast engineer role, RESPEC’s team implemented additional improvements to the site and tracked and audited changes to operational performance. RESPEC’s staff furthered our previous work and assisted with ramping
up drill-and-blast production to meet increased production requirements. Our team worked closely with the technical services group, mine operations, and blasting contractors. Our Scope of Work included observing and evaluating safety procedures and requirements related to drill-and-blast and other programs, as well as formalizing the new engineer position and associated tasks. The RESPEC team performed daily drill-and-blast engineering tasks and conducted
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RESPEC Supported OceanaGold by Providing Transitional Talent to Define a Drill-and-Blast Engineer Position With Associated Responsibilities While Improving Drill-and-Blast Operations.
QA/QC on the drilling and blasting when possible, including on drill quality, loading quality, explosives performance quality, and muck-pile results. We also provided drill-and-blast instrumentation services and interfaced with the explosives service provider. When OceanaGold was ready to hire a full-time drill-and-blast engineer, RESPEC seamlessly transitioned the role and transferred responsibilities to the new employee.
RESPEC supported
OceanaGold by providing transitional talent to define a drill-and-blast engineer position with associated responsibilities, while improving drill-andblast operations.
Performing QA/QC Data Collection and Interacting With Drill Operators in the Field Was an Important Part of Helping to Improve and Optimize Drill-andBlast Operations.
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2019
Financials
$56.1
Million Gross revenue increased 8.6% year over year
13.6% Revenue compound annual growth rate of 13.6% over the last 11 years
Shared 54% of pretax, prebonus, preretirement profits through employee retirement and bonus programs
20.3 16.2
$1 Million
2019
Profitability levels continue to be competitive and sustainable
2017
Adjusted EBITDA
2016
RESPEC’s share value as of December 31, 2019, is $120.60
$3.4M
14.6 14.4
2015
$120.60
16.3
2018
54%
Company market value ($M)
RESPEC has 8 clients that generate $1 million or more
43.5 39.7 36.4
2019 marked RESPEC’s 22nd consecutive year of stock appreciation
2019
2018
2017
2016
Years
2015
Twenty-two
30.2 30.9
Net Revenue ($M)
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Advancing Our
Youth
2019 | respec Annual report
858k
New stem jobs STEM jobs are projected to increase 8.8% and result in 858,000 new jobs by 2028.
The Girls-in-the-Classroom project was created and led by RESPEC Canada Co-President and Senior Geologist, Deb Shewfelt. Women in Science serves over 800 students per year, including all seventh-grade girls in Rapid City and students in the southern Black Hills and Pine Ridge Reservation.
800 Students
RESPEC volunteers make incredible differences in young people’s lives by mentoring students, encouraging their dreams, and expanding their career possibilities. Our main community outreach initiative is promoting educational tracks in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We have every reason to encourage youth in this direction; labor statistics show significant increases in the available high-salary STEM jobs over the next decade. RESPEC is a long-time sponsor of the annual Rapid City Women in Science (WIS) conference hosted by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and Youth in Science Rapid City Inc. Research shows that although girls do well in math and science in early education, women are underrepresented in STEM undergraduate programs and the workforce. By showcasing exciting careers and positive female role models, WIS encourages students to continue with math and science courses and eventually pursue STEM-related careers. Providing girls with professional mentors before critical turning points in their education has a positive impact on individuals and the community.
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Girls-in-the-classroom
has given many young women an opportunity to authentically experience many aspects of the mining industry. The connection is that all of them have had value added to their learning by having these authentic and engaging opportunities available to them. // Nancy Barr, Saskatoon Public School Teacher
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College-educated STEM jobholders earn an estimated 30 percent more per hour than non-STEM employees with educational equivalents.
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The women in science
conference continues to be a fantastic way to engage with the Black Hills and area communities and help to provide an immersive STEM experience for girls. Seeing women role models helps to shift young girls’ paradigms about what engineers and scientists look like, which opens the door wide to possibilities.
// Lisa Carlson, Director, Student RESPEC’s Saskatoon-based Girls-in-the-Classroom Success at the South Dakota School (GITC) K–12 educational outreach project inspires of Mines & Technology students to pursue nontraditional STEM tracks that can lead to desirable careers in mining and minerals. GITC engages with elementary and high school girls and the Indigenous community and strives to increase the number of these underrepresented groups in the STEM workforce. The project concluded in 2019 with an educational event at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Experienced female leaders in mining talked to students about nontraditional trades, technology-focused careers, and the importance of diversity and inclusion in the industry. RESPEC is proud to support collaborative environments that foster diversity and inclusion and to participate in events that advance girls in STEM education and drive systemic changes in business and society.
KNOW-HOW IS EVERYTHING. 2019 | ANNUAL REPORT
RESPEC.COM
