Management Operations and Maintenance Fundamentals

Maintenance workers pouring concrete on a roadside

Date and Location

Not currently scheduled.

About the Workshop

This course relates to the delivery of maintenance and operations services to the public, commonly known as public works. It will identify the equipment and personnel resources needed for efficient and effective service delivery. Discussions will include what to consider when deciding to either purchase or lease equipment, in-house vs. contracting out work functions, emergency preparedness planning, and environmental responsibilities.

Topics Covered

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Topics Covered

Operations overview

  • Organizational structure
  • Mission/vision statements
  • Ethics in public works

Capital Improvement Programs/funding/approval process

  • Typical useful life of infrastructure (depreciation of assets)
  • Identifying potential funding sources and creating project cost estimates and budgets
  • CIP and project approval process
  • Coordinating with other departments and agencies
  • Equipment acquisition and considerations

Emergency preparedness

  • Emergency management operations
  • Priority planning
  • FEMA/damage assessment
  • Organizational roles between local-state-federal agencies
  • Media and crisis management

Environmental responsibilities

  • Citizen lawsuits
  • Clean Water Act
  • MS4 & SWPPP requirements
  • Dealing with contaminated sites & soils

Who Should Attend

Individuals who are interested in becoming a supervisor, newly promoted supervisors, or supervisors wishing to enhance their leadership skills, communication, and effectiveness.

Course Instructors

Jon Haukaas is the director of municipal service for SRF Consulting Group. He previously served as the director of public works for the cities of Blaine and Fridley, Superior, Colorado, and as deputy director of utilities for Fort Collins, Colorado for a total of nearly three decades of experience in municipal public works. He holds a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota and a master of business administration from Colorado State University. Past teaching experience includes graduate student teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota in a master’s program and guest lecturer in the Colorado State University civil engineering department. He is an active member in the Minnesota Chapter of the American Public Works Association and American Water Works Association.

Dan Ruiz started working for Brooklyn Park in 2002 as the support services and recycling division manager. He was known as “Dan the Recycling Man” until he was appointed public works director in 2014. Ruiz has a BS degree in earth science and BES in geography from St. Cloud State University and completed graduate work in geohydrology at Illinois State University. He is active in the Minnesota Chapter of the American Public Works Association and serves on the Environment and Sustainability Committee. He is also a die-hard Vikings fan, which has helped him deal effectively with disappointment every year.

Credit

Sponsors

This workshop is presented by Minnesota LTAP at the Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota. Minnesota LTAP is sponsored by the Minnesota Local Road Research Board (LRRB) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This course is subsidized through funding from LRRB and FHWA.