As the world descended on Pittsburgh for the G-20 Economic Summit Sept. 24-25, Pittsburgh District took action to ensure its employees were safe and its mission successful.
Pittsburgh District headquarters is in the William S. Morehead Federal Building, less than 300 feet from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where world leaders converged.
"We wanted to reduce the risk to our mission and to our workforce due to the potential civil unrest that may be associated with the G-20, as well as the uncertainty with transportation routes in and out of the downtown," said Col. Mike Crall, Pittsburgh District commander. "It would be irresponsible to expose the 266 district employees in the federal building, or any of the 450 field personnel conducting official business in the federal building that week, to the potential risk of violence that protests may bring."
Pittsburgh District took full advantage of this opportunity.
"This has given us an opportunity to execute our Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)," Crall said. "Regardless of any incident, we are prepared to and will continue our federal civil works mission."
The district relocated all headquarters personnel from the Morehead Building to several locations within the district Sept. 21-25. Employees were sent to the Pittsburgh Engineering Warehouse and Repair facility (PEWARS), the COOP site and several lock and dam and lake projects.
According to C.J. Infantino, Emergency Operations Center coordinator, preparations began in mid-June. "We had an exercise then, so this is the second time we have used the site for operations."
The biggest challenge has been microwave communications.
"Communications may have been a little slow, but everyone accepted the work conditions and realized that this is a temporary situation, and our level of productivity has been maintained," Infantino said.
Despite the challenges, Pittsburgh District has continued to work at a high level. For some headquarters employees, this was their first opportunity to get out and meet the field employees and see some of the facilities.
According to Don Zeiler, lockmaster at Emsworth Lock and Dam, this has been a nice change of pace. "One challenge was making sure that we have the ability to meet their needs and to keep the mission going."
Before the temporary relocation, the Army Corps of Engineers-Information Technology Service spent many hours preparing offices for the increased workload.
"ACE-IT did a really good job," said Ed Jones, maintenance supervisor at PEWARS. "They brought in temporary T-1 lines and by 9:30 a.m. everyone was working."
To accommodate the increased workforce, PEWARS also used a building that had been closed for more than a year. Workers cleaned the facility, tested the air quality and ensured that it was a safe working environment.
"A lot of people put in a lot of effort to make it habitable," Jones added. "We set up break rooms and put in an access road to the building. Everyone seems comfortable."
"PEWARS did a really great job," said Arlene Bigger, contracting officer. "I want to give them all of the credit they deserve. Many PEWARS employees have been checking on us regularly to ensure that we have everything we need."
In addition to relocating its offices, Pittsburgh District also supported the G-20 Economic Summit. Six district park rangers and one operations manager participated in boat patrols to provide safe navigable water around the Point of Pittsburgh. The two-man patrols began at 6 a.m. on Sept. 24 and continued until 10 p.m. Sept. 25.
District rangers also supported the U.S. Coast Guard and other partner agencies. They helped distribute communications equipment, water, and ice, and assisted the movement of personnel.
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