Session Descriptions and Speakers

Optimize Facility Performance for Work Requirements:  Predictive Analytics and Simulation
During this committee meeting presentation learn how to precisely and accurately simulate all factors impacting the achievement of your facilities’ mission-critical work requirements and optimize performance across multiple planning horizons and thousands of use scenarios.  ROIs range from 10:1 to 20:1, with first cost savings of up to $8M, and annual operational savings of $783,000.

Suzanne DiGeronimo, FAIA, will be presenting on improving the resilience of the New York coastline between Sandy Hook NJ to Jamaica Bay NY (5-miles) by using a Storm Surge Barrier System.  Presentation will be followed by a group discussion on how SAME should update the current SAME Resilience national strategic goal to be more relevant in supporting the uniformed services and relevant to outreach opportunities for individual Posts.

Do you represent a small business, or are you a small business liaison at a large business?  If so, you don't want to miss this activity!  First you'll get to know the leadership of the SB Council, the goals of the Council, and how you can get involved. 

Next, hear from Lt. Col. Tedd Wheeler, USA (Ret.), on the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) and how it can be used as a tool to give Small Businesses information to determine who best to contact, meet, team with that match their companies’ capabilities and objectives. This would be great long-term planning to prepare firms for an action plan to implement at the SAME Small Business Engagement later this year!

The Urbahn Medal is given by SAME for distinguished performance in the field of architecture. Dr Jim Pocock from the Air Force Academy is our Urbahn Medal winner this year. Jim has conducted several trips to Africa, sponsoring cadet involvement.  Jim also developed and directed the US-Russian Environmental Management Course and has participated in the Baltic/Swedish/US Defense environmental cooperation since 1999. He is the author of the book Constructability Concepts and Practice. Join your fellows architects to hear Jim. It will be an exciting presentation.

Streamlining and Accelerating Complex Energy Projects.  

Large privately financed energy projects are complex and challenging to navigate the acquisition process.  This panel will explore industry and government best practices to improve communications and implementation.  Panel will include senior leaders from Army, Navy and DOD responsible for execution and a CEO from an Energy Service Company (ESCO).

Join us to hear our presentation on “Developing Compliant Proposals for Government RFPs.” Listen to NAVFAC personnel provide their perspective on the most important compliance aspects of proposals. While not providing official agency policy, the government presenters will share their insights and perspectives on compliance instructions in Section L and their relationship with Evaluation Criteria in Section M.  They will also discuss errors, weaknesses, and non-compliance trends they see in proposals received from industry in response to their solicitations.

Imagine achieving major cost savings while minimizing operational impacts for airfield pavement repairs. In a highly successful project at BWI Marshall Airport, our team did just that. The innovative technique, saving millions of dollars to airport operators, are applied at military installations for significant cost savings while maintaining mission readiness.

This presentation explores the development of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems in the A/E/C industry and how to avoid assembling useless information resulting in a Tower of Babel. The Management of Information model is described showing how raw data can be transformed into information and ultimately into timely business intelligence.

The challenge of cybersecurity and how it is being addressed in energy projects by the DOD and industry is significant.  The threats and vulnerabilities are real.  This panel will explore the perspectives of cyber security experts, those advancing energy projects in industry, those which set and oversea policy in DOD, and those who have to manage it all at the installation level. 

Changes are occurring rapidly in the understanding of screening levels, exposure pathways, and bioaccumulation factors related to PFASs. The currently available research is primarily related to PFOA/PFOS. CH2M/Jacobs has considered other PFASs under ecological toxicity testing through a SERDP research grant, and performing human-health risk screening for multiple USAF sites.

How is the technology of the future revolutionizing the full lifecycle of infrastructure? Drones have entered enhanced the way we see our infrastructure. Are you embracing Virtual and Augmented Reality, unmanned systems, connected Building Information Modeling (BIM), and the Internet of Things to create the intelligent infrastructure of the future?

Reality modeling enables field units to quickly generate 3D models from cameras, UAVs, and mobile platforms for use in both garrison and deployed environments. Learn how 3D models generated with ContextCapture delivers enhanced real-world visualization to dramatically improve engineering, geospatial, and battlespace support.

ASHRAE 90.1 has been an evolving standard since the 1970’s. Agencies are asking us to achieve energy savings in excess of the standard. This session will demonstrate concepts, systems and solutions to incorporate into your next project. We will consider the implications to operations, construction cost, operations and energy savings.

Consider the leaders that you admire most. What sets them apart? What behaviors do they routinely exhibit? What advice would you give your younger self about leadership? Our panelists will talk about seizing leadership opportunities, unlocking your full potential, and recognizing how best to lead others. Come prepared to share.

A panel discussion will address military services measuring mission assurance (MA); current metrics and those being considered to assess MA progress. Representatives from the Army, Navy and Air Force will collaborate with industry to develop metrics and learn how the services are addressing vulnerabilities and responses.  

We live in an ever-changing world, and climate change is always occurring and affects the coastal environment where 40% of the world’s population lives. Sea level rise and increasing storm intensity with the corresponding increase in storm surge will affect a significant portion of the world’s population.

Wondering what to do with all the BIM models provided by AEs and contractors after construction is complete? Learn how to capitalize on them by creating a robust Facility Management platform for the 21st Century and integrate the data into Builder Sustainment Management System (Builder SMS).

2017 was the costliest on record for natural disasters in the United States. This panel will focus on: developing a robust network of businesses; discussing how government agencies can leverage businesses for mobilization and identifying the key roles of businesses working within federal and state guidelines.

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attacks are an increasing threat in our highly interconnected and electronically-dependent society. To prepare against an attack, an organization needs to take a programmatic approach from evaluation through upgrade and maintenance. In this session you will learn about the threats and how your organization can protect itself.

This session invites the lead architects of the Army, the Air force, NAVFAC and the Coast Guard, to discuss the most important strategic focus and overall directions of facility design and construction for their agencies in the next three years, and have an open dialogue with the industry to exchange ideas and feedbacks of what it takes to achieve these objectives.

A critical element for successful large project delivery is deliberate application of the often-overlooked “soft” skills of leadership, organizational culture, mind-sets, attitudes, and behaviors of project owners, leaders, and teams. Recent research identifies four mind-sets and eight leadership practices that distinguish successful project leaders and drive improved project outcomes.

Installations that integrate smart water infrastructure and develop holistic capital investment plans can benefit from significant cost-savings and operational improvements. But how do they get there? This presentation describes how utilities are tackling regulatory and budgetary challenges and how these technologies can help military bases deliver a smarter water supply.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives will give a presentation on Environmental Sustainability. The session will highlight USACE's evolving understanding, its Environmental Operating Principles, use of an Environmental Advisory Board, and Sustainability program and breadth. USACE personnel will discuss coordination with Civil Works through the USACE Environmental strategic plan. Topics will encompass aquatic ecosystem restoration, climate adaption, adaptive management, and resilience.

The decision to eliminate underused facilities is not an easy one. The Facilities Reduction Program eliminates excess facilities to reduce installation costs and achieve energy savings. The panel will discuss the building evaluation process, cost/benefit analysis, master and future planning, and the development of resilient and sustainable installations.

Restoration of medical facilities was a critical priority following Hurricane Maria. FEMA, military, and USPHS assets deployed to provide timely medical services to the people of Puerto Rico and its surrounding islands with field hospitals and the USNS Comfort. An illustration of interagency collaboration and coordinated medical facilities stabilization effort.

As IoT converged networks have become more integrated their Cyber Security vulnerabilities have had consequences effecting operations and up-time availability. This presentation would highlight these vulnerabilities to educate what these networks are, why they are vulnerable and ideas on how to enable resilience through cyber security best practices.

This presentation looks at five challenging areas of the AE in today's design-build contract, such as NAVFAC's MACCs and the USACE's MATOCs.

The best dispute resolution is dispute prevention. Partnering - by taking the time at the start of a project to identify common goals, common interests, lines of communication, and a commitment to cooperative problem solving will encourage the will to resolve disputes and achieve project goals.

Journey into the Mojave Desert and explore how the Fort Irwin hospital rocketed from standard goals to become the first Net-Zero, Carbon-Neutral, LEED Platinum military hospital. Our focus will be on the lessons learned and what you can do to propel your projects toward these same sustainable and resilient goals.

The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is a precedent-setting resiliency system serving the largest city in the country. AKRF team members will highlight the considerable challenges associated with limited real estate, dense subsurface infrastructure, and multijurisdictional coordination as well as key takeaways for future resiliency planning.

Unit price IDIQ contracts are well-established, but new developments in data and technology and evolving DOD needs are paving the way for the transformation of this contracting mainstay into a powerful tool for effective execution and analysis of a broad range of facilities and infrastructure projects.

This panel focuses on the workforces that provide facilities construction/maintenance, and industry’s vital need for well-trained and certified young talent, including departing military members to replace aging workers and improve project delivery.  Learn about programs that recruit, train, certify, and employ departing veterans into craft skills vital to the construction/O&M industry and support state-of-the-art technologies.

Microgrids are considered the gold standard for installation reliability and resiliency, and emerging smart grid technologies connecting those intricate systems to improve regional operational readiness and cyber security– yet implementing these technologies presents challenges. We identify best practices to identify and address those challenges, and recommend ways to reduce risks.

The 2018 TTEx scenario is a major earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ).  Participants include FEMA, USACE, USNORTHCOM, impacted States, and multiple other USG organizations, agencies and Industry.  Topics will include authorities, command and control, needs assessments, funding and procurement for Recovery Operations.  Observers are welcome and encouraged in addition to the pre-arranged named participants.  

This session will provide insights on why many engineers provide their clients with inadequate flood protection. Common failures are insufficient elevation of buildings, insufficient understanding of how to effectively dry floodproofing buildings, and not anticipating flood loads.

Do you have ideas for growth? Do workload demands prevent you from launching those ideas? Utilizing a simplified strategic marketing planning process can provide a roadmap for growth and can help identify and meet your firm’s marketing and business goals—and—you only need a few hours to spare!

High performance buildings are increasingly cost effective, and Zero Energy is becoming the best value in many cases. However, these buildings are not truly resilient due to their uncontrolled load profiles. Buildings of the not so distant future will incorporate load control and energy storage to provide resilient facilities.

With mounting concerns over PFASs in the environment, there is an increasing need for better alternatives for treatment of PFASs in drinking water and for remediation of other media. This presentation will summarize several developing PFAS groundwater treatment alternatives that involve onsite regeneration of media and can achieve onsite destruction.

Improving the work order tracking system allows the government to accomplish more of their maintenance needs faster. Maintenance and Repair Service System (MARSS) provides real time scheduling on all Service Orders (SOs) and Recurring Maintenance (RM) events.

Learn how to be prepared to threats in effective project management. An intriguing, high level perspective look into project success and failures through case studies including Hughes Aircraft, Sony Corporation, Nokia and “Turn-Arounds” of Government Crisis Management projects facing unimaginable odds.

What is the value of the 3D eyeball perspective? It enables us to “see” infrastructure, understand conflict, plan in multiple dimensions, minimize field efforts, and make safe, intelligent decisions. Never before have project teams been so close to obtaining accurate, real-world representations of the environment and their operations within it.

Leading employees is a challenging endeavor that is often complicated by time and distance. In this session, learn about the role of context and management best practices in helping remote employees take effective action on their projects and create value as a virtual team.

Is Net-Zero Energy beyond reach? A new Pleasant Grove, Utah, Maintenance Facility had aspirations of achieving Net-Zero Energy but assumed it didn’t fit the government’s budget. Learn how design team and energy modeling coordination brought the theory of a Net-Zero Energy facility into reality without breaking the budget.

A case study-based look at different approaches for evaluating vapor intrusion using three projects as the basis for discussion. This presentation will highlight the unique challenges and resolutions associated with each project and how different assessment tools were used or developed to address these challenges.

Pavement asset management is based on forecasting future condition and therefore budget needs. This session will explore this theme by providing foundational information followed by three case studies.

Resilience mitigation is often defined as strengthening the building to resist natural disasters. When those strengthening mitigation methods age, it often costs as much as the original construction to repair. Come to discuss alternative methods to strengthening from regenerative capacity to incorporation of indigenous and renewable energy.

We will explore cyber secure design not only meeting stringent security and sophisticated technical requirements but also turning these requirements into design inspirations through recent case studies. When mission informs design, it can become such a powerful inspiration that the architecture can have a lasting impact.

We will explore suitability vs. eligibility and the essential behavioral competencies and paradoxes that determine how top performers in leadership appear in terms of motivation for the job, attitudes, interests, work preferences, work values

The presentation will highlight elements of the future electric grid which will enable a two-way, technology-enabled system to accommodate greater distributed generation resources, allow for active energy management by utility customers, and achieve unprecedented levels of security and resilience. 

Saving the U.S. Department of Defense money and developing innovative green and sustainable remediation practices, helped earn Travis Air Force Base the 2017 Gen. Thomas D. White award and the 2017 Secretary of Defense award. Definable metrics of success and several case studies of innovative remedial technologies will be presented.

This session will highlight recognized civilian credentials and how enlisted, NCO and Junior Officer engineers can best obtain certifications.  It will review each services’ current credentialing programs, NCCER’s  progress in credentialing military members, will explain the new VetStone tool for translating military experience to civilian terms for applications and other credentials.

Learn through real-world use cases how geospatial engineers and mobility planners are joining forces to creatively employ a new geospatial verification and validation (GV&V) process to operational planning and reducing risk to Mobility Air Forces missions and Joint forces.

A lesson in transforming traditional problem solving methods for encroachment, planning, and resiliency by employing virtual reality analytics. Using live demonstration technique the panel will describe the methodology for assembling and solving traditional challenges related to mission assurance/resiliency (e.g., flight training, fire arms training, equipment training, and resiliency modeling)

As KC-46A MOB 1, McConnell AFB became the “how-to” manual for one of the DOD’s most significant beddowns for the future. Learn how USACE KC and AFCEC led the way with innovative designs, contracting methods and communication on steroids to deliver MOB 1 ahead of aircraft arrival and under budget.

Teaming with other firms is an inevitable part of how we propose on new work. Are you making smart decisions about how you work with partners in the pursuit phase? Learn how to maximize the full value of your team and present a unified approach that addresses your client’s needs.

Session addresses how to ensure energy/utilities support for mission-critical facilities. It will examine how these facilities are identified, how reliability of utilities supporting facilities is assessed, making best use of assets currently available, and interaction with the grid/utility providers. Strategies to provide funding for energy reliability enhancements will be addressed.

Imagine your remedial action site includes a small, isolated freshwater pond (approximately 4,800 square feet) classified as a palustrine emergent marsh. Both temporary and permanent disturbance to these regulated areas resulting from remedial actions must be mitigated. How do you do it?

This panel will provide documented insights into the challenges and opportunities veterans face during transition; share best practices developed over 4 years by particular SAME Posts and will educate JETC attendees about effective best practices to assist veterans in transitioning and opportunities for industries to bring in great talent.

International Project Delivery Challenges: What do Private Sector Consultants wish that the Government knew?  During this facilitated panel discussion, you will hear from experienced business A/E/C professionals about the challenges and opportunities of working for the U.S. Government in the international environment. Based on years of success, and failure, on projects around the world, this panel will provide you with hard-won information about the legal, taxation, administrative and contractual matters when working outside the U.S. You’ll also gain details on the steps your business will need to take to position itself for success in the international market.  

Smart Base technology is the key enabler of combat service support and logistics forces operating bases both at home and abroad. In this talk, Col Mickey Addison explores digital technology and how to harness it for Mission Assurance.

The Life Safety Code® has changed, as has the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) for fire protection and life safety. This presentation proposes to review the Life Safety Code® requirements for "Building Rehabilitation" that includes all repair, retrofit, renovation and addition project types.

Our Nation’s youth are our future. We, as STEM professionals, are the leaders in our communities who are best suited to help the next generation explore STEM career opportunities. Learn how YOU can make an impact locally with best practices for organizing local engineering, STEM and merit badge outreach events.

A well-designed geothermal heating and cooling system can significantly reduce utility costs for a military facility, putting money back in your pocket (and reducing your carbon footprint!). Learn how to determine whether geothermal system is right for you and hear a case study about a Texas National Guard readiness center.

Collecting information is important, but being able to organize and present the data so that informed decisions can be made in a relatively quick manner can be vital. Case studies will show how this has been done on two recent emergency response events.

Artificial intelligence, IoT data flows, powerful and inexpensive computational power, and multi-parameter optimization engines will dramatically change what types of firms will deliver what types of products at what price points in AECO.  Learn which firms seem headed for dominance, and what the others can do to adapt and survive.

International business, at first blush, may seem full of opportunity or full of risk depending on your outlook on life.  The fact is, it’s full of both.  Maximizing opportunities while mitigating risk starts with developing experience and a network of fellow internationally focused firms.  If you’re in an A/E/C firm or an independent consultant, you’ll want to attend this session to hear about the cultural, legal, financial, and administrative challenges that have been overcome by A/E/C practitioners from the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. 

Do solar photovoltaic systems really increase mission readiness and resilience? This session provides lessons learned from DoD installations in the Gulf Coast and Caribbean and gives specific guidance on the connections, components, and controls necessary to enable renewable energy systems to provide usable power when the grid goes down.