Ubits July /August 2019
Aug. 15 - 16 School Supplies Drive Benefiting HopeSparks
In this issue
TPU hits a home run with the Tacoma Rainiers In July, TPU hosted the event with the Tacoma Rainiers at Cheney Stadium to promote the utility’s conservation services and programs. The event is part of a two-year advertising package with the Tacoma Rainiers that will provide the utility high-visibility, and cost-effective opportunities to connect with our customers and community. The Tacoma Rainiers donated $5 of each ticket sale from the event to our Senior Assistance Fund. TPU also promoted our other assistance programs throughout the stadium with the idea that attendees or someone they know might need help managing their utility bill. The advertising at Cheney Stadium displays many groups and programs across TPU –
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Communicating progress
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A utility player
Tacoma Water’s and Tacoma Power’s residential and commercial conservation programs, Customer Services’ assistance programs, Evergreen Options, and electric vehicles. Before the game, Tacoma Power hosted an electric vehicle tailgate. Employees passed out information about water and power conservation from tables in the concourse, and Public Affairs’ John Gaines threw the first pitch. Between plays, the jumbo screen rolled videos featuring mascot Rhubarb promoting TPU’s programs, and brief utility messages scrolled across the LED board lining the back of the field. Every restroom now displays permanent signage with witty water conservation tips. Continued on pg. 3
Pipeline Trail improvements
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Generation’s central asset management system
ACCOUNTABLE TO YOU
How Tacoma Water taps a communication tool to share progress toward goals TPU continues to take actionable steps in response to its Employee Satisfaction Survey results from earlier this year. Two areas of focus include communicating advancement toward goals and affording employees opportunities to provide regular feedback. Tacoma Water Superintendent Scott Dewhirst is harnessing that idea through an email, but not the way you might think. When Scott wanted to communicate with employees about progress toward Tacoma Water’s 2019 Strategic Objectives, he contacted the TPU Communications Office for help. The team suggested designing a template in one of TPU’s digital communication tools to maximize the power of email. He supported the idea and experts went to work in support of his goal. “We use strategy to guide what we do. I wanted to ensure everyone in Tacoma Water is aware of what is happening across the organization and to tie our work back to our strategy,” said Superintendent Scott Dewhirst. “The tool they use, and template they developed for us does this very well
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and has been well received. I appreciate the Communications Office for helping make this happen!” First, the email platform offers the ability to gauge readership – the initial two emails sent starting in March average a 78% open rate. By comparison, the Communication team sees a 60% open
“We use strategy to guide what we do. I wanted to ensure everyone in Tacoma Water is aware of what is happening across the organization and to tie our work back to our strategy.” rate for Newsline, TPU’s weekly employee newsletter. By nature, email can also harness feedback for improvement through direct replies. “We are receiving a lot of responses with thanks from employees for the new communication,” said Office Manager
Sharon D’Andrea who works in the Water Superintendent’s Office. “Employees are also expressing their appreciation that Scott is communicating with them in general.” Second, visual communication plays an important role. The tool allows the utility to support its messages through design in a way that Outlook cannot accomplish. The template looks similar to other materials the team developed to communicate Tacoma Water’s 2019 Strategic Objectives. “Materials that appear visually consistent help familiarize people with them, so they know what to expect and that the information matters,” said Sonja Bert, who leads the TPU Creative Development team. “Putting content through editorial review also values employees’ time by ensuring messages are clear, straightforward, and specific.” TPU Director Jackie Flowers says this effort “is a perfect example of responding to the survey results.” Her hope is it will spark others to share additional illustrations.
Continued from page 1 TPU Night isn’t your only chance to see the utility advertised at Cheney Stadium. Catch a glimpse during every game of the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While there, show your utility pride by tagging pictures on social media with #tpuhomerun.
Good to goal Like TPU, the Tacoma Rainiers are a beloved community asset. Advertising with them aligns well with our utility’s goals in these ways: • Promotes “one TPU.” • Engages customers where they are. • Makes our low-income assistance programs visible. • A dds options for advertising to a broad, captive audience. • C reates an opportunity for owners of the Tacoma Rainiers to consider conservation measures for its stadium and new buildings.
Classification and Compensation Study progresses with panel interviews The City of Tacoma began its Classification and Compensation Study in April to analyze how its nonrepresented classifications compare to the external labor market and measure the competitiveness of the benefits it offers employees with non-represented and represented classifications. Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. (GBS) is conducting the study through March 2020. In May, all non-represented employees completed a Position Description Form (PDQ). Toward the end of June, GBS began conducting panel interviews with employees to
gain a better understanding of the work occurring across the organization. GBS recommended employees for the panels to the City’s Human Resources Department based on PDQs to help them better understand certain occupational or family groups. HR chose panel members by electronic random selection. Employees among those selected got a notice from HR via email. To date, approximately 600 employees who met specific criteria participated in the panel interviews.
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bits & pieces
The new electric advanced meter farm in Annex 3 at the south end of the TPU campus is under construction.
PLAYING IN THE SANDBOX
Advanced Meter team prepares for system tests and development Following the Public Utility Board’s approval of vendor contracts, the Advanced Meter program team is setting up a sandbox on the TPU campus to test the new advanced metering system. TPU will deploy advanced meters throughout its service territory starting in 2020. “The sandbox refers to a minimalistic version of the advanced meter integration software that will be used to learn how the new system components interact, train the project team, and demo different meter and software configurations,” said TPU Chief Technology Officer Joe Tellez. “This will allow us to determine the optimal setup to support TPU’s advanced meter business processes.” An electric meter farm in Annex 3, on the south end of campus, will feature 21 various types of advanced meters. The team will set
up advanced water meters in the testing area of the Water Meter Shop and the Tacoma Water yard. A single antenna placed on the Power Warehouse will allow the sandbox meters for the utilities to communicate with the sandbox software. Our meter and software vendors, Sensus and Omnetric, are assisting with the development of the sandbox environment. Their systems will work together to test functions and conduct demonstrations without using actual customer data. Stay up-to-date about the Advanced Meter Project at MyTPU.org/AdvancedMeters.
Changes to our Public Utility Board
This summer, you will see new faces and say goodbye to some long-time members of the Public Utility Board. Karen Larkin will take the helm as Board Chair. Woody Jones will retire, and Carlos Watson will join. Learn more about our Public Utility Board members, how we appoint them, and work to ensure our community gets the most value out of its electricity and water service. Visit MyTPU.org/PublicUtilityBoard.
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Chair Jones receives recognition for his service during a recent Joint Study Session.
Pipeline Trail Phase 2 adds features for public use Tacoma’s Pipeline Trail Phase 2 provides an opportunity for people to get outside and enjoy our city. Work between Tacoma Water and the City of Tacoma Department of Public Works made it possible to offer the outdoor enthusiasts a 2.4-mile shared-use path between East 48th Street and East 40th Street in Tacoma. New LED lighting, trailhead markers, improved landscaping, a permanent bicycle counter, and trailhead parking are some of
its new features. The Pipeline Trail sits on Tacoma Water’s Pipeline #4 right of way. The utility corridor connects the trail to neighborhoods and communities and is a perfect route due to its linear nature. More scheduled work continues with Phase 3 from East 56th Street to East 72nd Street and should complete later this year.
The community gathers to celebrate and enjoy the Pipeline 2 trail with its new amenities.
Summer water rates went into effect June 1 Tacoma Water charges a slightly higher rate for water use above five units (about 3,700 gallons) from June 1 through September 30, during drier months when it costs more to provide our customers with water. The average person uses about 80 gallons of water per day. To help our customers keep costs down, we ask them to look for ways to use less at home and in their yards.
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Generation catalogues 4,000 pieces of equipment to build central asset management system Tacoma Power is working to become a modern, digital utility with technology that benefits customers and employees. “I look at new technology for the utility as a way to unlock the hidden value of our data to grow operational excellence,” said Joe Tellez of UTS. “One of the best uses for technology is to collect and analyze data to inform the operational and financial decisions we make.” While the implementation of advanced meters is the utility’s largest technology project underway, other advancements are happening simultaneously – including an equipment inventory in SAP for Generation. “The purpose of this project is to help us make data-driven decisions regarding our assets,” said Julie DeYoung of Asset Management. “We’re making good decisions with the information we have, but this new system will help us make the best decisions.” The new system will improve how Generation collects, stores, collaborates, and uses information about Tacoma Power’s equipment. All of Tacoma Power will have access to view the inventory, allowing other teams to use the information for maintenance, finance, projections, or business cases. Currently, each hydro project maintains and stores its asset information differently. All asset records will eventually become standard. Tacoma Power’s goal for that is to more efficiently manage maintenance plans, anticipate equipment failures, and prioritize where to spend time and money.
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“I like to use oil changes as a good example for the use of data-driven asset management,” Joe said. “Until recently, we’ve all changed our vehicles’ oil every 3,000 miles because that’s what a schedule said. Now, vehicles have computers on board that tell us when we need to change our oil based on our specific use and maintenance, and it’s typically closer to 6,000 miles. The result is that we all save time and money on maintenance.” By the end of 2019, all four hydro projects will complete an inventory of what equipment they have and its location. To date, the Generation sites have used new tablets and forms to collect and input about 3,600 of an estimated 4,000 pieces of equipment. The complete inventory is the starting point for phase two of the project in 2020. All entries will go through a data quality process to ensure asset information is consistent. From there, the teams will add additional data about the equipment, like condition and maintenance records. The equipment inventory will serve as Generation’s singlesource of truth regarding equipment, ensuring Tacoma Power gets the most value from its assets and that employees have the information they need to do their jobs.
RECENT RETIREES
Thank you for your service Cynthia Beardsley, Tacoma Water Utility Services Representative, retired in June after 37 years of service. Nancy Braybrooks, Technical Customer Services Representative, retired in June after 17 years of service. Gary Davick, Tacoma Power Systems Dispatcher, retired in June after 30 years of service.
Peter Meyer, Tacoma Power Conservation Manager, retired in June after 32 years of service. Melvin Miller, Tacoma Rail Locomotive Engineer, retired in June after 23 years of service. Rudolf Omero, Tacoma Power Line Equipment Operator, retired in June after 31 years of service.
LaVerne Wandler, Tacoma Power Electrical Inspector, retired in June after 15 years of service. Kathy Ward, Tacoma Power Administrative Assistant, retired in June after 26 years of service.
Welcome new employees
Katherine Belin Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Alison Boyd Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Gina Brown Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Chalia Clark Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Philip Coates Real-Time Energy Trader Tacoma Power
Jason Culver Management Analyst Tacoma Water
Hannah Johnson Management Analyst Tacoma Water
Teresa Hummer Office Assistant Tacoma Power
Megan Norman Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Kelsey Pichler Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Courtney Rose Management Analyst Tacoma Public Utilities
Kayleen Sichmeller Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
David Spriggs Data Architecture Manager Tacoma Power
Matthew Staerk Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
Stefanie Trudeau Customer Services Representative Tacoma Public Utilities
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Tacoma Public Utilities PO Box 11007 • Tacoma WA 98411
Ubits is a publication for Tacoma Public Utilities employees and is provided as a courtesy to retirees. ubits@cityoftacoma.org • 253-502-8754
First electric school bus in Washington state is cool for school
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID TACOMA WA PERMIT NO 2
Gov. Jay Inslee joined Franklin Pierce School District (FPSD), Tacoma Public Utilities, community members, students, teachers, and officials from the district in a recent event to celebrate the unveiling of Washington’s first electric school bus. The event marks a first step toward transforming the district’s fleet to electric in the future. A TransAlta Coal Transition Grant made buying the first electric school bus possible. The district is working with our energy experts on school bus charging logistics, evaluation of power supply, route selection, and overall guidance for the new electric bus system. We will continue to partner with FPSD on grant applications with the hopes of funding an additional nine electric buses, two electric box trucks, and infrastructure for charging stations. These buses will help to reduce the district’s operating costs, carbon footprint, and provide clean and healthy rides to school for kids.