On Thursday, June 5th, Woodard & Curran hosted its 2nd Annual Intern Day.  This is a day for Interns, Mentors, and Team Leaders to come together and discuss topics and issues that affect interns and their future career decisions. 

This year, we had 15 interns from 7 of our offices gather at our office in Portland, ME for a day of talks, panels, and discussions on a multitude of topics.  The agenda included:

• Doug McKeown, CEO, welcomed the interns and spoke about the opportunities at Woodard & Curran to follow either a technical track or a business track, or to pursue both.
• Helen Gordon, Vice President and Sr. Project Manager, shared her experience with Northeastern Co-op and what it is like working as a woman engineer in a predominantly male profession.
• Guy Vallaincourt, President, talked about the different types of career you can pursue with an engineering or science degree, including those in industry, government, and consulting.
• Tom Francoeur, Sr. Vice President and head of our Consulting Business, spoke about Woodard & Curran’s culture, and what makes us different from other firms.

Other highlights included:

• A panel of employees with one to eight years of experience who answered questions and discussed their internship experiences.
• Break-out sessions for mentors and interns to discuss what is and isn’t working for them.
• And of course, the ice cream truck! There’s nothing quite like a creamsicle to make people comfortable.

All and all it was a successful and informative event for both interns and mentors that will help us improve our internship program. We look forward to continuing this tradition next summer!

Contributed by our HR Team

Interest in the impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on water supplies is heating up quickly. Medications for colds, pain, depression, cholesterol control, birth control, hormone therapy, etc, and cosmetics and powerful disinfectants are being found in water samples across the U.S. Some products contain endocrine disrupting compounds that researchers fear may harm aquatic life. Better test methods are revealing the presence of chemical compounds down to parts per trillion.

While some research suggests possible impacts to aquatic life exposed to these compounds, no effects on human health have been detected at this time. Nevertheless, the issue could be significant for the entire water industry if regulations and technology standards arise out of a perception that a problem exists, even if presumptions of potential impacts are not supported by solid scientific evidence.

When it comes to testing water samples for various compounds, as Christian Daughton, chief of the environmental chemicals branch of EPA’s Office of Research and Development in Las Vegas has said, “what you find depends on what you’re looking for... Those chemicals not targeted will elude detection.” Compounds are being found in groundwater, surface water intakes, treated drinking water, wastewater effluents, and biosolids. They get there through human excretion, the flushing of unused medications, and runoff from animal operations where large quantities of antibiotics are used. While households represent a huge non-regulated source of these products, other significant sources include pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, pharmacies, and veterinary operations.

In fact, some studies suggest that nursing homes account for about a third of the medications that are not used. Most of these end up in the sewer system because these facilities must adhere to strict guidelines from the Drug Enforcement Administration requiring that all unused controlled substances be rendered “non-recoverable.” Two health care professionals are required to witness the disposal of these medications. The easiest and cheapest way to accomplish the “observed disposal” of these products is to flush them into the sewer system. Medicare requirements also mandate the witnessed destruction of unused meds purchased through that program.

Some view EPA’s announcement that certain PPCPs may wind up on the 2008 Candidate Contaminant List (CCL) as evidence that the Agency is eyeing regulation of these compounds. However, establishing reasonable limits is a challenge given that gauging the impact of each compound on human health and the environment by studying the fate, transport, mode of action, and toxicity of each individual chemical is nearly impossible. An EPA cross-regional group called the National Regional Science Council PPCPs Team, is studying the issues.

To address the issue, some communities are trying pharmaceutical waste collection programs. These programs sound simple, but can be quite complex. They must take place over the course of a few hours on a designated day and require law enforcement presence. Additionally, some states require that medications collected at these events follow procedures for hazardous waste disposal.

At the present time, there is limited data on treatment options to remove PPCPs from wastewater. Some work shows that longer sludge age helps reduce some compounds but is ineffective for others. The same holds true for powdered activated carbon (PAC). Membrane filters coupled with long sludge age and/or PAC provide the optimum removal for the compounds evaluated.

Despite all the questions around this issue, two things are clear. First, EPA is under pressure to begin monitoring for certain PPCPs as soon as possible and potentially regulate these compounds. Second, the monitoring and removal of PPCPs will necessitate additional funding at the local level – lots of additional funding.

Contributed by Mike Cherniak, CET

Developing a local stormwater law is not easy, and getting it passed can be even more difficult. Business and Legal Reports has written about a presentation on the topic given by Woodard & Curran’s own Wendy Coffin at New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission’s 19th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conference in Groton, CT.

The presentation emphasizes the importance of properly identifying stakeholders, identifying gaps in existing regulations, and effectively communicating the regulations to the public. See the linked article for more details.

Contributed by Bob Rafferty, PE

In honor of Maine's Commute Another Way Week, Woodard & Curran challenged itself to take advantage of commuting options other than single occupancy vehicles. The effort showcased some simple ways to reduce the environmental impacts of getting to work.

Using modes ranging from foot- and pedal-power to telecommuting, car-pooling, and high-efficiency vehicles, more than 50 Woodard & Curran employees made their way to the office by alternative means.

Those 50+ people represent 16% of the offices participating, and together they saved 7% of all possible trips to and from their offices. Both numbers are up from last year, which was the first entire week devoted to alternative commuting – prior to 2007, the event was Commute Another Way Day. CAWW also coincides with National Bike to Work Week.

Two people turned in the longest people-powered trips, each making a 28-mile journey by bike, and one made his 5-mile trip by bike, foot, carpool, and telecommuted one day, logging the most different modes of all participants.

Together, Woodard & Curran’s CAWW challenge saved more than 2,000 vehicle-miles, and an estimated 109 gallons of fuel, and keeping more than a ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere. And that’s from a single week of concerted effort — think what could be accomplished in a year!

Thank you to all those who helped coordinate Woodard & Curran’s CAWW efforts, and to all the dedicated commuters who made it a success.

Contributed by the Sustainability Leadership Committee

As a forward-looking firm, we have made leadership development as a top priority.  To that end, we created a Pilot Leadership Development Program in the fall of 2007, and came up with our initial vision of what leadership development means for Woodard & Curran:

• Leadership can and should occur at all levels in the organization
• Ultimately, all training and development work should contain some components dedicated to nurturing the talents of leaders and recognizing strong leadership as a critical skill for the future of our firm.
• To ensure that Woodard & Curran has talented and versatile leaders ready to move this organization into the future and help to make it a great place to work.
• Leadership development is a mindset; it will become part of what we do every day.

Our Pilot Program includes two different groups to represent both the developing and emerging leaders.  The “developing leaders” generally have less than 10 years of experience, while the “emerging leaders” generally have more than 10 years of experience.

The overall goals of our pilot program are:

1. Relationship building;
2. Developing wider knowledge and understanding of the capabilities and talents of our future leaders;
3. Transferring of the principles and values of Woodard & Curran;
4. Building a better leadership pipeline through a formal strategy;
5. Developing a better understanding of the leadership opportunities available;
6. Establishing a talent pool from which to draw from for corporate initiatives and committee work;;
7. Creating a community of leaders;
8. Creating opportunities for leadership;
9. Recruiting new leaders;
10. Ensuring that the program is sustainable; and
11. Encouraging leadership outside of Woodard & Curran.

The success of the program is measured through one-on-one and group feedback, and by the accomplishments of the candidates and the actual promotion and retention of those in the program group.  The program also provides a forum for education, training, and experience-building for future leaders, and coaching opportunities from senior leaders.

With an orientation, immersion, and three successful sessions under our belt, we believe the program is a benefit to both participants and the firm.  We see it as a sustainable part of the growth and development of Woodard & Curran, and look forward to working with new groups of developing and emerging leaders in the fall of 2008.

Contributed by our HR Team

The clear skies and warmer temperatures are a good indication that summer is on its way, and with the change of season another group of interns arrives. We are looking forward to providing another summer of great experience for these students to take back to the classroom. We welcome their fresh minds and the ideas and enthusiasm that they will bring to each office they work in.

This summer we will host 13 interns and 1 Summer/Fall Co-op student.  They will sit in our Bangor, Portland, Dedham, Andover, Providence, and White Plains offices. In addition to an introduction to the company through “Intern Day,” they will go on field visits, learn about working in an office environment, and make a final presentation on the main project that they worked on over the summer. This real-world experience will help them to refine their technical and communication skills, and begin to teach them how to work with clients in a consulting setting.

We have currently filled all of our internship positions for 2008, but we always accept online applications through the Career Center section of our website.

Contributed by our HR Team

As of 2004, only 17.7% of engineering undergraduates in the U.S. were women, which is only a two percent increase from 1984. For many years, there have been efforts in the industry to encourage more women to choose engineering as a career. None of them have been very successful.

Engineering is a great field to work in. Engineers spend their careers serving the public, designing innovative solutions to complex problems, and, corny as it may sound, building the future of our country and the world. And yet, we have failed to draw enough young people into engineering to meet the need for engineering skills and knowledge.

Studies have suggested that women, and members of other groups underrepresented in engineering, would be more likely enter the profession if they saw more people like themselves in the industry. If this is true, then maybe the way to draw more women into engineering is to promote the accomplishments of women in the industry. That’s an important part why we created the Women’s Leadership Network at Woodard & Curran.

But it’s not the only reason. There are many, many talented women already working in engineering, and the WLN will be a resource for them in their careers. As our mission statement says, “The mission of the Women’s Leadership Network is to foster an environment at Woodard & Curran that values the diversity of women, encourages women to develop as leaders and integrates women in leadership positions within the company” The WLN is a way to share experiences, offer mentoring, and simply help women connect with other women in the company and industry.

We hope that the WLN will not only be a benefit to women working at Woodard & Curran today, but to those that join us in the future. And we hope that this process will raise awareness of the contributions of women working in engineering at Woodard & Curran and in the industry as a whole. In this way, maybe we will help to raise the percentage of women in engineering, until it someday reflects society more accurately.

Contributed by Helen Gorden, PE 

According to two recent studies, LEED-Certified and Energy Star rated buildings save significant energy relative to the national average and make sound investments.

One study, published by the CoStar Group, looked at LEED-certified and Energy Star buildings. It found that these green buildings demand a rent premium, have higher occupancy rates and lower operating costs, and achieve higher sale prices. Essentially, green buildings look like a better investment than non-green buildings.

The other study, conducted by the New Buildings Institute, found that the average LEED for New Construction building use 25-30% less energy than an average building. Ironically, it found that some certified buildings actually use more energy than the code baseline. According to the study, “Variation in results is likely to come from a number of sources, including differences in operational practices and schedules, equipment, construction changes and other issues not anticipated in the energy modeling process. More in-depth analysis of some of the best and worst performers could identify ways to eliminate the poorer outcomes and communicate lessons from the best results.”

Woodard & Curran’s new office expansion in Portland, ME was recently recognized as LEED Certified. When compared to older portions of the building Woodard & Curran also occupies, monthly utility bills in our LEED space show 10% less electricity usage, between 12% and 67% less natural gas usage (heating and cooling season, respectively), and 25% less water consumption.

Our experience confirms the findings of these studies, suggesting that green buildings will soon be the common-sense choice, whether or not states continue to mandate them.

Contributed by Barry Sheff, P.E.

CorporateRegister.com, a directory of corporate social responsibility reports and reporting resources, recently announced the winners of its 2007 Reporting Awards. The awards recognize CSR reports in several categories, including best report, best first time report, best carbon disclosure, creativity in communications, openness and honesty, and several others.

Coca-Cola Enterprises won in the creativity in communications category for its report, Continuing Our Journey. Other category winners include BMW, Novo Nordisk, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. All the award-winning reports, and the runners up, are available for download through CorporateRegister.com, which lists over 16,500 reports from more than 4,000 companies.

Corporate Register.com is a very interesting resource. It’s an easy way to see what companies are releasing CSR reports. As the library of available reports grows, it will also allow us to look back at the history of a company’s reports. This kind of context will be important for tracking progress and understanding how industries are pursuing sustainability and social responsibility.

Contributed by Lloyd Snyder, PE

Many communities and other organizations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts regulated under the NPDES Phase II Stormwater program are struggling with annual reports this year. Because the Phase II General Permit has expired and the new 5-year General Permit has not be issued, it’s not clear what information annual reports should contain and if annual reports should describe future stormwater management activities.

A recent conversation with EPA New England shed some light on the issue. According to the individual at EPA, because EPA’s regulatory plans for the upcoming 5 years are not final, the report does not need to include stormwater management actions for the next General Permit.  However, the report should describe the status of best management practices that are being implemented, i.e. are they fully implemented? If not, what progress has been made? Also, the report should explain what, if any, elements of the stormwater management programs that are not finished and the plan for completing them. 

Good general guidance is also available online at EPA’s NPDES Permits in New England page. If the documents posted there don’t answer your question, feel free to contact me.

Contributed by Bob Rafferty, PE

Tyson Foods recently released a sustainability report covering topics from business ethics, to food safety, to environmental health and safety. Companies in many industries are issuing similar reports to communicate their sustainability and social responsibility goals and achievements.

Tyson’s report, “Sustainability – It’s In Our Nature” (large file, about10MB) is based on the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, which makes it easier to compare to other organizations within the food industry, and across industries. Woodard & Curran has helped clients apply the GRI guidelines, and if you have questions, feel free to contact our Sustainability Services Team.

Contributed by Lloyd Snyder, PE

The Associate for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s staff blog has extensive coverage of the recent Smart & Sustainable Campuses Conference that recently took place on the University of Maryland campus. Several staff members write about topics presented at the conference, including “Vision Planning for Campus Sustainability”, “Why Your Campus Needs an Office of Sustainability”, and “Energy Sustainability and the Green Campus”.

These brief reports are a good resource for campus sustainability personnel – and anyone else working for sustainability on campus – who were not able to attend the conference themselves.

Contributed by the Sustainability Services Team

More and more real estate investment trusts are pursuing high-performance building development, and they're doing it because it's good for their bottom line. The article linked above has some very interesting quotes from industry analysts:

“These are all businesses. They're not going green for green's sake. It's the cheapest way to run their businesses…”

“If it's not green, in the near future it won't be considered Class A space. Green is a must-have. It's the best way to attract key tenants and retain them…”

With several states close to enacting high-performance requirements for development, and new high-performance standards coming from ASHRAE, it’s clear that green building isn’t a fad – it’s here to stay.

Contributed by Dave MacDonald, LSP, PG

Seth Godin, author of several books on work, change, and marketing in the information age, writes on his blog that “The passionate worker doesn't show up [to work] because she's afraid of getting in trouble, she shows up because [her job is] a hobby that pays.” He contrasts this with the attitude of the workaholic, who he says is motivated by fear.

I love this description of the passionate worker! I think it describes many of my colleagues here at Woodard & Curran. A big part of what inspires me about my work is the people I work with. I see passionate workers every day, people who love what the do and do it better as a result.

Contributed by Susan Dubuque, HR Director

In late February, Texas narrowly avoided a rolling blackout. ENR explains:

“Quick reaction averted blackouts on the Texas grid last month, but the incident served as a reminder of the possible risks of relying too much on wind energy for electricity.
Officials of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) say the grid on Feb. 26 experienced a sudden drop in the system frequency, which was caused by a combination of events, including a drop in wind-energy production just as the evening electricity load was increasing. Wind production fell in a few hours before sunset from more than 1,700 MW to 300 MW. Contributing to the difficulty, multiple power providers fell below their scheduled energy production.”

As we produce more energy from wind and other renewable sources in order to reap the environmental rewards, it’s important to keep in mind the potential risks. Careful planning and site selection are critical, and making sure that a potential wind turbine development has a good, consistent wind profile is an absolute must.

Stories like this also remind us that while wind and other renewable energy sources are becoming a larger part of our energy supply mix, traditional sources are still very important. Coal, oil, and natural gas fired power generation will continue to be a significant part of our energy future, and we need to keep investing in reducing the environmental impacts of those sources as well.

Contributed by Tom Stoughton, PhD

Lauren and Laurel, a pair of engineers from our Maine offices recently represented Woodard & Curran at an event hosted by the non-profit Maine Engineering Promotion Council. The annual Engineering Expo brings practicing engineers and other people in the engineering industry together with young people from around the state. Despite a little New England weather, over 800 people attended the event.

Our hope was to connect with young people to show them how engineers are working to protect the environment and make the world a safer place. Using a two liter soda bottle, a coffee filter, a straw, a piece of paper towel, and some sand, Lauren and Laurel helped groups of youth build “landfills” and demonstrated the idea behind landfill liners.

Kids from 4 to 16 helped bury a piece of "trash" (a bit of paper towel with paint on it) in the "dirt" (sand), and then poured "rain" (water from a pitcher) on the landfill. They watched as the rain seeped through the dirt and trash and carried "contaminants" (paint) to the ground water, which in a real unlined landfill would eventually reach our rivers, lakes, and streams. Laurel then explained that, as engineers, we try to make things like landfills work better, and be more environmentally friendly. Lauren would then demonstrate this by helping the group model a better-designed landfill.

This time, the model included a "liner" (plastic bag) attached to a "pipe" (straw taped into a hole in the corner of the bag) that directed the contaminated water to a location where it could be treated. The students again buried a piece of painted "trash" and caused another rain event – and watched as this time, the contaminated water flowed through the straw to a treatment area, protecting the ground water.

As one parent said, "That's a message that will stay with them for a long time." We certainly hope that’s true, and that some of those same youth may have been inspired to become engineers some day.

For more information contact Barry Sheff, P.E.

Mandating Green: LEED Certification Requirements in Connecticut

Connecticut is leading the way with LEED certification requirements. Beginning in January 2009, all construction projects (public & private) in excess of $5 million will be required to meet green building standards (LEED Silver – 33 of 69 points). By 2010, all renovation projects costing more than $2 million will have to meet the standards.

The new law, PA 06-187, exempts schools, parking garages, and maintenance facilities. Connecticut's state web site offers more detailed information on the requirements.

Buildings in the LEED rating system earn points toward levels of certification depending on how many green features are included in the building's design and construction. The basic level is called certification. New buildings with additional green features can earn ratings of silver, gold, or platinum. Among the measures that can earn points are enhanced energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, water conservation, environmentally sensitive site design, redevelopment of brownfields, and stormwater management. Buildings must be rated by an independent rater certified by the U. S. Green Building Council.

New York City recently enacted a similar requirement, and you can expect other states and municipalities to follow suit in the near future. In fact, the New Jersey legislature is considering several bills that promote green building right now.

Contributed by Jay Sheehan, PE

Wastewater Treatment Facility Inspections: Ready or Not?

After a long day, some people will kick back, have dinner and a drink, and talk about sports or politics. O&M people tend to talk about water and wastewater. We just can’t seem to leave it at the plant at day’s end. We like to describe it as passion and deny that it might be an obsession.

One evening I was talking with a few such passionate people; the topic was regulatory inspections. Some managers have described them as a mystery, a “black box” process. The inspector arrives, tours the facility, asks questions, makes notes, and seems pleased during the exit interview. Then you wait for the report – sometimes it’s very positive and sometimes it’s not. You almost never know what to expect. Why is that?

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Compliance Inspection Manual is more than 800 pages long. Maybe that has something to do with the variation in how an inspection is conducted, what the inspector focuses on, and how the results are interpreted. On the flip side, most water and wastewater utility staff have never really had any training on how to prepare for these inspections.

On this particular night, we decided there ought to be a formal instructional program to address this void. We also decided it should be visual. More on that later.

Regulatory inspections – compliance, performance, or reconnaissance – are a fact of life at wastewater treatment facilities. Generally performed annually, they combine a detailed review of documents with a walk-through of the facilities. Other inspections might be conducted with a focus on sampling, bio-monitoring, or pretreatment programs. State inspections may be scheduled in advance with the utility manager, while EPA-led inspections typically are unannounced.

Inspectors will have reviewed monitoring reports and records before arriving, so facility managers would be wise to keep the following documents up-to-date and readily available at all times:

• discharge monitoring reports,
• recent toxicity testing results,
• pathogen monitoring results,
• disinfection monitoring results,
• sludge vector attraction and pathogen monitoring records,
• annual reuse forms (if applicable), and
• groundwater monitoring records.

After introductions are made, a regulatory inspector will examine process treatment units, sampling and flow-monitoring equipment, outfalls, and the receiving stream. In particular, the inspector focuses on areas where pollutants are generated, pumped, conveyed, treated, stored, or disposed. The basic objectives of a facility site review are to assess the conditions of the facility's treatment processes, evaluate the plant’s operation and maintenance activities, check the completeness and accuracy of performance/compliance records, and determine whether treatment units are meeting the required standards.

Based on our experience, the odds of receiving high marks from these inspections is predicated on facility staff being able to answer “YES” to a list of fundamental questions, including:

• Is the overall site clean and secure?
• Are all flowmeters properly calibrated and tagged?
• Is all “critical equipment” operational?
• Are you satisfied with the visual appearance of all processes? There should be no excessive scum, foam, or objectionable odors.
• Is the disinfection area clean, functional, and performing effectively?
• Do you have properly prepared chain of custody documents?
• Are your lab bench sheets properly filled out and organized?
• Are you maintaining biosolids records – volumes, characteristics, disposal activities?
• Are standby power generators operable, maintained, and ready for use?
• Do you have your plans in order: Risk Management Plan, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures, emergency action standard operating procedures?

Preparation for inspections should be happening all the time within daily work activities. All staff should be trained on the inspection objectives, focal points, and the process itself. 

SBR guru and good friend Ron Trygar and I ended up collaborating with USA Bluebook and the City of Tallahassee, FL to produce an inspection training guide, Wastewater Regulatory Inspections: A Visual Guide to High Performance. We were filmed performing an inspection of a Tallahassee facility and pointing out key elements of compliance performance, unit process by unit process. Our results are presented to the facility management team at the end of the program. We thought a DVD would serve as an ideal training resource because a facilitator can stop the film at any point and lead a more detailed discussion about a particular topic.

I’m sure at this point you have at least two more questions. The answers are: “no, we do not receive any royalties,” and “yes, there is an alternative training reference.” You can always read that 800-page inspection manual.

Contributed by Mike Cherniak, CET

Over the past 12 months, I have been attending the ACEC’s Senior Executive Institute, and one of the sessions was held at The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy institution in Washington, DC. Like many people, I have been frustrated with the inefficiencies in government, be they local, state, or national. That frustration has been somewhat fueled by the knowledge that a substantial portion of our business depends on the government process.

A significant take-away for me from The Brookings Institution session was an appreciation of the fact that the purpose of government is not so much to pass great laws, as it is to prevent bad laws from being passed. While this might sound like a minimal objective, it is at the heart of our political system, and depends on the public to voice their opinions to properly influence those decisions. Having realized that, I left with renewed belief in the importance – the responsibility – we all have to participate in our government. Like it our not, what our political leaders do depends on the extent to which we become involved at all levels. Now with an election season ahead, my frustration has turned to a greater focus on the issues and an obligation to understand.

This past fall, the House and Senate voted to override the President’s veto of a $23.2-billion water resources bill. Had the veto held, many of our clients, and certainly Woodard & Curran as a firm, would have been harmed by an inability to move forward on needed water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

On behalf of our firm, I sent letters to all senators and representatives in the states where we have offices, citing why the veto should be overturned. Thousands of people did the same, and that solid support for the bill resulted in both the House and the Senate overturning the President’s veto.

As a firm, we pride ourselves on driving results. We can all do the same locally, at the state level, and nationally, by taking action and contacting our representatives. We all have a responsibility to speak up and what better a time than now, with economic uncertainty and a presidential election on our minds.

Contributed by Doug McKeown, CEO

How valuable is good service?

The cable company provides pretty bad service: incorrect invoices, impossible-to-navigate phone directories, and inexplicable fees are par for the course. Plus, the guy who signed up yesterday is on a cheaper plan than you are even though you have been a customer since the TV was invented.

Surveys show that cable providers rank near the bottom on customer satisfaction. I know if I could switch easily to another provider, I would (but my wife would kill me if I put a satellite dish on our house). I bet you could say the same thing for the phone companies, including your cell provider.

And yet these companies continue to grow at amazing rates! So, if we, the customers, get such bad service, why do the profits of these companies keep growing? In his book “The Ultimate Question”, Fred Reichheld calls this kind of growth based on poor treatment of existing customers an “addiction to bad profits” (If you haven’t read Reichheld’s book, I encourage you to pick up a copy). It seems that either we are undervaluing good service, don’t really care, or just can’t get better service anywhere else.

I can’t imagine that the same thing is true in all industries, and I believe the opposite is true for consulting firms. But I want to know what you think: how highly do you value good service? Do you choose your coffee shop because you get great service there? What about your grocery store? Or maybe you don’t care. Either way, I’d love to hear from you.

I’ll share interesting comments in a future post. I may never understand the cable company’s success, but hopefully I’ll learn something about what kind of service people really value.

Contributed by Dave MacDonald, LSP, PG 

The Art of Technical Troubleshooting: Learning That Can’t Be Made Easy

A question was posed to me a few weeks ago by a treatment plant owner: is there a course in “troubleshooting” that our staff can participate in? A simple question with a not-so-simple answer.

Troubleshooting is a complex process. Educators explain that teaching the art of troubleshooting involves comprehension of the subject at four knowledge levels. Let’s use a small ultraviolet disinfection system as an example. The system is not providing adequate disinfection and staff are tasked with “troubleshooting” the problem. Before any staff member can be expected to solve the problem they MUST demonstrate:

1. Cognitive knowledge – they must be able to identify each critical operating or mechanical UV system component by name.
2. Comprehension – they must be able to describe the basic function of each UV component they just named.
3. Application – they must then be able to explain how these components interrelate and how disinfection is accomplished (overall).
4. Problem Solving – this level of learning involves activities like corrective maintenance, process adjustments, and troubleshooting.

The reality of troubleshooting is this: an individual cannot troubleshoot a system without addressing the first three levels of knowledge with respect that system.

For this reason, troubleshooting instruction is time consuming and difficult to do effective, although the general “art” of troubleshooting can be taught to jump-start one’s ability to address problems. There are several troubleshooting resources that could be valuable to operators and others in the utility business:

• Troubleshooters.com offers some excellent books for technicians who wish to learn troubleshooting techniques for under $20.  The book “28 Tales of Troubleshooting” for $9.95 is both fun and informative.
• The Learning Shop, Inc troubleshooting course provides information on a highly-acclaimed and hands-on troubleshooting course designed for mechanics, electricians, and technical professionals.
• Simutech Multimedia runs an excellent site with instructional materials for the electrical novice, which starts with basic panel troubleshooting and moves through advanced motor control panels.
• Business Industrial Network offers a huge array of mechanical, electrical, and maintenance troubleshooting programs. The Basic Electrical Troubleshooting Course is an award-winning program and available for under $50.

Contributed by Mike Cherniak, CET 

As part of its continuing efforts to make emissions data more available, EPA has released a Google Earth emissions file showing facility emissions summaries for seven industrial stationary source sectors. (Note: you will need to have Google Earth installed on your computer to view this file. Read more about the file at EPA’s Where You Live page.)

For the moment, only 2002 data is shown, but we can only assume that more recent information will eventually be presented. It appears that the file shows each facility’s emissions quantities (CO, NO_x, PM10, PM2.5, SO₂, and VOCs), but a glitch sometimes causes that information to not display.

By using a feature of Google Earth that allows you to tilt the display, you will see that facilities are represented by a vertical line of varying height, which corresponds to each facility’s total emissions and makes eyeball comparisons very easy. This height simply shows total tonnage of emissions and doesn’t differentiate between the individual criteria pollutants.

Facilities in the seven included industries (cement facilities, chemical manufacturing, electric generating units, natural gas pipelines, oil and gas production, petroleum refineries, and pulp & paper) in particular should be aware that this resource has been published and is freely available to the public. Other industries should understand that their information is also freely available through the EPA website and could be included in a future release of the Google Earth file. Some of those facilities in other industrial categories are already shown when you use the “Create Your Own” file option at the Where You Live page and choose to see all facilities.

We can’t predict who will look at this file, or how they will use the information, but it does allow users to make rough comparisons between industries or to eyeball emissions in their state or local area. If you have concerns about emissions data posted by EPA regarding your facility, or questions about what the information presented means, let us know.

Contributed by Tom Stoughton and our Air Services team.

Water Sampling in Waterbury, Connecticut: WEF's World Water Monitoring Day Featured Event

As part of our efforts to give back to the communities we live and work in, Woodard & Curran staff volunteer with local schools to educate students about the environment and the protection of our valuable water resources.

For example, in Waterbury, Connecticut, Woodard & Curran coordinated and promoted Waterbury High School's AP Environment class in collecting water samples and participating in the Water Environment Federation's World Water Monitoring Day Event. We also hope that our participation in events like this encourages careers in engineering, the sciences, and water and wastewater treatment.

America is facing a shortage of qualified science and engineering graduates in many fields, including water and wastewater treatment, which are valuable and rewarding careers. If we can contribute to educating youth about their environment, and maybe even inspire a few of them to pursue careers in water resources or related disciplines, then that is time very well spent.

Contributed by Woodard & Curran's Water Services Team.

I have found that the most successful development projects use a collaborative approach. Engaging stakeholders in an inclusive planning process is crucial for building community support for a project.

As David Chrislip says in Collaborative Leadership (co-authored with Chris Larson), "If you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and sustainable responses to issues and opportunities within their communities and organizations." My participation in the Institute for Civic Leadership’s Collaborative Leadership Intensive reinforced this idea and my own views on the importance of collaboration.

The collaborative design approach ideally yields projects that are in harmony with the community; preserve environmental, scenic, aesthetic, historic, and natural resource values of the area; exceed the expectations of both designers and stakeholders and achieve a level of excellence in people's minds; and are seen as having added lasting value to the community. These values are well described in the Context Sensitive Solutions approach to transportation projects.

Wedding a collaborative process to sustainable design principles can drive amazing results. In the U.S., sustainable building design is exemplified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. 

The intent embodied in the LEED rating system, which itself was developed through a consensus-based collaborative process, drives the types of projects I pursue. My goal in designing projects in the built environment is to give back to the communities and preserve their qualities. The City of Portland is one of my clients, and the qualities of places like Portland are what regularly gains it national recognition as a great place to live, work, and play. I think my best work supports the things that make Maine great.

I try to bring some of the concepts, concerns, and ideas of collaborative and sustainable design to each project my teams work on. Not only does this make the projects exciting to be a part of, but I think it produces more value for the communities involved. These values are shared by some of our local partners, including Winton Scott Architects, Holt and Lachman, and Scott Simons Architects, among others.

Contributed by Barry Sheff, P.E.

Land use planners, real estate developers and development managers have debated the virtues of brownfield recovery vs. greenfields development. But time has proven once again that project value is not determined by whether it is brown or green, but by the old real estate axiom, “location, location, location.” For many projects – particularly those in historically developed areas – this means that some form of environmental action will be needed at the time of development.

Have no fear. For most projects, this is going to simply take the form of soil management when you install the project elements – utilities, buildings, footings, pavement base, etc. Planning for this during project due diligence and development planning is not difficult. The key is to integrate the site design and environmental planning stages.

Most environmental agencies are now encouraging reuse of historically impacted soils wherever possible, so managing grades on the site to reuse these soils at the project is one way to manage costs. Where soils must be removed from the site, reuse as daily cover at landfills or as aggregate for asphalt pavement production are the preferred methods of off-site reuse.

For still other sites, additional actions to address historic environmental impairments may be required by environmental agencies. Focus on the “big” issues at the site, and come to terms with the fact that you may identify smaller issues as you break ground. These can still be dealt with as line items on your proforma, but the second goal is to minimize project delays due to these conditions.

The keys to the game here are: 1) early detection of issues during due diligence so that you integrate environmental planning into other development plans; 2) development of robust cost models to allow you to take contingent actions along the way; 3) early and frequent interaction with environmental agencies so there are no surprise disclosures or decisions; and 4) frequent communication between development team members, including the environmental engineer, design engineers, architects, development managers, and contractors.

Contributed by Dave MacDonald, LSP, PG