Monday, July 29, 2013

Cracked Wall Replaced in a Single Day at Alabama WTP.

A 50-year-old baffle wall showing a significant crack forced a water treatment plant permitted for 3.3 million gallons per day in Moulton, Ala. to stop production while crews worked to replace the wall. Total production days lost: 1.

Cracked baffle wall

Garver prepared a design to replace the failing wall with a new fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) wall utilizing FRP panels. Garver scheduled with a local contractor for the installation and, together, they were able to minimize the facility’s down-time, which the owner utilized to remove accumulated sludge from the treatment plant.

Sludge removal


Construction activities began on a Sunday morning to replace the failing wall, and the contractor was ready to install the new FRP panels by early afternoon after demolition and removal of the existing wall. All construction was finished late Sunday evening, enabling the owner to activate the WTP in less than 24 hours from initially stopping the facility’s production.

New baffle wall


“This project successfully replaced a failing wall and returned to normal plant production in less than one day, saving the owner extended purchase water expenses, while also allowing the owner to remove sludge accumulation and improve the overall plant efficiency," said Garver Project Leader Michael Malires, PE.

Back in operation


“Upon completion of this project an amended invoice was received, which saved the Water Dept. $15,300.00,” said George Brackin, chairman of the Moulton Water Works Board. “Never before have we been the recipient of a reduced price after all contracts were finalized.  The contractor was secured by Garver for us and our Board continues to have complete confidence in Garver to keep our best interest first at all times.”

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

High School Students Learn Water Transportation During Campus Visit

Bill discusses water transportation during one of two sessions for visiting students.

High school students participating in the National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI),  sponsored by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, recently visited Garver’s North Little Rock, Arkansas office, where Senior Project Manager Bill Ruck, PE, lead a session on water transportation.

“The decisions we’re making now, and the work we’re doing now, will have a direct impact on the next generation,” said Bill. “It’s great for these students to be able to participate in programs like NSTI so they can have a grasp of that. It won’t be long until they’re making the decisions."

The National Summer Transportation Institute is a fun and interactive one-week residential program for high school students that permits exploration of various transportation fields and careers (land, water, air, and safety). Classes in English, science, math, and technology provide the necessary foundation to understand the concepts that students utilize during field excursions, projects, labs and hands-on activities that are related to transportation.

The Federal Highway Administration is the funding and governing agency for the NSTI and formally established the program as a recognized educational initiative in 1998. The program is coordinated in each state through the Department of Transportation.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Garver's Water Team Experiences World-Class Training Center



Downtown Oklahoma City is home to a state-of-the-art training facility for world-class rowing, canoeing, and kayaking athletes who will represent the United States in international competition. Garver's Water Group leaders recently visited the facility during their annual business line retreat. The afternoon included a private tour of the boathouse facility, which features the only dynamic propulsion rowing tank in the world, as well as a high-altitude training chamber and an endless pool. About 20 rowers and 15 paddlers are currently training for the Olympics at the National High Performance Center at the Devon Boathouse on the Oklahoma River, which is the only river to be named a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site.

Whitewater Slalom Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi spoke about the nature of teamwork in rowing before Garver’s Water Group leaders experienced that teamwork firsthand in the rowing tank.


"As we progressed through the day, the parallels between managing a rowing crew and engineering staff were remarkable," said Project Manager Aaron Stallmann, PE.

"When we were all in sync, you could feel the team’s collective power," said Water Team Leader Paul Strickland, PE.


Garver’s Water Group leaders bring their experiences at the Devon Boathouse back to Garver.

"The lessons learned directly apply to our water business line," Garver Vice President Jeff Sober, PE, said. "A team must communicate clearly and work in sync to go anywhere. If the agenda is an individual’s and not the team’s, we won’t go anywhere­."

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Garver Publishes IQ Volume 5 Issue 2



The newest issue of Garver's IQ will be in mailboxes soon, but you can begin reading our online edition now. This edition features:

Renamed and Redeveloped

Little Rock National Airport marks its name change to Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport with a dedication ceremony, which coincided with the completion of the first phase of the airport’s ambitious terminal redevelopment plan. For Phase 1 of the terminal redevelopment program, led by Architectural Alliance, Garver performed aviation, mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, and plumbing engineering and periodic construction observation services.

No Sweat

Fort Polk’s Wheelock Fitness Center gets updated with a new look and its HVAC system gets electrical upgrades. Garver teamed with The Ross Group to maximize the client's budget and complete the project six weeks ahead of schedule.

The Phosphorus Fix: A Year in Review

After its first full year of operation, a wastewater treatment plant in Siloam Springs, Ark. achieves unprecedented nutrient removal. Garver developed, designed and implemented the enhanced nutrient removal program, enabling the plant's operation to remove 95 percent of the phosphorus from the influent flow, keeping more than 20 tons of phosphorus out of the Illinois River.

Old Bridge, New Life

The only known swing bridge designed as a cantilever in Arkansas reopens after nearly 80 years of wear and tear caused the bridge to close in 2007. Garver assisted the county in securing federal funds and restored the Judsonia Bridge without compromising its historical integrity.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Garver welcomes new Wellness Coordinator Brad Jimerson

Director of Human Resources Tatiana Herrington, Wellness Coordinator Brad Jimerson, and Technician Intern Lucy Richardson

Garver introduced Wellness Coordinator Brad Jimerson with shaved ice and a chance to meet with employees at the North Little Rock, Arkansas office.


Brad’s broad range of experience in the fitness and nutrition industry, along with his experience in wellness program design and management, gives him a unique set of skills that will help Garver continue to progress its culture of wellness. He is currently developing a new intranet wellness site that will serve as the health and wellness resource for Garver employees. He will conduct first aid and CPR certification courses and is available for fitness and nutrition consultations.

Brad’s long-term wellness initiative is to construct a redesigned wellness program for Garver that will launch later this year with the goal of improving the health and wellbeing of all Garver employees.

Brad was an All-American track and field athlete in college and has a bachelor of science with an emphasis in kinesiology. After college, he worked as an NSCA-certified personal trainer in Dallas, where the American Heart Association recognized Brad as a certified BLS instructor. He entered the corporate wellness industry as a health and fitness specialist at Viverae, a corporate health management company. He was promoted to onsite wellness director and oversaw all of Viverae’s wellness program initiatives. He also worked as an exercise specialist for the Viverae Care Center where he performed VO2max testing, RMR testing, and body caliper testing. Brad also prescribed exercise and nutrition programs for his patients.

Welcome, Brad!

Senior Vice President Bert Parker, Senior Technician Hugh Williams, Wellness Coordinator Brad Jimerson

Monday, July 8, 2013

KYTC and KDA Select Garver

Aerial photo of Louisville International Airport

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) and Kentucky Department of Aviation (KDA) recently selected Garver to serve as one of two firms to fulfill the state’s aviation services needs. Garver is proud to be a part of the Kentucky aviation industry’s long tradition of providing passengers with a high-level of service and its rich history of bringing the latest in aviation engineering technology to the state.

Historical Kentucky aviation facts, compiled from the Aviation Museum of Kentucky, the Kentucky Aviation Historical Society, Louisville International Airport, and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport:

In 1908, only five years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight, Matthew B. Sellers flew Kentucky’s first airplane in Carter County. Sellers designed and built the plane himself. He continued to develop aircraft in Kentucky and later in the northeast. Mr. Sellers became recognized as an authority of aeronautics and served with distinction on national aeronautic boards.

In 1921, A.H. Bowman and W. Sidney Park formed the Bowman-Park Aero Company in Louisville. The company was one of the first firms to specialize in aerial photography. The location Bowman and Park operated out of became known as Bowman Field.

In 1928, the state legislature created the Louisville and Jefferson County Air Board to operate Bowman field as a publicly owned facility. In fact, Kentucky was the first state to enact enabling legislation for the creation of airport authorities. Airline service began that year between Louisville and Cleveland.

During World War II Bowman Field was the busiest airport in the country, following an investment of $1 million for construction of barracks and other facilities, including nine mess halls. At that time, thousands of members of the military called Bowman Field and Louisville their temporary home while undergoing combat readiness training.

World War II brought numerous other airfields to Kentucky, including the airfield that is known today as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and also the airport in Lexington, Kentucky, Blue Grass Field, which has been home to the Aviation Museum of Kentucky since its founding in 1995.

Following World War II, community leaders in Louisville recognized the enormous potential for commercial aviation in Kentucky. When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turned over a 4,000-foot runway they’d built known as Standiford Field to the community, all commercial flights to Louisville were moved there from Bowman Field.

In 2010, Kentucky’s five primary airports combined for a total of 6,133,451 commercial passenger boardings.

Currently, Louisville International Airport ranks third in North America—and ninth in the world—in total amount of cargo handled.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Future Engineers Visit I-244 Job Site


Pre-engineering students at Broken Arrow Public Schools recently toured Garver’s job site at the I-244 Westbound Multimodal Bridge over the Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ms. Jalinda Hogan teaches the 10th graders through a program called Project Lead the Way, which is geared toward instruction in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Garver Project Manager Jason Langhammer, PE, gave the students an introduction to the bridge project, including the various design components of the structure and the design services that Garver provided. After the introduction, Jason led the 13 students and their teacher through the project site, stopping periodically to discuss some of the design challenges of the bridge as well as basic concepts of how the bridge was designed and constructed.

"Seeing a constructed project of that magnitude gave the students a sense of potential pride they might have in their future engineering endeavors,” Jason said. “I believe this site visit gave them some motivation to further their careers in engineering."

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