The Owners' Manual - Issue 12 - Winter 2018

2018  issue 12  winter

issue 12, winter 2018

Photo credit: Robert Klein, Bridgeport

BL Buzz

All Things Owners

FYI

Around BL........................1-3 Kudos!.................................3 Drones.........................13-15 Project Spotlight.........32-33

Get to Know..................6-12 Connective Consciousness............18-19 Back to Basics............20-23 Question of the Quarter........................24-29 Memberships...................36

Legal Topic.....................4-5 Email Signature...........16-17 Safety Tip.....................30-31 IT Tip.............................34-35 Happenings......................37

Front & Back Covers: Atlantic Sunrise Project

Check out pages 32 & 33 for a few more pics & information

Rai Muhblauer, Mark Heeb and Dan Salameda attended the BisNow National Industrial Real Estate Summit - Northeast in NYC.

Nick Giardina and Dominick Celtruda represented BL at the Rhode Island League of Cities & Towns Conference in Warwick, RI.

UGI celebrated the groundbreaking of their new headquarters in East Cocalico Township in PA. The 93,000 SF facility will be complete by the end of 2018. BL provided civil engineering/site development.

The Connecticut Veteran’s Cemetery Expansion & Improvements Project was bestowed the Award of Merit by the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Congratulations to the team on this honor!

Have an idea for the newsletter? Or a question or comment? Please reach out to Heather Halotek or Jessica Osborne

issue 12 // 1

Mark Heeb (Camp Hill) and Virajj Puri (CEO of Gotham Greens) presented and led a tour for members of the South Carolina Palmetto AgriBusiness Council, Sequence Holdings, Landfall Capitol and ImTag on a tour of the Brooklyn Whole Foods and Gotham Greens greenhouse facility (at Whole Foods Brooklyn).

BL’s mascot, Hugo, turned

1! Happy Birthday, Hugo!

In December, we held our annual ICSC Client Reception, which was attended by more than 100 of our clients. BL’s team gathered for our annual selfie by the Rockefeller Center tree.

Paul Curcio (Long Island) presented to ASHE on Basics of Horizontal Directional Drilling & Pipe Jacking in December. He also presented to the ASCE Long Island Chapter on Quality Levels of Utilty Mapping. These events are great for BD and sourcing!

BL held a blood drive in our Meriden office - thanks to our very generous donors, we collected 21 pints of blood, which exceeded our goal of 17! Please save the date for our next drive, which will be on July 23, 2018.

GO RED FOR WOMEN!

Camp Hill

Melville

Ohio

Meriden

“ As with any large project, successful start- up comes after years of hard work from a lot of different individuals. Thanks for all the time, energy, and effort put into design and construction of this system! ” ~Greg Shotts, Kinder Morgan

The Kinder Morgan Utopia project is flowing ethane gas as of January 23, 2018 (about 1 month ahead of schedule). The completion of this project is outstanding for our prime teaming partner SWCA and BL. Since BL was engaged on the project in November 2014 (3 ½ years), there were many individuals involved from various disciplines including natural resources, cultural resources and environmental contaminant group; engineering (SWPP plans for the pipeline route and facilities), floodplain permits, consents to easements, water withdrawal registrations and hydrostatic discharge permits) and survey as field staff support and environmental inspection. There are still invasive species/ restoration monitoring and agricultural impact mitigation agreement monitoring tasks that SWCA and BL will be completing through December 2019.

DECEMBER2017 FEBRUARY2018

In theCommunity Rotary Club of Wooster – We recently visited the Wooster RotaryClubtopresentanoverviewofKinderMorganandthe construction status of the Utopia Pipeline Project. Pictured areKinderMorgan’sAllenForeandClubPastPresidentDoug Drushal. Kinder MorganBegins Operationofthe UtopiaPipeline System Kinder Mo gan is pleased to announce the Utopia Pipeline hasbeenplacedinto service,andproductdeliveryofethane fromHarrisonCounty,OhiotoWindsor,Ontario, Canadahas commenced operation. The pipeline system extends approximately270milesandhasaninitialcapacityof50,000 barrels per day (bpd) and can be expanded to more than 75,000bpd. UtopiaCo structionCommences Utopia Construction Kickoff Meeting in Ashland – Kinder Morgan recently held a construction kickoff meeting in Ashland, Ohio. Representative Darrell Kick welcomed crewmemberstothe70 th OhioHouseDistrictandhighlighted theneedforenergyinfrastructureprojectssuchasUtopia.

MAY2017

LocalBenefits Since1950,familyownedAber’sTruckCenterhasbeena full-service truck dealership located in Ashland, Ohio. Aber’shasbecomeoneofUtopia’scontractors’preferred destinationsfortheirtruckrepairs.Aber’sAmandaKaser said, “Aber’s has seen a positive impact from the pipeline. We appreciate the pipeline employees and everythingtheyhavebroughttoourcommunity.” ClydeHighSchoolRoundtable Clyde High School Roundtable – We enjoyed meeting with student leaders from the Clyde High School 2018 Senior Class in Clyde, Ohio. Kinder Morgan's Allen Fore discussed career development and the importance of civic engagement while the students sharedtheir future aspirations. GoFliers! UtopiaProfile:LeadAgricultural InspectorManningTagarook

ManningTagarookservesastheLead AgriculturalInspectorfortheUtopia project. Sincebeginninghiscareerin 2008,Manninghasworkedonseven pipeline projects in nine states, including Kinder Morgan’s construction of the Rockies Express PipelineinOhio.

As Lead Agricultural Inspector, Manning’s role is to ensure Utopia’s compliance with federal, state, local and landowner permits and contracts during the construction of the Utopia project. Following the pipelineinstallation,Manningwillalsooverseethefull restorationofagriculturalpropertiesalongtheroute.

Property Restoration Utopia Restoration – Even in the wet and cold weather conditions, our restoration crews have worked tirelessly to restorepropertiestotheirpre-constructionstate. Picturedis arestoredpropertyinWayneCounty,Ohio. “WeareextremelypleasedtohaveplacedtheUtopiaPipeline into service,” said Don Lindley, president of Natural Gas Liquids, Products Pipelines for KMI. “The project team, in coordinationwithlocal,stateandfederalagencies, hasdone a tremendousjob developing a projectthat provides ethane takeaway capacity from the Utica shale to the growing petrochemical industry while also maintaining an open dialogue with the local communities to support their needs and consider alternatives. This interaction and creativity developedaprojectthatworkedformultiplestakeholders.” Pictured are Kinder Morgan’s Christie Billings, Allen Fore, RepresentativeDarrellKick,KinderMorgan’sAllanCampbell andMinnesotaLimited’sChristopherHaux. FAQ:HowwilltheUtopiapipeline beconstructed? ConstructionoftheUtopiapipelinewilloccurinphases. Webegin byclearingandgradingtheright-of-way. Thencrewswillstring, weldandinstallthepipe,layingitintoatrenchandthencovering it with soil. Before operations begin, the pipe is carefully inspectedandhydrostaticallytestedbyfillingitwith waterand runningitathighpressures,asrequiredbytheU.S.Departmentof Transportation regulations. The entire construction and installation process will be monitored by inspectors, and will proceed with as little impact as possible to the environment, landownersan thecommunity.

877.652.2155 87 .652.215 877.652.2155

/KinderMorganInc /KinderMorganInc

/KinderMorganInc

UtopiaPipeline.com UtopiaPipeline.com UtopiaPipeline

Kinder_Morgan Kinder_Morgan

Kinder_Morgan

KINDERMORGAN•605W.WESTLAKEDRIVE•ASHLAND,OH44805

issue 12 // 3

Legal Topic Licenses

In order for BL to perform our services, both individual employees and the Company need to be licensed. Several individuals at BL hold multiple licenses. In many states, this requires them to do a certain number of continuing education hours every year – often on their own time. The Company relies on these employee owners to be able to do the work we do in the states that we do it. Licensing is a critical piece of our business and without it we would not be able to provide the services we do. To the right is a chart that shows where we are licensed and how many individual employee owners hold those licenses. This can also be found on the Intranet: Documents & Resources > Knowledge Base > Reference. If you have any questions about licensing, please call Jane Maskell.

BL COMPANIES SUMMARY OF LICENSES

BL Companies, Inc. Summary of Licenses

= Targets to get licensed (notes to identify staff)

02/13/2018

Architecture

Engineering

Corporate License Legend

Survey

Yes

Approved Corporate License

Yes w/L Corporate License for some Disciplines (Not All)

State

MEP Engineering

Structural Engineering

Civil Engineering

Landscape Architecture

Land Surveying

No No Corporate License

Architecture

NR Corporate License Not Required for this State.

XX Cannot Submit Proposal or Work in this State Notes

1 Alabama

1

1

1

1

Can perform Civil Engineering and Architecture

Yes w/L

2

Alaska

No

3 Arizona 4 Arkansas 5 California 6 Colorado 7 Connecticut 9 Delaware 10 Florida 11 Georgia 8 DC

1 1

1

1 1 3 3 2 1 1 1

Yes w/L Yes w/L Yes w/L

Can perform Civil Engineering

Can perform Engineering & Architecture

Can perform Civil Engineering

2 7 1 1 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1

1 4

1 3 1 1 1 1

NR Yes NR

Can perform Architecture, Structural, MEP, Civil

31

3

6

Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil, LA and LS. Can perform Architecture, Structural & Civil Can perform Architecture, Structural, Civil Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural & Civil

Yes w/L Yes w/L Yes w/L

1 1

Can perform Architecture & Civil

12

Hawaii

No

13 Idaho

2

Yes w/L

Can perform Civil Engineering. Cannot Submit Proposals.

14

Illinois

XX NR No Yes

15 Indiana 16 Iowa 17 Kansas 18 Kentucky 19 Louisiana

1

1

1

Can perform Architecture and Engineering

Can perform Architecture

1

1

2 1 3 6 1 1 1

Yes w/L Yes w/L

Can perform MEP, Structural , Civil & Architecture

Can perform Architecture & Civil.

20 Maine

1 2

1 1 3 1

1

NR

Can perform Architecture, Structural, Civil, and LS. Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil & LA. Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil, LA and LS.

21 Maryland

1 2

Yes w/L

22 Massachusetts

2+1 Electri

11

1

NR NR NR NR

23 Michigan 24 Minnesota 25 Mississippi 26 Missouri 27 Montana

1

Can perform Architecture & Civil.

Can perform Architecture & Engineering Can perform Civil Engineering & Architecture Can perform Architecture, MEP Structural. Can perform Architecture & Engineering

1 1

1

Yes w/L

Y w/L

28

Nebraska

No

29 New Hampshire

2

1

1

5 1 6 1

1

Yes w/L

Can perform Architecture, Structural, Civil and LS.

30 Nevada

31 New Jersey 32 New Mexico 33 New York 34 North Carolina 35 North Dakota

3

2

1

1

1

Yes NR Yes

Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil and LS.

Can perform Civil Engineering.

6 2 1 3

1 1 1 1

2 1

12

2

1 1

Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil, LA and LS.

5

Yes w/L

Can perform Civil, Architecture and LS. Can perform Engineering & Architecture

NR Yes

36 Ohio

1

13

1

2

Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil, LA and LS.

37 Oklahoma

1

Yes w/L

Can perform Civil Engineering.

38

Oregon

No

39 Pennsylvania 40 Rhode Island 41 South Carolina

3 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3

2 2 1 1 1 1

2 1 1

15

2 2

3 1

Yes

Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil, LA and LS. Can perform Architecture, MEP, Structural, Civil, LA and LS.

7 1

Yes w/L Yes w/L

Can perform Architecture & Civil.

42

South Dakota

No

43 Tennessee

1 1

2 3

Yes w/L Yes w/L

Can perform Architecture & Civil. Can perform Architecture, MEP & Civil. Can perform Architecture & Engineering

44 Texas 45 Utah

NR NR

46 Vermont 47 Virginia

1 1

4 5 2 2 1

1

Can perform Architecture, Structural, Civil and LS Can perform Architecture, Structural & Civil Can perform Civil Engineering & Architecture Can perform Architecture, Structural & Civil

1

Yes w/L Yes w/L Yes w/L Yes w/L

48 Washington 49 West Virginia 50 Wisconsin International 52 Canada / BC 54 Canada / ON 55 Canada/AL 51 Wyoming

1 2

2

Can perform Architecture & Engineering

No

3 3 3

2 2 2

1 1 1

1 1 1

Yes w/L Yes w/L Yes w/L

Can perform Architecture & Engineering

Can perform Architecture Can perform Architecture

issue 12 // 5

issue 12 // 7

As a 100% employee-owned company, BL Companies stands apart from the rest because of the way we engage employee owners in the business of creating a long-term sustainable Company. We recently published the 2017 Committees’ Annual Report - a summary of the accomplishments of BL’s committees. This “Get to Know” will give you a snapshot of what our committees are all about. For more indepth information, check out the Annual Report or visit the Intranet.

■ 401K Committee ■ BL Application Software Team: BLAST ■ Document Retention Committee ■ ESOP Communications ■ Giving Back ■ Healthcare ■ Project Management ■ QA/QC ■ Safety ■ Technical Training ■ Wellness Team

401K COMMITTEE Chairperson: Mina Almengor

MISSION ■ ■ Prepare, maintain, and review the investments periodically (quarterly basis) with guidance of a third-party financial advisor. ■ ■ Prudently select, monitor and, if necessary, recommend termination of investment options. ■ ■ Share information and recommendations to the Executive Team and President/CEO. BL APPLICATION SOFTWARE TEAM: BLAST | Chairperson: Doug Campbell MISSION ■ ■ Prioritizing and identifying areas of improvement, challenges and areas of focus for the Company specific to software and technology. DOCUMENT RETENTION COMMITTEE Chairperson: Julia O’Brien MISSION ■ ■ Develop and annually update Document Retention Policy. ■ ■ Seek to educate employees and lead by example as to best document retention and file management practices. ■ ■ Address ongoing needs in regards to the sending, sharing and delivering of documents.

issue 12 // 9

ESOP COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Chairperson: Wayne Violette MISSION ■ ■ To promote an inclusive and interactive work place by educating our colleagues on our rights and responsibilities as employee owners, and encouraging pride in the impact each of us has on our services and profession.

GIVING BACK COMMITTEE Chairperson: Heather Halotek

MISSION ■ ■ To promote and foster social responsibility and involvement through charitable giving, volunteerism and community projects. The Giving Back Committee coordinates and communicates BL’s giving back initiatives and schedule of events. The goal is to capture all the great things that our BL Companies’ employee owners do in the community both as a company and as individual employee owners.

HEALTHCARE COMMITTEE Chairperson: Mina Almengor

MISSION ■ ■ Annual renewal – review of current plan and utilizations. ■ ■ Make recommendations of changes to the plan to the Executive Team.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Chairperson: Mike Lozanoff MISSION ■ ■ Increase the proficiency of Project Management by providing Project Managers with: ○○ Necessary tools, resources, and education on a continual basis to promote project profitability ■ ■ Provide exemplary client service.

QA / QC COMMITTEE Chairperson: Julia O’Brien MISSION

■ ■ Evaluate the current QA/QC programs across the disciplines including lessons learned from projects and consistency throughout offices. ■ ■ Identify gaps and enhancements. ■ ■ Continue to implement and promote Departmental, company-wide QA Plans; continue to train staff on best practices so as to incorporate into process and systems.

SAFETY COMMITTEE Chairperson: John Schmitz

MISSION ■ ■ Educate all employees on safe practices in field and office. ■ ■ Hold employees accountable for employing best practices. ■ ■ Continually respond to the ever-changing safety needs of our environment and clients.

issue 12 // 11

TECHNICAL TRAINING COMMITTEE Chairperson: Bob Celata

MISSION ■ ■ Advance technical skills in each of our disciplines to raise the quality of all projects.

WELLNESS TEAM Chairperson: Annette Hyland

MISSION ■ ■ Increase awareness, promotion, and adoption of healthy habits through educational initiatives. ■ ■ Empower employees to be responsible for their own daily choices toward living a balanced and mindful lifestyle. ■ ■ Foster a positive worksite culture with behaviors that cultivate, nurture, and support optimal well-being for ourselves, our families, and community.

issue 12 // 13

BL Companies has a drone! As of now, we have six licensed pilots in Connecticut - with the goal to expand service to all of our offices. If you have a project that we’ve completed that could possibly benefit from aerial photography for marketing purposes or a current project that could benefit from aerial photography for an RFP submission, site observation photos, existing condition photos, etc., please contact Doug Campbell. Doug will compile the requests and then discuss with us for review/approval. Stay tuned for more information!

FYI: There’s a new section in the Safety Manual focused entirely on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones!)

BL’s Drone Pilots a.k.a. Commercial UAS Operators

Steve Bodak Doug Campbell John Jenney Kevin Kilguss Ken Kittredge Cristy Shamus

issue 12 // 15

New (temporary) email signature! BL is always sourcing for great talent to join our team of employee owners! An easy way to do this is by adding a line to our email signatures. Our clients or colleagues might know of someone that would be a great fit for BL. Please note that this isn’t meant to be permanent - please feel free to keep it there for a month or two.

Check out the Intranet for instructions on updating your email signature - or feel free to contact Jess Osborne or Heather Halotek.

Intranet: Documents & Resources > Knowledge Base > IT > “Adding Email Signatures”

We’re growing and hiring! Learn more about building a career with BL here .

issue 11 // 11 2 7

CONNECT IVE CONSCIOUSNESS In 2017, there were 10 projects which were undertaken by the Principals

Principal team is working on those actions. Other feedback was more of a “to be conscious of” suggestion. Therefore, the team created the “Connective Consciousness” document [to the right]. We will be sharing this document at the March Employee Owners’ meeting, in the first quarter Owners’ Manual and during cohort discussions in the month of March. After March, this document will become part of the orientation process through the Peer Coach role. After months 2-3 of a new employee’s hire, the Peer Coach will run through this document with the new employee.

at BL. They touched on a variety of topics from financial literacy to profitability to mentoring, branding and growth. One was looking at all our offices and field staff and thinking of ways we can all be more connected. The project was titled “Connecting Offices and Field Staff” and the five Principals who worked on this project held meetings in every office and tried to sit down with as many of the field employee owners as possible. There was a lot of great feedback that was generated from those conversations. Some of the feedback was actionable and the

P A R T I C I P A T I O N While we want to provide many teambuilding events throughout the year and specifically during ESOP month, consideration should be given to smaller offices with fewer employee owners. Occasional lack of participation in all events doesn’t equate to lack of engagement.

O F F I C E AWA R E N E S S Offices operate differently. For example, if there is a cohort meeting or a meeting in a larger office and lunch is served, be aware that the smaller office may just be brown- bagging it. Let those people know that they can expense lunch if they would like.

O F F I C E V I S I T S • While smart screens have been great, there is no substitute for a face-to-face visit. • If an employee is traveling by or near another office, stop in! Even if it’s for a short period of time. • Consider working out of another office for a day if you have meetings in a different place. • If there are teams working out of two offices, consider alternating occasionally and having team meetings in both offices from time to time.

E MA I L S While mass e-mails are sometimes unavoidable, if possible, try to send e-mails only to the target audience. If mass e-mails are sent, pertinent information should be discussed at future staff meetings.

CO N N E C T I N G • In smaller offices, consider doing events as an office rather than as a discipline. • In CT, if there are employees who don’t work in that office but live close, consider inviting them to join in an evening happy hour or event. • Supervisors should always be open and looking for team-building opportunities – informal “sit-downs”, happy hours, interdisciplinary staff update meetings, etc. • If there is an industry rep who comes to an office, invite the rest of the department through Ring Central to participate. • If an employee in another office could help with a request for a project, consider calling him or her to assist even if the employee is not in that discipline or on the project team.

F E E D B A C K / R E COG N I T I O N / C H E C K I N G I N

• Employees continue to value feedback and recognition. We should all continue to look for ways to provide positive feedback and recognition for good work. • Field employees/construction inspectors – those who rarely report to an office greatly value their supervisor’s “checking in” to see how they are doing. C L I E N T C A R E As we learned in the client care training, responsiveness to requests by other BL employees is critical. There is nothing that makes an employee in one office feel more a part of the whole company than having someone return a phone call or e-mail promptly.

N O O N S I T E A D M I N . A S S I S T A N T Not every office has an administrative assistant on site to help with ordering supplies, coordinating travel assistance, dealing with deliveries, etc. If you are in such an office and need assistance, please call the Receptionist in Meriden.

issue 12 // 19

Back to Basics (Pet Peeves) Everyone has at least one and for many of them it is the reason why we have outlined best practices and standards. At the beginning of each year we revisit many of those standards as a refresher. Below are a few items that have been submitted as a “Pet Peeve” as a starting and focus point for 2018.

Pet Peeve: File Naming My pet peeve continues to be document naming. Employees continue to name documents (I’m mainly thinking of proposals right now) incorrectly and tend to name all documents in a way that will remind them what it is. As an example, it’s: C-PRP- LastName.FirstInitial-JobNumber ..., not the other way around, or no name at all. It can be time consuming trying to find a document when it isn’t named according to standards.

We have a standard format for the naming of our documents and files which is covered in the “FILE NAMING AND FILE SAVING STANDARDS” document that is located on our Intranet > Knowledge Base > Manuals. The section being referenced starts on page 11. It is very important that everyone that may be looking for information pertaining to any project be able to find it efficiently and effectively. You are rarely the only individual referencing information pertaining to proposals and projects.

issue 12 // 21

Pet Peeve: AutoCAD Templates and Folder Locations I guess a good reminder to all would be to use the templates that have been created and where they are located. Also, a good reminder would be to properly file items that come in and files that are going out in the proper Record IN/OUT folders. In almost all cases, templates have been generated for use for all the base drawings for you. They have been generated for and with the intent to maintain consistency when they are used. Please exercise caution with copying old data forward since in most cases the file structure or format may have been modified to support a specific purpose, feature or client need as well as where the templates are being updated to reflect new and best practices, the older information is not. As on the prior page, the purpose of our folder structure is to help organize and maintain a wealth of information that is not only for existing and current needs but for future ones as well.

Autodesk AutoCAD templates are located at:

Autodesk AutoCAD 2014

Autodesk AutoCAD 2018 F:\CADD\Setup-18\Templates

F:\CADD\Templates

We do have a DOCUMENT RETENTION committee that has reviewed and established much of the project folder structure naming and needs. If you have any question or request on the project folder structure please coordinate with one of its members. For the Autodesk and Bentley software being leveraged, please coordinate with your BLAST representative for direction.

Pet Peeve: Saving Contracts & Proposals

Unexecuted contracts (proposals) are to be saved under PM/PRP folder for the associated project. Executed contracts are saved under PM/PROJ- CON/+FINAL-CON. Only the signed and executed contracts should be in the +FINAL folder and there should only be one file in there. This will allow anyone who needing that information to locate it quickly without having to dig through multiple copies

There is confusion where unexecuted ASAs & SUB Agreements should be saved. Since there are already subfolders under +FINAL-CON for these, that’s where some people save them. (I thought the intent was for only the final executed agreements to be in this folder). Other people save the unexecuted ASAs under the PRP folder.

    

Pet Peeve: Use of Standard Details

One pet peeve that I can think of is the misconception that the Civil “Standard Details“ are good “as is” to insert on a detail sheet for any project. The Civil “Standard Details” are actually not “Standard Details” but are really “Standard Templates” of details. There continues to be this misconception that the Civil “Standard Details” are always good for all jobs. They are not. The details are really templates that need proper selection, review and editing for most jobs. The parties that have the misconception are generally less experienced personnel performing CAD tasks with little supervision during detail selection in the design process.

Continued education and development on the proper use of our libraries, templates and standards is critical to every discipline and skill set. Blindly throwing information into a drawing can equally be worse than missing it entirely. The education of what to use and when comes with experience which can be quickly derailed with a Cut, Copy & Paste as a shortcut in the race to complete deadlines. Please continue to coordinate with your project team during the project development. Quality Control starts with you when the data is first included or generated for our projects.

      

Pet Peeve: Saving Reports Report Saving- some people save working files under DOCS/RPT, others save to the discipline folder (ENG-TECH, ENVIRO, etc.). I thought the intent of DOCS/RPT was for compiled reports to be saved under, if they are not going RECORD/OUT yet. CONFUSING.

The intent of the reports (RPT) folder has been blurred between disciplines as how they are currently organizing the data. The discipline / project team should be consistent in its practices and a discussion should be had to ensure everyone is applying the same practice. As for the Record – Out folders, a copy of what is being transmitted via Email should be placed into a matching folder for future reference as to what was sent regardless if that information exists in or at a different location. It is impossible for anyone outside of the IT Department to browse anyone else’s Email for content when the need arises. Having a copy in the Record folder provides the opportunity for anyone to refer too at any time when needed.

issue 11 // 17 2 23

What is the best (or favorite) gift you ever received?

issue 12 // 25

KELLY BEAUDREAU-HWANG (Meriden) I received a special gift for my 35th birthday. I have always loved Stickley furniture and the arts and crafts style. My dad was very involved in antiques and knew how expensive authentic Stickley furniture could be. He saw a news article about a small Stickley side table that sold at auction for a small fortune. He researched the table and made an exact replica and gave it to me on my 35th birthday. Now that he is gone, having something he made with his own two hands for me is incredibly special.

KATHY RODO (Meriden) I love black cats so have rescued many from shelters over the years and always have two or three at a time.We rescue older cats and do not take the kittens everyone adopts.Within a few months, two of my cats that I had for 19 years and 10 years both passed away. I was so devastated by this and it was a very hard time.After saying for years, we wouldn’t get a kitten, my husband went to the Old Lyme Shelter and adopted me a little black kitten and brought him home and gave him to me as a gift. I named him Cubby and he is the love of my life.

SUSAN DOUGHERTY (Hartford) My favorite gift is a necklace that was made for me and given to me last Christmas. It is a beautiful necklace made from my parents wedding rings. They both have been gone for many years and I miss them dearly every day.When I was given this gift, I can’t explain the emotions that I felt. Happy, grateful, sad but mainly LOVE especially for the person who made it for me and the people that gave it to me. Of course, I have received many wonderful things in my lifetime, especially things given to me by my children. But this gift is probably the most meaningful gift I have ever received.

DAN CASINELLI (Bridgeport) A few years after my grandfather passed away, I may have been about 15 or 16, my grandmother gave me my grandfather’s gold wind up pocket watch. He had received it as a gift when he was young and only used it for special occasions. He kept it in the original box and it remains that way today. I had a lot of great memories with him and that item keeps those memories and good times alive.

MIKE SULLIVAN (Meriden) This award is a memento that I have kept from my grandfather “Papa”. He was such a great man and a tremendous influence on me – I think of him all the time, and I’ve lived much of my life guided by thoughts of “what would Papa have done?” This little award is very much like him, a quiet and simple expression of love and pride as a grandfather. It serves to remind me always that even these simplest gestures of appreciation, affection and recognition are the most memorable. I could tell many stories of Papa.

His quiet strength. His wonderful humor. His bravery in the face of many trials. His ingenuity and skills as a self-taught craftsman. He loved his family very much and was demonstrative of that love in so many ways. I honor him by trying to emulate him in all things.

NELLIE MARGIOTTA (Meriden) The best “gifts” I ever received were my two children. I was nineteen when my first gift arrived and my second gift arrived a few years later. I was self-conscious to tell people at what age I had my children until I realized these were my gifts. These two-little people gave me a purpose to survive through the trials and tribulations of being a young parent especially when this was not the plan. Goes to show that our plans and our higher powers plans don’t always go hand in hand. JOCELYNTAYLOR (Meriden) One of my favorite gifts would have to be Samantha, my American Girl Doll!What made her even more special was that I was able to share her with my two favorite cousins. We spent countless days hosting tea parties in my Gram’s Secret Garden, playing games at my cousin’s house, and having fashion shows with their beautiful gowns! Not only did I receive my very own American Girl Doll that Christmas, but I was also gifted a handmade wooden wardrobe for her clothes, created by my Gramp who has since gone completely blind. He was a very active artist before he lost his sight and I’m extremely humbled to own one of his creations that was such a cherished part of my childhood!

issue 11 // 21 i sue 2 7

CLARE OLESEN (Meriden) The best gift I ever

received was Mother’s Day 2016. I am sharing this to encourage all you parents when you are having a day with your child that feels like this:

Know that your child is learning from everything you do and even if they never express it in words like those below – what you do really matters! I was unable to be with my daughters on Mother’s Day. I received this gift in the mail from my oldest daughter and saved it to open on Mothers Day. It brought me to tears and I still treasure it.

The card

Each small gift was labelled with a small card:

Here are a couple of examples of what she expressed

TIFFANY BOURGEOIS (Hartford) One of my favorite gifts was from my best friend back home. I had just been on my first solo trip to the UK, so she handpainted a union jack for me as a present. She even aged it to look cooler. Presents like that always mean more.

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BL’s Safety Day was held on 1/16/18 All employee owners gathered to review the 2018 Safety Manual. Some highlights of the day included: NEW SECTIONS ADDED TO THE SAFETY MANUAL  New Acronyms  7.9 - Crystalline Silica Dust  8.17 - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) SOME MAIN DISCUSSION ITEMS  Review of the JSA & JHA Process  Daily Tailgate Meeting Logs  Safety Committee Member Updates  Incident Investigation Process  Sub-Contractor Policy  2018 Health, Wellness and Safety Initiative Have questions? Please be sure to reach out to your department’s Safety Committee Representative - and peruse the 2018 Safety Manual!  Intranet: Training > Safety  Intranet: Company Directory > Committees > Safety

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BL is working for Williams Transco to provide Engineering Compliance services for 200 miles of natural gas pipeline that includes Access Roads, M&R Stations, Contractor Yards, and Compressor Stations. Our engineering guidance support consists of Engineering Compliance Inspectors (ECI’s), Engineering Compliance Lead (ECL), and a Chief Engineering Compliance Lead. This is BL’s first Engineering Compliance contract on a long linear natural gas project. We currently have 12 full-time field employees working 6 days a week, along with 12 BL office/field personnel supporting these efforts.

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REBOOT MICROSOFT OFFICE

OUTLOOK When sending an email to someone internally for the first time begin with typing the first 3 initials of their name and press “CTRL+K”. This will pop up a list for you to select from or complete the entry. Example: in the TO field, type “dc” and then CTRL+K. The more you type the narrower the search.

MICROSOFT WORD

TINY URLS BE CAREFUL and cautious when interacting with links through E-Mails. Hover over the hyperlink to

Not every application or function completely closes when you exit an application and worse yet if it crashes or was forced closed. A reboot clears all the “extras” and resets the machine where you will have 100% of the resources.

FILES If your file

Use tables to assist in information

extension does not end in “X” then you are using an old format and 100% of the current software will not be available to you. “Convert” and do a “Save As” your file into the current version.

organization and formatting rather than using spaces and tabs.

check where it wants to send you. When in doubt – call I.T.

You can minimize all active windows and show your desktop quickly MINIMIZE ALL ACTIVE WINDOWS (SHOW DESKTOP) Key} + D”. The windows key is located between the “CTRL” & “ALT” keys on most keyboards. OR Press the BUTTON in the absolute lower right-hand corner of your taskbar (to the right of the clock typically). It looks like just a BLANK rectangle but it is actually a button. by pressing “{Windows

You can send any Microsoft Office file (Word, Excel, PowerPoint….) quickly to anyone while you have it open. Press the following key sequence to automatically attach the active file to an E-Mail. ALT>F>H> E>A SEND AN ACTIVE / OPEN FILE QUICKLY VIA E-MAIL

Be cautious with emails and if you ever have a suspicion on its content please contact the IT Department. “YOUR FEDEX PACKAGE HAS ARRIVED”

Connecting to the BL WiFi means that you are being managed through our network settings. Sites, such as Yahoo or most Streaming Media sites, have been turned off. You need to use your personal data plan or access those sites while not using our BL wireless connection. BL WIFI VS PERSONAL DEVICES

Please make sure that “Enable join before host” is checked prior to establishing a meeting. Also, you {the host / organizer of the meeting} cannot Mute or Remove participants from meeting unless you are logged into Ring Central. RING CENTRAL MEETINGS

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March 2 Employee Owner Meeting 11 Daylight Savings (“Spring” forward) 20 First Day of Spring

April 1 Easter 22 Earth Day

Did you know... BL anniversaries can be found on the events calendar on the Intranet!

May 13 Mother’s Day 28 Memorial Day - Day Off!

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2018  issue 12  winter

NEWSLETTER TEAM: Heather Halotek Jessica Osborne

CONTRIBUTORS: Doug Campbell Julia O’Brien