Administration

Student Interns Join DOT ‘Ohana

After a hiatus during summer 2020, HDOT was able to resume our annual program to recruit local students for real-world work experience to augment their ongoing education. Several students were hired this summer, and with the approach of the new school year many have now moved on, but we want to take the opportunity to highlight a few of the students whose contributions and accomplishments were of great help to some of our HDOT offices this summer:

The Oahu District Office of Highways Division had two student interns working on site this summer: Isaaq Branson (left) and Ray Valdez (right). Both Isaaq and Ray are students at Waipahu High School, Class of 2022 and will be starting their senior year this fall. Both are interested in attending UH Manoa after graduation. Isaaq plans to major in Civil Engineering, while Ray is interested in Mechanical Engineering.

By: Alan Hilton * Maka Kamake‘eaina

When asked about their work experience this summer, Issaq said “I’ve experienced desk work and the different duties as an engineer” and Ray said he “learned how engineers communicate with each other and contractors.” Issaq and Rey were welcomed members of the HWY-O team, and have their best wishes for great success in their future academic pursuits.

Highways interns Isaaq Aseret and Ray Valdez scour state route system maps of Oahu.

Pallas Beddow joined HDOT as a student intern after graduating from Kamehameha Schools this summer. Pallas has been working for Administration Division’s Business Management Office (BUS) - Office Services section. Pallas been helping with several projects supporting our digital documents archive, the DOT Content Management System (DOTCMS), and also assisting the BUS mail messengers, including a few ride-alongs on their daily routes around HDOT facilities on Oahu. He’ll be attending UCBerkeley campus

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this fall, where he plans to pursue a science major in physics.

Kenji Toyama is a recent graduate of Kaiser High School in Hawaii Kai. This summer, he’s working among several offices in Admin Division, including PER, BUS and PPB. He currently indexing documents in BUS office for upload in the DOTCMS system.

Kenji will be attending Pacific University in Oregon this fall, where he plans to study physical therapy and sports medicine.

Cathy Clark Joins Computer Systems and Services

By: Darren Cantrill

Congratulations to Catherine “Cathy” Clark who started with the HDOT CSS Office on June 16th.

A Colorado native, Cathy moved to Hawaii over two decades ago to open multiple Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchises on Oahu for over 15 years.

Cathy started her career in HDOT in August 2017, in the Harbors Division – Oahu District as an Account Clerk III and was promoted into the open Secretary II position in CSS.

When not working, Cathy stays actively involved in the life of her two children, volunteers with community organizations she finds worthwhile, and gets outside to walk, hike, and work-out.

Please stop by and welcome Cathy Clark to the CSS Office.

Administration

What It’s Like to Visit the Tetsuo Harano Tunnels

By: Jai Cunningham

A handful of members of the HDOT Administration team got a chance to visit the Tetsuo Harano Tunnels on Tuesday afternoon.

They are the longest tunnels in Hawaii at roughly one mile in length.

The two tunnels allow traffic to flow from Halawa Valley on the Pearl Harbor side of the Island to Haiku Valley on the windward side. And here’s a little trivia question for you, which side is longer Kaneohe bound or Halawa bound?

In the behind the scenes visit we got to see the tunnel inside the tunnels, a service corridor that runs the entire length of the passageway through the Koolau Mountains. There is even an exploratory tunnel that was dark and muddy, which was dug out before construction to give potential bidders an idea of what kind of of rock and soil they’d be dealing with during construction.

If you guessed Halawa-bound, you are right by 185 feet, or roughly a little more than half a football field!

Administration

Live With Purpose and Improve Your Well-Being By: Melanie Martin

Ever wonder why you woke up this morning? In a literal sense, it’s because we have to go to work so that we can provide for ourselves and our families. Figuratively speaking however, we wake up in the morning because all of us have a purpose in life. People with a strong sense of purpose, live longer, healthier lives. According to the Blue Zones Project, a sense of purpose is one of nine lifestyle habits of the world’s healthiest, and longestlived people. People with a deep sense of purpose live up to seven years longer than those living without purpose. Studies have found that living a purposeful life keeps a person healthier and enhances one’s well-being.

According to WebMD Magazine (March 2020), a new study from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, suggests that if you feel you have a purpose in life, you’re more likely to feel both physically and mentally well on a daily basis. The researchers found that people who felt they had meaning in their lives would more likely feel physically and mentally healthy, while those who were still searching felt less healthy. This was true especially for older people.

Stephanie Hooker, Ph.D, M.P.H, of the University of Minnesota attempts to clarify how meaning and good health may be connected in a paper published in the Review of General Psychology (July 2017). She states that having meaning in your life may reduce stress, improve coping skills and produce healthier lifestyle choices. Reduced stress – According to Hooker, being aware of what matters in life puts things in perspective, and daily annoyances and irritations such as traffic jams, ill-behaved co-workers or a demanding boss aren’t blown out of proportion.

Coping skills – preliminary studies suggest that people who feel as if their lives are meaningful choose more effective coping strategies when faced with a problem or challenge. One study found that patients with arthritis undergoing knee replacement surgery who had a strong sense of purpose before surgery were associated with more active coping and better physical health after surgery.

Health promoting behaviors – “People who have a greater sense of meaning may be more likely to take care of themselves because they feel as if their lives matter more,” says Hooker. “They’ve got this ultimate purpose that they’re trying to achieve, and health is the foundation for being able to do that.”

Need help finding your purpose in order to live longer better? I recommend taking a Blue Zones workshop at the end of the month. Sign up here. PURPOSE WORKSHOP.

Administration

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

By: Zachariah Wadsack

Believe it or not, in today’s modern times sexual harassment in the workplace still exists.

By now we should all know the basics on how to avoid severe types of infractions, but we can all use a reminder of how easily one can cross the line into violating polices.

There are many forms of sexual harassment that occur in the workplace, quid pro quo (this for that), unwanted touching, sexual comments or jokes, leering, repeatedly asking someone out, etc.., but not all instances are so obvious.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind, is that sexual harassment can and does occur even in instances that the harasser believed their actions were harmless.

We can easily forget that everyone is different, and that everyone will react in their own individual way to the same event.

Actions that would not bother us, may be very troubling to others.

It is important to understand and remember that it is not the intent of the action, but how it is perceived that has the biggest impact.

For example, we may feel that telling someone how nice they look is a compliment and should make them feel good about themselves. However, they could feel that it is creepy, and take it in a very bad way, even if it was meant to be harmless.

Telling a joke that has sexual content, or may be offensive to a certain sex, or having pictures or objects of a crude or sexual nature occurs often in the workplace as well.

Remember, not everyone will have the same sense of humor that you do.

Furthermore, people often portray a certain exterior, but have completely different inner thoughts.

Going back to the example given earlier, a person may appear as if they are pleased with hearing that they look nice, but secretly feel that the statement made them feel harassed.

As such, we can not base if our actions are perceived to be okay solely on how people respond to them.

People will not always tell you when they are bothered or feel harassed.

So, with so many pitfalls and differences in perception, how do we avoid possibly offending, or causing someone to feel harassed?

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HARASSMENT continued from page 8 Do we have to be robots at work? The answer is to remember that you are being paid to be professional.

Read and fully understand your sexual harassment policy.

Keep the jokes and behavior at work clean, avoid comments that can be perceived as sexual or “hitting” on someone. It is important to remember that although your co-workers may be your friends, they are also your professional colleagues.

It is okay to have fun at work, but always treat co-workers with a professional level of respect.

Mahalo from DEP-S

As some of you know already, my last day with HDOT will be on August 31st. I am leaving with a tinge of sadness as I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Director Jade Butay and you -- our HDOT ‘Ohana -- and have come to enjoy a friendship with many of you since my move from

Maui to Oahu in January 2019.

You’ve inspired me to keep learning and growing as much as I can. And, as such, I am excited to move on to a new challenge at the State Department of Taxation, effective September 1st.

Thank you all for being so great to work with. It’s truly been an honor serving on Governor David Ige’s cabinet and working collaboratively with such a dedicated team whose mission of providing a safe, efficient, accessible, and sustainable inter-modal transportation system is vital to our economy and quality of life.

All the Best to You & Yours, Lynn Araki-Regan

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Emergency Preparedness Info Link on ServiceNow Employee Portal By: Darren Cantrill

Please visit the new Emergency Preparedness website located on the ServiceNow Employee Portal. This new website gathers information from Ready.gov, Hawaiian Electric, DOH, Weather forecasts for every Island, National Hurricane Center, the Windy website, HNN Hurricane Spaghetti Model and an Earthquake map from Volcanic Discovery.

This website is available to everyone in HDOT and can be found here.

1. Once logged into the ServiceNow Employee Portal, look for the Emergency Preparedness Link:

2. Browse through the information presented: 3. You can click on “Make A Plan”, “Build A Kit”, and “Be Informed” to take you to sites with more information.

4. See complete website below:

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Philippines Now Included in Safe Travels Program

By: Jade Butay

On July 15, 2021, travelers from the Philippines can bypass the State of Hawaiʻi’s mandatory 10-day quarantine if they take a COVID-19 test from a trusted testing and travel partner (TTTP). Many have been eagerly waiting for Philippines to be included in Hawai‘i’s Safe Travels Program.

Governor David Ige

and I met with officials from the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu including Consul General Joselito Jimeno and Consul Grace Anne Bulos and Philippine Airlines (PAL) executives including President Gilbert Santa Maria, North America Regional Head Bryan Lim, and Honolulu Area Manager Soledad Solleza on July 29.

Cognizant of the large Filipino community which calls Hawai‘i home, the governor said that the state looks forward to restarting and increasing international travel with the Philippines on a “more robust and regular basis.”

Consul General Jimeno expressed the Philippine government’s appreciation for Governor’s decision to include the Philippines in its Safe Travels Program as a trusted testing partner. This allows Philippine Airlines (PAL) passengers traveling from Manila to Honolulu to bypass the state’s mandatory 10-day quarantine as long as they are able to present a negative PCR test taken at a PAL-accredited laboratory 72 hours before departure from the Philippines.

PAL President Santa Maria noted that this is a great convenience for passengers from the Philippines as prior to this service travelers would need to quarantine or get a test on the mainland or another country with a TTTP before arriving to Honolulu.

Gov. Ige expressed appreciation for the community’s endeavors to increase the vaccination rate through FilCOM CARES, noting that people-to-people links are sometimes more effective in getting the message across and convincing people to be vaccinated. The Consul General said that the Consulate also has been supportive of the community’s efforts through regular reminders via radio and other media partners.

Administration

HDOT Location for Lunch & Learn Recordings By: Darren Cantrill

Last month, the Computer Systems & Services (CSS) Office introduced the Employee Self-Service Portal at https://hidot.service-now.com. A recap:

1. Type in your State email address in the “Enter State Email Address” field (ex: user@hawaii.gov)

2. The portal utilizes your Office 365 username and password. Type these in:

3. Welcome to the DOT Employee Portal:

CSS partnered with ETS and Microsoft to provide overviews of Adobe and most Microsoft O365 products which were recorded and saved to the Lunch and Learn Knowledge Base.

1. You can type in the product (in this case, Excel) and the search bar will return results based on your level of access. Selecting one of the choices will open that training session video:

2. Selecting one of the choices will open that training session video:

3. Another way to access the Lunch and Learn section is to select the Knowledge Bases “Link”:

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4. This opens a new webpage that looks like this: 5. Select the “Lunch and Learn” tile and it will open a new webpage with links to all the past Lunch and Learn recorded sessions.

Note: As more training classes become available, they will be recorded and saved here.

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Moving forward on the management of the pandemic, the governor said that the government will focus on increasing the vaccination rate and reminding people of remaining vigilant and taking the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, including mask wearing, physical distancing, and hand hygiene. As the new school year starts on August 3, these measures will be even more important to ensure a healthy and safe environment for in-person learning.