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Fatalities continue to rise on our streets and in our rights-of-way. Vision Zero is a comprehensive policy that does not accept injuries or deaths as inevitable. The policy should be…
There is a lot of interest in applying ice control materials directly to the pavement in liquid form. This session will explore in detail why liquids are being used in winter maintenance operations as well as brine making; storage of liquid materials; the systems needed to transfer liquids from storage to trucks; and the equipment needed on the trucks to store and deliver liquids from the trucks to the road. What allows them to be so effective? What are the benefits of using liquids and what are their limitations? Under what circumstances should you consider using liquids in your agency? How do we actually get, store, transfer, and apply liquids directly to the pavement? In this session, the speaker will discuss typical application rates, how those rates vary depending on type of storm and pursued strategies, and what you should expect in terms of outcomes when using liquids in these ways.
Winter is notorious for being harsh and unpredictable. Solutions that can combine everyday devices like smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers with technology such as artificial intelligence and mapping are easy to implement for safely and effectively monitoring assets. Using visual asset data to create maps of geo-referenced and time-stamped images allows for strategic planning in snowfighting. With up-to-date digital references, activities like documenting sidewalk conditions, tracking snow removal resources, and preparing for post-season maintenance become much easier. This session will provide an introduction to using artificial intelligence to create visual asset data maps for maintenance, management, and planning.
The Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award was established to promote excellence in the management and administration of public works snow and ice operations, and to promote best practices in snow and ice control removal while minimizing environmental impacts. This year, five public works agencies are being recognized for their innovative processes and operations. Join us to hear about their efforts in materials handling, equipment maintenance, use of winter maintenance technologies, community outreach and commitment to environmental stewardship.
In a desire to improve efficiency, Alameda County committed to changing operations. This presentation illustrates improved business processes and simplified operations. Alameda implemented a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), which allows tracking of work to specific assets and comparing productivity against benchmarks/performance goals. Many organizational changes resulted in process improvement both at a macro-level department reorganization and a micro-level by creating new roles, combining redundant ones, and shifting work functions. Other improvements included time accounting changes, CMMS activity reduction, unit simplification, redundant data entry removal, and geographic information system (GIS) utilization.
For 40 Years, Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Centers have provided training and technical assistance to our local public works agencies and have been critical partners in succession planning, onboarding, and employee development plans. Join us at this session where we will have an interactive discussion about innovative ways the LTAP Centers currently support public works agencies and to get your input on ways we can grow our programs to serve your needs in the future. Guaranteed you will take back ideas for ways you can work with the LTAP Center in your state.
The economic downturn between 2000 and 2012 left the City of Hickory with over 45,000 jobs lost and 25% of its residents ages 20-44 moving away. To counteract that, the City passed a $40 million bond program that helped bring the community together and stimulate the local economy. Currently, all projects from that bond program are either in final design or construction. Hickory’s experience offers lessons for other communities on gaining consensus amongst stakeholders over time, recognizing when goals and priorities are shifting, and communicating with different stakeholder groups. Hickory shows how it proved resilient throughout other economic downturns, leveraging more than double its bond funds and developing a booming economy.
Creating Resilient Utility Systems in the Face of Climate Change, Security Threats, and Other Crises
Resilient utility systems are an essential part of operations for all modern municipalities. They are not only vital for the health and safety of residents but to prepare for uninterrupted utility service during a crisis. As climate change brings higher intensity storms and complex ransomware attacks become more prevalent, protection against physical and cyber threats must be prioritized. A continuity operations plan (COOP) is a document that ensures an organization’s essential functions can continue to perform during emergencies. COOP’s solidify the chain of command and delegate necessary tasks to maintain operations if staff is incapacitated and systems become unreachable or disrupted. We will dissect case study examples from local public organizations during this session to illustrate the value of a COOP in preparing to navigate crises. We will discuss the essential functions needed to maintain health, safety, basic operations, and structures for successful COOPs.
Technological tools are becoming available that will provide data collection and analytics, and these will enable human operators who control pipe network performance to make better, more timely decisions. A Digital Twin is defined as an ecosystem of connected sensors, geographic information system (GIS) and asset management data, predictive models, engineering talent, secure cloud-based data storage and transmission, and custom-built analytic dashboards representing the function of a City’s underground sewer assets. It answers the “What If?” questions composed by operations and engineering staff. The presentation will focus on implementing ESRI’s suite of tools TREKK has implemented through their software as a service tool, Waterspout, to work towards the delivery of a digital twin that will allow for owners to make data-driven decisions. We will also dive into leveraging machine learning and visual verification to help owners know when problems are headed their way.
The City of Durham, North Carolina, decided to go digital with waste and recycling communications in 2009, a big move that helps Solid Waste Management share information and make routes scalable for urban growth. Serving about 78,000 total households, the City recently conducted a reroute that changed collection days for roughly a quarter of them. They used the digital communication platform, Durham Rollout, in concert with mailings to educate residents, resulting in lower-than-expected call volumes to Durham One Call, the city’s information service. In addition, the City recently revamped its bulky collection service program from a model that required crews to drive the city and scan for large items on the curbside, to a fully online, self-service model that allows residents to schedule the pick-ups. The City of Durham successfully uses digital tools to create room for growth, provide enhanced services, and keep residents informed about changes in service delivery and programs.