Are you aware that April is stress awareness month?  Stress can have a major impact on the productivity and satisfaction of company employees.  It is important to remain aware of stress in the workplace so that it can be mitigated and not create a hostile work environment.

Signs of stress in the workplace:

• Working too many hours.
• Becoming tired and irritable.
• Seeming nervous on a regular basis.
• Not taking leave or vacation.
• A decline in the performance or productivity of the employee.
• Overly sensitive to the things around them.
• Seeming lethargic or less sensitive.

How can we help to reduce stress in the workplace?

• Provide discounts on wellness programs.
• If possible, allow for flexible hours or remote working.
• Allow for team-building exercises and for employees to get to know one another.
• Offer on-site or other counseling services.
• Pay attention to any of the above signs of stress listed above and be proactive.

Mental health and stress are at an all-time high in today’s society.  Looking for signs and taking care of the situation early on, versus later, is important for the employee and the employer.  Do you pay attention to your employees?  Do they seem happy? Do they seem tired and overworked? Ask yourself these questions the next time you are around your employees and if you sense any signs of stress, find ways that you can be of help.

Did you know that March is Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Month?

Why is this important and why should engineering companies take notice? According to the U.S. Census Bureau “women are vastly underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and math workforce.” As reported that while women have made gains since the 70s, women account for only 27% of STEM jobs. Among the STEM professions, the percentage of women in engineering is the lowest, at about 15%. It’s proven that companies with more gender diversity on their executive teams significantly outperform those with less diverse representation, giving a strong case for gender diversity.

So, what is STEM? It is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  Traditionally STEM fields have fewer women in them.  Why? Girls were not traditionally encouraged to consider science, or engineering as possible careers.  This results in a large gender disparity with boys being encouraged to take the STEM path, then filling the positions later on.

Times they are a-changin’.

In the last few decades, we have seen a rise in awareness of gender disparities and the growing equality of encouragement for STEM education through many education programs.  Not only are we seeing STEM toys being marketed equitably we’re also seeing an increasing number of bootcamps, labs, and groups dedicated to training girls to pursue careers in science, tech, or engineering.

As the influx of women in the STEM industries rise, girls are beginning to see themselves represented in the STEM niche and the gender gap is slowly starting to close.  Triad is passionate about spreading the word and encouraging awareness. We participate in events throughout the year designed to encourage girls and women into engineering and other science based disciplines.  We look forward to stepping up our game in the coming years and seeing our numbers equalize.

This month, and every month, it’s time to encourage girls and women to pursue their passions.

Wetlands Day is observed on February 2 to recognize and celebrate the importance of wetlands to the world, and the diversity of life that they support.

What constitutes jurisdictional waters of the U.S. has been difficult to navigate over the past seven years due to three different defining rules. On December 30, 2022, the agencies announced the final “Revised Definition of ‘Waters of the United States'” rule. On January 18, 2023, the rule was published in the Federal Register; the rule will be effective on March 20, 2023. The agencies’ final rule reportedly establishes a clear and reasonable definition of “waters of the United States” and reduces the uncertainty from constantly changing regulatory definitions. For more information see: https://www.epa.gov/wotus/revising-definition-waters-united-states.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reclassified the northern long-eared bat as Endangered, effective January 30, 2023. If a project requires federal action and has the potential to affect suitable habitat for the northern long-eared bat, coordination with the USFWS will be required. At this time, coordination is expected to result in either a time of year restriction (TOYR) of April 1 to November 15 (no tree clearing during this time), or a presence/absence survey will have to be performed with a negative result for the northern long-eared bat (and other federally listed bat species) for the TOYR restriction to be lifted.

Triad’s wetland delineation capabilities have recently been enhanced with a subscription to the Ecobot cloud and mobile platform that reduces data collection time and minimizes post-processing allowing wetland determination data forms to be prepared faster and with fewer errors. In addition, Triad recently obtained a Trimble® Catalyst™, a revolutionary GNSS receiver, for accurately mapping wetlands more cost-effectively than traditional methods.

By Brad Reynolds

Another year has come and gone – and what a busy year it has been! Much like 2021, this year was not without its obstacles to overcome, but there have also been many great accomplishments. I am looking forward to 2023 and believe this year will have more opportunities for Triad to grow as we enter the year with a healthy backlog and a  dedicated staff.

Whether you have been an employee with Triad for years or are new to us this year, I would like to personally thank you for all your effort in a year where we have experienced historical levels of workload.  As an ESOP, the success and value of Triad is built on the determination and dedication of our employees.  Thank you for your tireless efforts this past year.

During 2022 I was proud to see how quickly we adapted to new challenges and how our groups worked so closely together across practice lines, offices, and regions to make the most of every opportunity.

Over the past year, you’ve all demonstrated over and over again our strengths as a company, and you have made clear that when it comes to Triad, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is because we are an ambitious team that sets high standards and works hard to achieve them.

Thank you once again for being on the Triad Team in 2022, and we look forward to even more success in 2023.

Triad’s Safety Employee of the Month:  January

This month, we would like to recognize Tony Miller, Hagerstown QC Practice Leader, as our safety person of the month. Tony has been spending many hours in the field lately especially along I-81. This project is in the final stages and the majority of the traffic control has been removed. Tony has had to be extra cautious completing the testing by positioning his vehicle in protective positions and being as visible as possible. Tony has also encouraged the contractor to be as efficient as possible to reduce the amount of time spent along the interstate. Additionally, Tony is constantly encouraging and reminding his staff of QC Technicians to be safe and to wear the proper PPE.