Author Archives: dmaldoff

Delivering the Deliverables

The project is mostly complete and NSEMO has received the requested work. Our combination of written and photographic injects will effectively assist our client in conducting their earthquake simulation exercise in June. This blog post provides a recap and reflection of our implementation process.

Review of the Implementation Process

Our implementation plan is well-documented in previous blog posts. The main labour involved preparing the injects for our client, which required the following steps:

Identifying simulated earthquake damage sites
Collecting photos of sites for photo injects using Google Street View
Modifying photos to include earthquake damage using Adobe Photoshop
Composing written injects using Microsoft Word
Compiling all injects and formatting them for uniformity

Another large task ahead was delivery of the injects to the client. We had understood that we were to provide a presentation to them, which would have required preparation and a trip to their office for delivery.

What Went Well

The key to our success was our teamwork and communication. By setting aggressive deadlines and dividing work between members into manageable loads, we were able to create the 50 required injects within the project timelines. Expectations from other group members were clear, which allowed all members to understand what was required from them and deliver. There was a positive group dynamic which allowed for comfortable communication and collaboration.

One concern going into the project was learning and using Photoshop to create doctored photos. Only a few members were familiar with the program beforehand. Also, most of us did not have a copy installed on our computers. We discovered that a month-long free trial version of the software was available for download from the Adobe website, which allowed each of us to have a copy on our personal computers for the duration of the project. Each member took it upon themselves to learn the software, which turned out to be quite intuitive. There were few issues with completing the Photoshop work thanks to all members’ adaptability and willingness to learn.

Photo injects were created using Adobe Photoshop to layer composite images depicting earthquake damage.

Ensuring quality and uniformity of injects was another possible hurdle, and this was overcome by foresight and communication. Before any injects were created, we agreed on a file naming convention and created a shared Google Drive folder for completed work. Establishing this framework beforehand saved a large amount of formatting work later.

Unexpected Hurdles

In general, the project went extremely well with few major issues. We did however meet some minor issues communicating with our client at NSEMO. Meeting with NSEMO, our contact indicated wanting frequent updates on our progress, and we received feedback that our updates were too infrequent in the initial phases of the project. We remedied the situation and provided weekly updates to NSEMO.

Our group had met early in the project to establish our timelines and milestones and established a schedule that would ensure completion of the project by the allotted deadline, but our schedule also considered our workload in other courses. Because we were busy in early February with midterms and such, we did not make much progress on this project at that time and, as such, did not have updates to report. Although the project was very much under control and not being neglected, our client likely became concerned.

Reflecting on this, we could have avoided this situation by sharing our work schedule with our client so that they were aware of milestones, deadlines and quiet periods. Also, having foreseen a deviation from the weekly updates schedule, we could have indicated a date to expect the next update.

Deviations from the Implementation Plan

Creating the injects proceeded exactly according to our implementation plan. However delivering the injects to our client was modified based on a change from our client.

We had originally planned to schedule a meeting with NSEMO and deliver a presentation with our injects. However, as our project proceeded, NSEMO requested that we simply share our Google Drive folder with them so that they could download the injects directly. Instead of preparing a presentation, work shifted to making our Google Drive folder presentable and ready for use by our client.

What We Achieved

In the end, we successfully created 50 injects for NSEMO’s Operation Windshield. These were a combination of written and photographic injects that describe and depict earthquake damage at sites in North Vancouver and West Vancouver. While we are unable to share our deliverables on this blog due to their sensitive nature, flipping through our collection of modified photos captures the magnitude of what we have accomplished, and NSEMO has indicated satisfaction with the results.

Project Implementation and Organization

Out of the two groups working on this project, we made efforts to split the workload equally within all members. A total of 50 injects (written and pictures) are required for the client therefore each group was given the task of producing around 25 to 30 injects. There are two main tasks for this project, creating the injects and delivering them to the client.

The team, hard at work.

Preparing Injects

Completed by: each group member
Resources required: Software – Photoshop (free trial version available), Word
Time required: 30 minutes per inject = 3 hours per group member
Timeline: March 10 – 20

Both teams met and brainstormed a list of 50 sites for simulated earthquake damage. Once completed, this list was divided in half, 25 sites for one group and 25 for the other. Then, the sites were divided evenly among group members. Each group member was made responsible to some photo and some written injects for a total of 5 or 6 injects each.

The group member responsible for an inject must research the site, compile a photo if required (from Google Street View), perform the Photoshop work or create the written damage description, then upload the completed inject to a shared Google Docs folder.

For resources, this task requires software and time. Word and Photoshop are the primary tools. All group members already have Word installed, and a free trial version of Photoshop is available, so there are no financial costs. Each inject is estimated to take 30 minutes for a total of 3 hours per group member.

This task does not present any significant risks to group members, nor are there safety issues. However injects must be kept confidential since their public perception could raise alarm and potentially negatively impact any private businesses depicted, or could be perceived as a threat.

Presenting Injects to NSEMO

Completed by: each group member
Resources required: Software – Prezi or PowerPoint
Time required: 5 hours preparation and 3 hours delivery
Timeline: March 24 – 28

NSEMO has requested we deliver a presentation to them with our injects. We will be compiling this presentation as a group, and all team members will participate equally. We are waiting to hear from NSEMO on the presentation date, and we will be delegating two team members to deliver the presentation. We will be creating and delivering this presentation in conjunction with the other group.

We are currently discussing which presentation software to use, considering Prezi and PowerPoint. These applications are already installed on each team member’s computer, so there is no financial cost. We expect to spend 5 hours as a group preparing the presentation and 3 hours delivering it to NSEMO, including travel time.

There are no significant risk issues with this task, however it is crucial for us to remain professional when interacting with our client at NSEMO, which means the presentation must be of excellent quality.

Indicators of Success

The number one indication of success is overall client satisfaction. Operation Windshield, the emergency response drill that will use our injects, will take place later this year in June. After receiving positive feedback from the event, we can consider the project successful. In the interim, our client’s evaluation of our work is our guiding feedback. We have been communicating frequently with NSEMO to ensure we are on track.

Process and Milestones

After learning more about NSEMO and the project, we sat down as a group to discuss our next steps. Since our main task for the project is to create 30 injects that will display different scenarios after an earthquake, we brainstormed critical sites where these scenarios can take place. We classified sites as critical if they are crucial to the city’s day-to-day operation such as hospitals, schools, roads, etc.

We also brainstormed on the kind of damages these sites will experience. Our initial ideas for damages included:

Cracked walls, broken windows
Blocked roadways
Indoor pipes bursting
Spills and leaks
Power outage
Small fire

Once we had gathered our thoughts, we met with the other team working with NSEMO to share ideas and divide work. We first combined our initial critical sites and damages list with that brainstormed by the other team, and then we sent our preliminary list to NSEMO for feedback and approval. We discussed dividing the sites between our two teams by geographic location.

Once we received the go-ahead from NSEMO for the sites we selected, we met again with the other team to finalize the list of sites and the simulated damage for each site. In the end, we achieved our goal in creating a list that contained 50 sites with different damages.

The inject will show a critical site, like this bridge, with a manipulated earthquake damage (Photo: Google Street View)

We narrowed down our list of sites and damage based on possibility of the envisioned damage occurring, site significance to the city, and the urgency of response the site should receive. For example, we chose a hospital that will experience power outage over a restaurant that will have cracks on its walls.

Another crucial decision was how to obtain the photos needed to create the injects. When compiling our list of sites, we had used Google Street View to virtually visit potential sites and check their viability for simulated damage. We were very impressed with the images in Google Street View and decided that we would use screen captures from it as much as possible. Any photos that we cannot obtain from Street View will require an in-person site visit to take the photo.

Timeline and Milestones

We assessed our client’s deadlines, due dates for the CIVL 202 course and our overall workload to compile a plan of action for completing the project. The plan is reflected in the Gantt Chart below. Completed milestones are indicated in gray and upcoming in blue.

Our Gantt Chart, showing timelines for project phases (please click to enlarge)

Timeline Overview:

Meet with NSEMO for project details* – February 4
Create action plan – February 10-14
Create list of inject sites – February 17-28
Delegate sites and editing -March 3- 7
Compile pictures of critical sites – March4-9
Complete set of pictures* – March 9
Editing of Pictures – March 10-14
Write Descriptions – March 10-14
Compile all injects – March 17-22
Deliver injects to NSEMO* – March 24
Create poster for presentation – March 24-31

*Key milestones

Meeting with NSEMO

We met with our client, the North Shore Emergency Management Office (NSEMO) to gain further information on the project. The meeting took place at NSEMO headquarters in North Vancouver, which provided us with a chance to tour their facilities such as the emergency operations centre room where applicable parties would assemble in an emergency, and a radio broadcast room which is also used by an amateur radio club in non-emergency times. We were joined at the meeting by the other CBEL team working on this project, who we will be working closely with.

The group at NSEMO headquarters

About NSEMO

NSEMO manages emergency response for the North Shore, covering three municipalities: City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver and District of West Vancouver. If an emergency such as a natural disaster arises, NSEMO mobilizes to ensure citizens are safe and that appropriate response measures are undertaken, fulfilling its mission “to serve and support the North Shore municipalities and citizens in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disaster” (retrieved from nsemo.org).

Our Job

As mentioned in the last blog post, we will be helping NSEMO prepare for an earthquake response drill. In a simulated earthquake to take place in June 2014, municipal personnel will drive around and perform a windshield assessment, where they observe damage and report it back to NSEMO’s operation centre.

At the meeting, we learned about our particular role in this project and the deliverables. During the earthquake simulation, responders will drive to a location and open an envelope that describes observed damage. We will be preparing these damage descriptions, referred to as injects. Injects can be in several forms:

Written descriptions of damage
Altered photos of a site with simulated damage added
Altered videos of a site with simulated damage added

NSEMO has requested 30-50 injects between our group and the other CBEL group. Injects must correspond to locations across North and West Vancouver and should reflect primary earthquake damage such as cracked buildings and roads, ground settlement and industrial fires (and not secondary effects such as landslides, flooding, etc.). NSEMO requires the injects in time for their June 2014 training exercise, however we will need to complete the project before then to meet the timelines of our CIVL 202 course.

Next Steps

We now have the information we need to start the project. The next steps are as follows:

Determine intermediate milestones and set timelines
Divide responsibilities with the other CBEL group
Identify team members who can make particular contributions (e.g. Photoshop skills, owns a car to drive around and take photos)
Identify damage sites and review with NSEMO
Collect photos and compile injects

We are working closely with the other CBEL group and have created a shared Google Drive for transfer of information. We have also been having weekly meetings to work toward completing the project.

That’s all for now! Stay tuned for our next blog post which will outline project timelines and intermediate goals.

Project Introduction

Welcome to our blog. We are a team of second year Civil Engineering students currently completing our CIVL 202 course, and we will be assisting the North Shore Emergency Management Office (NSEMO) with Project Windshield.

As a result of the significant scope of Operation Windshield, our team will be partnering with another team of our classmates to complete the project. Coordinating the schedules of such a large group has been challenging, and our next major step will be to meet with NSEMO to establish expectations and deliverables for the project.

This first blog provides an overview of the project and some information about our team. We will include further details in the next post, once we have met with NSEMO.

Background: The North Shore Emergency Management Office

Planning for emergencies and disasters is a crucial function that cities must undertake. A shared resource for the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver and District of West Vancouver, the North Shore Emergency Management Office (NSEMO) handles emergency planning and preparedness on the North Shore. Its activities are diverse, with the following core areas:

• Emergency Management – mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery
• Plans and Bylaws
• Training and Exercises

The organization comprehensively ensures that provisions for disasters are undertaken, from mitigating damage and impact of disasters to establishing and training emergency resources to working with municipalities to provide necessary legislative framework surrounding emergency plans.

Operation Windshield

A windshield assessment is the first step in surveying and evaluating damage following a disaster, involving a drive-by observation of the situation. Crews in the field are able to provide decision makers in the Emergency Operation Centre with a critical initial picture to help with determining further actions.

We will be assisting NSEMO to plan a training exercise to take place in June 2014. Crews will be deployed on a 1.5 hour windshield survey for a simulated disaster. We will mainly gather information and media required to stage the simulation such as photographing and developing a list of sites that will have simulated damage and composing a narrative for what is observed. We have been invited to modify images to depict the simulated damage, which will provide a learning opportunity for photo editing. NSEMO has also asked that we compile a report upon project completion, which summarizes our activities and provides recommendations.

Operation Windshield will allow NSEMO better serve the community on the North Shore. By undergoing this effective training operation, the organization will be better able to protect citizens in emergency situations. We hope our efforts will help.

Our Team

We are very excited to work with NSEMO to help them complete Operation Windshield. As second year Civil Engineering students, we welcome the opportunity to think critically to assist in establishing functional infrastructure. Our team consists of individuals with a wide range of strengths. Here is a little bit about us.

Nishchhal Gautam is a second year Civil Engineering student at the University of British Columbia looking to complete his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 2017. After finishing his studies and gaining some experience in the field, he hopes to specialize in Structural Engineering. When free from school Nishchhal has gained experience in world of construction. He has worked at a construction company for the last three summers working as a surveyor. Working at this company has taught him much about the world of construction and is what initially sparked the interest in Civil Engineering. His other interests include watching in playing various sports. More specifically he enjoys soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

Nishchhal Gautam

Daniel Maldoff is a second year civil engineering student at UBC. He has returned to studies following four years’ full-time work experience in human resources and program coordination. Born and raised in Montreal, Daniel completed a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology at McGill University prior to moving to Vancouver to work with the 2010 Olympics. He is a fanatical skier, mountain biker and general lover of the outdoors.

Daniel Maldoff

Ying Niu, originally from China, went to high school in Winnipeg and is now studying second year Civil Engineering at UBC. Ying loves to draw and read.

Veronica Velayo has lived in Manila, Philippines all her life until recently. Growing up in a tropical country, she likes spending time at the beach and playing outdoor sports. When not studying or volunteering for student clubs, she enjoys watching movies and trying out different cuisines. She is a big hip-hop fan and thinks that Drake is the greatest artist ever.

Veronica Velayo

Yushen Yuan is a second year civil engineering student at UBC. He was born and raised in Beijing. During his childhood, he became interested in science and engineering, although he also developed interests in other subjects, such as history and politics. At the end of high school, he decided that engineering would be his first step into the professional world, although he is thinking of getting an MBA or a law degree further down the road. To him, life is about making contributions to friends, families and societies, while enjoying what they offer in return. As a result, he enjoys spending free time with friends. He is an open-minded person, who likes to adopt the perspectives of others.

Zehua (Jack) Zhang comes to UBC from China. He has previous experience working for a construction company, which has provided him with an understanding of plans and blueprints. He is excited by the opportunity to apply theory in a practical setting and is eager to learn by doing. In his spare time, he enjoys soccer and bodybuilding.

Jack Zhang

That’s all for now. We will provide further updates as our project progresses.