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safety zone BY SHARON WARREN & GERALD NATION CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Staying Safe in the Summer Heat
When the heat cranks up, you can keep a cool head with the right information.
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he summer months are upon us. It is time for family outings, yard maintenance and many other outdoor activities. All of us know the danger of being outside without sunblock. Take care of you and yours by using a thick layer of sun-block on exposed skin when outdoors. And while we all want to prevent premature aging and skin cancer that comes along with sun exposure - the sunlight is not the only culprit in the summertime. Let’s also concentrate on the issues of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and the danger they pose. The heat index is a combination of various factors that include but are not limited to: temperature, humidity, clothing and environmental factors. Why discuss heat index? Heat stress on the body is the #1 weather related killer in the United States. Heat annually kills more people than all other weather related deaths combined! Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are very se-
HEAT INDEX AND HEAT STRESS
rious conditions, but we can eliminate the impact by following a few simple rules. A basic heat index chart is an imperative tool that will allow you to determine the basic heat index very quickly. All you need to know is the temperature and the humidity. These two measurements can be obtained by watching the weather on TV newscasts, or checking the newspaper or internet.
The chart explained
The left side of the chart shows the temperature. The top of the chart lists the humidity. To determine the basic heat index, determine where the temperature and humidity meet on the chart. Example: determine the basic heat index when the temperature is 95F and the humidity is 35%. Find 95 on the left side of the chart. Go to the right and stop under the 35%. The heat index is 98 degrees and it is in the yellow, or “Very Hot” range the ranges yellow: Hot- 90 to 105 degrees- could cause heat exhaustion pink:
very Hot- 105 to 130 degrees- heat exhaustion likely and sunstroke possible
pink:
Extremely hot- 130 degrees or higher- highly likely to cause heat exhaustion and/or sunstroke.
But the chart only shows the basic heat index. This means we must consider the other factors involved to determine the actual heat index and its effects. The temperature is taken in the shade, so if you work in direct sunlight, you must add 15 degrees to the heat index result of the chart. So for example: 98 degrees heat index in the shade would then add 15 degrees for working in the sunlight, raising our example above to 113 degrees! This one outside factor moves the heat index from the Hot to Very hot classification. This has a direct impact on what is done on the job to prevent heat exhaustion / sunstroke. prevention of heat exhaustion/stroke: Always be aware of the heat index. Always hydrate, especially during the warm/ hot months. Remember that you are drinking fluids today to hydrate for tomorrow.
Wear lightweight clothes that allow the skin to breathe. Minimize alcohol and caffeine. Both dehydrate the body.
2012 JULY STREET TALK
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definitions for keeping cool: refresh area:
fluids:
. .. ..
This is a cooler area, generally shaded. If no shaded area is available, the city vehicle can be started and the air conditioner turned on. The air-conditioned cab can be used as a refresh station. The truck is to be turned off when the refresh break is over unless the truck must be running to work. When drinking fluids, do not drink 100% sport drink. These drinks are excellent for replacing electrolytes but not for hydrating the body. Drink 50% electrolyte replacement drink and 50% water, or water only. Do not drink alcohol, caffeine drinks, colas, etc. These types of drinks dehydrate the body.
tips for working outside in various heat classifications: hot: (90 to 105 degrees)
Drink a minimum of 4–8 ounces of fluid every hour.
Take a refresh break every 1 ½ to 2 hours. If you begin to “feel the heat”, get to a refresh area and drink fluids.
very hot: (105 to 130 degrees)
. .
Take a 15 minute refresher break every hour. Drink a minimum of 8 ounces of appropriate fluids at each refresher break
extremely (130 degrees +) hot: Take a 10 minute refresher break every 30 min-
utes. Drink a minimum of 8 ounces of appropriate fluids at each refresher break.
knowing the signs: There are signs you can use to determine if you are beginning to experience the effects of heat. You could experience one, some or all of the symptoms.
.. .. . .
heat exhaustion:
Sweating profusely Headache Fatigue Nausea
.. .. .
Faint or dizzy Dark colored urine Personality Change Cramps
heat stroke (or sunstroke), very serious condition:
Same signs of heat exhaustion NO SWEATING
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Rapid shallow breathing
Take Action! . .. .. . .. .
for heat exhaustion:
Immediately get to a refresh area (shade or air-conditioned vehicle). Elevate legs Loosen Clothing Drink cool water Sprinkle person with cool water.
for heat stroke (time is critical):
. .
Move the person into the shade or preferably an airconditioned refresh area. CALL 9-1-1 immediately! Cool the person, spraying cool water if possible. Apply 7 cold packs if available - 1 under the neck, 1 at each arm pit, 1 on each inside thigh next to the groin area and 1 under the back of each knee. Fan the person constantly, and do not leave them alone. Keep checking for breathing.
real life work stories: Each year several COA employees experience heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke. Please take steps to insure prevention of these severe heath conditions! Your work can be completed in conjunction with following these preventative guidelines. And don’t forget his includes the work you perform at home! Watch out for new employees. It takes 1 -2 continuous weeks working in the heat for a person’s body to acclimate itself to the extreme heat indexes we encounter in Texas during the summer months. gerald’s story: Do not think that you don’t have to worry about heat exhaustion or stroke because you work outside every day, because I felt that way. I had always spent most of my time outside so I didn’t think these conditions applied to me. But, one day about 12 years ago, I was working outside in 100+ degree temperatures. Everything seemed normal, but the next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital covered in cold sheets and ice. The doctors explained that I had suffered from a heatstroke. I was lucky that I survived, but there are changes to my body that I will have to endure for the rest of my life. Just remember: Take refresh breaks. Drink the appropriate fluids as scheduled. If you wait until you are thirsty, you are already too late to hydrate. Take care of yourself and observe those working around you. Lives depend on it!
divisions BY Luciano Tamayo CONTRIBUTING WRITER
New Technology puts ESD on the Leading Edge In May, our Engineering Services employees started training on AutoCAD Civil 3D!
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he Engineering Services Division (ESD) is known for designing great in-house City projects ranging from road, water and wastewater, storm drainage, water quality ponds and other infrastructures. In order to make sure that ESD stays up to date with the latest and greatest software in the industry, the engineering staff has finally begun training for a new system. This training will prepare the division to migrate from our existing Microstation and GeoPak software platform to AutoCAD Civil 3D. It is a Building Information Modeling (BIM) solution for civil engineering design and documentation. Civil 3D is designed for use by civil engineers, drafters, designers, and technicians working on transportation design, land development, and water projects. This platform is widely used by the majority of private and public firms in designing their projects, and the move to it is also in line with the conversion to Windows 7 citywide. The Features: Leveraging New Tools of Collaboration and Design The 2012 release of AutoCAD Civil 3D has new tools to help speed the design and delivery of civil engineering projects and will also help us realize cost savings for projects. Great new features in the areas of design, analysis, surveying, visualization, drafting and documentation, and collaboration and data management will make ESD a more effective engineering team. Just a few of those specific features are: collaboration & data management
features mean that civil engineering project teams are coordinated by working from the same consistent, up-to-date project models using data shortcuts and references from survey through construction management. It also offers direct access to geographic information system (GIS) data from a varied list of data sources and edits the geospatial data, polygon objects and merge functions, and populates attributes with data calculations and intrinsic object properties.
Point, link and shape codes
are properties of a subassembly that can be used for various applications. Point codes control the creation of the corridor feature line that forms the longitudinal edges of the corridor model. helps give utility design a closer look when designing overhead and underground utilities. It includes terrain-shaping tools capable of supporting large 3D models while maintaining the source data, including: contours, break lines, corridor models, and grading objects.
model-based tools
are a powerful tool that extracts data from the corridor model such as the contours, cross sections or even surfaces of geography. link codes
Getting Started: Employees go to Training AutoCAD Civil 3D capabilities and features were previously featured in the Street Talk July 2011 issue in anticipation of the training and implementation. Now our engineers are really getting started! During the week of May 22-25, 2012, the first batch of twelve ESD employees attended the AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 training in North Austin.
.. .
Kevin Sweat Javier Perez Daniel Arredondo
.. .
John Garza Byrt Reza Cuong Nguyen
.. .
Jorge Chavez Johnny Gomez Aaron Hanna
..
Michael Nguyen Jennifer Massie-Gore
ESD is very excited to begin this new chapter in design, and looks forward to the challenges, benefits and options it brings for our in-house designs
2012 JULY STREET TALK
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columns BY jeff travillion CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Public Works & Transportation Diversity Council The Diversity Council has achieved several notable successes during the last year.
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An award-winning poem from 3rd grade student, Maribel Saldierna at the “Peace, Poetry, and Diversity” event at Hillcrest Elementary School.
he Council has collected a record number of coats for less fortunate children, reached out to local school districts to encourage academic excellence, and started a Brown Bag luncheon series to give employees access to decision making inside and outside the City’s management structure. The Diversity Council SharePoint site has been established, which houses all of the official documents and activities undertaken by the group. Team members have shown leadership in all of the projects, but Eladio Mendoza found a special experience at Hillcrest Elementary. His son attends Hillcrest, so he understands the passion of those students for learning and those teachers who challenge their minds. Eli encouraged the principal and teachers to build a “Peace, Poetry, and Diversity” event. The campus embraced the challenge and we were amazed at the efforts of fifteen students who wrote and read moving poems. We were also impressed with more than fifty other students who played music, danced, or participated in other creative activities. Several committee members passed out Certificates of Appreciation to the students who worked so hard. It was great to see how the time that we spent trying to inspire young students really inspired the Diversity Council members more than we could have ever expected. We all look forward to a long and successful relationship with an outstanding group of students and leaders at Hillcrest Elementary School.
Winners include: Ryan Milagros, Gabriel Vasquez, Glendya Arreguin, Orlando Mondragon, Noe Ramirez, Alex Garcia, Erisvey Casas, Gina Jaimes, Guadalupe Velasquez, Christine Garcia, Rosemary Gonzalez, Brandon Munoz, Mariela Zertuche, Isabel Hernandez, Daniela Ramos and Fatima Moreno.
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divisions BY ROBIN FIELD CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Sealed up and Smoothed Out During the summer, our Slurry Seal & Micro-surfacing and Mill & Overlay Projects jump into overdrive!
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he beginning of summer means a lot of things to Project Manager Tony Lopez -- swimming, taking the family out for snow cones, and managing the annual slurry seal & micro-surfacing, and mill & overlay contracts. Both contracts will go to City Council for approval in early June and Notice to Proceed should be issued around the first day of summer. Slurry seal & Microsurfacing
is a street preventive maintenance measure where a mixture of aggregate, emulsified asphalt and other additives is spread over the surface of a street. The emulsion serves as a binder to hold the aggregate together and to adhere to the roadway. This application will extend the life of and fix minor flaws in Austin neighborhood streets. Slurry provides a smooth ride and avoids the problems associated with flying gravel caused by higher speed traffic. The slurry sealed roadway is opened up to traffic after just a few hours.
mill & overlay
is a process whereby the top 1½ - 2” of pavement is removed with a milling machine and then replaced with a 1½ - 2” layer of new hot mix asphaltic concrete (HMAC). Between these two steps the contractor will crack seal where needed and apply a tack seal to ensure the overlay will adhere. The roadway is open to drivers in eight hours.
* Both applications require a high outdoor temperature in order to be effective.
The Street and Bridge Division has the task of selecting the streets that will receive either application. Binaya Sharma, engineer with the Street and Bridge Division and the project sponsor, explained how
the Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) captures data on all City roadways. “The PMIS enables us to select the right street at the right time for the right treatment in order to maximize the
benefit of the selected treatment”, he said. The PMIS stores historical information such as a roadway’s age, its current issues and any past maintenance received. Any roadways that are found to need deeper repair or that are failing are not eligible for these treatments. Instead they are put on lists for future full-depth reconstruction or rehabilitation projects. In addition to working closely with the contractor, the Construction Inspector must work closely with the citizens. “This type of project has an immediate effect on residents,” Tony says. The Inspector will distribute hang tags to residences two days prior to the work. The hang tag includes the date the work will take place and asks citizens to move their cars to an adjacent street if they need to use it during the application process, which begins around 7 am. The City also has a contract with a towing company in case a car or two needs to be moved around the corner. Tony Lopez says the City will slurry seal 60 lane miles and mill & overlay 60 lane miles this summer. “The Weather Channel predicts a hot summer so I predict another successful year for slurry seal and mill & overlay”. 2012 JULY STREET TALK
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events
Public Works Connects You... All Around Austin!
Public Works builds our city’s future and celebrates our successes with PWD staff and events all around town. Awards and Recognition Putting on the Ritz
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of the Austin Community College District, gave an entertaining presentation to the audience and Howard Lazarus hit the mark with remarks on the status of Public Works and a preview of the year to come. Congratulations to all the award winners! Let’s take a cue and deliver an encore performance!
he spotlight shone on the dozens of awardees at this year’s annual CORE Awards Breakfast on May 16, 2012 at Givens Recreation Center! PWD staff members were celebrities of the day, starting off with a red Be Bright, Be Seen, Be carpet grand entrance, interviews with PWD TV anchors and an all-star breakfast. The Flashy! festivities got underway with the Master of Ceremonies, Howard Lazarus in top hat and Did you know that Texas law requires you to tux and City Manager Marc Ott thanking have a front white light and either a red rear Public Works’ employees for their outstand- light or reflector when cycling at night? In ing performances. Dozens of Public workers order to increase awareness within the cytook center stage to accept awards in cling community, the Austin Bright Cyclist the ‘PRIDE’ and ‘Exceptional Perfor- program kicked off last month. This grantmance’ Categories. Dr. Richard funded program was led by Public Works Rhodes, president and CEO and the Austin Police Department. During
the month of May, APD officers had 1,000 sets of bicycle lights to hand out to cyclists observed riding without them, as well as at various other events for Bike Month. The cyclists were given the lights, asked to complete a survey, and off they went. What a great way to encourage safe cycling in Austin – wearing the proper lights just may save a life!
Lane route is one of the most popular routes for bicycles in Austin. It also will connect to the bicycle lanes on Metric, which will connect to the future Walnut Creek Trail, and to the future Domain multi-use trail system. The project also provides additional trees for shade to combat heat-island impacts. This great facility is expected to be complete in mid-July 2012, with a ribbon-cutting event planned to celebrate!
City Hall Hosts Bicycle Commuters at 2012 Bike Filming an Important Message: Keep Austin to Work Day Workers Safe – The Annual celebration of commuting to Lives Depend on it! work by bicycle was held on May 18, 2012. Breakfast stations all over the city once again lured people out on their bikes by encouraging them to get to work a different way than sitting in a car in traffic. City Hall was the station sponsored by the City of Austin and included APD handing out bicycle lights for the Bright Cyclist Campaign, Healthy Connections stamping ‘Health Passports’ for their ‘Passport to Health Program’ and a Council sponsored coffee and breakfast break.
In case you missed the Employee Breakfast world premiere sneak peak - several of our Public Works employees helped film a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) regarding work zone safety for our employees out in the Right-of-Way. Using a professional actor, Les McGehee, to be our “Jerk,” we used our own crew memHittin’ the Urban Trail bers to play the other Kramer Lane is getting a new off‐street, roles. multi‐use trail on the north side of the road, between Metric Boulevard and Burnet Road. This project provides a safe connection for pedestrians and cyclists of all abilities between the Kramer MetroRail station and nearby employment centers. The Kramer
Those actors are: Robert Traylor - Store Clerk/Road Crew Worker Esther Crawford - Store Shopper DeShawn Scott - Store Shopper/ Road Crew Lupe Riojas - Store Shopper/Road Crew
continued
from pg.11
The PSA is like a commercial, and will be shown throughout the summer in 30-second and 60-second spots on various cable channels and websites. The hope is that it will make drivers think twice when driving through construction areas and work zones. We want everyone to slow down, pay attention and be courteous. And that even applies to us! Help us make it go viral so more people will take our crews’ safety into consideration when driving around town. Share the link with all of your friends on your favorite social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, copying it from our PWD website.
The Child Safety Pro- Sixth Street Becomes gram Trains and In- a Playground for one spires Austin’s Young- fun Sunday Afternoon est Cyclists! On Wednesday, May 9 at Lucy Read PreKindergarten, the Child Safety Program staff trained all 498 PreK students at an all day trike rodeo! Ten staff members were onsite to fit helmets including Rhonda Bolick, Leticia Richardson, Chelsea Donahue and Chris Moore. Leticia and Rhonda trained the students and the rest of the team had a lot of work to do fitting all those helmets! The Program also provided 80 helmets to the school so the children will be able to always wear a helmet when they ride the tricycles at school (which has 80 tricycles). What a great way inspire our little ones to be active, safe and green!
The City of Austin partnered with local Austin businesses and organizations to bring the first open-street festival, or “Ciclovia”, to East Sixth Street on May 20, 2012. The event temporarily closed the street to automobiles for a day to let Austinites wander freely from Brazos Street all the way east to Robert T. Martinez Street. The event was free and open to the public - a take on a type of event that has proven immensely popular in cities around the world. The sponsoring partners provided the opportunity for Austin to put its own spin on the concept. The attendance is believed to have been around 10,000 people who were able to run, bike, skate, or do anything active in a place that would normally be filled with cars. It gave people the chance to interact with one another, the event partners, and with local businesses. Citizens of all ages brought their own brand of active fun to this tobacco-free, family-friendly event. There was live music, opportunities to participate in fitness classes such as Zumba and yoga, and even an animal adoption station where people
events could adopt a pet for free from the City’s Animal Services Department affiliates. There was even a tango dance floor outside of Buenos Aires Café, where people stood and watched, sat and ate at tables in the street, or participated in the dancing! Public Works employee, Nathan Wilkes, carted a dining room table to a shady spot along the route (on his trailer bike) and had a birthday brunch with friends in the middle of the street! Sara Krause of NCD worked as the Project Manager for PWD on the event, and NCD’s Nadia Barrera was working hard before, during and after the event to make it a success. There were many others involved from City Departments to non-profits and businesses. Join the fun for the next VIVA STREETS! The route and date have not yet been decided, but whispers of Congress Avenue are already beginning to be heard…
Big Turnout for the Waller Boathouse Opening and Waller Creek Tunnel Media Day Almost all of the City Council and the Mayor made it out to christen the Waller Boathouse on May 3, 2012. PWD, Watershed Protection, and the Parks Department held a beautiful
ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the project. The Four Seasons, a good neighbor during all of the construction, catered the event and guests were able to wander around the beautiful new public facility. The Austin Rowing Club will be the tenants of part of the building, and have moved in recently. The outdoor areas are open to the public and will also have open public restrooms for trail and lake users. The old Boathouse has now been demolished
and work on the Waller Creek Outlet lagoon has begun. The Public Works and Watershed Protection Departments also hosted a “Tunnel Media Day” in May to allow the media down into the Waller Creek Tunnel Project. It was very well attended and highly covered in the media. It’s no wonder though, since it’s a great opportunity and a rare occasion to get to see inside such a vast tunneling project!
divisions BY VERA LABRIOLA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
CIP Inspection: Behind the Scenes
This group of inspectors brings an array of backgrounds and skills to the table to handle a wide variety of projects.
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ummer is a busy season for all CIP inspectors, especially Phillip Preslar’s group. According to him, his inspectors have a nice blend of experience, work well together, and are able to work on all types of projects in the City of Austin’s right-of-way. Initially, this group was dedicated to inspecting numerous projects of the S IH-35 Waterline Program developed by Austin Water Utility (AWU). This program included about eighteen miles of waterline pipes. Currently, one of their big projects is the Colorado Street Reconstruction and Utility Adjustment that includes installation of utilities, street resurfacing, widening of sidewalks, and street beautification. Soon, another high-profile
14 STREET TALK JULY 2012
project, The Boardwalk Trail at Lady Bird Lake, will be underway. This kind of construction is unique and involves building on water (in order to bypass some private properties) and requires an inspector with a lot of concrete and bridge construction experience. The supervisor, Phillip Preslar, has years of experience in surveying and in a variety of construction work in the oil business, as well as residential and commercial construction. When Phillip was a child, his father served in the U.S. Army and the family lived in many places including Texas, New Mexico, and Panama. Phillip started with the City in 1994 as a surveyor. Later, he was hired as an inspec-
tor and became one of the division’s first lead inspectors. Before he was promoted to the supervisory position, Phillip was one of the most experienced inspectors and worked on numerous high-profile projects. One of them, the Dittmar Road Improvement—S. 1st to Manchaca Project, was the most expensive two-lane road project the City had built at the time. Phillip, often praised for his responsiveness, is known for his dry sense of humor. When asked about transitioning from an inspector to supervisor and overseeing his former peers, he acknowledged, it worked to his advantage because knowing the strengths of his inspectors made assigning projects to them easier. The Lead Inspector, Mark Day, is probably the quietest person in the group but—according to his coworkers—can be quite funny. Mark comes from Midland, TX and was first exposed to the mining business and ended up in the construction field. He has been with the City for eleven years and has over twenty-five years of experience in tunnel work mostly from Wyoming, California, and Nevada. That makes
him a perfect fit for two impressive tunnel projects he currently inspects—the Segment 23 S IH-35 Onion Greek Golf Course Wastewater Interceptor Project and Segment 22 S IH-35 Onion Greek Interceptor Tunnel. Mark enjoys driving fast cars and when time allows and he loves taking his Mustang to the race track. Travis Miller worked for a soils and construction materials testing lab before he started with the City seven years ago but has been in the construction business since he finished high school. He is the kind of person not afraid to speak up and he gets the job done, which is especially true when it comes to project closeouts. Travis moved to Phillip’s group from ACWP (Austin Clean Water Program) projects, he was the inspector on the Airport-Chesterfield Project and the Shoal Creek—Rosedale Storm Drain Improvements Project. Currently, he works on closing completed projects. Travis, a big sports and UT fan, collects miniature football helmets of college and NFL professional teams and coaches the Hutto Little League Football team. Mansoor Yazdi is from the old city of Yazd in Iran and has been in the construction field for forty years. He earned his BS in Civil Engineering from Shiraz University in Iran and through his career, he owned a construction firm focused on design, calculations, and construction inspection and worked as a consultant and a project manager for construction companies. Mansoor holds a BA in Humanity Studies and, as a volunteer, taught Foundation and Soil Mechanics classes to the students, whose access to higher education was denied due to their religion. Since he joined the City, Mansoor has worked on countless sidewalk projects all around Austin, helping to bring them up to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards. His supervisor mentioned that Mansoor is excited to start the Pleasant Valley Extension from Button Ben Drive to St. Elmo Project, which—for a change—is a different kind of work that does not include sidewalks. John Rich, who has a degree in psychology, is a Vietnam War veteran and has a background as a drafting and engineering technician. He started with the City as an inspector in the 1980s. In 1999, he left Austin and moved to Florida, where he worked in the private sector. After his
return to the Austin area John joined CIP Inspection. He has over thirty years of construction-related experience and his family has been in this field for three generations! He worked on parts of the S IH-35 Program; particularly Segment 1 and Segment 2/5. Currently, John inspects Group 10—Collector/Residential Streets Southwest and Havana St Waterline Project. John is a proud owner of a 2002 Harley Davidson Heritage and a member of the San Jacinto High Rollers Motorcycle Club. Bill Mason also used to work for the City as an inspector in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he left Austin for Fort Worth where he owned and managed a gas station. Bill, who has over thirty years of experience in construction, surveying, and soils testing, got rehired by the City two years ago. At this time, he works on the Williamson Creek Blarwood Storm Drain Improvement Project and Main to Montopolis Reclaimed Water Main Projects. He enjoys working on cars and right now, he is restoring his 1970 Dodge Challenger. Bill likes spending time with his four grandchildren, who live in the Fort Worth Area. And interestingly, Bill is also a registered massage therapist! Guadalupe (Lupe ) Gomez, a U.S. Army veteran, has years of construction experience working for several contractors in the Austin area. Lupe did a lot of work in subdivisions, especially preparing areas for future development. Having the experience of operating heavy construction equipment and coming from private contractor companies, Lupe has the ability to foresee possible problems and he is a good source of information on constructability issues. Currently, he inspects the Colorado Street Reconstruction and Utility Adjustment Project and Group 30 Oltorf St.—East S. Congress to IH-35 Access Road Project. Lupe loves karaoke and used to be the lead singer for a local band. Ramiro Hernandez from Burnet, TX, worked for local engineering design companies as a drafting technician and accepted a job with CIP Inspection because he wanted to try something different and have the opportunity to get construction experience in the field. Because of his work ethic, friendly, well-spoken personality, and the fact that he is a quick learner, he is well-liked by his project managers. Ramiro inspects the ongoing Wastewater Relay and Spot Repair program for AWU
and the Airport—Chesterfield Project that Travis Miller had to give up because of his injury. Ramiro enjoys lifting weights, biking, and spending time outdoors with his four-year old daughter Gabriella, who loves collecting rocks. Wayne Fant, originally from Corpus Christi, wanted to be a dentist, but somehow landed in the construction business. Like John Rich and Bill Mason, Wayne is one of our employees who used to work for the City as an inspector in the 1980s. Wayne left the City to work in the private sector, where he spent over twenty-five years as a superintendent. He worked on many projects around the Austin area, especially in subdivisions, and helped build numerous lift stations. Before he was rehired by the City a few months ago, Wayne worked as an inspector for a private inspection company. Currently, he works on the Valve Replacement ProgramCombined and the BAE Reclaimed Waterline Project.
Mark Day, our tunnel expert on the SEG. 22—S. IH 35 Onion Creek Interceptor Tunnel Project.
2012 JULY STREET TALK 15
divisions BY SARA KRAUSE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Working Together to ‘Complete’ our Streets
The Bicycle Program Harmonizes with Street and Bridge to deliver state-of-the-art services while saving taxpayer dollars.
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hen it all comes right down to it, the primary driver behind the success of our programs and projects in PWD is cost. Operating efficiently and effectively to manage cost and achieve economies of scale is one of the ways that we can be successful in service delivery. A great example of how PWD does this is through the partnership of Street and Bridge Operations and the Bicycle Program. Each summer, the Neighborhood Connectivity Division’s (NCD) Bicycle Program “follows” the street maintenance schedule of Street and Bridge Operations (SBO) to implement the bicycle plan. Adopted as an ordinance by the City Council in 2009, the Bicycle Master Plan update calls for the installation of an extensive network of bicycle facilities throughout the City.
“ City worker installs a ‘sharrow’, which is used to indicate areas where bicyclists and cars must share a lane.
Given that we are poised to install or improve 50 miles of bicycle facilities this year results in a savings of over $6 million, or in our fiscally constrained world means that we are getting a lot more bicycle facilities on the ground. In some cases, Street and Bridge utilizes in-house crews to do the resurfacing and striping, and in others, employs outside contractors. Regardless, by following the SBO maintenance schedule, there’s a clear benefit: the roadway would have to be resurfaced regardless. This coordination process has improved over the last several years and has resulted in improved service delivery to the public. Each year, Bicycle Program staff receives the next year’s planned street main-
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By following the street maintenance schedule of Street and Bridge, we reduce our costs to install most bike facilities from an average of $140k per mile to $15k per mile. This would be like going to the store and getting a 90% off sale item on tax free day.
”
- Nathan Wilkes, Engineer Associate, Neighborhood and Connectivity Division
tenance schedule. In some cases, NCD works with Street and Bridge to include longer or different roadway segments that better allow for the implementation of the bicycle plan. “We simply take the schedule and align it with our bicycle plan. Since we’re operating with a blank slate, it gives us the opportunity to develop the best engineering solution possible within the existing roadway. We also coordinate with the Transportation Department and review Neighborhood Plans to ensure that we can facilitate as many traffic improvements as possible for ways to move towards a more ‘complete street’ that works for everyone. But, there’s more than just a cost-
savings benefit to this approach. Wilkes says the ‘blank slate approach’ allows for the application of more comprehensive traffic solutions such as road diets (four to three lane conversions) and buffered bicycle lanes. Additionally, when bicycle facilities are added, NCD engages in a public process to inform area residents of the changes, particularly when parking is modified along the roadway. “We’ve found that by informing people that the whole roadway is being configured, they look at the change differently. This is part of a normal street maintenance process, and people tend to look on that favorably. It helps us to be a department implementing multiple goals with one project.”
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he Public Works brand “Public Works Connects You - All Around Austin!” is more than just a catchy phrase – it’s a fact! Anywhere you go in Austin, whether it’s via car, bicycle, motorcycle, or on foot, you’ll see and feel the impact of our hard-working Street and Bridge Operations (SBO) crews. The organization is composed of Bridge Maintenance, Concrete Repair and Construction, Right of Way Maintenance, Street Preventive Maintenance and Street Repairs. This year the approximately 225 men and women in SBO have added to their repertoire of services. They are trimming trees and maintaining landscapes, plus taking care of Austin’s multi-use trails. With these new responsibilities, our operations teams are demonstrating how much heart they have throughout our City!
streets Compared with other cities of its size, the 2010 U.S. Census shows that Austin has the second highest urban population growth (51.1 percent) in the last ten years. While the much of the rest of the country is struggling to keep their towns’ transportation infrastructure from deteriorating, our crews are actually improving pavement conditions. Back in 2009, an evaluation of the City’s streets was disheartening. A full 27% of the streets were deemed in poor or failed conditions. Austin pledged to the State of Texas to improve our streets to the point where more than 80% of our City’s streets would be rated as ‘satisfactory or better’ by 2018. So, our guys and gals pulled on their steel-toed boots and went to work. Amazingly, an evaluation conducted by the City at the end of 2011 showed that 79% of the streets have reached the desired goal! And, don’t think the citizens of Austin haven’t noticed; sixty percent of Austinites are satisfied with our streets as compared to only 40% nationwide. That’s not surprising when you consider that 95% of potholes are filled within 72 hours of reporting and 95% of emergencies are taken care of within 24 hours of reporting.
Sidewalks Street and Bridge Operations is responsible for cleaning over 1,000,000 square feet of downtown sidewalks annually! That means sticky gum, trash, spilled beverages, and much more, that can make quite a mess. But our crews, using the new “Cyclone” sidewalk cleaner can really tackle the downtown sidewalks quickly. In all of fiscal year 2010-11, the crew cleaned 1.2 million
square feet of sidewalk. They have surpassed that amount in the first six months of this fiscal year. How? Instead of completing 10,000 square feet per week, utilizing the Cyclone they are able to complete closer to 100,000 square feet per week. Even more amazing, 95% of the water used in cleaning operations is recovered. That number is vital, especially when thinking of how careful Texans need to be to protect our water resources! We can all have pride as big as Texas when visitors come to the capitol city, knowing that they will find some of the smoothest and cleanest streets and sidewalks anywhere. The Downtown Austin Alliance Security and Maintenance Program Director Bill Brice says, “The Downtown Austin Alliance, made up of downtown business property owners, has seen a tremendous mprovement in the conditions of the d o w n t o w n sidewalks since the Public Works sidewalk washing program was implemented about two years ago. The sidewalks are
noticeably cleaner and the regular detailed-cleaning has a big impact on making downtown Austin a more desirable place for people to work, live, entertain or host a meeting or convention.” You know PWD is doing great work when you get feedback like that!
BRIDGES Did you know that Austin has 427 bridges? Did you also know that 426 of them are listed as in good or
2012 JULY STREET TALK
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continued
from pg.19
excellent condition? It is comforting to know that our pedestrians, cars and bicycles are able to cross Austin bridges without fear for their safety, thanks in part to the SBO crews. In 2010 a national government report found that close to 12 percent of the nation’s bridges were “structurally deficient” and required replacement. The average age of U.S. bridges is nearing 42 and bridges are usually designed for a life span of 50 years. Once again, Austin leads the way in repairs and critical maintenance to keep us mobile.
TRAILS Anyone who’s been in Austin for more than a day is well aware of the beautiful trails throughout the City. Yet again, our SBO crews shine at what they do. People strolling or running along the trails are appreciative of the enhanced appearance, maintenance and safety. Running enthusiast and Austin resident Victor Trevino says, “The maintenance of the trails has improved greatly. I’ve noticed new expansions and additions and particularly appreciate that the trails are cleaner. I don’t
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have to dodge brush in the pathway!” Victor also has noted the trails are smoother and that there is less debris. No wonder Austin is rated as the best city in the country for the next decade (2010-2020) by Kiplinger’s Magazine!
LEAN, CLEAN AND GREEN PWD keeps an eye on our planet while keeping us moving in all the directions we want to go. Street and Bridge maintains many rain gardens in the right-of-way
(unless they are constructed to satisfy water quality permit requirements, in which case Watershed Protection maintains them). “PWD’s commitment to allow rain gardens in the right-of-way and to maintain those rain gardens will have a positive impact on controlling the amount and quality of stormwater runoff, allowing vegetation to grow with much less irrigation. One of the elegant features of rain gardens is that they require very little long term maintenance,” says Kevin Sweat, Engineering Services Division. Another example of SBO keeping it clean is the fact that in FY2011 they began using warm-mix asphalt in its overlay operations. This technology offers the benefits of lower fuel consumption and reduced greenhouse emissions by lowering the temperatures at which the material is applied to the road.
feature Reduce, reuse, recycle? No one does it better! Vehicles purchased for the Rightof-Way crew were older vehicles needing some TLC. Lee Garza and Israel Sanchez took the initiative and made repairs to the vehicles, saving the City $3,500 but spending only $180 in materials. And our crews are also beginning to use crushed recovered glass and concrete from the Austin Resource Recovery as base in their projects - saving money and materials. Good for the environment and the bottom line. Finally, necessity being the mother of invention, the Utility Cuts crew designed and created their own meeting/ break/computer room and recycled the old materials. No one can say these innovators aren’t dedicated to doing the right thing!
PLAYS NICELY WITH OTHERS Street and Bridge Operations are increasingly collaborative with internal and external stakeholders. Through participation in the PWD Monthly Coordination meetings, opportunities to excel are being presented. Operations recently identified a project to collaborate on with Water and Wastewater, resulting in $150,000 in cost savings to the City.
COURAGE AND HEART A true emergency occurred in Austin on January 25, 2012 when a tornado struck our city. A Street and Bridge on-call crew and night crew members responded immediately to the situation. They worked in treacherous weather conditions, blocking citizens from entering dangerous areas, ensuring the safety and security of Austinites. The team, including Johnny Colvin, Charles Felipa Sr., Paul Martin, Kenny Smith, Joe Stornes and Pete Valdez are positive examples of what our crews can and will do for our City. Due in part to their work, there were no injuries reported that evening! This is just one of many instances in which SBO crews have helped to keep
Austinites safe by blocking streets that are unsafe for passage.
NO JERKS ALLOWED Recently SBO employees starred in the soon-to-betelevised Worker Safety Public Service Announcement “The Jerk”. The 60-second satirical video comparing grocery shopping behavior to street safety is a funny, yet powerful way to make Austin drivers think twice while driving in work zones. To see the PSA, you can visit the Public Works website at: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/publicworks and scroll to the bottom of the page, or you can view the video on YouTube at: http://www. youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ embedded&v=kdLkGmN_EHw The PSA will soon be airing on various channels throughout the summer on Time Warner Cable. It’s clear that PWD’s Street and Bridge Operations put a lot of heart into all the work that they do for Austin, and we are all grateful! 2012 JULY STREET TALK
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columns BY CHRIS GRAHAM GUEST COLUMNIST
The Evolution of Delivering Pavement Projects
T
Department to department, Public Works and Aviation are collaborating to save time… and money!
he pavement maintenance and project delivery methods had their beginnings in the early 2000’s when the Aviation Department (DOA) staff worked with the Street and Bridge Operations (SBO) staff to seal coat the entry and exit of Presidential Blvd at the airport. Then, Ron Koehn and I worked together to extend the seal coat in 2003, where the partnership really fused for collaborative work on small projects, financing them through our maintenance budget. In 2007, we asked Street and Bridge to do another seal coat of Presidential Blvd and this time had them do both entry and exit sides of Presidential. That same year Ed Poppitt gave us the idea to piggyback on the SBO maintenance contract and give the pavement in the ABIA parking lots some much needed maintenance. However, towards the end of the year (and the next two years!), there was either not enough time or not enough money left over in our budget for the work. Although it didn’t work out at that time, the story does have a happy ending…
The little projects 2009 was a busy year, so I asked our Division Manager Robert Holland if we could pay SBO using a FDU and Task Orders for the larger projects. He said yes, and gave us the use of two existing FDUs that already had money appropriated, which meant that SBO could work on several ‘mini’ projects. They worked on the relocated employee lot, did a mill and overlay at the intersection of Spirit of Texas and Hotel Drive, and two sections on Presidential Blvd. They repaired concrete curbs, did patch work, and repaired guardrails in the parking lots and roadways around the airport. They even did an emergency repair on Presidential when a sinkhole appeared! Everyone from PWD seemed to enjoy working at the airport as a change of pace and I enjoyed it because the work was new for me too! Our financial sections, Delma Alverez with DOA and Virginia Hudson with PWD, teamed up and helped to get all the accounting squared away.
new supervisor Robert Hengst came up with an idea to use the Engineering Services (ESD) and Construction Inspection (CIPID) folks to get the larger projects out the door faster. So, I wrote a Scope of Work for the Parking Lots Maintenance Project, Robert set up the FDU and it all worked out! We began the design phase for the Parking Lot Pavement Maintenance Project in July 2010 and started the work in February 2011. This meant we had a project from design to bid in four months, and started in seven months!
Future Projects Using the In-House Method We now use this method to get larger projects out to bid in a shorter amount of time whenever possible. The General Aviation Apron Pavement Maintenance Project started in spring 2011 while the parking lot project was in the construction phase. We have the Presidential Blvd Pavement Maintenance Project and the Spirit of Texas Drive Pavement Rehab Project in variIn 2010, the The Larger Projects parking lots still needed pavement main- ous phases. Our goal is to bring pavetenance and time was running out. Our ment maintenance to all the landside
roads in the airport area by the middle of calendar year 2013. We are also working on some great new ideas including providing the road for SBO to train personnel to use equipment. We also plan to try an experiment with an open graded pavement, which is pervious to water and therefore ‘greener’. Results Usually, it takes 18 months to get one project to the bid phase, but in this amount of time, we had completed three projects! In the past, the Airport used consultants to do geotechnical studies, design and civil drawings, and to manage pavement maintenance projects, which was time consuming. The cost of HMAC went sky-high in late 2003, which caused the Landside Pavement Rehabilitation Project to be cancelled by the contractor. By utilizing the Quality and Standards Management (QSMD), ESD and CIPID personnel, we are saving approximately 12 months of time per project. And we are saving money - a lot of money! For example, the old Parking Lot Project was estimated at $850,000 and we ended up doing required maintenance in two lots for only $63,000! While we can’t use this method for all projects, it works well for smaller jobs that consist mostly of pavement maintenance work. the public works By using available department City resources and working together department to department, the City of Austin is a big winner. We are saving money that can be used for other projects and allowing crews to gain skills by working in different environments. Continuing to work like this accomplishes the City Vision to be the “Best Managed City in the Nation”. The individuals I have worked with at Street and Bridge have been great. They quickly find an opening in their calendars, call me to schedule the work - and boom it’s finished! They have done it all - from crack sealing 34 miles of roadway, to ADA work, to maintenance, concrete, overlay and seal coating. If I could, I would mention the names of everyone who has exhibited great teamwork - but there are just too many! I’d like to thank them all for their hard work! 2012 JULY STREET TALK
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divisions BY steven penshorn CONTRIBUTING WRITER
QSM-What?
Lifting the veil on our newest division, Quality and Standards Management.
U
Since the inception of the Quality and Standards Management Division (QSMD) last year, a lot of folks have been wondering what this new division does. Think of us as the Public Works Special Operations Team. We’re there for you when your project needs some “air support.” Public Works project managers and design engineers have known us as familiar faces that help provide quality control reviews for project bid documents, assist with technical issues, facilitate certain consultant services, and provide professional land surveying work on their projects. City inspec-
24 STREET TALK JULY 2012
tors and street crews may know us from our work in construction material testing and structures in the right-of-way. Support services may know us from our work with consultants, professional service agreements, and facilitating payments. And still others may know us from past training presentations and brown bags conducted in topics related to project delivery. But these things don’t paint the full picture of all that this group does. We’re a tough group for people to understand, because we’re involved in such a broad range of areas, every project professional has a dif-
ferent and unique need for our services, and we’re really here as a City-wide resource. “We’re a diverse group of professionals that provide key technical support in many different areas”, says Mike Boyle, QSMD division manager. “With the formation of this division, we now have great experience in the areas of Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Architecture, Environmental Engineering, Land Surveying, Materials Testing, as well as Mold, Lead and Asbestos abatement. I also get involved with all claims between the City and its contractors and consultants.” One exciting field that this division is now involved in is Architecture. The division has licensed architects on staff who help translate program needs into “test fit” conceptual design documents. “It’s the most accurate and economic way for our clients to get realistic cost estimates early on in their projects”, says Kit Johnson, City Architect. He adds, “Our clients love this. They get so energized when they see their ideas down on paper. This type of work embodies what I’ve always loved about being an architect... listening to people’s ideas and translating those ideas into rooms, buildings, and site plans.” The group also provides a full array of land surveying services, and gets high marks for quality of work and customer satisfaction. The group is well known for their help with CIP design surveys and their quick turnaround of small assignments for project managers. “Few people realize how much work we do with Real Estate and the consulting community”, says John Moore, survey supervisor. “One thing that goes relatively unnoticed, but we take great pride in is our close relationship with survey consultants A quick breakdown of the wide range of customers that Quality and Standards Management Division (QSMD) provides to the City of Austin.
Senior Structural Engineer, who is currently helping both internal and external customers with the Turner Roberts Recreation Center structural repairs, South Austin Regional WWTP Aeration Basin repairs, and the recent
QSMD
Geote Enginechnica e r ing l
nsic ng e r Fo ineeri g En
Struc Engin tural eer ing
d Lan ying rve Su
Archit ect ure
ntrol o C lity views a Qu & Re
l teria Ma eering gin En
and our effort to maintain survey excellence on all City projects. Consultants expect to see a lot of ‘red-lines’ when we review their work. Very few consultant deliverables make it through our review without a feeling that we’ve ‘bled’ on their work. We go through a lot of red ink.” The wide range of services makes this group a difficult one to market. From one project to the next, many people rely on this group for only one or two of the same types of services. I can’t think on one single customer that has used this group for more than just a handful of the many services the group has to offer, and that’s to be expected. Everybody has unique project needs, and this is especially true for work we do for other City departments. It isn’t unusual for departments to seek us out when needing special help and some may only have dealings with us when they have an urgent need. A good example of this is our past work with Code Compliance in providing technical help on the Canterbury underground residential bunker. Chris Newton, team leader, assisted with this emergency issue early in his career with the City. “I’ll never forget the look on my daughters’ faces when they saw me on the evening news. That project was so unusual and controversial, and one that ended up getting national media coverage,” Newton recalls. “That’s one thing that’s particularly exciting about this work”, says Karim Helmi,
Constr Obser uctio v n a t ion
Wood Ridge Apartments balcony collapse. “I never know when I’m going to get that emergency call that redirects me. I don’t ever have to go looking for a challenge, it seems to find me.” One thing we have in common is this overlying objective of helping others with their project delivery and special needs. Sometimes this work occurs behind the
scenes, and sometimes it thrusts us into emergency projects. For now, the group is working hard to reach out to other departments and learn more about their needs. We’re trying to work our way onto the contact lists of staff Citywide, so that they know who to turn to for help. This is how QSMD expects to operate, by helping others deliver quality projects. 2012 JULY STREET TALK 25
columns BY MICHELLE FRITH CHIEF REPORTER
How well do you know your neighbor?
A
yn Rand, author of The Fountainhead said, “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me”. Although a quiet man, Oscar Ramirez is not to be stopped on the path to his dreams. Oscar grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, one of eight children. At 16 he joined the Mexican Army, achievNEIGHBOR ing the rank of Corporal Oscar Ramirez in 6 years DIVISION of service. His mission Street & Bridge was to fight the Mexican TITLE drug trafTech III fickers in the mountain regions. They were growing marijuana and poppies for heroin, opium and morphine in these regions. Oscar was sent to the mountains for a year to investigate the operations of Mexican drug lord, Rafael Caro Quintero. Quintero was being sought by the U.S. and Mexican governments for the kidnapping and murder of a U.S. federal agent and many other crimes. Quintero was ultimately captured in 1985. At 22, Oscar immigrated to the U.S. to join the Army here. Because he wasn’t yet a U.S. citizen he couldn’t join. He worked for private construction firms in Austin learning concrete work, masonry and general construction. His best friend
26 STREET TALK JULY 2012
Michelle Frith profiles two employees that work hard for PWD everyday who you may have never met! introduced Oscar to his cousin, Amanda. encourage us, and give us the boost we Amanda was a divorced mother of two need to get the experience and education children, Danny and Cindy Rivera. They necessary to move up. I can communicate fell in love, were married, and later had better in English by listening and learning a third child, Oscar Ramirez. They have in staff meetings and I have taken Businow been happily married for 35 years ness Math and Writing classes at ACC. The and have 8 grandchildren! Danny and Os- LEAPS (Leadership Education and Pubcar have both served in the U.S. military. lic Service) Program offered by the City Danny, now in his 30’s works for an oil taught me principles that I can use at any company, and Cindy, also in her 30’s works job and in my personal life. This is the best for APD as a 911 call place I have taker. Oscar Jr. works ever worked! I The question isn’t who is can get all the for Austin Water Utility. Amanda, now going to let me; it’s who is classes I need, working at Seton as I work with a going to stop me. a kitchen supervisor very diverse - Ayn Rand, group of peohas been working in author of The Fountainhead ple, and I have hospital kitchens for 35 years. been given Oscar began working with Public classes on ethics and safety.” Works in 2003 in the Sealcoat II Division as Oscar is now studying to obtain his a temporary employee. Six months later GED and improving his communication he took a permanent position in Utility skills. He says, “I know I have to achieve Cuts as a truck driver, and later applied my dreams step-by-step to become a suto Concrete as an Operator I. Working his pervisor.” His superintendent Clay Rivers way up, he returned to Utility Cuts as an and supervisor Eli Mendoza are mentors Operator II and 5 years later is now a Tech and Oscar hopes to be the same for others III with the Utility Cuts crew. He can oper- who come after him. ate heavy equipment and has experience Asked about his inspirations, Oscar’s pouring curbs and gutters, cutting and deep love and respect for Amanda could pouring driveways, ADA ramps and more. not be more evident. “Her values and Oscar’s respect and gratitude for character have never changed. Her deep the City are incomparable. “The City has humanity is inspirational to me.” He ends opened all opportunities to me, anywhere the interview by saying “The City gives me I want to go. Doors are opened for me, but dreams. I’ll stay till they kick me out – I just it’s up to me to make the effort. I see su- want to do my best”. pervisors and superintendents around There’s definitely no stopping this me who have been where I am now. They guy on the path to his dreams.
“
”
Oscar Ramirez
columns
F
or Annie Van Zant, the sun won’t wait to come out until tomorrow… her sunny disposition is contagious! A Project Coordinator in Shared Services, Annie is originally from inner-city Houston. At age 12, her family moved to Katy so Annie and her brother Austin could attend a better school system. Annie’s mother, a school teacher, taught her children a love of hisNEIGHBOR tory and geography Annie Van Zant with sumDIVISION mer six week road trips Shared Services around the U.S. After TITLE high school Project Coordinator graduation Annie attended UT, studying Biology, Anthropology, Pre-Med (nursing) and Wildlife Biology. While a nursing student, an incident challenging Annie’s fundamental ethics occurred. She dropped out of school and became a waitress. “One day at the university bookstore I started picking up books I wanted to read – not books I was assigned to read”. She found that she was most interested in Geography. In 2003 Annie earned her Bachelor’s in Geography with an emphasis in Environmental Resource Management from UT. Her City career started in Communication Technology Management Geographic Information Systems (CTM GIS) in 2003. Her early work at the City included mapping residential subdivisions and addressing (assigning unit numbers and verifying addresses for permitting). She also has worked in data management and regional mapping, creating custom maps for internal and external customers, including Travis County detectives for crime investigations. Annie also organized the City’s GIS Day in 2007. By utilizing the City’s tuition reimbursement program, she received a Mas-
Annie Van Zant
ters of Applied Geography from Texas State in 2011 and says the tuition was “almost free!” Annie acknowledges that a flexible schedule afforded to her by her supervisors helped her attain her goal. As her Masters-level project, she developed a decision tree for the City of Austin to handle the serious issues of urban creeks and the destruction of our ecosystems. Arriving at PWD, she began by mapping CIP projects. Intrigued by how we track projects and how we coordinate across work groups, Annie chose to work as a liaison to begin silo busting! Smiling brightly, she says she has a foundation for success, and is allowed to create projects and make improvements. “I have a boss who trusts me and I work with a great group of people. It makes me feel my work is valued and it makes me love my job.” Annie describes her work further, “By placing project information on a map, it illustrates all the people affected. We added Street and Bridge projects and special events. It’s now morphed into monthly coordination meetings. What’s important in my job now is forming relationships with people in other departments and encouraging dialogue. This in turn encourages cost participation and cost sharing. An example is a project that involves both Street & Bridge and Water & Wastewater. Some of the streets are in bad condition. Water & Wastewater took care of the sidewalks and the streets that are in good condition and Street and Bridge took on the streets in bad condition. Combining our resources, we saved the City $150,000. The technology is finally there where we have systems that talk to each other, creating a culture change.” For Annie, respect is paramount. Throughout her life, her mom has instilled in her the value that “nobody’s better
than you, and you’re not better than anyone else”. Annie’s life turned on a dime when she dove into a shallow pool at a party and broke her neck. Shortly after the accident, her father passed away. She dealt with survivor’s guilt and grief but also felt this was her second chance at life. Instead of falling apart, Annie sees that “each day is a gift. It is not my right, but my privilege to live this life. There is so much to be thankful for. We each have our own obstacles, but it is up to us individually to overcome them and not forge an identity from that obstacle.” There’s always a silver lining when the sun shines behind the clouds!
2012 JULY STREET TALK
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Milestones mreongtroarm p
Mentoring and Tutoring is a great opportunity for City employees to make a difference in a child’s life. The program is not only important from an educational perspective, it also brings such a positive impact to a child’s life to know that someone is there and cares for them. The following are employees that participated in the Mentor and Tutor Program this past school year: robin field
S.T.A.R. awards
delia uballe
howard lazarus
javier perez
If you are interested in participating in this program, please contact Robin Field at robin.field@austintexas.gov for more information.
Project Management Division service award
teamwork award
mark schruben
for his continued efforts on the South Congress Improvements project. His knowledge and coordination skills, public interaction and interdepartmental workings are a model for anyone.
randy harvey
achievement award
respect award
was recognized for his achievement chris calvery by an employee and success contributof another deing to the ABIA project partment who appreciates management. Chris’ dedication, knowledge and determination through the project process. STREET TALK JULY 2012
greg johnston
28
is always available when coworkers ask for assistance. His willingness to share his experiences, advice, and explanations is an asset to the division.
rohini kumarage
chris moore
lacy garner
jose ibarra
street talk extra
UPDATES FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Promotions sbo:
byron carter
Byron Carter has accepted the position of Superintendent for the Seal Coat I team where he will be responsible for seal coating all of South District and half of Central West District streets. Byron will continue to be located at 4411 Meinardus at our St. Elmo Yard. Byron has almost 20 years of experience working for PWD’s Street and Bridge Divsion. Byron has worked his way up from an entry-level worker in 1992 to a supervisor position in 2006. Byron is a skilled equipment operator, and an experienced leader ready to take on his new role.
sbo:
sbo:
clay rivers
fred cleveland
Fred Cleveland is the new Superintendent for Seal Coat II in the Pavement & Infrastructure Division of Street & Bridge Operations. Fred’s career goals and aspirations in the construction field began during high school as he worked for Casa Verde Builders. In 1996, Fred began his career with the City of Austin in Health & Human Services. Fred worked for HHSD for a year before transferring to the Austin Water Utility. While working for AWU, Fred steadily progressed in the organization obtaining a broad range of knowledge and skills. In 2008, Fred was promoted to the position of Supervisor in the Valves & Hydrants Division while continuing his education. On March 25, 2012, Fred started his new role as Superintendent with Public Works. Fred is an excellent addition to the team.
Energy, enthusiasm and a big smile are words to describe Clay Rivers. Since coming to Public Works Clay’s enthusiasm for his job has shown. Faced with a mounting backlog of uncompleted work orders going back several years, Clay and his section have managed to reorganize work order processing and provide better tracking to determine efficiencies, thus reducing the backlog and providing better customer service. Clay is always willing to step up and do what needs to be done for the greater good. Clay was instrumental in starting the Employee GED completion program and continues to be an advocate for employee enhancement through education. Never without something encouraging and positive to say, his attitude says it all, he enjoys his job.
WHO’S
THAT? Please join us in welcoming Denise Riad to the Public Works Department. Denise will be joining our safety team as the new Occupational Safety Manager. Denise has over 20 years of experience in Facilities Management as a Health Safety and Environment professional with vast experience in occupational safety, construction safety and contractor management programs that far exceed federal standards and guidelines and effectively minimized employee risk and exposures. Her global experience in facility management and construction has taken her throughout the United States and several countries and regions including Mexico, South America, Canada, New Zealand and Antarctica. Welcome Aboard, Denise! safety manager:
denise riad
JUST FOR FUN! …The new uniform? Dennis Crabill and Rohini Kumarage were spotted sporting the same outfits one day. We’re hoping they won’t make this a habit every week!
2012 JULY STREET TALK 29
milestones
continued from pg. 29
JUST
FOR FUN!
aewcaorgdnsi& on i t r
New names for the PMD/ESD conference rooms! During the month of April, PMD and ESD employees sent in suggestions for new conference room names. The conference room names “9A” and 9B” had finally lost their charm. Many suggestions were received and the four-judge panel decided on new room names “Concrete” (formerly 9A) and “Rebar” (formerly 9B). Congratulations to Dennis Crabill for submitting these winning new names.
“Just in Time” Quality Award:
Nadia Barrera
Nadia shouldered a tremendous load for PWD and the City in her role on the Operations Committee for VIVA STREETS! Nadia took on critical event functions when they went uncompleted by others, and was largely responsible for keeping the operations committee on task with regard to staging, operations, etc. Viva Streets would not be nearly as organized or successful without Nadia’s exceptional efforts, and all of her work has been done in addition to her regular workload. Great job, Nadia!
Graduations LEAPS Program
On May 10, 2012, Carlos Garcia graduated from the City’s LEAPS program. LEAPS stand for Leadership, Education, and Public Service, and is one of the free trainings offered by the City of Austin to all employees who want to develop and grow professionally and personally. In this training, participants will learn how to be a leader, work in a team setting, communicate effectively, and gain the tools necessary to make the most out of the diverse culture that is the City of Austin workforce. Congratulation Carlos!
Texas Certified Public Manager
A deeply deserved round of applause goes to Steven Penshorn (QSMD) for earning his Texas CPM (Certified Public Manager) from Texas State University. This intense program is a nationally recognized certification preparing public servants at any level to deal with the day-to-day challenges of public management and offering real solutions to real public agency problems related to management. Steven notes that even though he earned both an undergraduate and graduate degree, there was no preparation for real-world management – but now he has the foundations to deal with most any issue. For more information on the Certified Public Manager Program, call Steve at 974-7214 or visit http:// www.txstate.edu/cpm/.
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PWD’S Crossing Guards are ‘High Fliers’
congr annouatulato nceme ry nts
The theme for this year’s Crossing Guard Awards and Recognition Luncheon was ‘soaring into summer’ complete with home baked kite cookies, prizes, and delicious barbeque! Many awards were given as the crossing guards enjoyed a delicious lunch among their fellow guards. Special recognition and thanks went to APD’s Bianca Bentzin and Lt. Craig Cannon for their contribution to creating a safer school community for Austin. These individuals made the Deferred Prosecution program for school zone traffic offenders possible. Thanks to all the guards for keeping our kids safe this past school year! Woohoo!
Waller Creek Recognitions:
Sara and John Krause recently welcomed a new addition to their family! William Krause, born May 30th, finally complied with his ‘eviction notice’ (a week late!) weighing 8lbs 4oz. Congratulations!
On May 29, 2012 Carolyn Perez and Gary Jackson were recognized by City Manager Marc Ott for their efforts on the Waller Creek Tunnel project:
Carolyn Perez Communication Award for outstanding contributions in public outreach during design of the Waller Creek Tunnel.
Gary Jackson Leadership Award for
outstanding leadership and contributions during design of the Waller Creek Tunnel.
Announcing the arrival of a little brother to Emily and Natalie Mendoza and only son of Chris and Patty Mendoza – Christopher Anthony Mendoza, born 5/20/12, 7 lb. 3 oz. Congratulations! 2012 JULY STREET TALK 31
milestones
sohuotut
continued from pg. 31
Street & Bridge Shout Out
“
Thank you so much! The pavement issue on Avery Ranch was fixed by Monday – less than a week! You are all awesome. And thanks also for forwarding my other concern about the Parmer Lane issue to the appropriate entity.
”
- Jo Ann B.
Neighborhood Connectivity Shout Out Mr. West, Ms. Krause:
Dear Howard, We wanted to take a moment to let you know of the great experience we recently had with City of Austin workers.
Thank you so very much for tending to our neighborhood’s concerns with the “dip” at the intersection of Will Rogers and Utah Flats. Your entire team has been so responsive and helpful throughout this entire process and we greatly appreciate your attentiveness to our community’s needs. The turnaround time from email to repair was outstanding.
Recently, the City of Austin crew came out to repave Sunny Lane. Elizabeth spoke to them on various occasions about the flooding issues at this corner. The new paving was stopped just before the intersection so this issue could be addressed. From the beginning, our concern was taken seriously and action was taken immediately to review this in greater detail. Upon realizing no flood plan study existed for this corner, one was requested. When the results were in Elizabeth was contacted with an action plan. Phase 1- new curb, and Phase 2 - road paving to be finished. The crew that was here to do the work under the supervision of Dale Fischer was great. Several things stood out: 1) They all were happy in their jobs and liked their work. 2) They appreciated how Dale worked side-byside with them. 3) They were well coordinated as a team to get the work accomplished. 4) The crew was continually cleaning up the site and they left it in such good condition there was no need to do any remedial cleaning after they left. We know that not many homeowners take the time to say thank you and acknowledge City workers, so we wanted to make a point of doing so for the group listed below whom Elizabeth interacted with:
32 STREET TALK JULY 2012
Ron Koehn – with whom we initially spoke concerning the water issue at the curb of our house at the intersection of Valley Oak and Sunny Lane. Brad Kirk- who was here at the curb intersection taking measurements for the grading to determine how to resolve the issue. Mike Collier - who called to tell Elizabeth the final result of the grading study and what work would be done to the curb and street re-paving at that intersection. Dale Fischer and his team that was involved in our curb project: Richard Bustos, Michael Howard, Jose Mendoza, Jaime Picon, Flavio Rodriguez, Manuel Rosas, Ysidro Samilpa, Miguel Segura, Harold Williams and Anthony Doyle. Seeing these results, we have no doubt Phase 2 will go just as smoothly. Thank you and best personal regards, Elizabeth & Carey
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03 2012 JULY STREET TALK 33
events calendar 2012 july Monday
Tuesday
2
3
0
0
New Employee Safety Orientation class 1-5 PM LRC@ABIA
9
0
0
6
1
7
1
1
Wednesday Thursday
5
4
OFFICES CLOSED Independence Day
1
2
1
Safety Meeting Make-up PWD
1 PM- 2 PM 1501 Toomey Rd.
1:30 PM- 2:30 PM OTC 325
0
$ PAY DAY Ramadan (begins)
6
2
3
New Employee Safety Orientation class 1-5 PM LRC@ABIA
34 STREET TALK JULY 2012
1
2
Sunday
8 AM -9:30 AM OTC- 325
Wildfire Safety OTC- 325
1
3
0
2 CIPID Division Meetings
5
4
1
5
1
2
Bastille Day Festival
1
9
8
Employee Safety AssociationSponsored Training 8:30 AM-4:30 PM OTC-325
1
Sunday
Safety Meeting Make-up ATD
class 1-5 PM LRC@ABIA
4
3
1
1
8
0
$ PAY DAY
First Thursday
New Employee Safety Orientation
2
7
0
0
Sunday
class 8:30-9:30 AM 105 Riverside Room 200
3
Saturday
6
0
0
Computer Ergonomics
2
Friday
7
2
2
2
8
2
Sunday
9
2
august Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday
Friday
2
0
1
Safety Plus Meeting (SBO Pavement & Infrastructure) class 8-9 AM Cheathem Facility
6
7
0
0
Safety Plus Meeting (PMD/ESD/NCD/QSMD) 8:30-9:30 AM OTC-325
3
1
New Employee Safety Orientation
4
1
class 1-5 PM LRC@ABIA
8
5
Safety Plus Meeting (CIPID/HRO/SSD/Financial Services, OOD, Systems Engineering)
0
1
2 Computer Ergonomics
7
2
Safety Plus Meeting (ATD) class 8-9 AM OTC- 325
2
2
Safety Plus Meeting (PWD SBO- Utility Structures)
class 8:30-9:30 AM 105 Riverside Room 200
class 8-9 AM Cheathem Facility
8
2
$ PAY DAY
9
9
2
1
0
0
1
1
Sunday
2
1
6
1
Austin City Council Meeting
class 8:30-9:30 AM OTC-325
2
5
0
class 8:30 AM-4:30 PM OTC-325
Safety Plus Meeting (SBO District Maintenance) class 8-9 AM Cheathem Facility
1
4
0
Sunday
Defensive Driving
First Thursday
0
3
0
0
Saturday
8
7
1
1 Texas Tax-Free Weekend
Sunday
$ PAY DAY CIPID Division Meetings
9
1
8 AM -9:30 AM OTC- 325
3
4
2
5
2
2
Bat Fest
Sunday
6
2
The Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival
Austin City Council Meeting
0
1
3
3
Sunday
ATD Safety Meeting Late Shift 4 PM - 5 PM 1111 Rio Grande
New Employee Safety Orientation class 1-5 PM LRC@ABIA
Defensive Driving class 8:30 AM-4:30 PM OTC-325
Austin City Council Meeting
$ PAY DAY
2012 JULY STREET TALK 35
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