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VOL. 55 / ISSUE 24 / DEC. 1, 2021PUBLISHED BIWEEKLY FOR SRP EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES
Digital Edition
As the year draws to a close, field teams across SRP are as busy as ever. Here are some project highlights from the past few months.
How do you use MS365 daily? Get more ideas from our Day in the Life Guides. Learn more at the Teams portal site or complete this form to request a Teams collaboration account.
“You don’t have to be in a meeting to get an update; I see a future where this file collaboration and posting cuts down on meetings.”
That’s a key takeaway from Jennifer Bennett, Manager of ERC/CIP, after using Teams Collaboration with its various channels functions as part of the MS365 rollout.
Teams was great for calls, chats and meetings. But to support employees working remotely, something more was needed. Then Bennett started using the Teams Collaboration feature and began reaping the collaborative rewards of this virtual office space where her group could meet,
communicate and share files for simultaneous real-time review and editing. It opened up a new realm of remote workplace possibilities.
Of course, there’s a learning curve with any new tool. Thankfully, Bennett said Teams Collaboration is intuitive and adaptive.
“It’s extremely flexible; nothing is set in stone, so I can adjust things as needed,” she added.
For Drew Bierlein, Senior IT Project Manager, it’s the communicative nature of Teams Collaboration that really shines.
“Having everything in one chain is helpful,” he said. “We start a conversation in a channel, and everyone can chime in. I love tagging people to get their attention.”
Bierlein said Teams Collaboration keeps communication on point and prevents fragmented conversations that often come with email.
“We have one tool where we host meetings, maintain notes, access contact lists and communicate,” he added.
Like Bierlein, Terri Renzi, Principal Analyst for Architecture and Planning, is excited about getting less email. That’s one reason Teams Collaboration is her group’s go-to place to converse.
“We used to send a lot of links by email, but now we post it all in Teams,” she said. “Everyone knows where to find stuff. This empowers people and eliminates a lot of the hand holding.”
Beyond centralizing much of a group’s communication, Teams Collaboration expedites and simplifies correspondence. Bill Garmen, Senior Technical Strategist for Creative Services, likes the interconnectivity, the seamless exchange between PCs and Macs, and the ability to store conversations.
“Being able to ask questions and maintain communication after a meeting ends sets it apart from Zoom and Skype,” he said.
While Zoom remains an option for hosting meetings, Garmen feels it falls short of Teams, saying, “Zoom is more like a webinar or presentation platform where people can watch and listen; Teams Collaboration creates an office environment for working together in real time.”
Employees discuss benefits of new Teams Collaboration features
“You don’t have to be in a meeting to
get an update; I see a future where this file collaboration
and posting cuts down on meetings.”
Jennifer Bennett
Hauling team puts safety first on challenging pole replacements
Vegetation Management tests option to save customers’ trees, reduce pruning costs
MCM Hydro Support keeps Stewart Mountain Dam spill gates in top condition
New window gives helicopter pilots broader views for pole replacements
MCM designs innovative gear box for radial gates
Replacing poles on paved roads is a big job, but add in hairpin turns, traffic jams and elevation changes, and it becomes a potentially hazardous undertaking.
Logistics Management (LM) Hauling Services, in support of the Tempe Line Pole Replacement Program, faces just that as it transports 60-foot wood poles to replace their aging counterparts along Arizona State Route 88 near Canyon Lake and Mormon Flat Dam. One truck can hold up to 20 poles, with several feet extending from the back of the trailer.
“The most challenging terrain we face there is a very tight two-lane road that is probably the windiest road in our territory,” said Jayson McKinley, Section Supervisor, LM Hauling Services, which is part of SRP’s Supply Chain, Transportation and Flight Services team. “Some cliffs in that area have 100-foot drops too.”
Before any hauling job, he and his team hold tailboard meetings to walk through the plan for the day and think through any potential issues they may face and how they will solve them. To ensure the safety of crews and the public they share the road with, SRP also hires Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers to escort them. The officers stop traffic when needed to let the Hauling drivers negotiate the most difficult turns.
The safety precautions McKinley and his team take on the job are paying off.
“We’ve been doing this for years accident-free, and we’ve passed every DPS vehicle inspection,” said McKinley. “Hauling is a highly skilled team, and it always goes smoothly.”
While they help keep the Valley cool and add beauty to the landscape, trees can become tangled in SRP’s power lines and create potential hazards. SRP prunes encroaching trees once every two years so they don’t interfere with the safety and reliability of our power system.
Certain species grow more quickly and can be difficult to manage. When customers refuse to remove these trees, SRP has to prune the trees more frequently to ensure there is adequate line clearance. However, this option is expensive, time-consuming and not sustainable.
To create a more efficient and cost-effective solution, the Vegetation Management team is conducting a research study on tree growth regulators (TGRs). TGRs are chemicals that slow the growth of trees and improve their overall health and resilience.
“We’re a department that is customer-focused and incorporating TGRs that will be of value to our customers,” said E.J. Cochrum, Utility Forester, Vegetation Management. “TGRs are the next big thing in utility vegetation management programs. They are changing the way trees can be cared for under power lines. At the end of the day, it’s a win-win for both SRP and our customers.”
If TGRs are effective on fast-growing tree species, there are many benefits. SRP may be able to allow customers to keep their trees or may avoid conflicts or legal battles related to disputes over vegetation. This could improve the customer experience along with the health of the trees. A reduction in pruning would also result in lower costs for SRP.
The study will conclude in April 2022, although the results will be monitored for the next three years. At that time, Cochrum and the Vegetation Management team will decide if TGRs will be added to their vegetation management toolbox.
Every five years, the Mechanical Construction & Maintenance Hydro Support team performs extensive preventive maintenance on the spill gates at Stewart Mountain Dam. This is part of SRP’s commitment to finding potential issues before they can cause problems that impact SRP’s customers, crews and members of the public.
While the spill gates are inspected every year, the five-year inspection goes beyond simply opening gates and greasing bearings. Hydro Support deploys a team of two crew members to inspect each of the dam’s 13 gates. One gate takes approximately 40 hours to service, and it takes more than three months to complete all the inspections.
To prepare for this more thorough assessment, team members place stop logs in the dam to seal off the water. This allows crews to safely take their time to operate the gate, lubricate its components, and check the motor and other electrical parts of the gate.
During the inspection of one of the gates at Stewart Mountain Dam, the team discovered that the motor had burned out.
“With spill gates, you don’t want to wait until one is broken, because it is critical that they are operational,” explained Austin Stewart, Section Supervisor, MCM Hydro Support. “Because we found the burned-out motor during routine preventative maintenance, we were able to repair it before it created a serious issue. That’s why preventative maintenance is so important to our operations.”
Helicopters play an important role in SRP’s pole replacement program. When terrain is too rough to access by road, air is the only option.
In the past, pilots didn’t have a line of sight out the flat helicopter window to look down at the staging area where they would pick up poles or at the site where a new pole would be placed. They would remove the helicopter door and rely on a crew member standing on the skid to help guide them into position. This method was potentially risky, and there was a lag between when the guide identified a position on the ground and the pilot heard the instructions. This made it difficult to operate with a high degree of accuracy.
Because precision is necessary for the job, the Flight Services team installed a vertical reference window — sometimes called a bubble window — on its Bell 212 helicopter. The window juts out, allowing pilots to see what is directly below them in addition to what is around them.
The Flight Services team recently debuted its new bubble window during a weeklong distribution pole replacement project along Arizona State Route 88.
“With the bubble window, the pilot was able to grab the remote hook, pick up a pole and deliver it to crews in a matter of minutes,” said Mark Wegele, Manager, Flight Services. “The new window definitely improved the efficiency and accuracy of this job.”
Radial gates — larger gates that regulate water in SRP’s canal system — are sometimes located in tight places. When crews go to open or close them, it can be difficult to reach the gear boxes because they are designed to be accessed from either the right or left side only.
Mechanical Construction & Maintenance (MCM) team members recognized the challenges this created in the field and the additional costs associated with keeping two kinds of gear boxes in stock, and they were determined to come up with a solution.
“Our team has the vision to ask, ‘How can we do it better?’” said Ralph Soto, Manager, MCM.
For the past two years, Machining Section Supervisor Gordon Fiacco and his team have been considering how to improve the design to make it more efficient, regardless of how it is being accessed. They developed a method to make the same box universal and adaptable to both right- and left-hand applications.
Built with high-quality craftsmanship, the new custom-made gear boxes have made it easier for Groundwater and MCM team members to maintain the gear boxes and ensure they function reliably so they can keep the water flowing for customers.
Fiacco finds great satisfaction in the innovative solutions and continuous improvement his team embraces.
“I don’t think we will get to the point where we are done improving things,” he said. “There’s always room to make something more efficient, better and safer.”
Please, stay safe.
PUBLISHED BY: Community, Communications & Marketing
EDITOR: [email protected]
Kelly Barr, Associate General Manager and Chief Strategy, Corporate Services & Sustainability Executive, was named to the board of the O’Connor Institute. The institute works to create a nation where policy decisions affecting our future are made through a process of critical analysis of facts and informed participation of all citizens.
Jon Cheney, Senior Water Information Analyst, Water Delivery Admin Services, was named to the board of the Arizona Farm and Ranch Experience, which honors Arizona’s agricultural history by making the state’s history accessible to new and past generations of Arizonans.
Chris Janick, Senior Director, Power Delivery, was named to the board of the Arizona Food Bank Network, which is a coalition of five regional food banks and almost 1,000 food pantries and agencies working to address hunger in Arizona.
Chris Reynoso, Director, Distribution Operations, was named to the board of New Life Center. The center serves more than 1,000 children and adults annually through emergency shelter and outreach support programs.
Maria Roberts, Director, Desert Basin and Coolidge Generating Stations, was named to the board of United Way of Pinal County. The organization fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in Pinal County.
SRP employees serve on nonprofit boards and give freely of their expertise and experience in support of community-strengthening efforts. Their service is vital in delivering important communications on behalf of SRP to the community and bringing information on community needs and concerns back to SRP.
In the News: Board Appointments
In 1952, the Valley of the Sun Suite was commissioned to be played in honor of the 50th anniversary, or Golden Jubilee, of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The piece was crafted by the famed composer and musician Ferde Grofé and consists of four movements that detail the history of reclamation in the Salt River Valley. The movements are “Valley of the Ditches,” “The Dam Builders,” “Masque of the Yellow Moon” and “Reclamation’s Golden Jubilee.” The 33 1⁄3 vinyl was recorded locally by Arizona State University’s symphony orchestra.
Adding to the special connection to the Salt River Valley and SRP in particular, former SRP graphic arts supervisor Virgil F. Hubert designed the album sleeve. Although the piece was commissioned roughly a decade before the Golden Jubilee of Theodore Roosevelt Dam, it holds a strong connection to SRP and to reclamation in the Valley. You can listen to a recording of the Valley of the Sun Suite by clicking here.
Ask a Historian
Submit your SRP history questions to the Research Archives & Heritage team by emailing [email protected].
Was there a song that was written specifically to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Roosevelt Dam?
To submit a retirement announcement (75 words or less), email [email protected] a month in advance of the retirement date.
Pam Skowronek Dec. 21. Skowronek joined SRP in 1983 as a Word Processing Operator and retires as a Facilities Scheduler/Planner in Facilities Operations & Maintenance. She plans to continue her ancestry work, garden, visit friends and family, enjoy her life with her husband and new rescue dog, Sissy, and travel throughout Arizona and her home state of New Mexico. No party is planned, but if you would like to reach out, contact Skowronek before Dec. 20.
Timothy Keeling Dec. 27. Keeling joined SRP in 1979 as a Laborer and retires as an Equipment Operator 4 in Water Construction. His plans for retirement include “honey-do” projects, Camaro restoration, and more camping and fishing. Keeling’s work can be seen throughout the Valley, as he has proudly pointed out to his wife and son over the years. His career at SRP is one of his proudest achievements, and he is grateful for his co-workers and the friendships made.
Retirements
This Week’s Top 5 To-Do’s
Feeling sick? Stay home — even if you don’t think it’s COVID-19. Whether you’re vaccinated or not, don’t come to work if you’re experiencing any symptoms of illness, such as a fever, runny nose or headache. Visit the Coronavirus & Return to Workplace page on insideSRP to learn more.
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Get a 15% discount on select performances of Ballet Arizona’s “The Nutcracker.” Use promo code SRP15 when you buy your tickets for shows Dec. 10–24.
LIVEwell is back and better than ever. Learn about 2022 program enhancements and how LIVEwell can help you save money during a Dec. 8 webinar. Register in OneWorkforce Learning.
Use 2019 vacation hours by Dec. 31. To request to carry forward 2019 vacation hours, you must receive approval by a senior director or above and email the completed Carryover Form to $ECPPAY by Dec. 10. Determine if you have remaining 2019 vacation hours by going to OneWorkforce Time and Attendance and reviewing your “Vacation – 2 year prior” hours under Leave Balances.
Check out SRP Marketplace for great deals on smart home gifts, like a free Google Nest Thermostat and $50 a Google Nest Hub. 2
Angel Acres horse therapy, Saturdays through March, 8:30 a.m.–noon
Shelf stocking at the Salvation Army warehouse, Dec. 16, 5:30–9 p.m.
Fiesta Bowl Parade, Dec. 18, 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Paz de Cristo dinner service, Dec. 30, 3:30–7:30 p.m.
Rock & Roll Marathon water station, Jan. 16, 6 a.m.–1 p.m.
Find even more volunteer opportunities at srpvolunteers.com.
Volunteer Opportunities
Do you know of an employee who makes a difference in the community — a person you might consider a “quiet” hero?
From now until Jan. 21, you can nominate an SRP employee or retiree for an SRP Presidents’ Volunteer Spirit Award. Nominees will have until Feb. 4 to complete the application and provide a letter of recommendation.
The award recognizes those who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities through their involvement in a nonprofit 501(c)(3) community service organization. The SRP Presidents’ Volunteer Spirit Awards virtual event will be held in April, which is National Volunteer Recognition Month.
By recognizing a fellow employee’s volunteer efforts, you acknowledge and support that individual’s community service, plus call attention to the good works of the organization for which the employee volunteers.
SRP presidents historically have led by example, investing countless hours in worthy causes throughout the community. Hence, the SRP Presidents’ Volunteer Spirit Award also represents the company’s efforts to recognize employee volunteerism.
To make a nomination, download and fill out this form (you can nominate yourself) and email it back to [email protected] by Jan. 21. Retirees should email [email protected] to receive the form.
Nominate the heroes among us for Presidents’ Volunteer Spirit Award
Ricardo Cling, 52, died Nov. 1. Cling joined SRP in 2011 and was a Material Handler – Warehouse 3. Read his full obituary.
Anthony Donahue, 87, died Oct. 26. Donahue joined SRP in 1968 and retired in 1994 as a Line Foreman.
Joe Dressendorfer, 81, died Nov. 10. Dressendorfer joined SRP in 1962 and retired in 1997 as a Section Supervisor. Read his full obituary.
Richard Howes, 77, died Nov. 6. Howes joined SRP in 1995 and retired in 2006 as a Meter Working Foreman. Read his full obituary.
Dorothy Lauten, 98, died Oct. 25. Lauten joined SRP in 1970 and retired in 1983 as a Secretary.
In Memoriam
Fall 2021: Updates from the field
2022 SRP PRESIDENTS’ VOLUNTEER SPIRIT AWARD
