Built + Beyond

Last month, a brutal winter storm brought freezing temperatures and snow across a wide swath of Texas, knocking out power plants and forcing millions to go without power and heat in subzero temperatures. Now, people are asking why utilities, lawmakers and state officials were caught so flat-footed by the storm, and what they could have done to better prepare for such extreme weather events. 

In this layered, insightful discussion, Atkins Project Director Stephen Bourne and Principal Technical Manager Mike DePue join Federal Business Development Director Danielle Barner to talk about the role of climate change in extreme weather events, as well the tools and information we should be using to help the public sector embrace resiliency and protect its communities.

Show notes:

• City Simulator, a community focused tool developed by Atkins that allows communities to create digital twins of their buildings, roads, utilities, natural areas and other assets and then measure how resilient they are through a 30-year simulation.
• FLOODS Act, a proposed bill to establish a national integrated flood information system within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 
• PRECIP Act, a proposed bill to amend the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 to direct NOAA to provide comprehensive and regularly updated Federal precipitation information.

This multi-part discussion will take you through the concept of data as an asset including three key pillars: Data Governance, Enterprise Data Warehousing and Data Analytics (including reporting).

Find out what steps you need to take to ensure efficient and consistent data creation and assimilation, and then discover the benefits and impact of making timely, data-driven decisions.

Part 1:
In this episode, we’ll focus on getting the most out of your data. It requires a commitment to a structured approach that includes resource consideration for PEOPLE, PROCESSES, and TECHNOLOGIES. 

John Pregler is Vice President of Asset Management Solutions at Data Transfer Solutions (DTS), member of the SNC-Lavalin Group.

Soraya Soflicki is Senior Business Analyst at DTS.

Allen Ibaugh is CEO of DTS.

What do you get when two successful female leaders come together to talk about gender diversity in the workplace? Professional insight, personal stories, and lots of lively discussion. They’ll chat about ways that companies in the AEC industry can be more successful by attracting, retaining and promoting a more gender diverse workforce.

Join Danielle Barner and Lisa Thoele as they consider how embracing the different ways that men and women think and behave can lead to better operational performance for companies and organizations.

To learn more about this topic, check out the article “Yielding Stronger Organizational Effectiveness and Winning the Talent War”, available on the SNC-Lavalin and RS&H websites.

Danielle Barner is Federal Business Development Director at Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, an engineering, design and project management firm. Lisa Thoele is Business Development and Marketing Manager at RS&H, a national architecture, engineering and consulting firm.

We’re living in a challenge in real time. Particularly from an evolutionary perspective. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing immense change and disruption to every industry, not the least of which is the AEC industry. But is there a silver lining? We think so. It puts us out of our normal comfort zone to test ourselves with new technologies and new ways of doing things. Adapting to new ways of doing business. So, as you program, plan and implement your infrastructure projects, take advantage of this moment to drive innovation. Tune in. We have a lot to say.
 
J.R. Steele is with Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, an engineering, design and project management firm. He’s interested in helping our federal clients but really, all our clients. Rebecca Rubin is CEO of Marstel-Day, a leading natural resource and environmental consulting firm.