“Jumpin’ Jehosaphat!” Gramps bellows across time and space from his perch within the Naval Air Safety Center. “Any dad-burned idiot knows you can’t fly with the wings folded!” That, along with a thousand more rants, was leveled by the salty curmudgeon for more than 20 years, and though they had an effect on the naval aviators of the day, it paled by comparison to NATOPS, the six-letter acronym for the Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization launched in 1961 to increase combat readiness while stanching the loss of lives and aircraft in an accident rate that at that time stood at 19 major accidents per 10,000 flight hours, or nearly one crash for every 500 hours…not good odds for the pilots, and certainly not sustainable given the greatly increased cost of the jet aircraft entering service.
So what’s my purpose in bringing up NATOPS, an aviation-related program, in my web log? Well, first of all, it’s to point out that the key to the program lies in the last word, standardization, and the processes the term implies is as valid in the proper operation of a collection vehicle or grinder as it is in an FA-18, the backbone of Naval Aviation’s strike force.
But I’d be less than honest if I didn’t own up to the fact that I have a 16-year-old grandson who just beginning his flight training, en-route to his pilot license and possibly a career in aviation. I believe he will do well in the endeavor, partly because he is far more organized than I was at his age, but also because our society recognizes the value of standardization to an extent far greater than was the case 50 years ago.
Today, you have only to look at Naval Aviation to see how a seemingly simple program has reduced accidents to today’s rate of two mishaps per 100,000 flight hours despite the severe demands of carrier and combat activities.
Should this be of interest to you? I hope so, because I’m fairly certain that the same factors apply to your operations. It may come as a surprise to some to find waste management is near the top of the list of hazardous occupations in the US, and if that isn’t a reason to join NATOPS, SWANA, NSWMA, and Gramps in directing a “Jumpin’ Jehosaphat” tirade at bonehead waste management practices, what is?
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FORESTER UNIVERSITY - UPCOMING CLASSES
Green Infrastructure and Community Design—Rainwater Management
Presenter:
Paul Crabtree, P.E., CNU-A
President, Crabtree Group Inc.
Thurs., Feb. 7th @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST
Is your rainwater management design effective? Join Paul Crabtree to discuss how rainwater management based on good urban design principles can help to harmonize urban man and nature. This webinar includes discussion of: effective rainwater management design, the importance of settlement patterns, the use of scales (e.g., watershed), consideration of per-acre and per-capita impacts, harmonization of context-sensitive design and regulations with good urban design, community-based and shared BMPs, and hydrology science vs. negotiated settlements.
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Voodoo Hydrology—Pitfalls of Urban Hydrology Methods & What You Need to Know
Presenter:
Andy Reese, P.E., LEED AP
Vice-President
AMEC Environment & Infrastructure
Thurs., Feb. 21st @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST
Understand your urban hydrology! Join Andy Reese, PE, LEED AP, as he exposes the black box of urban hydrology and explores its common stormwater methodologies! In this webinar, Andy will, with his normal humor, “lay bare” the key elements, assumptions, and most common misuses of popular urban stormwater methodologies, as well recommendations for proper application of each.
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10 Steps to Construction Site Stormwater Compliance
Presenter:
Jennifer Hildebrand, MBA, CPESC, CPSWQ
Environmental Compliance Group Manager,
WSB & Associates, Inc.
Wed., Feb. 27th @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST, 1-1.5hrs*
Manage your runoff, and still remain profitable! Join author Jennifer Hildebrand to explore and demystify the stormwater regulations affecting construction projects, and how you can keep compliant. Working from her acclaimed manual, Straight Talk: Strategies for Environmental Compliance, Hildebrand will discuss and outline in this webinar the top ten effective strategies for maintaining an environmentally compliant project while keeping a risk-assessment and profit-focused mindset.
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FREE!
Take Control of Your Landfill Gas Wellfield
Presenter:
David Kaminski
Senior Vice President
QED Environmental Systems Inc.
March 28th @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST, 1-1.5hrs*
Take control of your landfill gas wellfield! Join David Kaminski from QED Environmental Systems Inc. for a webinar that explores engineered solutions for both leachate control in gas wells and innovative approaches to LFG flow control and measurement. In this webinar, David will discuss how gas well dewatering can increase gas flow from your wells from 15% to 200% while also extending the life of the well. Additionally, we’ll explore the limitations of common gate valves for LFG flow control and how to maximize your landfill gas flow, minimize technicians' time onsite, and maintain regulatory compliance, all with a rapid return on investment.
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