APWA AZ Newsletter 2019 January
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January 16, 2019 January 16, 2019 January 24, 2019 January 24, 2019 February 28, 2019 August 7-9, 2019 NEWSLETTER SPONSORS
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One of the four key results areas in our strategic plan is EDUCATION - "Ensure excellence in education and training." So far in 2018 our education committee has done an excellent job of implementing that strategic goal. They recently completed a well attended Dirt Road Seminar in NW Arizona. As an attendee for one they presented a few years back in Pinal County, those who attended certainly got a very valuable training session that will serve them well as they return to their home agencies. Sincerely,
APWA Luncheon Northern AZ Branch Holiday Mixer Statewide Conference
Special thanks to those firms that have already registered as sponsors and exhibitors:
Exhibitors
New Member Spotlights
With APWA Since: Newbie, less than one year Describe your job responsibilities: To monitor the trash and recycling collection within the City of Kingman, supervise 17 employees and work on budgeting for our department. What was your favorite project to work on in the last 10 years? In 2008, starting a recycling drop program and more recently working on the challenges with today’s market and diversion. I’m also happy to see how the sanitation truck industry has changed in the past ten years, the trucks are bigger and faster. Name one thing not many people know about you: My new passion is golf, I never thought I would be “that” person.
With APWA Since: September 2018 Describe your job responsibilities: I craft stories about the cool projects that we take on and talented people in our office. In just over three years at CivTech, I have developed a better understanding and appreciation of the AEC industry. My background is corporate law and real estate development, civil engineering was another piece of that professional growth where I could surround myself with creative brainiacs. What was your favorite project to work on in the last 10 years? The biggest projects completed for our firm has been the ASU/City of Tempe Masterplan, Nationwide’s Cavasson and City of Buckeye/MAG Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI). Where have your travels taken you?: My last travel is Thailand. It’s my birthplace and where my heart belongs. My soul is both a desert dweller and thrives in the Arizona heat. Name one thing not many people know about you: I used to drag race on the weekends and secretly want to be an Indy racecar driver.
Company: Dibble Engineering With APWA Since: 2015 – Education Committee Member What was your favorite project to work on in the last 10 years? ADOT Loop 303 Segment, especially since I now use it every day! Where have your travels taken you?: All over the world and all 50 states. Name one thing not many people know about you: In addition to my BSCE, I also completed a Bachelor of Music degree.
Name: Wendy Springborn Agency: City of Tempe Title: Engineering Services Manager What are you responsible for in your new role? I oversee procurement for both our professional services and construction contracts; contract administration; contract compliance; Certification Acceptance Liaison; and, I manage the Service Line Protection Program for the City. What benefits do you get out of being a member? The largest benefit for me is the networking/outreach with fellow chapter members. Our membership is a vast resource of information – information which can help solve a problem; identify best practices; and just learn from each other. What would you like to share with APWA Members? APWA is a single voice in the promotion of Public Works both at the local level as well as the national level. The association provides many professional development opportunities for all members from online programs to local/national training courses and conferences. Tell us about your family and hobbies: I am married to a wonderful man – Larry Herron who works for Cascade Environmental, LP as an Area Manager. We have two wonderful daughters – a special education teacher and a certified physician assistant along with two kitties – Lulu and Bella. I love all crafts – knitting, painting, cross-stitch, you name it. My latest passion is making quilts. I’ve only made one so far. Leave it to me to start with one that has 60 pieces per dog to sew together but its great when what your making looks pretty close to the picture of the finished project!!! Committee Spotlight - Communications Committee The communication committee includes the following members: Sandy Niebel, Wood/Patel (Co-Chair) Meeting Occurs: What to expect from the committee
Want to join the communication Committee? 2019 Call for Award Submittals It’s time to start thinking about submitting your projects and/or professional individuals for consideration of the 2019 Annual APWA Awards. Projects should be complete as of December 31, 2018 and the deadline for submissions is Thursday, January 31, 2019. Some awards offered previously have been discontinued by National and have been replaced with new awards. The applications and forms to complete with instructions are now available on the APWA-Arizona Chapter website, http://arizona.apwa.net/PageDetails/16734. The awards that are available this year are: 1. Public Works Project of the Year (Chapter and National) 2. Public Works Project of the Year for Small Cities/Rural Communities (Chapter and National) 3. Management Innovation Award (Chapter and National) 4. Technical Innovation Award (Chapter and National) 5. Professional Manager of the Year Award (Chapter and National) (in multiple categories) 6. Award of Merit (Chapter only) Chapter Awards include:
This is a new award offered this year. Initiated at the National level and replaces the former “Outstanding Public Works Employee of the Year” Award.
2019 Sponsorships
Black Mountain Boulevard SR 51/SR 101L TI – Pinnacle Peak Road Information from Award Submittal Agency: Arizona Department of Transportation The Black Mountain Boulevard project was constructed under two GMPs, which required specialized construction management techniques. The high-risk bridge structures over one of the valley’s busiest freeways required high quality construction and top safety performance. The project was constructed adjacent to 404 permitted lands, and in the Reach 11 Park, requiring strong environmental planning. Community relations was a top priority for the team and involved key members from the community, multiple agencies, and stakeholders. Since the project was administered as a CMAR, the project team was able to develop and implement $2 million in value engineering ideas. Black Mountain Boulevard (BMB) was unique in that both the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the City of Phoenix (COP) had significant interest in the project. In addition to both agencies playing major roles on the project, there were several other stakeholders involved. The project was solicited as a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery method due to the array of stakeholder and agency involvement. It was important to the success of the project to bring a contractor on board early, so they could understand the importance of the job as a whole to the community it served. The project was ultimately divided into two separate phases of work, also referred to as Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) proposals. Both GMPs were administered by ADOT and involved the COP. The first GMP involved the construction of BMB from Mayo Boulevard to Pinnacle Peak Road. During this phase, the project team had to complete work within the campus of Pinnacle High School (PHS). Kiewit, ADOT and the COP worked closely with the staff at PHS during pre-construction to develop a plan that limited impacts to any of the schools operations, as well as a plan that facilitated construction being completed during the summer break. The pre-construction and construction phases required a high-level of partnering engagement and were hugely successful. The team also worked with the Veterans Affairs Cemetery Administration to reconstruct an off-site well distribution and storage system. This required access coordination, and scheduled water shutdowns in limited windows, providing limited interruptions to the facility.
CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE, MANAGEMENT, AND CONTROL TECHNIQUES. The success on the BMB project rested on our team’s ability to communicate effectively with ADOT, third parties, subcontractors and suppliers to keep construction activities on-track. Keeping ADOT, COP and Kiewit apprised of one another’s status was greatly simplified by having designated points-of-contact for specific areas of work. This arrangement helped the team to: • Manage subcontracts and labor compliance • Manage construction and materials testing • Schedule inspection operations SAFETY PERFORMANCE. There were zero lost-time injuries on the BMB project. Kiewit implements its Nobody Gets Hurt safety initiative on every jobsite and delegates responsibility for safety to every member of the project team – Kiewit, subcontractors, suppliers and the client. It was vital from the beginning that the project team truly function as one team – the BMB team – with no division between disciplines, with the emphasis that everyone was responsible for the well-being of themselves as well as others. Nobody Gets Hurt means just that. As our industry measures success by recordable injuries, BMB measured success through hurts. This took expectations to the point where even incidents causing scratches, splinters and scrapes were investigated for a root cause to effectively explain to the team how to keep it from being repeated. Nobody Gets Hurt was never one person’s responsibility on BMB – it was everyone’s expectation. Special programs were implemented to ensure ownership in the program. All employees, including subcontractors, were required to attend a formalized safety orientation that emphasized project-specific guidelines and safety responsibilities prior to setting foot onsite. Jobsite craftsmen ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS. Tree Salvage - Kiewit worked with the COP and the Reach 11 Parks Department to identify native desert trees in the earthwork borrow areas that could be salvaged and re-used at other COP park locations. The project team successfully identified over 50 trees to be salvaged, and worked hand-in-hand with the COP and Reach 11 Parks Department throughout the relocation process. Some of the trees were used on-site to enhance landscaping and provide increased privacy to the neighboring HOA and high school. Preservation of Wildlife - To preserve and protect surrounding wildlife, biological surveys were conducted in the Reach 11 borrow areas prior to construction. These surveys confirmed burrowing owls, desert tortoises and nesting birds were not present in the area. In addition, all craft and subcontractors participated in a Wildlife Protection and Biological Survey training course during the on-boarding orientation prior to starting work on the project. Habitat Preservation For sustainability and preservation of the Reach 11 area, the team ensured that all disturbed areas were regraded, shaped, and seeded with native plants in order to restore them back to their natural habitat. Improved Drainage - One design feature implemented on the project, was the channelization of the Santa Cruz Wash. This involved the reconstruction of the existing rip-rap outfall and new construction of an improved rip-rap channel through the roundabout area into the Reach 11 Park. This feature improved drainage through the Santa Cruz Wash. COMMUNITY RELATIONS. Understanding the community and its needs during construction was very important to the BMB team. One of Kiewit’s goals on the BMB project was to develop a close working relationship with the community. This relationship aided the team in incorporating the community’s needs and expectations as much as possible. Community representatives voiced their concerns, and provided input during each phase of the project – from the environmental process, to design, and right on through to the end of construction. Regular meetings were held with project management, mayors, city administrators, city councils and city staff members to share information, provide a project status update and work through any issues that arose. In many cases, changes were made to construction plans in order to accommodate community needs. Community representatives were also invited to participate in aesthetics and landscape planning, and were given opportunities to help in the decision-making process on certain design elements. The aesthetically pleasing design of the corridor is a result of the Kiewit team working with the community and incorporating their ideas. Part of Kiewit’s goal of developing a positive working relationship in the various communities included the project team being proactively involved in the communities adjacent to the project. Some of Kiewit’s local contributions included: • Donating to the Drama “Mammas and Pappas” Club at Pinnacle High School • Assisting with maintaining and coordinating Home Owner Association (HOA) common areas • Maintaining safe student access at all times to and from Pinnacle High School • Maintaining access to the Reach 11 Trail system and close coordination with the parks management Minimizing impacts to the traveling public was key. The project consisted of two connector bridges over SR 101L with piers in the median, roadway improvements, construction around Pinnacle High School and borrow sites in an adjacent COP park system, Reach 11. Early on in the design phase, the project team held outreach events to educate the public and to address their concerns. These events continued throughout the duration of the project and included continuous updates to the website, speaking at HOA meetings, meeting with COP Park staff and constant communication with high school administration. UNUSUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER ADVERSE CONDITIONS. Coordination of traffic restrictions and full weekend traffic closures was a huge task that the team was able to accomplish. SR 101L and SR 51 are very busy freeways that provide critical connectivity to many of North Phoenix’s special events. These events and destinations include the following: • University of Phoenix Stadium – Cardinals Football • Gila River Arena – Coyotes Hockey and concerts • West World – Barret Jackson • Waste Management Open • Desert Ridge Marketplace
Another unusual challenge that the team had to overcome was that the two GMP’s required two sets of plans and specs. Both GMP’s overlapped during construction and were managed as one project, but had to be administered as two separate projects which posed many potential issues which we were able to adapt to and overcome. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
participated in the Craft Voice in Safety (CVIS) program, which gave the craftsmen a voice and responsibility in safety. The CVIS members participated in the development of the safety program, performed weekly walks of the site, helped the crews with safety trainings, and held one-on-one meetings with the project manager to discuss safety on the site. This program empowered the craftsmen to take ownership and responsibility for their own safety on a daily basis.
