USI, A Registered SPSF with the NCDOT

USI is a registered small professional services firm (SPSF) with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).  We are currently working with the NCDOT through an On-Call Agreement to provide engineering services for improvements to the Tryon Road and Regency Parkway Intersection in the Town of Cary.  The project also involves improvements to the Highway 64 on-ramp to Highway 1.

USI is always on the lookout to partner with other engineering firms on NCDOT projects as an SPSF.  We are currently prequalified in the following areas:

• 00070            Erosion & Sediment Control Design---Roadside Environmental – Soil & Water Engineering Section
• 00097            Guide Sign Design- Conventional Roads---Transportation Mobility and Safety Division
• 00132            Landscape & Streetscape Design---Bicycle & Pedestrian
• 00150            Pavement Condition Surveys---Pavement Management
• 00155            Pavement Marking Plans---Transportation Mobility and Safety Division
• 00173            Public Water Distribution Systems---Utilities
• 00174            Public Water Transmissions Systems---Utilities
• 00195            Roadway Construction Engineering & Inspection---Construction Services
• 00201            Rural Roadway Design---Preconstruction
• 00203            Sanitary Sewer Collection Systems---Utilities
• 00204            Sanitary Sewer Outfall Systems---Utilities
• 00231            Stream Restoration/Mitigation Monitoring---Roadside Environmental - Soil & Water Engineering Section
• 00269            Urban Roadway Design---Preconstruction
• 00316            Multi-Use Trail Design, Survey & Layout---Bicycle & Pedestrian
• 00338            Building Site Design---General Services Division
• 00405            Quality Assurance for High Speed Data Collection---Pavement Management
• 00467            Low Impact Division Managed Roadway Design---Preconstruction 

If your company is interested in teaming with USI on any NCDOT projects, please contact either Bob Wilson, PE at (704) 342-3007 or John Fersner, PE at (336) 272-3402.  We look forward to working with you.

Engineering and Architectural Advancements Utilizing Solar Energy

Earth’s population is burning through fossil fuels faster than the earth can replenish them. Therefore, new strategies are needed to harness renewable energy.  Solar is one of the leading renewable sources of energy.  The Sun produces more energy in one hour than the world can use in one year¹.  “The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth's non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined²”.

Admittedly, these new technologies do have drawbacks.  They are new and untested for long term use.  Furthermore, they can be very expensive to implement and maintain.  Despite these challenges, it is exciting to see such groundbreaking technologies taking place.

As an engineering firm, specializing in municipal design (roadways, sidewalks, greenways, and bike paths), USI looks forward to the future potential applications of solar technology.  A few of these groundbreaking technologies are listed below:

Solar Sidewalks: http://bit.ly/1wEGu94  And: http://bit.ly/1DcpHyU

Solar Bike Paths: http://bit.ly/1ERTOgy

Solar Powered Roads: http://bit.ly/1yEu3L6

Fully Transparent Solar Cell: http://bit.ly/1nDyiT8

References

1 http://web.mit.edu/mitpep/pdf/DGN_Powering_Planet.pdf

2 http://gcep.stanford.edu/research/exergycharts.html

Project Feature: Belmont Revitalization - A Century's Worth of Changes

The Belmont community was built during the turn of the century and was the setting for homes and businesses that sustained the livelihood for some of Charlotte’s first laborers.  The proximity to local textile mills and other industries of the time made the neighborhood location well-suited for many families that wanted to own their homes and be within walking distance to neighborhood stores, churches, schools, their jobs, and the streetcar.

The community thrived for many years until the mills and industries closed and jobs slowly left the area.  In May 2003, the Charlotte City Council adopted the Belmont Area Revitalization Plan.  The long-range plan for guiding the community and enhancing the quality of life for residents was developed with input from many stakeholders including Belmont residents, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department, the Charlotte Housing Authority, the Neighborhood and Business Services Department, area churches and businesses, etc. The City received a 20 million dollar HOPE VI grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2004 to redevelop and create new housing options at the Piedmont Courts location and to reinvest in the Belmont Community.

USI was retained to provide planning and design services to help implement streetscape improvements identified in the Revitalization Plan.  Working with City/County staff, the team applied the Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) Six-Step Process during planning and design efforts for the streetscape such that land use and transportation goals were integrated into improvement recommendations to consider the needs of various users.  The results of the overall process included a comprehensive collection of design recommendations to the corridor as a whole. 

Today, many of the strategies identified in the Belmont Revitalization Plan have been realized.  The streetscape improvements have been constructed.  The new mixed-income development Seigle Point is fully functional and providing housing at the previous Piedmont Courts location.  The Charlotte Housing Authority has constructed two smaller public housing sites in the northern portion of the corridor appropriately named McAden Park. These improvements are an example of thoughtful planning and re-investment which are able to preserve the historical value and character of neighborhood assets, and make them viable and relevant for the future. 

Creating a New Year's Resolution for Your Business

With the onset of a New Year, many people set a personal New Year’s Resolution.  The New Year represents a fresh start and resolutions are generally ones that will improve your personal health, relationships, or life in one way or another.  Have you ever thought about setting a New Year’s resolution or two for your business as well?  The New Year is a great time to reassess, and set the tone for the year to come.  Setting a business New Year Resolution can help you focus your business or discover new ways to meet your Mission Statement.  Just as each personal goal is tailored to your desires, so to the goals for your business resolution must also be tailored to the service or product you provide.  Below are some questions and suggestions to get you on the right track to setting your business New Year’s Resolution.

• Assess and identify customer/client’s needs – What can make their experience easier? What do they desire that you can provide?  Can you streamline a lengthy process or slash delivery/waiting times?
• Delegate - Have employees stepped up and filled certain duties during the previous year? Have they proved themselves to be competent and interested in a certain area?  If so, consider giving them more responsibility in this area.
• Succession Planning – If someone were to hand in their notice or announce retirement tomorrow, would there be anyone who could step in and take their place?  Do you have an effective cross-training program in place?
• Be More Productive – Are there new technologies that you are not taking advantage of? Could file sharing software make it easier for your employees to collaborate on documents internally or share them with clients? Is there new software on the market that simplifies and/or streamlines your current process?
• Keep Learning – With today’s ever increasing technological advances, it’s easy for opportunities to pass you by.  That is why continuing education is critical to staying on top of trends in your industry.  Are there any trade shows/conferences/conventions/seminars/classes that could improve your knowledge and that would work with your schedule?  If you already attend one or two, but they are the same you have always attended, are there any new ones that might benefit you in a different way?
• Give Back to the Community – Giving back to the community is a wonderful thing in and of itself.  It is also a great way to leave potential clients/customers with a positive image of your business. Is there any way your services or products could benefit the community?  Could you sponsor a non-profit event or program? 

 Once you set your resolutions, it is important to make them attainable.  If possible, set milestones along the way to full goal achievement.  And don’t forget to share your business resolutions with your employees, if appropriate, so they can join in and assist you in success!

How do you handle mistakes?

We all make mistakes. Someone once said that the only person who has not made a mistake is a person who has not done anything. The true measure of a person (or a company) is in how he/she handles the mistake.

• Experience is the name everyone gives their mistakes.— Oscar Wilde
• Experience is what enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.—Earl Wilson 
• When a person with money meets a person with the experience, the person with the experience winds up with the money and the person with the money winds up with the experience.—Harvey Mackay.
• One of my goals is to make only original mistakes. —Unknown

A Celebration of GIS Day

GIS stands for Geographic Information System.  Today is a celebration of the technological GIS advancements that have made a difference in our day to day lives.  GIS allows users to interpret geographical data visually and in multiple layers.  We, as a technological society, rely heavily on GIS information whether we realize it or not.  GIS is used to predict the weather, locate an address on your GPS, or determine the demographics of a specific area, just to name a few capabilities.

USI uses GIS to provide valuable information to our municipal clients.  Our GIS services include: field data collection, infrastructure inventory, needs assessments, and database design, population, and management.   We also use GIS for various engineering applications such as watershed modeling.  Allow USI to assist your municipality with its GIS needs.  Click here for our contact information.

If you’d like to discover more about GIS, follow this link: http://www.gisday.com/discover.html

Photo courtesy of ESRI. www.esri.com

5 Characteristics of a Professional

1.  Take Advantage of Every Opportunity.

I started my career as a hairstylist. At conferences I am often asked how I became a speaker, author, and executive speech coach? By noticing and using every chance that turned up. Opportunity doesn't knock just once. It knocks all the time, though you may not recognize the sound. One technique is to learn from successful people by finding out how they achieved their success.

2.  Start By Asking Questions.

Successful people will share their knowledge and experiences with you if you ask good questions that stimulate their thinking and responses. The quality of the information you receive depends on the quality of your questions. The key to connecting with others is conversation, and the secret of conversation is to ask the right questions. A conversation can lead to a relationship, and a nurtured relationship can produce amazing results.

3.  Dedicate Yourself.

Two questions you should ask yourself on a fairly regular basis are, "What can I do to contribute to my profession--to my employer and my professional association?" & "How can I be professionally accountable?" When you can do this, you'll get so much more than you give.

4.  Use Stories.

Be inventive in selling yourself and your profession. Learn to network, one on one, by using memorable stories. Sometimes, it's appropriate to fade into the background. Most of us are shy in some situations. But, to be professionally accountable, you must be able to stand out and speak up. When you are in any situation where you're meeting the public, how do you introduce yourself? When people ask what you do, can you tell them in a way that will stick in their minds? I challenge you to come up with a one-sentence way of presenting yourself and your profession so that people will never forget. Create a vivid, visual picture of your job, its challenges and triumphs. People will remember the picture you create in their minds, rather than your words.

5.  Develop Your Persuasive Powers.

Being professionally accountable means knowing how to influence people. President Dwight Eisenhower, said, "Leadership is the ability to decide what has to be done and then getting people to want to do it." How do you influence people? One of my clients is Horst Schulze, president of the Ritz Carlton hotels. He advises prospective employees, "We are all ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. Our guests pay our prices to have an experience, and it is your job to be part of that experience. You will never say, 'That is not in my job description,' and you will never bring your own problems to work." Obviously, this works at the Ritz Carlton. Do you have a similar motivator for yourself, your colleagues, and your fellow professionals? Are you persuasive in representing my company, department or association in public?

Article by: Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE  www.fripp.com  PFripp@Fripp.com

Delegation

     

A utility company superintendent took two crews into the field to install poles.  He gave each foreman his assignment and then left to attend to other duties.  Upon his return, he asked one foreman how many poles his crew had installed.  The first foreman replied, “Twelve.”

After inspecting the work, the superintendent went to the second foreman to make the same inquiry.  The super was surprised to learn the second crew had only installed two.  Naturally, the super asked the second foreman, “Why just two when the other crew installed twelve?”  “I know,” said the second foreman, “but look how much they left sticking out of the ground.”

Certainly, there can be pitfalls to delegating.  Yet many successful business people learn the power of leveraging your workforce through delegation.  The benefits of delegation include:

• Saving time for other pressing work.
• Increasing effectiveness by matching the right job and the right worker.
• Providing on-the-job growth opportunities for workers.

Here are a few ideas to increase your effectiveness when delegating:

• Choose people who will take responsibility-Demonstrate trust and faith in others.
• Match assignments to people’s skills - Delegate to people’s strengths, skills, and experience.
• Communicate expectations, not procedures - Provide guidance as needed or requested.
• Don’t expect perfection - Accept that your way is not the only way and weigh the differences.
• Allow for creativity - They may find a better way to do it.

Beautifying Our Cities One Neighborhood At A Time

Cities and towns around the country are recognizing the value of revitalizing our urban neighborhoods which have been in decline as people moved to new housing in the suburbs. Many of our urban neighborhoods have suffered from high crime and declining housing and infrastructure as the areas have been neglected for years.

Cities in our region are involved in efforts to improve housing, rebuild streets and sidewalks, and encourage community pride. The City of Charlotte through its Neighborhood Improvement Program has identified neighborhoods where streets and utilities are being upgraded along with landscaping, neighborhood parks, and housing to offer an improved quality of life for its citizens. USI has assisted the City of Charlotte on six of these neighborhoods by planning and designing improvements to sidewalks, roadways, storm drains, and utilities including replacement of undersized water mains. Four of these projects are completely constructed and two are under construction.  In Greensboro, USI assisted the City with redeveloping the Morningside area as a Hope VI project. This project involved replacing a public housing area with new streets, utilities, landscaping, and housing to offer residents a better way of life.

These neighborhood improvement projects along with the movement to revitalize our center city areas are important to the citizens who live there as well as others. USI’s staff is proud to be a partner in rebuilding our infrastructure and understands the engineering and social issues that are involved in working with local neighborhoods.