FROM SHOVELER TO OPERATOR

• Been with the City of Bowling Green for 8
years as a operator/maintenance person.
• Class 3 wastewater license
• Northwest Section OWEA Operations chair
• Member of the Wastewater Rangers operations
challenge team.

• By definition a operator is someone who
oversees plant operations, checks equipment,
and performs lab tests.
• A lot of time this does not hold true. Some
aspects of this definition are overlooked.

• In the early stages of being a operator I was
content with the everyday mundane job. I had
the stable government job with good benefits
and retirement so I had no complaints.
• So if they wanted me to be the…….

• Just remember there is a lot of comfort at work
when other people are around.
• It is very easy to get the “I don’t care someone
else will take care of it” attitude.

• After three years of being a yard worker /
sludge hauler it was my turn to be a shift
operator.
• This may not sound like a big deal but I had no
clue on how to run a WWTP.

• What type of plant we had.
• What does high flow mean again?
• Who do I call if there is a problem?

• Don’t change anything, this is how we have
done it for years.
• If this happens do this.
• Don’t think outside the box, do as your told.
• Don’t be proactive, just reactive.

Here comes the
storm!!!!
• On the first night a huge
thunder storm rolls into
town.
• I lost power for a few hours.
• Just about anything that
could happen, happened that
night.
• I had no clue to what I was
doing and felt like I had
made the wrong career
choice.

• New ways to run the plant
• More work for operators, or so we thought
• More responsibilities
• Being accountable for your actions

• Lets all sit down and learn the plant and the
process.
• It is now ok to share thoughts and ideas.
• Lets get operators in the proper job which will
help the plant perform the best.

• What is the best way to learn wastewater? One
example is to take classes and get licenses.
• Going to meetings and seeing different plants.
• Operations challenge
• Getting involved in OWEA.
• Being involved with plant upgrades and
construction.

• Who knows the plant best (operators)
• 2/3 of the time the operators run the plant with
no supervision so input from them is critical.

• There was very little communication between
operators and management.
• Left in the dark to when projects would start,
or even the scope of work that was going to be
taking place.
• At times it seemed that we had forgot that
there was a couple million dollar project that
was going on.
• With us not being involved the project did not
go as good as it could have.

• Plan a meeting with operators, management,
and engineers
• Trying to figure out what the best options for
the plant to obtain the number 1 goal (best
possible effluent)
• What will work or what won’t: new structure
or retrofit.
• Are certain options cost effective

• Having vendors come to your plant and give a
presentation about their equipment
• Going to other plants that have this equipment.
• Do online research on certain products

• This is not just a free day from work. You get
out of this, what you put into it.
• Ask questions. Be prepared and know the
product you are looking at. Remember the
people at the plant you are visiting are giving
up time for you, so don’t show up clueless.

• What made you choose this equipment
• How well does it fit their needs
• Maintenance
• Factory support

• Compare all the equipment that you looked at
• List all pros and cons
• Do a matrix evaluation

• Once all the research, plans, bids are complete
its time to meet the contractor.
• To keep operators involved, have them sit in
on preconstruction meets, as well as weekly or
biweekly process meetings.
• This gives the operators the chance to share
their insight on how the project is going.

• This is the most important time of the project.
• The operator needs to look at what the
contractor is doing. The inspector on the
project can’t see everything that is going on.
• If you see something you don’t like, speak up.
If you don’t you’re the one that has to deal with
the problem for the next 15 to 20 years.

WHO’S WATCHING
THE INSPECTOR
• With the operators and
management showing
interest and overseeing the
project, you basically have
multiple inspectors on the
job.

• Don’t you think if
someone was paying
attention during
construction, they
would have noticed
that this thing isn’t
straight.

• Make a punch list.
During the
construction process
keep a list of all the
things that you feel
are not correct.

CHECK THE
BLUEPRINTS
• Compare the work that has
been completed to the blue
prints to verify that they are
the same.
• Verify that the correct
equipment was installed and
that it is hooked up.

YARD WORK
• Is the yard work complete
and returned to its original
condition?
• As an operator who is out in
the plant you may notice the
little things that may be
overlooked. For example,
ruts in the yard, grass not
planted, driveways cracked
from equipment, or
landscaping that was
removed.

STRUCTURAL
DAMAGE
• During this step you need to
look for the things that are
not that obvious. This could
be as serious as a cracked
wall or as little as a missing
light cover. These are all
punch list items that need to
be corrected.

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
• Speak up and give your opinion.
• Get involved with activities inside and outside
of your plant.
• Don’t get stuck in a rut. Try new things and
push yourself to be a better operator.