VISION FOR SURVEYING THE HEART OF MENTORING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

WINTER 2014

Improving lives by providing the services that create more reliable connections throughout North America.

REINVENTING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN THE POWER OF VISION

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When I started out my career as a young engineer, I loved variety, thinking creatively and solving challenging problems. I enjoyed the idea of building things. The types of things you talk about at home

at night with your family that makes your chest swell with pride when you drive by it, working with clients and being a part of the solution. Years later, I still love that variety and the opportunity to be a part of continual innovation. It’s why I continue to love this profession.

This is a milestone year for us, as we celebrate our company’s 70th anniversary. I have developed a deeper appreciation for what Mel Ulteig did back in 1944 when he founded Ulteig. He took his passion for engineering and applied it to his vision of bringing electricity to the rural Midwest. Seventy years later, that same passion and vision drives his namesake company to continually deliver quality engineering solutions, from concept to completion.

While technology continually evolves with increasingly sophisticated solutions, Ulteig remains at the forefront of the engineering industry, mastering those changes. We’ve learned, adapted and grown in our 70 years, anticipating what our clients, and our client’s clients, will need into the future. With that approach, we foster ideas and build with integrity on every project we develop.

2014 has been a year of success and achievement for us. We have followed a disciplined approach: carefully developing our technical capabilities, seeking out new growth opportunities and prudently deploying capital - all with a focus on delivering high quality, dependable solutions to our clients.

I’m excited about what lies ahead for us in 2015 and beyond. Our vision is to improve lives by providing services that create more reliable connections throughout North America. We are well on our way to realizing this vision, as we continue to expand our reach to bring value to new customers, markets, and communities and support the growth of current clients. As part of our continuing commitment to excellence in all we do, our new Connect magazine is intended to deliver exceptional value through industry information, thoughts on what the future holds for the engineering profession and viewpoints on new developments and methods from our technical and leadership teams.

Our goal in the following pages is to provide relevant information, thoughtful analysis and a bit of the flavor of Ulteig’s employee-owners. We are grateful to have been a part of your life for the past 70 years, and we plan to be here for you well into the future.

One Ulteig,

Eric Michel, President and CEO

Executive Perspective

THIS ISSUE

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Executive Perspective

70th Anniversary

Project Management

Substation Fires

The Heart of Mentoring

Engineers In Action

The Power of Vision

with Eric Michel

Ulteig Turns 70!

New Service Offering and What It Means For Our Clients

And How to Prevent Them

by Raymond Hall

People and places

By Marti Nyman

On the coverThis image represents how we live and work in an increasingly interconnected world - where power, communications and transportation come together to make life possible and for 70 years, Ulteig has been proud to provide the services that make these connections possible.

7, 11, 14, 15-16

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Blogs

Vision For SurveyingA View from Malaysia

Connecting Ideas With People

/ulteig

9 Capital Improvement PlanWhat Is It and Why Do You Need One?

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Ulteig Turns 70!!In 1944, Melvin Ulteig envisioned bringing electricity to the rural communities of the Upper Midwest. And he did just that, installing more than 7,000 miles of transmission lines throughout North Dakota and establishing Ulteig Engineers. This year, 2014, marks the 70th anniversary of Ulteig. Seventy years is a long time to thrive in any industry, so we thought a celebration was in order. On Friday, September 28, our St. Paul office kicked off a series of individual office parties in honor of Ulteig’s 70th anniversary and continued with celebrations in Fargo, Denver and Bismarck.

by Raymond Hall

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The Heart ofMentoring

never thought I could do. After one year, Paul asked me to relocate to Europe to lead the company’s energy business. I was hesitant. I thought, What does this guy want me to do? I’m not anything special. Little did I know, he had big plans for me. Over the course of the next two years he took me under his wing, coaching me and helping me gain access to other senior leadership team members. Before I knew it, I was a fireball of confidence and on my way to doing something that I never dreamed I would do – being one of the top HR leaders in one of the largest companies in the world!

It was through my mentor’s direction, motivation and support that I achieved my dreams. When I think about it, there is not one person I know who has attained success without the help of someone else. Paul has been there for me through many chapters in my life. More than seven years later, I still consider him a mentor, a confidant and dear friend. In our 70th year, Ulteig will introduce our own mentoring program. Our aim is to foster meaningful and successful careers for our employees, which directly contributes to the success of our company by engaging our employees on different levels. Our main goals are to increase the level of engagement and accelerate

I am a normal guy. I’m from a small town and the son of blue collar pa-

rents, but I’m living out the American dream working for one of the best companies in a dynamic industry. So, how did I get here? After spending several years serving in the military and working in various capacities with other companies, I reached a crossroads and had no focus or direction for what career path I should take or what my real interests were, but things were about to change. I was working for an agri-food company as a Global HR Leader and my manager could see I was struggling with what my next career steps would be. He told me about our company’s mentoring program and insisted he had the perfect match for me. I was reluctant to accept because I wondered how mentoring would really benefit my life and my career choices.

My first encounter with my new mentor Paul was interesting to say the least. He had a strong British accent, and I remember thinking this James Bond wannabe did not stand a chance. He was about to prove me wrong. From our very first meeting, Paul saw something in me that I hadn’t. Over time he was able to get me to stretch beyond my comfort zone, encouraging me to take new assignments in different businesses. He listened to me, learned more about me and showed me things I

professional development, to cultivate productive professional relationships among colleagues, to expand the awareness and practice of mentoring in the company and to establish and evaluate a program that will be used more widely throughout the company.

I firmly believe that mentoring is immensely important, and it has benefited me so much over the years. I want to share that experience with others and it is why each and every one of us who has time, talent and a willingness to invest in someone else should do so. It doesn’t mean you become their manager or take on a whole new role; it means you check on them, see how they’re doing, you encourage them, you share your experiences with them and you take them places they never thought they could go. Mentoring produces powerful changes in the lives of

everyone involved.

As leaders we need to step forward and say, “I’m going to be a mentor, because I want the next generation of leadership to take our company to the next level, a better place.” And for those who are considering being mentored, take the plunge. Trust that your colleagues can and will take you to higher ground. Let’s work on this together. Let’s all see what we can do for someone else in every way possible. And one of the best ways possible is through mentoring.

Raymond Hall is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Ulteig and has more than 23 years of experience in the field of HR.

6 A Vision for Surveying’s FutureWhat does the future of

surveying hold? Part of that is answered by hard numbers; the average age of surveyors around the world is 57, while the average surveyor’s age in the United States is 54. Professional surveying organizations have taken notice of the aging workforce and are now taking steps to engage young surveyors and young people who may be interested in surveying as a career.

Ulteig’s Jon Gustafson is one of those young surveyors, and his vision for the profession’s future led him to apply for a fellowship from The FIG Foundation, established by the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) to promote surveying education. “I’ve known about FIG for a long time, though a lot of my mentors and colleagues don’t talk much about it since it isn’t relevant to what they do yet,” he pointed

out. “But I see the value in getting engaged now and building those relationships.”

Engaging a VisionTo earn a fellowship, Gustafson submitted an essay on the topic, Young Surveyors’ Vision for the Future of the Profession. The fellowship included a trip to the 2014 FIG Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in June. Gustafson received one of eight fellowships awarded worldwide, and was the only one from North America to receive a fellowship.

His essay focused on how surveyors should maintain their relevance in the world, approaching it from a value-added standpoint directed at identifying values surveyors like to promote, then capitalizing on those values and integrating them into the profession’s future. “I see surveyors being big players in the future,” he emphasized, and talked about some prerequisites surveyors need to look at now so they can achieve those future roles.

Gustafson identified several global markets that will see substantial assistance from surveyors in the future, including technology innovation, economic development, land development, land tenure,

social tenure, infrastructure, environment and sustainable energy and exploration. He added, “Surveyors have a unique ability to evolve and adapt as the technology and legal and social elements change. This is why the surveyor needs to accept the fact that it’s imperative to stay involved with technological innovation to keep the profession relevant.”

A Global PerspectiveWith more than 2,500 attendees from nearly 100 countries, Gustafson says the congress provided an immense learning and teaching opportunity, with a chance to discuss differences between the United States and other countries approaches to surveying. “How they deal with landowners, citizens, mapping out where ownership lies, that’s a completely different approach to what we have here, because we have a well-established cadaster system, so trying to understand the issues and challenges surveyors deal with when they’re working with these developing countries, it’s mind-blowing,” he said.

One item that struck Gustafson in discussions at the congress was how critical it is for developing countries to define land rights

Jon Gustafson

Above: Esplanade Bridge in Singapore

7and the process it involves. Many don’t have established land tenure systems or land rights definitions. From that perspective, he said there’s quite a bit of effort aimed at helping build in some due process in impoverished areas, where residents have rights in regard to their land, so that they can’t be evicted at a moment’s notice.

Gustafson also noted that governments in those countries are also involved in establishing those rights. “For the government, the need is to define where those ownership limits are,” he said, “so they can establish a tax base, to support economic development.”

But learning from surveyors working in developing countries was only part of Gustafson’s introduction to the global surveying profession. He said Europe is a treasure trove of information as well. “They have a lot of innovative ways of collecting geospatial data and really any kind of data that relates to all locations on Earth surveyors are involved with,” he stated. “We just need to understand the kinds of tools they use and the processes they follow in producing what they need for customers.”

A Teaching OpportunityBut it wasn’t all learning for Gustafson in Kuala Lumpur. He was able to offer perspectives of how the profession works here as well. “It kind of opens their minds, too,” he said, “and I basically told them why the U.S. isn’t involved in this community, that we don’t see it as relevant. Trying to break down that barrier is going to take a lot of focus points, to help improve the U.S. interaction, and I also was able to share my vision of the profession with the audience.”

In addition, there was a chance to compare commonalities, such as professional standards, which also proved to have some differing approaches to discuss, such as the requirements for licensing.“It varies by jurisdiction, and in the U.S., even from state to state,” Gustafson said, “so you can just imagine around the world, with apprenticeships, education requirements, number of years experience, the criteria of the different types of surveys you need to do.”

Coming Away with KnowledgeBeyond the education, Gustafson said the most impressive part of the congress was being with such a large number of energized and enthusiastic people who were excited about interacting and talking about the surveying profession. “There’s an art and science in surveying. The surveying is definitely on the measurement, but the art is dealing with legal issues, tenure issues and in dealing with people.”

Jon Gustafson is an accomplished professional, consistently recognized as an industry leader in multijurisdictional land surveying practice and policy development. He has over 13 years of experience in a broad array of surveying and mapping activities that include the application of emerging technologies such as terrestrial LiDAR and unmanned mapping systems.

blogs.ulteig.com

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Across the Grid

Over the last few years, in many industries, and specifically in

the power engineering industry, we have been talking about the brain drain. In the wake of experienced engineers retiring, we are finding there is not enough good stock to replenish the dwindling pool. I first heard of this “all-call” for engine-ering resources in 1998 when I started college. I was convinced that I had chosen the correct career path.

Now, here we are 16 years later, and I would say we are no better off as an industry. Power engineering pro-fessions face many challenges, none greater than the perception of, “It’s just not that cool to design substa-tions, power plants and transmission lines.”

As an electrical engineer, I could provide many examples to provi-de a strong rebuttal to that belief. However, as many of you reading this are from other industries, I’d like to speak to a larger concern affec-ting us all, and that is a shortage of skilled workers. With many people promoting a narrower focus on obtaining a college education to get ahead in life, skilled trades have been left in the dust. There are many examples

of too much development planning and not enough workers to do the actual development. From electri-cians, pipe fitters and welders, to plumbers, carpenters and masons, there’s a shortage of skilled workers to complete jobs designed by an ever-dwindling engineering staff. The effects of these shortages are many and wide-ranging.

The need for skilled tradesmen affects salaries, schedules, budgets and resourcing. It’s not a bad deal for those tradesmen already in the industry. But it’s important to note, as the race for skilled workers gets tighter, we will see more positions filled by those who are not 100% competent for the job. That can lead to the possibility of improper instal-lation and/or execution of intended designs, resulting in often-hidden defects that could have disastrous results. As a resident of North Dakota, I get to bear witness to a market with a severe skilled labor shortage, mostly due to the explosion of oil and gas development in the state.Tradesmen hop from one job to the next for the promise of another dollar (someti-mes many more dollars). It leaves industries reeling to fill those posi-tions and keep projects on track.

You may know who Mike Rowe is. For those who don’t, he’s the guy who used to do the Dirty Jobs television show. He has been a vocal supporter of education for skilled trades to the point of establishing a foundation to promote those trades and address what he calls the “skills gap.” That’s what we, as an industry, need to do to address a very real

Mike Kraft is Ulteig’s Account Executive for the Renewable and Power markets. His responsibilities include serving renewable energy clients throughout the US as well as utilities located in the western part of the country. He has more than 10 years of experience as a project and substation engineer. His background encompasses project management, commissioning, protective relaying, SCADA systems, substations/switchyards, conduit/raceway systems, grounding systems, and field investigations and testing.

Where Are the Skilled Workers?

From issues and techniques to new technological developments, Across the Grid keeps you updated on what’s happening in clean power generation.

with Mike Kraft

OUR RESULTS

LOWER COSTS INSTITUTIONALIZEDCHANGE MANAGEMENT

IMPROVED QUALITY

REDUCED RISK

• Trained Professionals• On-time delivery and

Accurate Costing• Integrated Project

Controls

• Foster collaborative relationships

• Clear roles & responsibilities

• Aligned project stakeholders

• First time quality• Application of

lessons learned• Reduce cost of

project delivery

• Consistent work practices• Thorough scope definition• Disciplined Change

Control

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Ulteig is excited to announce that it is now offering

Project Management Services to our clients. In confronting an ongoing confluence of internal and externally-based challenges, our clients need to find efficient, impactful and cost effective approaches to managing the various projects that are vital to key areas of company performance.

The situation is made all the more difficult by the sheer number of variables that need to be managed across all of these projects – ranging from schedule and cost performance, resource allocation, and ensuring that the appropriate and experienced personnel are available/assigned to do the work. To help our electric utility clients meet this need, Ulteig has developed a comprehensive project management service offering that provides the capability assessment, project management expertise and operational controls that ensure our client’s projects are delivered on time and on budget. This service provides a customized, yet flexible set of solutions to meet the unique requirements of our client’s operating environment, avoiding a “one size fits all” approach. Our project management solutions focus on four core areas: People, Organization, Processes, Technology. Ulteig’s Project Management Solutions improve client operating cost and project schedule, quality,

Ulteig Launches Project Management Services

performance and risk management. Our systematic and collaborative methodology provides our client with confidence throughout the process. Since 2010, Ulteig has become increasingly involved with complex multidiscipline renewable projects. Dedicated project management was a conceived solution for this more complex work. The core focus of the project managers was scope and budget management and project schedule coordination. With initial success, a formal project management department became part of Ulteig’s 2012 strategic plan.

Today, the project management department manages 95% of Ulteig’s nearly 1,100 projects delivered from its four technical service areas. As our project

management department matured, it constantly delivered high performance and results both internally and externally. Our clients rapidly realized the value proposition we delivered and we soon became their trusted project management advisor. Over the next few months we will explore in more detail our project management perspectives and services including: importance of relationships; project management maturity; project management assessment and implementation; staffing and resource allocation; project management office; project portfolio management; change management; project management processes and technology. We will explore the challenges faced, solutions to these challenges and value derived through disciplined execution.

Project Management Atom

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CapitalPlans

ImprovementWhat’s a Capital Improvement Plan and Why Do You Need One?

Keeping track of what infrastructure projects need

to be done, their priority, the anticipated cost and how to pay for them can be a difficult task if no one is sure what’s important and what’s not. That’s where a carefully designed capital improvement plan (CIP) can come into play. It helps decision-makers build a road map for the future, while keeping constituents informed of projects that affect them and helping employees plan future workloads. “When a county, city, or any other government agency sets up a CIP, it doesn’t mean they have to commit to a specific course of action, until the future becomes clearer,” Ulteig Project Engineer Aaron Lauinger said. “What it does, is indicate what projects are needed, anticipated funding options and when they might be started.”

CIP benefitsAt the basic level, a CIP is a guide for current and future governing boards, municipal staff, other government entities, and area residents and businesses. It shows planned and anticipated capital expenditures and the reasoning behind that spending. It can also be used as a historical document to show what projects were done

“It’s a multifaceted tool for a community,” Lauinger said, “and it gives a governing board an opportunity to not only improve the community, but get buy-in from people in the community about the projects. These plans also may help bring in ideas for projects and capital spending that the plan writers didn’t think of.”

Getting startedWhile the specific information about projects and their elements will be different for each municipality or agency, there are common threads that need to be considered when building an initial CIP. Length of planGenerally speaking, CIPs are considered short-term initiatives, varying in length from 4-10 years, dependent on what a municipality has for infrastructure, its size and age and other capital needs.Define what’s included in the plan: Once again, each plan differs based on the needs of the municipality or agency. It isn’t intended to include

in the past, along with the costs and whether projects met their expectations. While the main focus of a CIP is often infrastructure, it can used as a basis for other areas as well. Additionally, a CIP:

• Helps focus attention on infrastructure needs and how they are being addressed.

• Provides a means of systematically evaluating proposed projects at one time.

• Shows where projects can be combined or consolidated into a larger project.

• Offers a means of planning for spending, borrowing and debt stabilization.

• Fosters cooperation between different governmental agencies, allowing for combining projects or assisting in a different agency’s planning process.

• Gives an opportunity to promote a community for economic growth.

by Aaron Lauinger

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all projects, i.e. general street repair, but major capital initiatives. This can be actual physical infrastructure, purchase of new or replacement equipment and even land acquisition for anticipated projects.

Outline expected growth and expansion areas: This is a particularly important aspect of a plan, especially in localities that anticipate growth spurts due to industrial, commercial or residential development. It’s also important to consider “just-in-case” scenarios, to anticipate whether existing infrastructure and staffing can support surprise growth. This generally requires an inventory of existing staffing, infrastructure and equipment.Priorities: When a list of anticipated projects and other infrastructure-related needs is developed, each of them needs to be listed where they fall in prioritization. This will help shape timetables, and where available and planned resources will be needed.Financing: Probably the most important resource that will need to be considered is how to pay for the various projects on the list. This is done by revenue forecasts from taxing authority, assistance from other governments, borrowing/bonding and available cash. It may also involve tax or fee increases, depending on how the municipality operates.Public outreach and project justification: Some CIPs may require a local municipality to hold a public hearing about the plan, usually at a meeting of the governing board. As an ongoing part of the CIP, an outline of how residents and business interests will be notified of projects and why they are being included, along with any related

information, should be developed as well. This can help mitigate any concerns from those who are affected. It’s also important to note that a CIP is not a “be-all, end-all” document. It generally needs to be updated annually to reflect completed projects and purchases, changing priorities, financing options and other elements of the plan. Lauinger adds that it also shouldn’t get pulled into describing too much project detail. “Projects in the CIP will nearly always be selected by a municipalities staff members, based on observations, maintenance needs, public comment and so forth,” he pointed out. “The plan itself doesn’t include in-depth research and analysis of a project. That would be addressed in preliminary engineering reports and other studies.” Financing the futureAs with any infrastructure project, ensuring a reliable financing source is critical. That requires an ongoing evaluation of the plan as well as reviewing the latest funding projections. Each project within the plan should indicate primary funding sources, such as special assessments, user fees, bonds, taxes and assistance from state or federal government. Other options may also include cost-sharing with other governing boards to help contain expenditures. This information may also prove to be useful in future projects to help develop more accurate cost estimates. “It’s also a good idea to also develop basic policies for implementing the plan,” Lauinger said. “Discussions with a board’s financial advisor or counsel about the plan, along with reviews of the current financial picture, can ensure project viability and avoid financial issues down the road.”

Aaron Lauinger is an Engineer in the Civil Department of the Technical Resources Group. He has experience in transportation and municipal engineering projects. His background includes involvement in project design and construction administration on DOT and county highway projects. Lauinger has experience with highway design, construction administration, geometric analysis, stormwater hydraulic calculations, water and sanitary sewer systems, retaining walls, construction signing, and phasing as well as permanent signing and pavement markings.

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Around the world, we’re seeing increasing implementation of

renewable electric energy genera-tion to meet energy demands. That means the electric utility industry is in the midst of reinventing the power grid to meet growing energy requirements while maintaining compliance with regulatory require-ments. As the electric utility industry continues to address the significant increase in demand there is an ack-nowledgement by industry leaders the power grid will continue to be reinvented to address the growing set of requirements to meet the needs of us the consumers.

Changing suppliesHistorically, the power grid has been supplied by a limited number of very large, very stable, power generation plants which are managed in real-time, all the time, balancing supply with demand. In other words, we match generation to consumption to maintain grid reliability. Now, with a broad range of small-to-mega power sources coming online, the transmission infrastructure has to deal with not only traditional and renewable generation, but the introduction of bi-directional power flows on the grid. This means substantial investments in technology and storage, to name just two key elements to maintaining grid reliability while

Mission: Critical Infrastructure

Reinventing Critical Infrastructurestill managing supply and demand. As an example, utilities are upgrading the transmission grid for delivery of renewable energy. However, since the large-scale solar and wind farm development is located where access to natural resources is greatest, these areas can be a significant distance from where the energy is required. Upgrades to the system are critical to address voltage instability and grid congestion, while expanding reliable delivery of renewable energy.

Managing integrationI recently attended the Transmission Substation Design and Operations Symposium in Arlington, Texas. The conference is hosted by the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). During a preconference session on the Seamless Integration of Renewable Energy, Dr. Wei-Jen Lee, UTA professor and director of the Energy Systems Research Center, discussed how the delta between variable generation and demand challenge is being managed in Texas. During his presentation, Dr. Lee provided an overview of the development of wind power generation in the state, which has expanded at an annual rate of 25 percent since 1990. This

demonstrates a great power generation potential in many regions of the U.S. According National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Texas is the number one state in regards to the installation capacity of wind generation facilities.

Dr. Lee added, despite various benefits of the wind power, an integration of wind energy into the electric grid is difficult to manage. The main challenge is associated with its unpredictability. Due to the irregularity of wind, the power generated from wind rapidly fluctuates, imposing difficulties both in terms of operation and planning. But in dealing with integrating multiple systems, we’ve only just scratched the surface. In future articles, I’ll be discussing the importance of ensuring these systems can talk to each other using new technology for utility communications systems.

Dan Draughn is Ulteig’s Account Executive in the Critical Infrastructure market and has more than 35 years expererience providing customer-driven technology and energy solutions.

with Dan DraughnMission: Critical Infrastructure focuses on critical intelligent infrastructure and how consumers are becoming energy portfolio managers.

blogs.ulteig.com

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Approaches To Fire Protection in

The IEEE Guide for

Substation Fire Protection (IEEE Std 979-2012), identifies generally accepted substation fire-protection practices for the electric utility industry. Ulteig’s interpretation of IEEE 979 has historically been to view it as a national consensus standard, and not a code or a firm requirement.

Many of Ulteig’s electric utility clients consider IEEE 979 a best practice to guard against the effects of an oil-filled equipment fire. With this in mind, some clients have written their standards and typical substation design criteria around IEEE 979.

The reason for concern is that a fire can cause subsequent spreading of flaming oil to adjacent oil-filled equipment or control enclosures. To better illustrate the hazard, you can view one very common video example of a transformer fire that tends to show up in various industry technical presentations.

One of the more pertinent recommendations of the standard from a design and practical standpoint is the call for the

physical separation of oil-filled equipment, which is particularly applicable in the case of large substation power transformers. The minimum that large power transformers containing 2,000 gallons or more of insulating oil should be located from substation control buildings (control enclosures) is 20 feet, regardless of protection provided for the building walls.

It is recommended in the standard that such large oil-filled power transformer be located at least 50 feet from a building, unless the walls of the building have a two-hour fire rating. Large oil-filled power transformers have a recommended separation (from other, adjacent large oil-filled power transformers) of at least 30 feet of clear space. Otherwise, a fire barrier of some kind is recommended with at least a one-hour fire-resistance rating.

Fire protection between transformers, or transformers and control enclosures, can often be provided by concrete or masonry firewalls. Alternately, new control enclosures can be specified with fire-rated exposed walls, while existing enclosures may be retrofitted with fire-rated panels. A conservative approach to physical separation (and an easy way to remember just one distance)

when designing “greenfield” (new) substations, is to separate all power transformers from other transformers and control enclosures by at least 50 feet, avoiding the need for fire protection provisions. This 50 foot design dimension is ideal whenever possible.

Ulteig’s typical practice is a conservative one that includes formally recommending fire protection to our clients as outlined in IEEE 979 on substation projects. Ultimately, however, the decision to incorporate or not incorporate provisions for fire protection belongs to the owner. In some cases, the owner may elect to decline recommendations based on IEEE 979 due to factors such as cost constraints or schedules. In cases like these, it’s important as a consulting engineer to have a discussion about risk with the owner and inform them of the risk of a transformer fire that could spread to other substation equipment due to burning oil.

Hossein Tabrizi is Ulteig’s Technical Director for Substation. He is responsible for leading the Substation Department in all aspects of project development and implementation, while ensuring quality control and expertise development for his team.

Substationsby Hossein Tabrizi

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for 20 years said, “He worked hard and he loved his family even more.” Allen recalls a daily tradition he and other co-workers had with Kolles. Something Allen calls the football bell. “For many years at the old office, most of us technicians would take a break around 2:30 pm every day. Randy would come around to our cubes with football in hand and bang it on the top of the cube wall,” Allen said. “It was kind of a football bell. We’d all go to the back parking lot and throw the football for 10 or 15 minutes. Some of us would swe-at on the hot days, but Randy really sweated! It was a lot of fun.”

Many of Kolles’ co-workers lent a hand while he fought his cancer by donating time, money, PTO and other resources to him and his family. It’s clear Kolles made an impact on those he worked with, and while his co-workers are still grieving from the loss and the hole he left, many of them take heart in knowing they did what they could to help their friend. Allen simply says, “I miss him every day.” Randy is survived by his wife Erin and five children: Savannah, Gabrielle, Sophia, Landon and Callan.

Randy Kolles

On June 26, 2014, just shy of his 25th work anniversary, Ulteig lost a friend and employee in Randy Kolles. After four long years, Kolles lost his battle with stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggres-sive type of brain cancer.

Kolles was a senior engineering technician at Ulteig’s St. Paul office where his primary responsibilities were to support the transmission group and draft transmission pro-jects. Those who worked with Randy said he was well-liked and focused his time on family and his exacting work standards.

His former supervisor Brad Fossum said, “Randy was a family man. That was the most important thing to him, but he was also very commit-ted to his job and clients. He was very particular about the details of his work and meeting client needs.” Others say he always had a smile on his face, even in the middle of some very tough and lengthy cancer treatments. But those who worked closest to him have even more detailed me-mories about someone they called one of the kindest gentleman ever. Some even saw him as a brother. Kurt Allen, who worked with Randy

In Memorium

Bob Wenger

On October 7, 2014, Bob We-nger unexpectedly passed away. He had been based out of Ulteig’s St. Paul office. In 2002, Wenger joined the company as right-of-way spe-cialist after retiring from Qwest Communications as an engine-er. Upon joining Ulteig, he was excited about a new chapter in his life that would include a new job and a new set of challen-ges. He thrived at Ulteig, beco-ming friends with everyone and taking a genuine interest in his co-worker’s lives. Friend and co--worker Art Dost said of Wenger, “Bob was more than willing to help with anything. He was one of the good guys and was ne-ver mad about anything.”As a huge NASCAR fan, Wenger would often stop the desks of his co-workers Monday mor-nings to rehash the weekend race, and friends say he was a Dale Jr. diehard. He’d recently taken a 50-point lead in his NA-SCAR fantasy league, and with only six weeks left in the season, his son Ryan plans to get the win for his dad.

Those who knew him remember him as a social, but quiet man who showed his feelings thro-ugh kind actions toward others. Dost said of Wenger, “I have had a lot of good times being around Bob, he was always uplifting. He was a companion and will be missed by all.”Wenger is survived by his wife Irene and two grown children, Eric and Ryan.

Randy Kolles Bob Wenger

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A properly designed set of traffic control plans have a goal to do the following:

• Make traffic safety an integral and high priority element of the project

• Avoid inhibiting traffic as much as possible

• Guide motorists in a clear and positive way

• Identify the need for routine inspections of traffic control devices

• Give constant attention to roadside safety

There may be other components of a plan to consider, based on project specifications. It’s critical for public safety to be sure all aspects of the plan are considered carefully and discussed with the appropriate stakeholders in the project.

Civil Matters

With so much demand for road construction accumulating

over the past few years, we’re now seeing a huge increase in the num-ber of roadway and roadway support projects coming up for development in the near future.

With such extensive work being planned, we know we need to prepare for items such as project scheduling, budgeting, material calculations and ordering, and ensuring people and businesses affected by construction are notified of upcoming projects. In all that work, one thing that might get lost in the shuffle is planning for traffic control in the work zones.

The requirements and principles of developing a set of traffic control plans and the plans are a high priority and an integral element of every transportation project. It is a major priority to prepare traffic control plans that are understood by all persons responsible for work zone traffic control.

Bob Youness is an Account Executive in the Government market. He has 38 years of experience being responsible for municipal, county, and state engineering projects.

Traffic Control Planning:Work Zone Traffic Control

with Bob Youness

Civil Matters discusses issues in municipal engineering and development, utilizing Bob’s wealth of experience and knowledge that provide ideas to clients that lead to solutions.

blogs.ulteig.com

16

As soon as I graduated from engineering school, I suc-

cessfully checked something off my bucket list by acquiring my private pilot’s license. Competing household budget demands have prevented me from exercising this privilege. Imagine my exci-tement when the recent drone developments became known – I can now dream of being a drone pilot! Immediately my thoughts shifted to drone applications that would be of value in the transmission/utility world:

• Annual line inspections • Initial route evaluations• Surveying • Site access (acquisition,

construction) • Insulator damage

assessment• Rights-of-way management

(vegetation, encroachments)• Construction progress

monitoring• Asset inventories• Construction damage

evaluation• Vandalism investigation• Storm troubleshooting and

repair planning

The number of potential applications is only limited by one’s imagination, so this is obviously not a complete list. The potential value of drone applications for the utility industry is enormous.

An ongoing challenge is getting the necessary regulatory approvals that will hopefully allow safe drone operation. Utilities, rightly so, are rigorously focused on safety. There will be the understandable tension between applying the new technology as quickly as possible and the rigor required by regulators to ensure safe operation in all airspace environments.

We are all aware of the reality of unexpected consequences. Regulators are trying to “get it right,” but only until drones are widely used in a variety of applications will all the ramifications become better known, as is often the case.

Betweenthe WIRES

Droning On

with Marlon Vogt

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a target date of late 2015 for formulating the rules for drones. Most agree that this is an aggressive schedule and, initially, only small, low-flying drones are expected to have regulations in place. Guidelines for larger units are expected to take much longer to develop. None of this will be effective to mitigate the desire to apply this technology, not only by utilities, but many other industries. Utilities are, and should be, actively involved in the required and ongoing comment period for these regulations.

The FAA has granted some exemptions to allow very limited testing of drone technologies in certain situations. These tests will allow data-gathering and experience that can be brought to bear on the final regulations.

San Diego Gas & Electric has received approval to validate drone technology in a very limited airspace within its service territory. The test areas are located in sparsely populated airspace and are strictly

Between the Wires offers a wide variety of knowledge in discussing the energy industry and the issues it faces. From education of future engineers to critical infrastructure analysis, Marlon offers a unique perspective on the industry and where it’s headed.

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Marlon Vogt is Ulteig’s Account Executive in the Power market. He has more than 30 years of experience with all aspects of planning, design, and construction of 12.5 kV-345 kV distribution and transmission systems, including right-of-way acquisition, design, regulatory coordination, public information meetings, public testimony, project management, and contract administration.

limited to a defined area. The test area also has no residences or businesses. Obviously, this does not reflect typical utility corridor conditions.

However, once SDG&E validates its research, it plans to seek broader approval from the FAA to apply the technology more widely within service territories. Other utilities will likely learn much from the results of these efforts.

How many times as a child or parent have you heard something similar to, “It always seems like a good idea until someone gets hurt!” Not surprisingly, there are already documented (but debated) events where drones have conflicted with regulated airspace and created potential accidents with commercial aircraft. This cannot be allowed to happen, so the cautious approach to formulating the regulations is understandable. U.S. airspace is some of the busiest in the world, so addressing conflict avoidance will be critical.

As those involved in the utility industry, we would be wise to watch these developments closely, because I believe eventually this technology will be a daily part of our work.

Technology innovates and changes exponentially. Regulations innovate and change incrementally.- Author unknown

So I will continue to dream exponentially of being a drone pilot while waiting patiently for incremental regulatory approvals. And perhaps you will see me sitting on my porch waiting for an Amazon drone to deliver my first drone.

18

Alex Ranz and Dane Swartz visited with NDSU engineering students at the school’s Engineering & Tech Expo

Ulteig’s Mark Husted, a nationally ranked runner, traveled Europe this summer, training to better his chances at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Dan Draughn met up with Brett Kilboume, UTC VP of Government and Industry Affairs/Deputy General Counsel, at UTC Region 3

Volunteering for Feed the Children takes the efforts of a lot of our St. Paul team

To keep up in business, ongoing leadership skills training is part of our employee development program

Engineers in Action

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Our amateur chefs competed in our annual chili cook-off to celebrate Employee Stock Ownership Program Month

Blood donor drives are an ongoing project at our office locations

When you need potatoes packed at the Great Plains Food Bank, who better than our project management team

Helping senior citizens with housecleaning is all in a day’s work for United Way Day of Caring and our Fargo volunteers

The IT crew helped organize the kitchen at the Dorothy Day House in Moorhead

New Substation Testing Lab during MIPSYCON Open House

Every year, our employees gather school supplies for kids that need them

by Marti Nyman

20

The Powerof Vision

If anyone has been in business long enough, they’re heard and seen their fair share of vision statements.

Depending on the company, these range from sometimes excessively ambitious statements that seek to change the world, to those that are nothing more than an extension of the company’s operating plan. Sadly, in many of these situations, there is a missed opportunity to inspire, align and unify the company and its employees. Instead of giving people a credible and motivating reason for why they come to work and passionately believe in what they’re doing, they are simply seen as internal “marketing” pieces or worse yet, a slogan.

It doesn’t have to be that wayA properly crafted vision statement paints the picture of a compelling future that the firm and all of its employees are actively engaged in making happen. It’s not easy to accomplish, nor is it impossibly out of reach. It’s not the company’s strategy, but rather a statement of what its true, higher purpose is. And every firm, regardless of the business they’re in, has a higher purpose that’s future oriented. The attainment of this vision may take years to accomplish. It isn’t always about what happens next quarter or next year.I’ve had the personal experience of being in organizations where the vision of the firm was inspiring, helped to align everyone’s efforts and provided a reason for coming to work every day. I’ve also been in organizations where the vision was more of an afterthought and never fulfilled its potential. One company continues to thrive and grow, the other has since gone out of business. You can guess which one is which (hint – it’s in the same order).

I’d like to extend to you the invitation to revisit your vision statement and encourage you to think about why having a meaningful, relevant vision matters. Your vision should be based upon three things: It should be aspirational – giving employees a worthwhile goal that everyone is aiming for; it must create alignment – ensuring that company

goals and strategies have a common “true north;” and it needs to be memorable – making sure that it can be easily communicated and lived out.

Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your vision statement. Ask yourself this: Does your vision statement meet these standards, and if not, are you committed to investing the time to develop one that does?

At Ulteig, we recently went through the process of updating our vision to better align our company, our culture, our client focus and reason for being. Our vision is now: Improving lives by providing the services that create more reliable connections throughout North America. The primary reason for committing the time and effort into creating this new vision was that we need to ensure that our vision is fully aligned with where we have set our long-term growth and client goals.

Finally, a well-crafted vision is enduring – it speaks to a long view of what the company will be when it fulfills its primary reason for existence. You’ll know when you’ve got it right, when, 5, 10 and even 15 years later, the vision of the company is just as relevant, meaningful and aligning as it was when first crafted. You’ll know it when employees go home at night with the feeling their contributions made a difference, knowing they are part of something greater and look forward to the next morning for the chance to do it again. And at the end of the day, that’s what matters.

Marti Nyman serves as Ulteig’s Chief Client Development Officer (CCDO). He plans and directs goals for Ulteig’s sales, marketing, account executive, and business development activities. Prior to working at Ulteig, Nyman held positions at GE, Ericsson, ADC, Best Buy, and UnitedHealth Group where he was responsible for sales, new business development, strategic planning, and market development. He was most recently employed as the director of strategy and innovation at UnitedHealth Group.

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The PowerPROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Princeton Public Utilities GIS System PlanningUlteig provided turn-key utility mapping services using GIS technology for Princ-eton Public Utilities. The project, which was completed in May 2014, consisted of using GPS to survey the water, street lights and electrical power distribution systems. The GPS survey data provided highly accurate and detailed information about each utility, including integrating the client’s customer meter database with the service points. Ulteig also provided a mobile mapping solution for the field maintenance crew, incorporating GPS, and providing the ability to conduct inspections and sketches in the field. This system has proven to be a solid in-vestment that improved how staff access and share information in the field and office.

Midtown Substation – MinneapolisUlteig recently installed a new 115-13.8kV Xcel Energy substation in south Min-neapolis. The project was needed to meet local electrical demand and is unique in that a Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) was utilized. A GIS is a high-voltage sub-station in which the major structures are contained in a sealed environment with sulfur hexafluoride gas as the insulating medium. The cutting-edge technology is often utilized where a substantial need to develop technology to make substa-tions as compact as possible exists. The urban location of the project required a compact footprint, thus utilizing the GIS design and other urban design and construction principles.

The Regulatory Permit required aesthetic screening of the substation to address public concerns, and Ulteig worked with Architectural Alliance to bring life to a 30-foot-high screen wall which shields the substation from plain view. Aesthetic landscaping was also used to beautify the site, maintaining value to the adjacent homes. In addition, a 25-foot-high sound wall was placed around the site, which reduces transformer noise, doubles as a firewall, and was constructed as a precast concrete wall. Due to the existing poor compressible soils and limited construc-tion schedule, foundations were constructed on deep piers and micro piles. In addition, wide flange and tubular members were utilized to support electrical equipment and wall aesthetics. The project itself was complex due to the geo-graphic and site-specific factors which had to be considered, and because of the urban location of the project, many considerations had to be given to the neigh-boring houses and community at large.

6th Street Parking Ramp – BismarckIn mid-September, Ulteig completed work on the downtown 6th Street parking ramp in Bismarck, N.D., and on October 1, the ramp opened for business. Ulteig assembled a design team in 2006 in order to provide the compre-hensive design and construction administration services for the ramp. Ulteig led the design team and provided the civil, electrical, mechanical and landscape architectural design for the project. The ramp will serve as a huge benefit for the City by adding nearly 500 parking spots to the downtown area.

22Utility vegetation management has long represented one of the greatest challenges to electric utilities. It is often the largest preventive maintenance investment, greatest contributor to system reliability and impacts every key external and internal electric utility stakeholder.

Progressive electric utilities continuously look towards

optimizing how they can approach the management of their vegetation management programs primarily due to increased regulatory scrutiny, deregulation, mergers and acquisitions, and a general discontent by executive management of the performance of their current programs. Traditional vegetation management methodologies are fast becoming a thing of the past.

When you begin to investigate utility vegetation management, traditional obsolescence, the root cause, cannot be directed to any one factor. There are multiple levels that need to be investigated and clearly understood. However, there are three main categories that can be initially identified. They include executive management, program operations and sourcing strategy. Each of these categories has significant influence over the current state of the utility vegetation management industry. The significant value utility vegetation management adds to an electric utility and its stakeholders is well documented. Because

most utility vegetation management organizations typically operate from a highly traditional perspective, the performance improvement value opportunity is often not entirely realized. To extract the maximum performance improvement value opportunity, the application of progressive best practice utility vegetation management strategies must be applied.

There are eight primary progressive strategies that drive tangible and sustainable performance.

They include: • Asset management• Strategic sourcing• Business process reengineering• Performance management• Project management• Information technology• Business management • Change management

The successful utility vegetation management organizations of the future will incorporate and integrate each of these strategies into the management, operations and work culture of their vegetation management organizations.

A new age of utility vegetation management is emerging in the

Vegetation Management: Part I

electric utility industry. It is very clear that traditional work practices and methodologies are ineffective and produce unacceptable levels of performance. The electric utility industry has a significant opportunity to resolve the traditional challenges of budget stability, resource allocation and system reliability specific to utility vegetation management. The use of these progressive strategies within utility vegetation management programs will ensure the long-term viability of the delivery system.

Utility vegetation management is an important factor for electric utilities. To help them develop a better understanding of UVM, future articles will discuss key utility vegetation management topics such as importance of transmission right-of-way clearance; fire danger associated with trees and electric utility lines; how engineering influences tree related electric utility reliability; keys to proper transmission right-of-way easement acquisition; the value of project management on utility vegetation management; and the influence engineering can have on storm restoration efforts.

23

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Great people. Great projects. Great Opportunity.

Ulteig3350 38th Ave. S. Fargo, ND 58104

ND Ready Mix & Concrete Products Association. Annual MeetingJanuary 13-14 • Minot, NDwww.ndconcrete.com/

RMEL Physical and Cyber Security ConferenceJanuary 20-21 • Lone Tree, COwww.rmel.org/RMEL/Library/Event_Brochures/Transmis-sion/2015/Physical_and_Cyber_Security_Conference.aspx

ND County Engineers ConferenceJanuary 21-23 • Bismarck, NDwww.ndace.org/

City Engineers Association of MN ConferenceJanuary 28-30 • Brooklyn Center, MNwww.ceam.org/

Electric Light & Power Executive Conference February 2 • San Diego, CAwww.elpconference.com/index.html

Distributech Conference & ExhibitionFebruary 3-5 • San Diego, CAwww.distributech.com/index.html

ND Rural Water Expo and Technical ConferenceFebruary 11-13 • Bismarck, NDwww.ndrw.org/events/expo-2015/

North Dakota Statewide Housing ConferenceFebruary 25-26 • Bismarck, NDwww.ndhfa.org/About/Conference.html

UTC Region 7 MeetingFebruary 27 • Dallas, TXwww.utc.org/event/2014-region-7-meeting

Upper Midwest Aviation SymposiumMarch 1-3 • Fargo, NDwww.ndac.aero/umas.htm

MN Rural Water and Wastewater Technical ConferenceMarch 3-5 • St. Cloud, MNwww.mrwa.com/techconf2014.html

UTC Region 3 Spring MeetingMarch 3-6 • Orlando, FLwww.utc.org/event/2013-spring-utc-region-3-meeting

MN Clerks and Finance Officers Assn. ConferenceMarch 17-20 • Red Wing, MNwww.mcfoa.org/

UTC Region 6March 22-25 • Overland Park, KSwww.utc.org/mid-central-region-utc-region-6

Annual Wastewater Operators Conference/MPCAMarch 25-27 • Brooklyn Park, MNwww.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/water/water-types-and-pro-grams/wastewater/wastewater-technical-assistance/wastewater--operator-training-seminars.html

ND Asphalt ConferenceMarch 31-April 1 • Bismarck, NDwww.ndltap.org/events/asphalt/

UPCOMING EVENTS