Ubits January / February 2020
Looking ahead
Mar. 14 Bowl-a-Thon Benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of Pierce County
Year-end work results set a foundation for 2020 Tacoma Public Utilities identified an aggressive round-up of results from work that occurred in 2019 during our annual All Employee Meetings last November. Executives highlighted the organization’s focus on preparations in four areas that will keep employees busy in the New Year. The roadmap aligned resilience (people, systems, and processes), economic development, environmental stewardship, and equitable access to services –to improve how TPU serves our diverse and growing communities. Highlights of Our Successes
1. EQUITABLE ACCESS: • Worked to remove barriers to services for people in our community.
In this issue
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Focus on equity and inclusion
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• Worked on building equity and inclusion into our workforce over time to better reflect the diverse community we serve. • Used the City’s Equity & Empowerment Framework to engage the full potential of employees where innovation thrives from unique perspectives to find more holistic solutions to problems. • The Community Connection Leadership Team hosted over 45 events — allowing employees to volunteer time, give money and goods back to the community personally and professionally. Last year $338,000 went to organizations in our community. Continued on page 2
Emergency response readiness
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Community Connection calendar
Employee Meetings continued from page 1 2. RESILIENCE: • People: Identify three KPIs – Safety corrective actions encouraged employees to hold management accountable for mitigating issues. About 80 corrective actions were required City-wide within 90 days — TPU did them in nine. – Good catch near-miss program developed with the help of employees who helped define, report, and collect data. – Leadership site visits in the field and workspaces helped managers better understand employee’s work, listen to their concerns, and determine performance targets for 2020. • Systems: Deployment of Advanced Meters – Many teams worked to enhance customer services like monthly billing and pre-pay. A new customer portal will also help people manage their bills better soon. Tacoma Power will have the ability to monitor our electrical system in real-time and repair outages faster. Tacoma Water will also have new views into our water system it never had prior. – Help customers understand their water use by sharing information about how water meters in the ground communicate with a tower, on how we fix them, and how our new field app allows employees to survey, take photos, and report from their devices out in the field. Employees completed 60,000 surveys in three months. – Prepared Customer Services for advanced meter deployment by evaluating operations without field investigators, and how to help protect vulnerable populations and those who need services for life-sustaining equipment. • Processes: Update to reflect new systems – Emergency preparedness helps build a more resilient utility. New Emergency Manager Courtney Rose began conducting drills such as oil spill drills at Tacoma Rail. She’ll continue to work with professionals throughout the utility on preparedness.
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Employees ask pointed questions about plans for 2020 with particular interest in advanced meter deployment and safety at TPU.
3. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: • Tacoma Power worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on our downstream fish passage and a biological timeline. • Power Generation continued work on our $2 million investment in fish and habitat restoration and reintroduction of fish. • Government Affairs worked on legislative engagement for electric transportation incentives and renewable energy credits. Hydropower is now renewable under the Clean Energy Act.
4. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: • We engaged with our business units, the City, and other economic development partners to help bring businesses and jobs to Tacoma. That work will help improve the pipeline of our workforce and support redevelopment. • A focus on workforce development with educational partners to create internships, and other programs that reach young people in our community aims to reach future generations of workers and customers.
— ACCOUNTABLE TO YOU —
Organic strategy aims to focus on genuine equity and inclusion at TPU team is now working with Mia as advisory to the utility’s work to advance equity. Mia will hire two additional full-time employees to support the TPU satellite Office of Equity and Human Rights (OEHR), and the work that is already being done at TPU by several employees and workgroups. “We’re taking a more organic approach to strategy. This work involves building knowledge and skills but also winning hearts and minds. Therefore, our approach has to be flexible, adaptable, responsive, and iterative,” Mia said. “If we aim to make a culture shift, we must do things differently to get different results.” To support culture shift in the four focus areas at TPU, Mia and her team plan to work closely with workgroups to develop case studies that apply an equity lens in each area, and look first at successes that make particular services more equitable. Examples exist outside the City, and within the City, like the LED streetlights project, but few at TPU. Tacoma Water considered equity during our lead gooseneck project before the equity lens existed, but more work remains ahead.
Mia says the committee and her team plan to look for other potential projects for review as case studies like the distribution of Pay Boxes for TPU customers. “The City and TPU will also work on identifying equity and inclusion milestones,” Mia said. “Take, for example, the City’s goal for the workforce to reflect the community. We began to incorporate implicit bias training for interview panels, particularly for apprenticeships, and will begin to look at the impact on each apprenticeship cohort.” The committee and OEHR will also look at making connections between equity and inclusion and internal L.E.A.D. principles and, in time, advance equity in policies and service delivery to people throughout our community.
Director Jackie Flowers and the Public Utility Board have committed to achieving equity and inclusion in our workforce, service delivery, policy decision making, and community and stakeholder engagement. The employee survey led to management’s fourth key behavior that “We will treat employees fairly and equitably.” These key behaviors were part of the leadership training that completed in 2019. As a result, our utility is now gearing up for a more organic approach toward a culture shift — starting first with a solid foundation for supporting pilot projects that will introduce equity and inclusion, and test the tides of change. In 2014, the Tacoma City Council adopted the Equity and Empowerment framework, which established a mission and vision for the City (including TPU) and five goals — equity in our workforce, community outreach and engagement, services delivery, human rights, and policy decision-making. By 2015, the City stood up its Office of Equity and Human Rights with 10 employees to support it. By the end of 2018, the City hired Mia Navarro to work with TPU as our Policy and Program Manager to lead the efforts. Early in 2019, the PUB adopted its first strategic directive entitled Equity and Inclusion. A TPU Equity Committee comprised of eight representatives from each division appointed by our executive
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bits & pieces
TPU invests in boosting its expert emergency response readiness Summer and fall of 2019 was a busy time for Emergency Management planning at Tacoma Public Utilities. Courtney Rose, our new Emergency Manager, brought her many years of experience in emergency planning, training, and exercises with local, state, federal, and tribal government to the utility. Since she started, Courtney has been hard at work reviewing our emergency response protocols, and leading exercises to ensure employees have the proper training in case a real emergency occurs. “I’m excited to use my experience and network from nearby agencies to benefit our community at a more local level here at TPU,” Courtney said. In her first few months, Courtney began work to update the Continuity of Operations Plan, develop a safety communications protocol for employees, plan a campaign for National Preparedness Month, and conduct exercises in coordination with city, state, and federal representatives. Here’s a peek at some of the work:
Tacoma Rail Oil Spill Contingency Plan Exercise At the end of October 2019, Tacoma Rail and TPU employees led by Alan Matheson donned color-coded vests to identify their roles in the annual Oil Spill Contingency Plan exercise drill required by Washington state. Representatives from Tacoma Fire, Washington State’s Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Coast Guard also joined our staff for a full day of practice. The exercise
involved a mock used motor oil spill that blocked traffic and had the potential to seep out into Commencement Bay. The team rehearsed all aspects of the response, including operations, planning, logistics, wildlife management, communications, liaising with government and community stakeholders, and estimating costs for cleanup and claims.
TPU Cyber Defense Exercise
In mid-November 2019, Utility Technology Services’ Charles Spencer led employees in a Cyber Incident Response tabletop exercise involving TPU and General Government, Pierce County, City of Tacoma, Washington National Guard, and Washington State Emergency Management Division, called “GridEX.” GridEX is coordinated through the North American Electric Reliability Corporation for utilities and government partners to exercise responses to simulated cyber and physical security attacks. The exercise involved a mock malware campaign, and participants discussed how they would respond as the hypothetical situation unfolded. Exercises like this allow the design of efficient incident response that enables the utility to continue and recover essential services during a cyber-event. “The services we provide and our business operations can have an impact on public health and safety, so it is critical that we are prepared to respond when an unanticipated threat comes up,” Courtney said. Employees can expect more exercises and updated protocols in 2020 as our Emergency Management function develops under Courtney’s leadership.
Click! Network will transition to Rainier Connect in 2020 In late October and early November of 2019, the Tacoma Public Utility Board and City Council voted to approve agreements to transition the operation of Click! Network to the internet service provider, Rainier Connect. The decision followed years of TPU developing multiple business models to consider in hopes of finding a way to sustain the Click! Network financially. Based on
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extensive public outreach to determine policy goals, the public-private partnership model will result in Rainier Connect using the Click! Network to provide video and broadband services. The City of Tacoma will retain ownership of the network. After finalizing the votes to move forward, TPU began the transition to Rainier Connect. The utility expects to complete the change in early 2020. Many Click! employees’ soldiered on as policy decisions were under consideration
and kept the network operating while looking for new opportunities. To date, more than 43% have found other jobs at the City of Tacoma, 8% have or will retire, and 3% found positions at other organizations. “We are so grateful to our staff for continuing to work diligently on behalf of our customers during uncertain times,” said Tenzin Gyaltsen, general manager of the Click! Network. “We know this has not been easy, and we are committed to finding soft landings for all Click! employees.”
Employees highlight lucrative future careers for students during Pierce County Career Day As high school students plan their futures, Pierce County Career day offers an opportunity for them to learn about alternative career opportunities in the construction, transportation, manufacturing, and utility industries. TPU employees step up to engage local youth with hands-on activities that shed light on alternative paths tapped and loaded with potential. Pierce County Career Day draws hundreds of students to the Washington State Fairgrounds each year to increase their awareness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)-related careers. The goal is to attract skilled workers in these industries as they plan to enter the
workforce in the future. Employees from Power, Water, and Rail have a big presence during the event with demonstrations, hands-on activities, and interactive exhibits. As experts in their fields, they provide in-depth knowledge about how STEM education can lead to amazing jobs. Tacoma Power’s activities included bucket truck rides, a meter demonstration with a lamp that lights up, and a disc that turns faster with more electricity. A Hi-Rail truck, tools of the trade, and talk about working for the railroad industry highlighted Rail’s participation. Students learn how meters function to measure the water going to homes and businesses and how Tacoma
Water taps a pipe full of water to create a new service. “This demonstration illustrates how our crews work together as a team under pressure to serve our customers and create new services,” said Tacoma Water Workforce Development Program Manager, Valerie Sowell. “It’s hard and satisfying work!” For students who may not thoroughly think about their futures or have a definitive plan, the day provides an opportunity to increase awareness about potential careers in growing industries that many may not otherwise consider.
Equity 101 seeks to lay foundation for equity and inclusion at work Kim Edwards and Sami Pielak install a bell joint clamp as part of the Tacoma Link Extension.
Still working to support local businesses during Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension Our employees are proud to be part of the project extending the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension through downtown Tacoma. Thanks to our employees’ dedication to problem-solving, local businesses remain open during construction. The project more than doubles the length of the Tacoma Link, starting with a relocated Theater District Station, and six new stations. The new stations connect to popular destinations such as the Stadium District, Wright Park, and major medical facilities before reaching the new Hilltop neighborhood terminus at Martin Luther King. Jr. Way, and S. 19th Street. The project is 2.4 miles long and requires our employees to relocate water and power utilities the entire stretch. Some of the existing underground pipes are 100 years old. The improvements will provide more reliable services. Our TPU key account executives work closely with Sound Transit and the businesses located along the route to keep service interruptions to a minimum. The Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension opens in 2022.
As the population of our community climbs and grows more diverse, creating equity and inclusiveness is more important than ever for the City of Tacoma and Tacoma Public Utilities as we serve our communities. Equity 101 training is helping the City meet its goal of a workforce that understands equity better. Equity 101 helps employees examine why inequities exist in our country, region, and Tacoma. The training identifies deliberate and unintentional marginalization of people of color, women, and people with disabilities by sharing information and small stories that illuminate larger issues. The class also clarifies the role institutions like City government play in creating and maintaining disparities. With the objective that equitable services are a foundation for our organization, the City’s goal is to stop intentionally and unintentionally sustaining inequities in our community. The City had a goal of ensuring that between 2017 and 2019, 80% of its workforce takes Equity 101. General government is currently at about 90%. TPU started a bit later so we have a slightly different goal. To date, 25% of TPU employees (about 370) have taken Equity 101. Our utility has a goal of 25% per year until all of our employees complete the training.
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Powerful poverty immersion workshop gives perspective to leaders On an early morning in October 2019, the gym at the Boys & Girls Club of South Puget Sound transformed. Dozens of tables and hundreds of chairs that began as clutter on the floor became a cityscape of services, stores, and homes navigated by families trying to survive. “Even with my previous experience of being low-income and struggling, it was eye-opening,” said Francine Artis, who runs the Tacoma Public Utilities Customer Solutions Office. Artis is the reason more than 50 members of TPU’s senior leadership met at the gym. It was her idea to bring Washington State University’s interactive workshop to the utility. “Unless you’ve experienced poverty, it’s difficult to truly understand. This workshop will help us bridge that gap,” she said. “Our colleagues at Seattle Public Utilities participated in a Poverty Immersion and used the experience to examine many of their policies and practices for unintended impacts to households on limited incomes.” Thirty percent of our TPU customers are low-income. Facilitators gave TPU leaders real-life situations. “Everyone had the chance to take on the identity of a low-income person, and walk in their shoes for a virtual month,” said
Martha Aitken, assistant director of Washington State University’s Metropolitan Center for Applied Research and Extension. “They experienced the stress, the challenges, and the circumstances that arise when your income and expenses are off-balance.” Employees from Water, Rail, Power, Rates, Communications, Customer Services, Advanced Meters, and Administration participated. Starting in chairs in the middle of the room, they received packets with identities that forced them to look at every dollar differently. “This is what our customers really face,” said Hollie Coates-Seamster, who ran the utility company for the workshop. “When they come to our counter or call in and say I cannot afford to pay my bill, that is not a choice for a lot of them.” Hollie is part of Francine’s team in Customer Solutions. She asked to run the utility counter for the exercise because she wanted to apply the same rules that Tacoma residents face for leaders – everything from fees to condemnation. “Once your service is disconnected, you have to pay the entire balance in addition to the reconnect fees within five days,” she said, referring to the Tacoma City Code. “For a lot of people, that is all they have.”
Although we have programs that can help, she said not everyone who needs them knows to ask for assistance. “Unfortunately, if they have had a bad experience with us before, we’re the last place they are going to call,” said Hollie. “We’re trying to change that and make it more accessible and more comfortable for our customers to come in and seek assistance with us.” Customer Solution’s foot traffic increased 92% from summer 2018 to summer 2019. Being out in the community, sharing program messaging and translated materials help, she says, but so is showing empathy, listening, offering support and understanding – something the poverty immersion workshop aims to give. “People realized we are a safe place to ask for help,” she said. Francine said it’s all about perspective. TPU employees have the luxury of good jobs and benefits, but not everyone is so lucky. “One of my hopes is that we’ll all take a look at the obstacles in place that affect our customers and our community. We can take a closer look at our permit processing, our policies, and our procedures, and what kinds of impacts our business practices have on our low-income customers.”
COMMUNITY GIVING
How employees make an impact in our community Throughout each year, Tacoma Public Utilities employees make a difference in our community through Community Connection — our employee-led giving and volunteer program. In 2019, our employees participated in 45 giving and volunteer opportunities. Take a peek at a few highlights:
2019 Giving Highlights
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Rebuilding Together South Sound and Habitat for Humanity: Over 100 employees helped build, paint, and clean, affordable housing. For the first time, efforts included participation by a team of female TPU employees with Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build. Emergency Food Network: As of November 2019, employees contributed over 430 hours scooping, sorting, and packing over 163,500 pounds of food. TPU employees packed 50,000 more pounds than any other volunteer group in 2019.
United Way: Nearly 300 employees contributed over $175,000 to help fight poverty and provide basic needs for people in our community. Comprehensive Life Resources’ Adopt-a-Family: Employees supported those experiencing homelessness, seniors, families, and foster children by adopting 201 individuals receiving care through the agency. Senior Assistance Fund: Employees raised nearly $6,800 to support seniors who need assistance with their utility bills. The Senior Assistance Fund is supported solely by our employees. The largest annual fundraiser for this program, the Dam Ride — in its 20th year — raised over $3,500. Employees who want to help others in need can also donate to our low-income assistance program on your utility bill. Look for our 2020 Community Connection Calendar of Events with upcoming volunteer opportunities.
Welcome new employees Women Build
Community Connection 2020 Calendar of Events Delectable Desserts
1 HOUR – DONATION
Feb. 13
3 HOURS – VOLUNTEER
March 14
HOURS VARY – VOLUNTEER
April 25
HOURS VARY – V OLUNTEER
May 2
Book Drive
1 HOUR – DONATION
May 4 – 15
Food & Basic Supplies Drive
1 HOUR – DONATION
June 1 – 12
Taste of TPU
1 HOUR – DONATION
July 15
School Supplies Drive
1 HOUR – DONATION
Aug. 3 – 4
HOURS VARY – VOLUNTEER
Aug. 22
United Way of Pierce County
Sept. 16 – Oct. 7
TPU Senior Assistance Fund
Bowl-A-Thon
Boys & Girls Clubs of Pierce County
Rebuilding Together Rebuilding Together South Sound
Habitat for Humanity Women Build women’s LINC Habitat for Humanity
lead | inspire | connect
Communities In Schools of Tacoma
My Sister’s Pantry
TPU Senior Assistance Fund
HopeSparks
Dam Ride
TPU Senior Assistance Fund
• Campaign Kick Off • Closing Ceremony / Basket Raffle Drawing • Celebrity Waiters Night
September 16 October 7 October 7
Amanda Cashman Engineering Technician Tacoma Power
Anna Coy Administrative Assistant Tacoma Water
Lisa Daniels Financial Assistant Tacoma Water
Ryan Fullerman Senior Economist Tacoma Power
Behzad Hosseini Assistant Section Manager Tacoma Power
Mark McCall Hydro Project Electrician Tacoma Power
RECENT RETIREES
HOURS VARY – VOLUNTEER
Sept. 19
Adopt-A-Family
1 HOUR – DONATION
Sept. – Dec.
Thank you for your service
H.U.G.S. Drive
1 HOUR – DONATION
Oct. 19 – 30
Ken Severe, a Tacoma Power wire electrician, retired after 32 years of service.
TPU Giving Tree
1 HOUR – DONATION
Nov. – Dec.
Reid Withrow, a Tacoma Water service mechanic, retired after 17 years of service.
HOURS VARY – VOLUNTEER
Nov. – Dec.
Habitat Build
Habitat for Humanity Pierce County
Comprehensive Life Resources
HopeSparks
Salvation Army Tacoma
Salvation Army Mall Volunteers Salvation Army Tacoma
CONTACT ANY COMMUNITY CONNECTION LEADERSHIP TEAM MEMBER TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR FAVORITE EVENT.
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Tacoma Public Utilities PO Box 11007 • Tacoma WA 98411
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID TACOMA WA PERMIT NO 2
Complex advanced meter deployment problem solved with an innovative app
Ubits is a publication for Tacoma Public Utilities employees and is provided as a courtesy to retirees. ubits@cityoftacoma.org • 253-502-8223
Across TPU, employees are preparing for the deployment of Advanced Meters (AM). While that work touches each operating division and many workgroups, a unique problem arose for Tacoma Water. Employees solved it with an innovative app. The utility must exchange about 107,000 residential water meters with the new AM meter and install a communications module on the meter box lids. The exchange requires more space inside the meter boxes and the ability to access the meters to perform the exchange. There are also a variety of meter box styles and lids in the field inherited from acquired water systems. Some are over 50 years old. Tacoma Water quickly realized they needed to survey each meter in the field — no small task. When responses to a request for proposal came in over budget, the team developed an innovative approach to completing the work in-house. A collaborative effort between field crews and the Graphic Information Systems (GIS) team occurred. The team developed an app that field crews access on any standard cell phone. The app allows them to survey each residential meter and capture key information it loads onto the GIS map in near real-time. Crews complete approximately 8,000 surveys each week, which puts the team ahead of schedule, and allows lead-time to perform any necessary work before AM deployment. The outcome of the survey is improvement work our crews can complete for years. While Tacoma Water prioritizes tasks for AM deployment, there is additional work cleaning and repairing all of the meter sites for our customers. The survey also allows the utility to order meter box lids and materials in bulk. Tacoma Water completed the survey for about half the cost of what a vendor quoted, and the expected savings from bulk orders will likely cover the expense of the survey. The team’s flexibility and creativity solved a big problem, and crews are equally as enthusiastic about completing the work. The dedication is a testament to the incredible Tacoma Water staff. Andy Simpson, GIS Supervisor, Jenni Chadick, Asset Management Analyst, Scott LaFrenier, Crew Supervisor, Michelle Davidson, mobile phone support, and Steve Pietzke, GIS support are among those who helped bring innovation to life.