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Implementing an automated asset management system can be overwhelming for any organization, regardless of its size or number of assets. For the Wisconsin DOT(WisDOT), implementing a new sign management process was a major undertaking that delivered many benefits.
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Collection of solid waste and recyclables accounts for an average of 50% of municipal solid waste (MSW) management system costs. Any reduction in collection costs can have a major impact on the overall budget, and automated refuse collection is one solution.
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Not long ago, farmers who hauled their crops to market built new roads using nearby materials. So it was with a road now called County Trunk Highway (CTH) S in northwestern Racine County, Wis. The north-south highway connects the village of Wind Lake with CTH K to the south, a distance of about 3...
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Winners from the 2005 PUBLIC WORKS Department of the Year contest.
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With the push to be competitive, public works managers are finding themselves debating whether privatization is the way to efficiency and accountability—while responding to growing service demands. Common to just about every utility manager is the desire to face these challenges strategically.
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David versus Goliath. Efficient versus ineffective. Weak versus strong. This is how many people may compare small towns to large cities. Small towns' public works departments have small staffs, less red tape, and fewer political problems while big cities have large bureaucracies, more money, and...
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Public works directors are accustomed to dealing with heavy equipment, road bases, and guardrails, so selecting work-management software can present a challenge. Scott Bressler, operations manager of the Butler County Engineer's Office in Hamilton, Ohio, says, however, that choosing the appropriate...
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Developing and monitoring budgets is not the favorite task of most public works professionals. Having the money to operate and develop the infrastructure, though, makes budgeting a necessary evil. For most cities, counties, and states, that evil is a little less onerous for 2006.
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Corrosion at wastewater treatment facilities gets little attention from upper-echelon managers and policymakers but is all too familiar to those who actually operate and maintain the plants. Until this year, the 20-volume ASM Handbook did not even specifically address corrosion in wastewater...