Ubits March /April 2017
April 29 Rebuilding Day
In this issue
Linda McCrea retires after 37 years of service Starting with her days as the first female engineer for Tacoma Public Utilities and closing them out as Tacoma Water’s first female superintendent, Linda McCrea has spent nearly 37 years as a trailblazer and agent of change for the utility. Behind the drive to evolve seems to be the desire to feel a sense of belonging and a part of something bigger — for her and the entire Water team. “When something interesting comes along, I’m in,” Linda said. “I want to get involved. I want our team involved.” There’s no end to the list of initiatives she’s started or projects she’s been behind, but there is a theme: They get people talking and involved; they’re examined from the customer perspective; and they have heart.
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Q & A with Chris Robinson
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In her element
Here’s a snapshot of them. From her early days as an engineer in Water’s Distribution section, Linda helped develop both the Donated Leave Program and TPU’s Incentive Program; she worked on the City’s first GIS project and SAP implementation. She’s been committed to increasing diversity, and in particular female representation among field workers in Water. She led the effort to overhaul Tacoma Water’s apprenticeship program; worked regionally to re-establish the South Sound Subsection of the American Water Works Association. And, under her direction, there’s been a sea change in the way the utility addresses aging infrastructure, which will continue to have major impacts for both employees and customers.
New volunteer tracking tool
Continued on page 6
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Conservation lobby upgrade
Q&A with Chris Robinson Tacoma Power Superintendent
Q
Tacoma Power recently developed its strategic plan. What is a strategic plan, why is it needed, and how do you create one?
A
A strategic plan is a roadmap for success. Putting it simply, strategy is the “stuff” we need to do in the next few years to be successful in the future. Our business environment is ever evolving with new challenges and opportunities constantly emerging. To continue our success into the future, overcome challenges and create opportunities, the development and implementation of an effective strategy is critical. Our strategy was created with research and input from many people. We sought out opinions and feedback from employees, customers and many other important stakeholders. Employees throughout the organization and employee surveys helped us better understand the biggest challenges we face and identify solutions to overcome them. Customer survey data provided an indication of where we need to focus to ensure our customers continue to be satisfied. Interviews with dozens of key stakeholders, including our Public Utility Board, the mayor, City directors and customers provided tremendous perspective that focused our priorities. One of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes is, “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” The primary purpose of our new strategic plan is to define where we are going, and how we are going to get there together.
Q A
As a result of the strategic planning process, what will Tacoma Power focus on over the next few years and how?
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The high level answer is we’ll focus on our employees, customers, financial strength and environmental stewardship. We developed 10 objectives that we’ve already begun pursuing to address our challenges.
They are: Prioritize and promote safety n Strategic people management n Leverage technology n Chart Click!’s future n Engage customers and employees n Satisfy customers’ needs n Promote economic development n Do the right things right n Maintain financial strength n Environmental stewardship From there, we came up with 35-40 projects (called initiatives) that will help us reach our goals. The initiatives include things like establishing a centralized TPU safety office, launching supervisor expectations and building a feedback-rich culture, identifying future advance metering infrastructure programs, undergrounding electric facilities, standing up a construction project management office, and converting City street lights to LEDs. n
Q
When was the last time Tacoma Power developed a strategic plan, and how is this one different?
A
The last official plan was developed in 2008. This plan is different for two reasons. First, we’re changing our focus to “Community Value First” rather than “Customer Value First.” We want to think broader than just our customers. We want to include our
“The new plan is a living document that is actively managed and constantly changing.”
Q A
How will employees be involved with the plan?
There is something for everyone in the strategic plan. Many employees will have a direct role on one of the strategic initiative teams set up to carry out the plan. For others, the work they do every day will support the vision of providing value to the communities we serve. Some examples of that include the services our line crews provide and the environmental impacts our natural resources teams monitor. Employees will influence the direction of the plan by continuing to adhere to our values of safety, customer focus, commitment, mutual respect, teamwork, clarity and innovation.
employees, the businesses we work with and the environment around our projects. We want to operate in a way that positively accounts for all of those groups. The second big piece that has changed is how we manage the plan. The new plan is a living document that is actively managed and constantly changing. As one initiative is done, another is added to keep our momentum. Tacoma Power’s management team and initiative leaders meet monthly to discuss the status of the initiatives and how to communicate that. We want everyone to know the status of the plan, our priorities and what’s next.
How to earn and track volunteer hours The Community Connection Leadership Team has planned more than 40 events you can participate in this year to earn your Community Involvement Goal credit. They also created a tool to help you track your involvement. The tracker lists all the events, dates and credit hours, and has a spot for you to fill in your volunteer time. “Employees have asked for Community Connection calendars they can keep at their desk and ways they can track their involvement hours,” said Community Affairs Manager Erika Tucci. “This is a way we can provide both.” If you have not yet received a tracker from your timekeeper, contact Tamera Fletcher in Public Affairs and Communications at 502-8176. Need a refresher on the Incentive Program rules?
Remember these things to make sure your submissions are eligible: Employees need at least four hours of actual volunteer service.
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The remaining four hours of the eight required to earn an incentive day can either be volunteer service or four separate product/item donations.
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Each product donation is worth one hour of credit. An hour assumes you made some effort to procure the item.
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Donations of cash are not eligible. (That would be like us allowing you to buy a day off, which isn’t legal.)
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More information about the program, requirements and eligible activities not coordinated by Community Connection is on Unet.
Community Connection
TOOL TIME
BETTER TOGETHER
Sign up for Rebuilding Together project Mark your calendars for this year’s home remodel event on Saturday, April 29, starting at 8 a.m. Once again, Community Connection has partnered with Rebuilding Together South Sound to help seniors and homeowners with disabilities by making their homes safer and more efficient. Employees, their families and retirees of all skill levels have come together for the last seven years to landscape, paint, clean and do light construction to transform several homes in TPU’s service territory. The event benefits more than just the recipients whose homes are repaired.
“Year after year, employee volunteers return and comment that it’s one of the most rewarding events they participate in,” said Community Affairs Manager Erika Tucci. “Our employees have incredible construction and efficiency skills, and huge hearts. This project has transformed many lives through the years.” If you want to help, contact Erika at 502-8225 or etucci@cityoftacoma.org. If you can’t make it, you can provide supplies for the Rebuild and get donation credit. Watch Newsline for specific information.
Alex Brotherton of T&D System Planning at the 2016 Rebuilding Day
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bits & pieces LOBBY UPGRADE
Energy Saving Center engages visitors Tacoma Power has changed the way it interacts with customers through its Energy Saving Center in the TPU lobby. Three new bright, bold, displays are designed to encourage visitors to stop in for information about saving money and energy. “People seem really drawn into the space with its much homier feel,” said Conservation Program Associate Sarah Sweet. “Even after we’ve assisted them, people often linger and explore the space a little longer. It’s very welcoming!”
Print materials
New conservation brochures share key facts about saving energy in homes and businesses. Those brochures sit in racks on a colorful cube for easy pick up. That cube also helps draw customers’ attention to the
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interactive ductless heat pump heating and cooling system, and LED lighting displays.
Ductless heat pump
The ductless heat pump display allows customers to see, feel and hear the heating and cooling system in action. The display shows how the indoor unit looks in a living room. Turning on the indoor unit allows warm or cool air to circulate so people can feel it and hear how quietly it operates. The accompanying outdoor unit shows how much space is required for a ductless heat pump.
Lighting
Visitors can also see how LED lightbulbs would appear in a bathroom, kitchen and bedroom. Each model shows how various types of LEDs look with
different colors and textures. Customers can use a watt meter to see the energy use of each bulb style and can use use controls to see how well LEDs dim. The base of the lighting display also features information explaining how to read a Lighting Facts Label on product packaging when shopping for LEDs. “People love that the lighting display uses real materials and that the ductless heat pump actually works and shows what it will look like inside and outside your house,” Sarah said. “The space easily guides people to products and programs that will work for them.” Tacoma Power's upgraded Energy Savings Center in TPU's lobby.
BIG CHECK
Rebates and incentives help customers, utility save money Beep beep! Lonnie Junderson.
All wrapped up in energy conservation Ten of TPU’s vehicles recently went from drab to fab. They got new wraps showcasing energy-saving products, along with the message, “We’ve got a rebate for that,” Tacoma Power’s theme for its residential conservation programs. “Each vehicle is stocked with our brochures and marketing materials, and the drivers who don’t work in Conservation Resources Management have been primed to answer basic questions about energy conservation programs when they talk to customers,” said Sonja Bert of Community & Media Services.
Employees from Meter/Relay, Line Services, Conservation Resources Management and Community & Media Services drive the wrapped vehicles to spread the word about saving money by saving energy. Word on the street is that people like what they see. “One customer approached me at a gas station to ask about conservation at apartments because of the vehicle wrap,” said Rebekah Wotton, a Tacoma Power electrical meter technician. “I’ve also heard a lot of comments from employees about wanting to get a newly wrapped vehicle. People say they like our new look.”
Focus in 2017 on planning, managing Tacoma’s water supply Tacoma Water has big plans underway: updating its Integrated Resource Plan and its Water System Plan. The two documents help shape how the utility manages its supply. “Tacoma Water will use a thorough process to map out how we will meet our customers’ needs well into the future,” said Deputy Superintendent Chris McMeen. “This process is introspective, but also includes key stakeholders. I think all of us will learn something.”
Integrated Resource Plan
The Integrated Resource Plan will be a detailed look at the potential future demands for water in Tacoma Water’s service area and how the existing water supply matches up. The utility will examine its
water supply options against a range of possible future conditions to identify ways to respond to whatever the future may hold.
Tacoma’s Foss Waterway Seaport maritime museum installed a new, energy-efficient heating and cooling system that maximizes the use of the renewable hydropower provided by Tacoma Power. The Seaport saved money on the project with a $65,000 utility rebate and can now comfortably use its space year round. Its annual energy savings is enough to power 29 homes for one year! Rebates like that are part of Conservation Resources Management’s commercial and industrial energy conservation program. Tacoma Power provides rebates and incentives to businesses to help them reduce their electric bills through energy efficiency; in turn that helps the utility meet its energy savings requirements. In 2016, Tacoma Power gave about $4.6 million in energy efficiency rebates, which resulted in a savings of more than 27 million kilowatt hours — enough for a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle to drive 5.6 million miles.
Water System Plan
Tacoma Water will also update a longstanding document called the Water System Plan, which is required by the Washington State Health Department every 10 years. This plan covers the full scope of the utility’s drinking water system, from operations to supply to protecting water sources and ensuring Tacoma Water meets the public health regulations that govern its work.
Customer input
The utility will reach out to key stakeholders to invite them to participate on the advisory committee.
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Linda's legacy continued from page 1 “Back in the late 80s, our field staff expressed concern about the lack of focus on maintenance of our infrastructure. I worked with them to identify issues, resources and best practices for maintaining our distribution assets,” Linda said. “It brought people together to collaborate and address an important issue. As a result, a comprehensive maintenance program was adopted that was well supported by both staff and policy makers.” Over the years, the foundation of that work led to an expanded focus on Tacoma Water’s system assets, their condition and how to make investments to ensure sustainable and affordable service for customers for future generations. It’s a game changer for Tacoma Water, one of which the superintendent is most proud. “We’ve developed the asset management framework that is the full evolution of capturing knowledge and understanding all components of the system to anticipating what problems will occur and how and when to address them,” Linda said.
Standout from the start
None of this is surprising to Al Medak, former Distribution and Water Quality manager who supervised Linda when she first started at Tacoma Water. From her first day, Al knew he lucked out having Linda on his team. “She was a standout right away. She could handle the toughest situation very easily,” Al said. “She was reliable, credible, creative, willing to change, social, able to
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make connections with people. After she got some more experience under her belt, she became a lead engineer. She took the reins and made me look so good through her work. And I thought, ‘I hope I can retire before Linda is my boss!’”
A future in Tacoma
While Linda didn’t imagine spending her entire career in Tacoma, it didn’t take long before she was hooked. “What I realized immediately is that it’s a big little city. Tacoma Water is the secondlargest system in the state and in the top 100 in the country,” Linda said. “We have a system that is as complex as cities many times larger than us with all kinds of exciting challenges. I loved that, as an engineer in Water Distribution, I was involved in system planning, engineering design, construction oversight, emergency response, maintenance issues, and of course, a lot of customer contact. In my early years, I worked on a number of water system acquisitions, which meant meeting with customers and managers from those systems in their community
centers, granges and living rooms to understand their issues and develop solutions that would be beneficial to all.” Linda continued to grow, becoming Distribution manager in 1993, deputy superintendent in 2006 and superintendent in 2010. Her list of accomplishments continued to grow as well, not the least of which was completing the Green River Filtration Facility — Tacoma Water’s largest capital project. “Seeing the significant increase to water quality as our filtered water began to flow into the system was a very proud moment, and one of Tacoma Water’s finest achievements,” Linda said. “Knowing you have delivered value not just to people in the community today, but their descendants, is a legacy that I am honored to have played a part in.” Strategic planning by Linda and her management team helped develop the roadmap for much of the progress achieved over the last five years. Adopting a Balanced Scorecard approach to strategy management meant strategic work was prioritized, resourced and measured. Today, Tacoma Water is possibly in its strongest financial position ever. System reliability performance is well above industry leaders. Water supply resiliency planning by Tacoma and its partners in the region has been recognized by Harvard University, and customer satisfaction is very high. The performance of Tacoma Water staff is reflected by those significant accomplishments.
Who’s new around here
Corey Bedient Assistant Manager Tacoma Water
Nicholas Campbell Heavy Equipment Mechanic Tacoma Power
Marian Dacca Government Relations Analyst Public Affairs & Communications
Charles Dueber Natural Resources Technician Tacoma Power
Breane Howard Representative Customer Services
Lars Knutson Electrical Inspector Tacoma Power
Ginny Larson Administrative Assistant Tacoma Power
LaTasha Wortham Government Relations Analyst Public Affairs & Communications
Water love
No matter the point she was at in her career, Linda has loved the water industry and its mission. “The people in the water industry are community oriented. Our job is fundamental to quality of life, and we take it seriously. I continue to be impressed with the caliber of people involved with drinking water in this country and at Tacoma Water,” Linda said. “There are so many great minds and problem solvers. It will be hard to not be in that kind stimulating environment after I retire. I am sure I will find other activities to be passionate about, but I will never lose my interest in water.”
Who’s ready to relax The following employees recently retired: Hebert Campbell, Tacoma Power warehouse technician, retired after 29 years of service. Sean Carroll, Tacoma Power utility service specialist, retired after 25 years of service. Thomas Clarke, Tacoma Power painter crew leader, retired after 28 years of service. Cindy Foss, Tacoma Water assistant manager, retired after 31 years of service. Bob Hinzman, Tacoma Water assistant manager, retired after 36 years of service. James Kaul, Tacoma Power survey technician, retired after 29 years of service. Terry Lee, Tacoma Power line electrician, retired after 17 years of service. Alan Lentz, Tacoma Power associate engineer, retired after 31 years of service. Helene McSweeney, Customer Services office assistant, retired after 18 years of service. Kenneth Shelley, Tacoma Power management analyst, retired after 31 years of service. Rick VanAllen, Tacoma Power utility services specialist, retired after 30 years of service. Frank Weite, Tacoma Power senior wire electrician, retired after 30 years of service.
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Tacoma Public Utilities PO Box 11007 • Tacoma WA 98411
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CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Cushman camera offers wild lens
Ubits is a publication for Tacoma Public Utilities employees and is provided as a courtesy to retirees. Jenae Elliott, editor cms@cityoftacoma.org • (253) 502-8754
Motion-detection cameras recently captured incredible wildlife images on Cushman Hydro Project lands in Mason County. Tacoma Power’s Natural Resources Wildlife and Lands team installed the cameras last year, and have since learned a lot about the wildlife in the area. The Natural Resources team protects and enhances 20,000 acres of land, including 2,800 acres at Cushman, and also monitors the wildlife on those lands as part of Tacoma Power’s responsibility for operating its four hydroelectric projects. “At Cushman, we help wildlife by improving habitat, such as our recently constructed elk forage fields,” said Wildlife and Lands Manager Bret Forrester. Four members of Bret’s team focus on wildlife projects. A few of their other recent activities at Cushman include:
Monitoring 20 wood duck nest boxes, seven bat boxes and three osprey nest platforms
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The team performs quantitative studies to determine what’s working; the cameras help them fill in the qualitative blanks. “Our studies help determine things such as the amount of elk use in the forage fields, but we also want to know where they’re accessing the fields and at which times of year,” Bret said. “The data from the cameras contribute to our understanding of elk habits and the success n Creating 200 snags (nesting cavities of our habitat enhancement efforts. If the fields are well-used, we’ll build more.” in dead or dying standing trees) to So far, other critters ready for their provide woodpecker habitat, with close-up include black bears, cougars and plans for 100 more this year black-tailed deer. n Thinning 200 acres of dense forest to Check out those photos at increase habitat diversity and the tree bit.ly/wildlife17. growth rate