Member
As communities recover from the pandemic, the common conception of “infrastructure” as “roads and bridges” has evolved to include a vast range of digital technologies. And local governments recognize the vital role of the cloud and the internet of things (IoT) in helping their cities become more sustainable, more fiscally responsible, and less wasteful going forward. The best smart city technologies will assist cities in transitioning to remote and agile work environments as part of a renewed or reimagined push towards resilience in the age of public health crises. Moving from responding to citizen complaints to anticipating citizen needs is the mantra of a smart city at all times, but especially during challenging times. This panel will demonstrate how city leaders are now leveraging new technologies within public works operations to reshape how municipalities serve their customers and to map a more circular economy for the future.
Read MoreNatural grass surfaces are not uniform but are typically managed as if they are. This presentation will outline the basics of using drones for precision grounds management. It will explain the basics of obtaining a remote pilot’s license, guidelines for flying legally, equipment available, and the types of cameras used. The speakers will also discuss how drones can be used for drought management and to monitor and map out pest outbreaks across facilities. Most pests are distributed in clusters within localized areas, yet entire surfaces are treated equally with pesticides. This presentation will provide tools to target applications to apply the right product to the right place at the right time. Finally, images and videos of their application on turfgrass surfaces will be showcased to demonstrate the diverse applications of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS).
Read MoreThe Incident Command System (ICS) was created to manage wildfires in California during the 1970s. It is now the principal means of managing incidents in the United States. When the City of Austin Public Works Department implemented the ICS system during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization found that the traditional ICS system did not address operational needs. The City of Austin Public Works department had to adapt the systems in ways not previously described in traditional ICS training.
Read MoreThe Emergency Management Technical Committee members will facilitate discussions about pertinent emergency management topics with each of the technical committee members. Each facilitated discussion will be shared with all attendees to share knowledge and ideas on how multiple agencies handle emergency management tasks.
Read MoreA local agency’s most challenging obstacle to creating an asset management program often is convincing its administrators and elected officials of its importance. However, agencies that have implemented an asset management program and overcame this obstacle and those with mature programs have a lot to share. In addition, they can provide insight into their programs’ success for their community. This session will assist communities struggling with their asset management program development by providing effective and economic programs to engage their community successfully.Dan Kaup, Dave Lawry, Kyle Johnson, and Dan Randolph, all from the Chicago Metro Chapter’s Asset Management Committee, will present examples from various communities regarding implementing their local asset management programs. The committee received survey responses from 54 member communities indicating the need to share best practices, software examples, and how to engage elected officials. This session directly addresses those member suggestions.The speakers will show how they use their programs to benefit their communities through efficient operations and well-coordinated capital programs, all developed from data generated through their asset management efforts. They will feature two different software applications, not as endorsements, but as examples of the effectiveness of asset management software to the success of a local agency’s program.
Read MoreThis session will guide the manager through the different aspects of knowing their cost and how to apply those to promote their ability to provide cost-effective services.
Read MoreCommunities are facing unprecedented impacts from climate change, which effects how municipalities deliver services and increases risk to municipal assets. Integrating climate change considerations into asset management (for natural and engineered assets)…
Read More
The most critical component of effective pavement management is pavement evaluation. Roadway maintenance and rehabilitation decisions are significantly impacted by pavement condition evaluation surveys used in a pavement management system.…
Read MoreThe supply chain crisis has compelled fleet managers across the country to get creative to solve certain problems that they may have taken for granted in the past. The nationwide…
Read MoreAdverse weather events can significantly affect vehicle and driver behavior. With the advent of automated vehicles (AVs), the Federal Highway Administration Road Weather Management Program has begun research and testing to identify how vehicles and drivers will detect and react to adverse weather and road weather conditions. AVs have sensors and perception systems to detect objects and events in their vicinity. Using this information, they control the steering or speed, or both, to move the vehicle along its selected path. Their ability to properly perceive the situation and execute a maneuver can be affected by atmospheric conditions and road weather. Several tests were developed and conducted with the intent to challenge perception systems across a variety of simulated adverse winter weather conditions in a controlled outdoor laboratory setting in traffic settings. The presentation will describe the tests and results that were obtained during the testing in Winter 2021 along with some videos.
Read More