Recent News

Doug Fell presented "The Business Side of Emergency Response" to the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota (ACECMN) on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at  the Minneapolis Marriott West in Minnetonka, MN. 

There was a very good turnout with great questions during and after the presentation. Attendees now have a better understanding of how to address this growing side of the engineering consulting business due to the increase in frequency and intensity of natural and man-made disasters.

Thank you to ACECMN for setting up this event and to Kraus-Anderson for sponsoring the event. 

Visit www.ACECMN.org  for more information on ACECMN.

Visit www.krausanderson.com for mare information on Kraus-Anderson.

 Doug Fell coauthored the paper, "Forensic Engineering, the Heart in the Life Cycle of Structural Damage: From Emergency Response through Restoration to Final Repairs" for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Forensic Engineering 8th Congress held in Austin, TX. Papers from the 8th congress will be published and is a great source for a wide variety of forensic engineering topics.

Please visit https://www.forensiccongress.org/about for more information on the ASCE Forensic Congress.

Doug Fell facilitated and presented with others at the Annual Institute for Building Officials event on "Understanding the Roles of Participants in Emergency Response to Catastrophic Damage" on Monday, January 14, 2019 from 9:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Earl Brown Heritage Center, 6155 Earle Brown Drive, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430. This course addressed how to deal with catastrophic damage to structures after a natural disaster. The roles of various participants of a catastrophic event were introduced and there was a focus on the adaptability of building departments to meet the high demands to address the situation. This session also covered the many different entities that become engaged in the emergency response and especially the importance of involving experienced structural engineers to assess structural stability in the built environment.

Representatives from MNOSHA (Minnesota OSHA), MNHSEM (Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management), MN Task Force 1, NCSEA SEER program, MNSEA Seer Committee, Wenck, Kraus Anderson Construction and MSD Engineering also presented to provide variety and depth to the presentation.

This course has been approved for 5.25 State of Minnesota CEs: Building Officials, Residential Contractors, and Manufactured Home Installers.

Please visit https://ccaps.umn.edu/annual-institute-building-officials/building for additional information regarding this event.

Doug Fell recently became a CalOES SAP trainer and coordinator. The training occurred at the CalOES facility in Sacramento, CA.

CalOES SAP is the Safety Assessment Program of the California Office of Emergency Services. It has become a standard training certification for those providing assessments of structural damage after a disaster such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires and other disasters.

Doug was previously certified as a CalOES SAP evaluator and is now a  trainer and coordinator of the CalOES SAP.

Please visit http://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/recovery/disaster-mitigation-technical-support/technical-assistance/safety-assessment-program for more information on CalOES SAP.

Doug Fell was the instructor for the NCSEA offering of the CalOES SAP Evaluator webinar held on June 12, 2019. This is a six hour training webinar that allows those attendees meeting other requirements to become certified as a CalOES SAP Evaluator.

CalOES SAP is the Safety Assessment Program of the California Office of Emergency Services, It has become a standard training certification for those providing assessments of structural damage after a disaster such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires and other disasters.

Doug was also the instructor for the NCSEA CalOES SAP Evaluator webinar  held on April 29, 2020.

Please visit   

https://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/recovery/disaster-mitigation-technical-support/technical-assistance/safety-assessment-program for more information on CalOES SAP and   

http://www.ncsea.com/education/caloes/ for more information on NCSEA CalOES SAP webinars

Doug Fell was the instructor for the MNSEA/NCSEA offering of the CalOES SAP Evaluator seminar/webinar held on October 23, 2019. This was a six hour training simulcast seminar/webinar that allowed those attendees meeting other requirements to become certified as a CalOES SAP Evaluator.

CalOES SAP is the Safety Assessment Program of the California Office of Emergency Services, It has become a standard training certification for those providing assessments of structural damage after a disaster such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires and other disasters.

Please visit   

https://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/recovery/disaster-mitigation-technical-support/technical-assistance/safety-assessment-program for more information on CalOES SAP and   

http://www.ncsea.com/education/caloes/ for more information on NCSEA CalOES SAP webinars.

Doug Fell was the instructor for the SEA-WI offering of the CalOES SAP Evaluator seminar held on March 6, 2020 in the Milwaukee, WI area. This was a six hour training seminar that will allow those attendees meeting other requirements to become certified as a CalOES SAP Evaluator.

CalOES SAP is the Safety Assessment Program of the California Office of Emergency Services, It has become a standard training certification for those providing assessments of structural damage after a disaster such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, fires and other disasters.

Please visit   

https://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/recovery/disaster-mitigation-technical-support/technical-assistance/safety-assessment-program for more information on CalOES SAP and   

www.SEAWI.ORG for more information

Doug Fell will be assisting MNSEA and MNSEA SEER Committee in offering "Basic Training of Design Professionals for Site Visits"  originally scheduled to be held on March 18, 2020 in the Twin Cities area. This is 3.5 hour training seminar for design professionals intending to visit jobsites/construction sites.

This event has been postponed and will be rescheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Please visit www.mn-sea.org for more information on this seminar event.

I recently attended the groundbreaking in Minneapolis for another unique structure that I had the honor of being part of the structural engineering design and construction team. David Schiller of Paragon Grounds, LLC Phone (320) 298-2421 invited me to attend this event in Minneapolis. This is a new single-family home project that is utilizing structurally modified shipping containers configured as the primary structural elements over a full basement. The intent of the project is to provide affordable single-family home housing while repurposing the existing shipping containers. David has assembled a strong team utilizing resources from around the country for the development, design and construction of this unique project. Kudos to Dave for his leadership in providing this help in supporting the community. 

Doug recently renewed his Adult and Pediatric Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED certification. Doug keeps this certification current as a support to others at construction and emergency response sites and to the general public. Many of us have taken first aid and possibly CPR and AED training in the past but it is important to remain current on the certification. Red Cross requires the training to be renewed every two years. For those of you that have never taken the training or those of you that may not be current on the training please visit the Red Cross for possible training opportunities in your area: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-classThe more of us that are current on this training the more that we can help each other when the time comes!

Doug recently completed his 8-hour annual hazwoper refresher certification. The 8-hour annual refresher is required after the completion of the initial 40-hour hazwoper training certification to remain current with the training. Doug keeps this certification current as a support to others at construction and emergency response sites and to the public.

It is quite common that damaged structures may have some form of hazardous materials that may have been exposed due to the damage. An example of that is a damaged building may have chemicals used within the facility including asbestos, paints, solvents, and cleaning supplies that may not be properly contained due to the damage. Even simple cleaning supplies mixed together in a damaged building could lead to a toxic environment. Another actual case that Doug had on a damaged building was an acid spill on a floor where metal storage racks contained pelletized cyanide where the concern was that the acid would degrade the storage rack legs causing the cyanide to fall to the floor and mix with the acid potentially creating a cyanide gas (gas chamber gas) plume that may travel into the neighborhood. Doug entered the building with level A protection (fully encapsulated safety suit with acid resistant boots and air tanks) with safety entry protocols and other personnel to evaluate the condition of the storage rack legs to allow safe entry by others to enter and remove the cyanide. All of Doug’s training was engaged for that event.

Entering these damaged structures could expose those entering the facility to dangers in addition to the risk of entering a damaged building. Many of these risks may not be obviously apparent to the untrained eye. The training also covers the use of PPE (personal protective equipment), confined space training, and specific requirements for the proper use of respirators, including the annual medical surveillance requirement and fit testing of the respirator on the person wearing it. It is for the potential of environmental hazards that Doug remains current with his hazwoper training so that he and others entering with him may be better prepared to address those hazards before being exposed. Doug recommends to have at least one person that has this type of training (and is current on the certification) be on a damaged structure site before entry is made to protect those entering and those in the general area. 

The Superfund Amendments Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 required OSHA to issue regulations protecting workers engaged in hazardous waste operations. OSHA's Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standards (in general industry, 29 CFR 1910.120; and construction 29 CFR 1926.65) established health and safety requirements for employers engaged in these operations, as well as responses to emergencies involving releases of hazardous substances. HAZWOPER requires that employers follow specific work policies, practices, and procedures to protect their workers potentially exposed to hazardous substances. The standards provide employers with the information and training criteria necessary to ensure workplace health and safety during hazardous waste, emergency response, and cleanup operations involving hazardous substances. HAZWOPER aims to prevent and minimize the possibility of worker injury and illness resulting from potential exposures to hazardous substances.

Exposures to hazardous substances pose a wide range of acute (i.e., immediate) and chronic (i.e., long-term) health effects. These may include chemical burns, sensitization, irritation, and other toxic effects that may lead to death. Hazardous substance releases can also result in fires, explosions, high-energy events, and/or toxic atmospheres depending on the physical properties and health hazards of the released substance(s). OSHA's Chemical Hazards and Toxic Substances Safety and Health Topic page provides more information on safety and health hazards from exposure to hazardous substances.

Under the OSHA law, each employer is responsible for the safety and health of its workers and for providing a safe and healthful workplace. Employers must protect workers from anticipated hazards associated with participation in response and recovery operations for hazardous substances. For additional information on workers' rights, employer responsibilities, and other services OSHA offers, visit OSHA's employers page, workers page and publications list.

OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's workers through setting and enforcing standards and providing outreach, education and compliance assistance. The publications "OSHA at a Glance" and All About OSHA provide information on the strategies and programs OSHA uses to promote worker safety and health.

Please ask Doug if you have any questions regarding the hazwoper training and/or visit the OSHA website relating to this topic: https://www.osha.gov/emergency-preparedness/hazardous-waste-operations