Posted on Twitter, June 2, 2020
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MET THIS WEEK

A weekly newsletter by and for Metropolitan employees
June 8, 2020
Part II: The Pets of Met video presentation
Guidelines for a Safe Return to the Workplace
As we move forward in the COVID-19 environment, employees are learning how to live and work while protecting their health and the health of others. Wearing face coverings and keeping at least six feet from others is the new norm. Regulations and guidelines will change as scientists and health professionals discover more about the novel coronavirus.

That’s why Metropolitan’s Operational Safety and Regulatory Services staff are continually monitoring regulations and recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation’s leading health protection agency.

With their expertise, SRS is able to develop guidance tailored to the needs of Metropolitan staff.

They have prepared several safety talks. The latest, “Essential Workers Staying Safe and Healthy at Work during COVID-19 Pandemic , ” covers how to prepare for work, including a self-check on your health. It als o provides best practices to stay safe at work, what to do if you are not feeling well, and even ideas for when you return home.

Other safety talks discuss the use and care of masks, face coverings, and respirators; and safely working from home.

“The COVID-19 situation has evolved rapidly. We want to be sure our employees have up-to-date information on how to stay healthy and protect each other while at work,” says Dan Guillory , Section Manager for SRS. “We encourage every employee to take the time to review the resources.”

The safety talks and other COVID-19 information are available on the Intramet.
Harvesting Vital Data from the Sky
“We are the personal shoppers for data,” explains Dave Malloy , IT’s Drone Program manager. “Units tell us what aerial data they need and we go out and get it.”

In mid-March, Dave received a request from Randy Smith at Iron Mountain Pump Plant for aerial footage of erosion damage to structures known as v-dikes that protect the Colorado River Aqueduct from debris flow. In this case, there were many damaged areas along a 14-mile stretch of the CRA east of Iron Mountain.


The v-dikes, clearly visible from the air, divert debris and storm run-off away from the open aqueduct to siphons, locations where the aqueduct flows underground. 

“Using one of our mid-sized video drones, and with the help of John Helton and Marlin “Moe” Kinser from Iron Mountain, we were able to fly 19 miles of v-dikes with the drone and capture all the video footage in less than a day,” Dave said.

After editing, Dave provided Randy with documentation for each of the 15 protective v-dikes and 15 siphons. On the horizon, Dave said, is the possibility of using software to embed geographical location data and camera projection information into the video stream so clients can not only see the damage and exact location information. 

And just a few weeks ago, Dave met with Travis Mensen , a member of Met’s Field Survey team to conduct a façade survey of the Gene Wash Dam to map cracks, something that hasn’t been done for decades. Six flights of their survey drone captured 1,380 high resolution images that will be used to create a 3D model of the dam.  
Building Blocks for Learning and Castles
As Met’s organizational development and training manager, Eric Bachmann understands the importance of communication and creativity - good skills that came into play when his daughter’s Kindergarten class stopped regular instruction. 

Eric has added teaching duties with a flourish of creativity to his daily work routine. He turned learning into games and competitions. His daughter Serling practices addition and subtraction with Lego structures.

“We've been ordering an irresponsible amount of Legos and there are lots of other deliveries to the house too, so we've been turning the boxes into a rapidly-expanding castle for our daughter in the driveway," Eric says.

Lessons continue as Serling learns how to measure and follow recipes when the family cooks together. There is also a ruthless (but civil) Crazy 8s marathon taking place.

Eric says keeping up with friends and family is important too. Serling and her best friend (and luckily close neighbor), communicate via walkie-talkies or through their yards' adjoining fence and draw chalk messages on the streets and sidewalks for their neighbor friends. Eric keeps connected to friends and extended family by watching movies remotely together and weekend Zoom sessions.

To accommodate the new normal of working at home, Eric and his wife turned their family room (the biggest room in the house) into a three-way office space to include a small desk for Serling. This leaves a few other rooms for times where they need to have uninterrupted work space for meetings or calls. 

And the outdoor carton castle is available too.
New hires, transfers, promotions & retirements are posted here each month.
NEXT ISSUE: JULY 6
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