iterj - career episode 3

Carrer Episode #3 Eng. Bruno Serafini Sobral

a) INTRODUCTION

ENGENEERING POSITION

Land Development Analyst at LAND AND CARTOGRAPHY INSTITUTE OF RIO DE JANEIRO (ITERJ).

POSITION PERIOD

Start: 01/11/2012 End: Not Applicable (Current Position)

LOCATION: Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

MAIN TEAM

Eng. Luiz Roberto Pereira de Souza (Director) [email protected]

Arch. Flavia Maywald Maffei (Manager) [email protected]

Sergio Bandeira (Manager) [email protected]

Eng. Edson Pereira Rodrigues Jr. (Dsc) [email protected]

Eng. Cristiane Santos (Msc) [email protected]

Eng. Bruno Mendes Antonio [email protected]

Eng. Edil Pericles Faria [email protected]

Eng. Bruno Serafini Sobral [email protected]

3.1) I started working at ITERJ in November 2012, after applying for the position of Land Development Analyst, specialized in Agricultural Engineering. As a graduate in Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, even though with professional background relying mostly on Environmental related projects, I am capable of performing as both. For this position it was required from the applicants to show Agricultural Engineering knowledge, measured by a national exam. The best scores were selected to integrate ITERJ’s team.

3.2) My start at ITERJ occurred along with other 98 professionals from different areas, which were selected from 7,748 applicants as described above. The arrival of these new professionals to ITERJ transformed the way the general public saw the institution, allowing more efficient management between the government and other agencies, as well as the assisted communities.


b) BACKGROUND

3.3) The nature of the position was to provide better attendance to the population, identifying more accurately its needs and expectations for the governmental policies in curse. It was the first time in over 20 years of existence that ITERJ had opened positions for the qualified general public. It is not incorrect to say that this only happened when ITERJ realized that, in order to obtain better projects and social results, it would have to count on more qualified professionals.

3.4) The Settlements and Projects Direction team, which I have been part of since my first day at ITERJ, has the important duty of improving life quality of rural and urban populations at settlements under ITERJ´s responsibility. That is done by a multidisciplinary team composed by Civil Engineers, Forestry Engineers, Agronomists, Environmental Engineers, Agricultural Engineers, Architects, Veterinaries and Technicians. Each of these professionals contributes to the team with its respective knowledge and experience.

3.5) ITERJ is responsible for over 800 urban and rural communities, called settlements. For the rural settlements are designated interlocutors that must know the settlement´s reality and give voice to the residents there. This interlocutor, often referred to as settlement administrator on a daily basis, is also responsible for identifying land issues (land disputes), assist in the implementation of public policies, monitoring the use of equipment granted by the State and bring the demands of the population to the knowledge of their superiors.

3.6) The main needs of the communities served by ITERJ are related to basic sanitation access, road construction, construction of affordable housing, access to agricultural machinery, social organization and safety.


Company Structure Chart - ITERJ

Administrative

CouncilPresidency

Special Advice

Administration

and Finance

Direction

Administration

and Finance

Management

Human

Resources

Management

Planning Advice

Land

Regularization

Direction

Local

Attendance

Management

Regularization

Managemente

Legal Advice

Settlements and

Projects

Direction

Project

Management

Settlement

Management

Accounting

Advice

Register and

Cartograhy

Direction

Social Research

and Register

Management

Cartography

Management

Head Office Internal Audit

Supervisory

Board


ITERJ - Settlement Management Chart (November 2012 until September 2015)

Eng. Luiz Roberto Pereira de Souza

Director

Sergio Bandeira

Settlement Manager

Eng. Bruno Serafini

SobralEnviro. and Agric. Engineer

Leonardo

OliveiraInfrastructure Technician

Eng. Andre

CorreaAgronomist

Elton Guimarães

Arigoni

Agricultural Technician

Eng. Carlos

Magno Vaz Vahia

Agronomist

Josué Reis dos

Santos


Eng. Elisandra

Amendola

Agricultural Engineer

Vinicius Gomes

Vieira Porto

Environmental Technician

Eng. Ricardo de

Souza Oliveira

Agronomist

Luis Carlos

Mendes Cardoso


Eng. Leonardo da

Costa Lopes

Agronomist

Mateus Villa

Martins Silva



ITERJ - Project Management Chart (September 2015 until present)

Eng. Luiz Roberto Pereira de Souza

Director

Arch. Flavia Maywald Maffei

Project Manager

Eng. Bruno Serafini

Sobral

Enviro. and Agric. Engineer

Deivisson

OliveiraDraftsperson

Eng. Bruno

Mendes Antonio

Enviro. and Agric. Engineer

Renato Phillipe

OlimpioDraftsperson

Eng. Cristiane

Santos

Forestry Engineer

Eng. Edson

Pereira Jr.

Forestry Engineer

Eng. Edil

Pericles Faria

Civil Engineer

Carlos Wagner dos

SantosInfraestructure Technician

Arch. Pedro

José Manso

Architect

Arch. Felix

Magero

Architect


c) PERSONAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITIES

3.7) I first served as a field engineer at a rural community called Fazenda Engenho Novo, located in Sao Goncalo county. By this time my routine had become quite different due to the close relationship started with the community. With 745 hectares divided into 130 lots and with approximately 150 families, Fazenda Engenho Novo is a rural settlement of infinite cultural and historical wealth, which made the performance of engineering a major challenge.

3.8) The first work conducted by me within the settlement was the coordination of the re-registration of the settled families served by ITERJ. This allowed me to introduce myself as a new representative of ITERJ, while I got the chance to better know the families, identifying their main concerns and eventual irregularities. The study was conducted for 45 days and served as the baseline for planning ITERJ´s activities in the area.

3.9) During this first work we realized a great dissatisfaction of the population with the settler´s Association. The main complaint of the settlers was that the machinery provided by ITERJ for the development of agriculture in the region, did not answer sufficiently, and cost more than most could afford. Then, after several meetings with representatives of ITERJ, local community, local government and public ministry, we managed to reach an agreement that allowed the use of machinery by the population. In the agreement, the machinery would be made available at half the price, with the provision of fuel by the local government (city hall) and use control made by ITERJ. My contribution to this agreement was mainly in convening and organizing weekly meetings, as well as the representation of the local community, which for years was not satisfied with the services provided by ITERJ and the local government.

3.10) Other activities were conducted in parallel, and part of my responsibility was also to plan agricultural and environmental development of the region in accordance with the local community. As a licensed professional, my duty was to ensure that all projects planned for the area were in accordance with the legal guidelines that regulate the practice of engineering, as well as the applicable environmental standards.

3.11) Another important activity also developed by me in the area was the rapprochement between ITERJ and Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). In this approach it was possible to take students from the university to the settlement and carry out practical classes. One of the largest impact classes made possible by this partnership was the irrigation class developed in June 2015. In this class the UFF teachers and ITERJ irrigation specialists were able to introduce students to a sprinkling irrigation system. Students could then install themselves, under the supervision of teachers, the irrigation system in one of the beneficiaries lots.


Figure 1: Irrigation class assembling agricultural sprinkler system.

3.12) Whenever necessary and triggered by the population I attended the rural lots to

advise, plan and inform the settled population. This constant exchange of information between the population and ITERJ, so desired by Rio de Janeiro´s State Government, allowed the main needs of the settlements to be identified. At Fazenda Engenho Novo I identified as major needs the transparency in the use of agricultural machinery, the access to sanitation and a fairer distribution in agricultural inputs. For each identified deficiency I could propose actions that longed for the reduction of the local popular dissatisfaction.

3.13) As for the transparency in the use of machinery, in addition to reducing the price offered to the settlers, it was initiated by my team´s new daily machinery control, with individual record for each operated equipment. Although a simple solution, this allowed the presentation of vouchers with usage information, making management more transparent for the local public. I also began to control the periodic review of each equipment as established in its instruction manual, which increased equipment life and reduced machinery breakdown due to lack of maintenance.


Figure 2: Hangar where machinery is kept safe

3.14) Access to sanitation was very poor at the community and measures needed to be taken by the public power. After the local sanitation company declared that there was no provision for the installation of the sewer system, I decided to elaborate a project that could serve the population in an alternative way. Together with the most needed settlers, my team and I decided for the implementation of 17 cesspool filter tank systems. The number of households in need of this system was greater than 70, but being a pioneer project, I decided by the experimental implementation of the project. All the work was supervised by me, and as a Labor Safety Engineer it was my duty to daily enforce safety matters to the workers involved with the construction of the cesspools.

3.15) The impact of the project was excellent and it was included in the portfolio of ITERJ´s solutions to improve access to basic sanitation in poor rural communities.

Figure 3: One of the seventeen cesspool filter systems installed.


3.16) As for the better distribution of new agricultural inputs, to encourage local production and increase the income of each settler, I decide for a more individualized approach. During the re-registration of settled families, I sought to identify the main potential already carried out by each family, which helped to set the right purchase and delivery of agricultural inputs needed. After the purchase and delivery was made, I carried out close monitoring of sowing and harvesting for all beneficiaries, with the help of a quantitative and time control sheet.

3.17) The above information was recorded and posted online by me, in order to guarantee the population’s access to information as well as the close follow-up by my superiors, and can be found at http://www.fazendaengenhonovo.wordpress.com . Over 18 months of field work was recorded and posted online on a daily basis, while the work was in progress.

3.18) After three years as a field engineer responsible for rural settlement Fazenda Engenho Novo, it was necessary to make a few changes on the Settlements and Projects Direction team, and so I was transferred to the Project Management team. As part of the Project Management Team, I started to work directly on projects planned by ITERJ for the assisted communities, contributing with my field experience to the formulation of better projects.

3.19) My first activity as part of the Project Management Team was to conduct studies to better understand the dynamics of flooding in another rural settlement, called Terra Prometida. This settlement is located in Duque de Caxias (district of Rio de Janeiro), and has been suffering for years with flood events caused by the river Iguaçu overflow, which borders the area. In this study, I applied the methodology presented in the Career Episode # 1, aiming to propose solutions that could minimize flooding in the settlement area. The study resulted in a detailed report that presented possible solutions, budget estimates and technical information for each solution.

3.20) While working directly with the population, at Fazenda Engenho Novo, I often felt the necessity to dispose of indicators that would help me measure the quantity and the quality of the work performed. Once I was transferred to the project management area I could finally expose that concern to my new manager, and was assigned to create a tool that would help to manage field information.

3.21) The tool I developed was based on a field questionnaire to be applied yearly, containing several relevant information and was able to present 41 indicators of social, environmental and economic development. The questionnaire was developed in VBA language from Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and allowed my colleagues at ITERJ to compile an organize information for each lot (and settlement) assisted by the institution. The VBA language has facilitated the organization of ITERJ´s technicians responsible for collecting and recording


field information, allowing better comprehension by the superiors of the information regarding agricultural production, access to public services and environmental condition in each lot of each settlement.

MAIN ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED

3.22) I strengthened the institutional relationships between ITERJ, local city hall and other institutions involved in the development of rural settlement Fazenda Engenho Novo.

3.23) I Implemented new methodology for daily control use of equipment provided by ITERJ, and other necessary controls for the better progress of work.

3.24) I improved access to information and public policies available for the area, especially with the registration of families in a social program that buys local crops to provide better school meals.

3.25) I promoted educational actions that sought to straighten the partnership between ITERJ and Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), which resulted in field visits, practical classes and new projects for the settlers.

3.26) I advised settlers and other institutions on agricultural and environmental subjects, treating each presented project individually.

3.27) I kept public and updated record of the principal daily actions taken in the field. 3.28) I developed studies and projects maintaining excellent interpersonal relationship

with other co-workers.

d) SUMMARY

3.29) My work at ITERJ has caused great repercussions in assisted communities and positive feedback from my superiors, especially by the organized and responsible way that I conduct work and safely keep records. Although I occupy the position of agricultural engineer at the institution, the variety of tasks demanded does not count exclusively on agricultural subjects, requiring frequent application of knowledge in environmental engineering and other disciplines.

I hereby certify that the above statements are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

iterj - career episode 3

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