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OPWA – National Public Works Week (NPWW)

National Public Works Week (May 16-22, 2010) is a celebration of the tens of thousands of men and women in North America who provide and maintain the infrastructure and services collectively known as public works. The OPWA Kick-off Event and Pioneers Luncheon (Thursday, May 13th) featured 7 excellent speakers discussing public works infrastructure/asset management current status, issues and several important future challenges.

: Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas, Allan Magi, Andrew Pollock and Mike Price discuss “Challenges for the Next Decade”.

Wally Wells, P.Eng., Wells Infrastructure Group Inc. (“Asset Management BC”) outlined the status of the Local Government Asset Management Working Group (LGAMWG). The group has finalized their terms of reference, vision, mission and objectives. The ‘way forward’ for the group will be:

• PSAB 3150 follow-up (i.e. condition assessment guidelines)
• Integration – focus on core strengths and deliverables
• Communication – get the message out and solicit input from stakeholders; educate public and politicians
• BC Knowledge Product – follow up actions
• Pilot projects – find practical asset management (AM) solutions
• Tools – create a ‘tool chest’ for sustainable AM
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Michael Mortimer, P.Eng., Program Manager, CSA Standards provided an update on CSA training and publications for buildings and municipal public works. The Municipal Infrastructure Solutions Program (MSIP) focuses on delivering practical, pragmatic and proven tools and services in the form of new standards, best-practice guides, technologies and training offerings.
Currently there are 14 technical committees/working groups established to guide the development of additional courses and publications. CSA would welcome additional knowledgeable participants on these advisory committees.
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An excellent round table discussion –“Challenges for the Next Decade”- featured Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas, P.Eng., York Region (transportation), Allan Magi, P.Eng., City of Birlington (facilities), Andrew Pollock, Niagara Region (solid waste) and Mike Price, P.Eng., Mike Price& Associates Inc. (water/wastewater).
Some of the issues/challenges outlined included:

Transportation
• Fiscal sustainability
• Accommodating urban growth
• Succession planning

Facilities
• Performance measurement similar to linear assets needed
• Consistent condition assessment approach (i.e. facility condition index)
• Energy management
• Funding/inflation
• Multiple use facilities to address aging population and recent immigration patterns/interests

: The new MTO maintenance facility at Hwy 401/Hurontario was built with the latest green technologies. It will require consistent condition monitoring and assessment to ensure full service life.

Waste Management
• Recycling – move to full producer responsibility (Waste Diversion Act/June 2010)
• Composting – 2nd generation plants, different/conflicting methods; biofuel
• Disposal – landfill capacity; district heating potential/projects (Durham); fuel production from waste

Water/Wastewater
• Source Protection – world-wide and in Canada
• Future design/capacities of infrastructure – considering reductions in usage (i.e. condos)
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The keynote speaker Reg Andres, P.Eng., Vice President, R.V. Anderson Associates Limited presented ‘Sustainable Infrastructure Management – Where We Are & Where We Are Going”.
His main message for OPWA members….asset management has come a long way; OPWA members need to lead the way into the future; continue to get the message out regarding infrastructure management, funding and sustainability.
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RoadMap:
• National (Canada) Asset Management
• Asset Management International – Dr. Penny Burns (Australia)
CentreLine: “An asset without a user is an asset without a value”

By Graham Zeisner in Association, Buildings & Grounds, Fleet, Roads & Bridges, Sewer & Wastewater, Solid Waste Disposal/Recycling, Transportation, Water on May 19th, 2010 - No Comments »
Tags: asset management, CSA, LGAMWG, linear infrastructure, NPWW, OPWA, Wally Wells

National Public Works Week 2010

When I joined APWA in 2004, I received a very comprehensive package of promotional material in the mail which included a letter of thanks, information about their services, the Info Now network, the historical society, benefits of membership and a publications/resources catalogue. Needless to say, I was impressed and as we all know…you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”.

Harry Campbell's graphic interpretation of the theme "Public Works: Above, Below & All Around You".

Over the years their publications and promotional materials have been consistently relevant, essential and timely. The National Public Works Week (NPWW) flyer that I received this week is no exception. The flyer cover – a copy of the 2010 NPWW poster by illustrator Harry Campbell – is an amazing interpretation of the theme “Public Works: Above, Below, & All Around You” .

Harry’s distinctive graphic line illustration work can be found in most major publications including The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and many others. A graduate of The Maryland Institute College of Art where he also has taught. Campbell has received numerous awards from The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, and American Illustration.

National Public Works Week (NPWW) 2010 is celebrated on May 16-22. Instituted as a public education campaign by the American Public Works Association (APWA) in 1960, NPWW calls attention to the importance of public works in community life. The Week seeks to enhance the prestige of the often–unsung heroes of our society–the professionals who serve the public good every day with quiet dedication.

The Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS) has formally partnered with the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) – A Chapter of APWA/CPWA. One of the goals of this agreement is to cross promote the partner’s significant events and awards including NPWW. OPWA has two awards available for NPWW in Ontario including:

Municipalities with more than 150,000 (The Bruce Brunton Trophy)
Municipalities with populations of 150,000 or less (The Roger Brown Trophy).

Township of Scugog staff and elected officials - winners of the Roger Brown Trophy.

The 2009 winner in the first category was the City of Brampton and the second category was the Township of Scugog. Congratulations to both Municipalities and their staff or organizing such great programs that met the strategic objectives of the program.

In my opinion, NPWW activities are like APWA publications. They’re opportunity to make a great impression…a lasting impression of your Municipal public works department and its important role in providing essential quality of life services in our communities. From my conversations with representatives of the winning teams, it doesn’t take a great deal of time or resources to make any NPWW celebratory event memorable. On the other hand, the benefits – award and trophies notwithstanding – including increased morale, teamwork and pride amongst participating Municipal staff are enormous.

So….don’t forget those dates…..May 16-22. If you and your Municipality are interested in supporting NPWW in Ontario please contact anyone at OPWA or AORS or better yet, talk to the Municipalities who have participated in the past. There is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
These folks have lots of experience and good ideas so tap into it.

CentreLine: NPWW is an opportunity to shout from the rooftops “We are public works”.

By Graham Zeisner in AORS, Association, Buildings & Grounds, Certification & Training, Fleet, Municipal Elected Officials, Parks & Recreation, Roads & Bridges, Sewer & Wastewater, Snow & Ice Control, Solid Waste Disposal/Recycling, Stormwater, Transportation, Water, Winter on February 17th, 2010 - No Comments »
Tags: AORS, apwa, Bruce Brunton, City of Brampton, CPWA, NPWW, OPWA, Roger Brown, Township of Scugog

OPWA Annual Conference & Awards Luncheon

Climate Change and its Potential Effects on Infrastructure Management

The Voice of Public Works in Ontario

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Mississauga Grand Banquet & Convention Centre

35 Brunel Road, Mississauga, ON L4Z 3E8

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RoadMap: OPWA Conference Program and Registration Form (.pdf)

By Graham Zeisner in Association on December 4th, 2009 - No Comments »
Tags: OPWA

OPWA Ottawa Valley Branch Luncheon – Organic Recycling on the Menu

The 'Norseman 80' is quite asthetically pleasing.

I have to admit it. When the City of Ottawa dropped off my – or rather, their – new green organic waste bin at my house last week I was slightly disgruntled. I rolled it sheepishly and unceremoniously into my back yard, reluctantly checked the innards and took the printed material in the house. “We don’t need a green bin” I declared to my wife. “The nice stainless steel Lee Valley kitchen container and my composter in the back yard works just fine”. The grumbling continued the next day at my neighbour’s house as we sized up his bin. Like two guys dissing a high maintenance car we made several other disparaging remarks and jokes about this new municipal service. “How will they empty them when they are frozen in the winter” my buddy wondered.

Well I got the answer to that question and more today at the OPWA Ottawa Valley Branch ‘In Town Luncheon’ at the Nepean Sportsplex. Guest speaker Chris Wood, Waste Diversion Coordinator, City of Ottawa and project manager for the Green Bin Program gave us an excellent overview of the planning and implementation required to successfully launch organic recycling in Ottawa. The presentation also included a little show and tell.

Chris adoringly displayed the 80 litre bin – tested to ANSI wind & stress standards; pest proof latch and the 6.6 L kitchen container – ventilated lid; contoured inside channels for air flow – declaring them both aesthetically pleasing.

Turns out we can make a real difference to the City and the environment after all. (We knew that anyway but it sometimes it takes a really professional public works employee like Chris who is passionate about their project to encourage others to get on the bandwagon).

This new program can help:

Extend the life of existing landfills by diverting almost half of the City’s waste to the composting program.
Save taxpayers money. By extending the life of our landfills, we can delay sourcing and setting up new landfills – a very expensive proposition.
Reduce the amount of greenhouse gases our landfills generate by removing organic waste.
Turn waste into a usable product (compost) that enriches the earth instead of damaging it.

Chris Wood had some organic waste bins for OPWA Luncheon show and tell.

Chris explained that the first phase of the Green Bin program will target the majority of Ottawa residents: People living in single and low-rise residences in urban, suburban and rural village areas that currently have single set out garbage and recycling pick up. Over 2010-2011, the City will be investigating service for high-rise buildings, and residences with common pad collection. Roll out to remaining residences including rural, non-village residents will be determined with the new collections contract, set to commence 2012.

There is a lot of work yet to be done but the City is off to a great start and most importantly they have an excellent spokesperson and team leader in Chris Wood. (Full disclosure here: I worked with Chris for many years at the former Ottawa-Carleton and he has always handled all his projects thoroughly and competently).

With all this new Green Bin 101 information , tips and fresh enthusiasm for recycling bouncing around in my head I returned home determined to make up to my new cart and container friends. I pulled them out from beside the air conditioner, wiped them down with greater admiration for their creators and functionality. “By gosh. Chris is right. You really do look nice….photogenic almost” I mused while taking some pictures. I even took the newbie out to the old compost bins in the back corner to rescue my Halloween pumpkin from an uncertain decomposition future and dumped it – with pride – into the cavernous hold of the ‘Norseman 80’. (Oops…no rolled up newspaper on the bottom!) When my wife got home from work I told her matter-of-factly that our current kitchen container was inadequate because “It doesn’t have tiny holes for airflow”.

So when it’s my turn in the delivery schedule I’ll be the first one out to the end of the driveway…I’ll be a green bin champion. And the best part is I get to retire the two special pitch forks I bought to turn my compost piles. Now if only we could solve the waste diversion issues in the ICI sector.

RoadMap: Chris Wood’s presentation – PDF

CentreLine: Promotion and support from public works associations will help green bin and other recycling programs throughout Ontario meet their objectives.

[View with PicLens]

By Graham Zeisner in Association, Solid Waste Disposal/Recycling on November 26th, 2009 - No Comments »
Tags: City of Ottawa, green bin, landfills, OPWA, organic recycling, waste diversion

OPWA Awards Program – 2010

Nominations for Professional Contribution Extended

The Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) Awards Program was established to recognize outstanding individuals, groups andorganizations representing the best in the public works profession. By recognizing professional contributions, public works professionals promote an atmosphere of mutual respect and provide a way to grow and achieve. The nominations have been extended to December 1^st, 2009.

Linda Petelka, Region of Halton, APWA Top 10 2009 Public Works Professional

The membership awards include:

Top Public Works Leader of the Year Award
Joe Johnson Sr. Private Sector Award
Pat McDonald Distinguished Community Involvement Award
Wally Wells Young Leader

Related Posts:

RoadMap: Nomination Form (PDF)

CentreLine: AORS and OPWA formed a Partnership in 2010. AORS members should support these awards by attending the Awards Luncheon at the OPWA Annual Conference, which will take place on Thursday January 28, 2010 (Toronto).

By Graham Zeisner in AORS, Association on November 4th, 2009 - No Comments »
Tags: Joe Johnson, OPWA, Pat McDonald, Public Works Leader of the Year, Wally Wells

National Public Works Week – Revitalize, Reinvest, Renew.

Our Associates at the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) and the Canadian Public Works Association (CPWA) would like to remind us that May 17 – 23 is National Public Works Week. Is your Municipality involved? Let them know.

2009 CPWA National Public Works Week Award Criteria

National Public Works Week

CentreLine: Well constructed, operated and maintained core public works infrastructure is essential to the quality of life we enjoy in Ontario.

By Graham Zeisner in AORS, Association on April 14th, 2009 - No Comments »
Tags: CPWA, National Public Works Week, OPWA

OPWA/AORS Launch Partnership Agreement

The Voice of Public Works in Ontario

Promoting Knowledge. Pursuing Excellence

Today – on behalf of the Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS) – I met with the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) Board of Directors in Vaughan to initiate the Partnership Agreement between our respective organizations.

Judging by the warm reception and genuine interest in my presentation we will definitely realize the positive outcomes of successfully implementing the Agreement. Both Associations recognize the importance of improving the Ontario public works infrastructure, transportation systems and operations through coordinated efforts to achieve our mutual goals including:

promoting and developing public works professional excellence through continuing education, training and accreditation
increasing advocacy and engagement with key Provincial ministries on public works issues
improving communication to our respective memberships on all important public works matters
increasing membership participation through relevant services and programs
promoting public works professional opportunities to the new generation of students.

The following highlights from the Committee Reports on the agenda today should be noted:

Education – Spring Technical Workshop is rescheduled to Thursday, June 4^th; Theme: Municipal Infrastructure Funding. (Formal announcement in coming days)
National Public Works Week – Kickoff Luncheon is Wednesday, May 13^th. (Formal announcement in coming days).
APWA Congress – key organizing committees, job descriptions and work plan to be drafted for the 2014 APWA International Public Works Congress and Exposition in Toronto. OPWA will require several hundred volunteers and significant financial resources to meet their organizational obligations.

Thank you to the OPWA Officers and Directors and for the invitation, your enthusiasm and your public works professionalism.

CentreLine: Partership = Collaboration = Communication = OPWA + AORS

By Graham Zeisner in Association on April 8th, 2009 - No Comments »
Tags: AORS, apwa, OPWA, partnership agreement

March 10, 2009; OPWA International Women’s Day Luncheon

Please join your colleagues for a special event for 2009 which we hope will become an annual fixture for many years to come – the OPWA International Women’s Day Luncheon, which will be held on Tuesday March 10, 2009 at the Mississauga Grand Banquet & Convention Centre.

Mississauga, ON
www.opwa.ca
416-455-0648
opwa@cogeco.ca

Interesting article in the Ottawa Citizen (June 2008) about the trio (female professional engineers) in charge of planning the future of transit in Ottawa.

By Graham Zeisner in Transportation on February 26th, 2009 - No Comments »
Tags: nancy schepers, OPWA, Ottawa, transit

Historic Association Partnership Agreement Aims to Promote and Enhance the Public Works Profession in Ontario

Linda Petelka (OPWA); Graham Zeisner (AORS); David Ailles (OPWA)

The Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) and the Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS) have announced the signing of a Partnership Agreement on January 28^th, 2009. The alliance will coordinate their respective mission and business objectives to improve Ontario’s core civil public works infrastructure and operations.

The Agreement contains a number of specific partnership projects and action points which each organization will undertake. Potentially positive outcomes include increased public awareness of the public works profession, expanded advocacy opportunities and increased education, training and professional development services for their respective memberships.

“The public works community will be facing some real challenges in the future and I am confident that this agreement will benefit our membership and the Provincial core civil infrastructure,” stated Bryan Clarke, AORS CAO. “We’ve forged an alliance with one of Canada’s most prestigious public works organizations to ensure that our products and services continue to meet the highest standards of excellence.”

“The province’s aging infrastructure along with the retirement of baby boomers will place significant challenges on the industry’s ability to deliver capital programs and achieve the necessary level of sustainability and quality of service for our existing communities while meeting the Province’s growth mandate,” noted Linda Petelka, immediate Past-President of OPWA. “OPWA’s alliance with AORS, a leader in Public Works related training and other services, will help establish the necessary foundation to bring the skills and leadership competencies to the changing face of the Public Works workforce to achieve the industry’s objectives and can be considered the first step in building an alliance that will benefit public works for many years to come.”

About AORS

The Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS) is a Provincial not-for-profit professional association of individuals dedicated to providing high quality public services through Certification, educational programs and interaction amongst its members. AORS began in 1961 at Hart House, University of Toronto and now has 35 Local Associations across Ontario and a head office in Thorndale, Ontario. AORS provides opportunities for public works professionals to exchange ideas, increase professional proficiency and performance for themselves, their agencies and companies.

About OPWA

The Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) is a not-for-profit, diverse organization of public works professionals recognized as the authoritative voice of public works in Ontario. OPWA is a Chapter of both the Canadian Public Works Association (CPWA) and the American Public Works Association (APWA). Its membership consists of approximately 630 public works practitioners employed by the provincial government, municipalities, consulting engineers and suppliers. It is the largest of the Canadian Chapters and is consistently among the Chapter leaders in membership growth. OPWA’s membership has the broadest range of interest and expertise in the public works industry.

Overall, APWA’s membership is approximately 28,000 throughout North America, with offices in Kansas City and Washington. APWA is one of the largest and oldest organizations of its kind in North America.

By Graham Zeisner in Certification & Training on February 7th, 2009 - No Comments »
Tags: advocacy, alliance, AORS, leadership, Ontario, OPWA, partnership agreement