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NTH is an Employee-Owned Company

5/31/2019

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What does that mean and why does it matter?
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​NTH is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) company, which means we are an employee-owned firm. We recognize that job seekers want to make the best decision for their future, so we want to make sure prospective employees understand the advantages of working for an ESOP company, and why joining NTH could be the next best step in their careers.
 
One of the biggest benefits of working at an ESOP company is that it can provide an employee with significant retirement assets, in addition to a 401(k). Since stock is allocated to each employee’s account based on a contribution by the company, the employee bears no cost for this benefit. ESOP enables employees to accumulate shares in the business without contributing any of their own money. Instead, the company makes contributions every year that are used to buy shares. Upon retirement or separation from the company, disbursements are made to the employee-owner to be used in retirement over and above their 401(k) assets.

Also, according to a recent Rutgers study, employee-owned companies tend to provide a more generous benefit packages to their employees such as health benefits, flex time, parental leave, tuition reimbursement and more that help with employee’s financial lives. In addition, the report stated that employee-owned companies provide more transparency to employees to help with their understanding of their company’s financial situation. NTH follows this trend as, in addition to our retirement plans, we offer a very generous benefit package, a Wellness program and a Volunteer Time Off program.
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Another unique ESOP benefit for employee-owners is that it gives each employee-owner a stake in the success of our company. Everyone is working to build his or her, and everyone else’s, successful future. When the company succeeds, we all succeed! This helps to improve morale and lends itself to a more engaged team with supportive co-workers.
 
Shared ownership makes people part of something bigger than themselves. Being able to benefit directly from the overall success and profitability of the company adds significant motivation to work harder, think creatively, and work efficiently as a team. 

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Follow-Up Webinar Q & A: Using Modified HDD Techniques To Mitigate Sinkhole Risks

5/21/2019

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By Abdulnasser Almadhoun, P.E., NTH Consultants & Dan Dilegge, DVM Utilities Inc. 
PictureThis project won a National Recognition Award from ACEC National
​During our last webinar, there were several questions from the audience, several of which we were not able to answer due to time constraints. Below is a recap of the questions and the answers from our speakers.

If you have not yet viewed the webinar, please click this link to view.


  1. What does HDD mean? 
    HDD stands for a trenchless technology called Horizontal Directional Drilling

  2. What caused the original collapse? Waterline? Sewer?
    It is our opinion that the combined geotechnical, hydrologic and construction material used and sewage flow conditions all lead to the piping of fine sand and silt particles from the surrounding soil which ultimately caused the pipe failure. 

  3. What was the total cost of this project?
    Approximately 6.7 Million Dollars

  4. How quickly was it determined that the 48 inch sewer was over designed and down sized to a 24 inch line?  
    During the design phase it was discovered that the 48-inch sewer receives flow from the upstream 24-inch sewer only. Based on hydraulic analysis, it was determined the proposed 24-inch HDPE pipe hydraulic capacity should be sufficient.

  5. Why was the sewer line over designed?
    The original sewer appears to have been built as a hand mined tunnel with liner plate primary liner which needed enough space to perform the work. There may have been discussion about future capacity but it appears the minimum space was the main reason.

  6. What is the difference between the Pilot Tube Guided Boring Machine and a Micro Tunnel Boring Machine? Are the similar? 
    It should be noted that HDD is not the first choice for gravity sewer applications because of the limitations of the guidance and the higher degree for error. It is most often used for pressure pipe or communication lines which are not grade critical and best suited for High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe pull back.  The Pilot Tube Guided Boring machine can achieve precise line and grade but is designed to push pipe in, not pull HDPE.

    These are the reasons we opted to use the Pilot Tube Guided Boring Machine to get the precise line and grade and the HDD machine to accomplish the ream and pullback of the HDPE pipe.  The added restraints were the tight working area.

    Pilot Tube Guided Boring and Microtunneling are similar but have some differences. Although all of the trenchless equipment is expensive, microtunnel tends to be the most expensive. It also needs complex fluid separation equipment and pumps. It can achieve greater drive distances and larger diameter installations however. 

    We have included a few videos as a reference:

    Ditch Witch illustrating Common Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)
    https://youtu.be/I7R5z3KQ_SE

    Akkerman Pilot Tube Guided Boring Machine
    https://youtu.be/lGyZqUytAhk

    Akkerman Microtunnel Boring Machine
    https://youtu.be/xO-fKEZJNtU

  7. What was the constituent of the robust engineered fill?
    The Robust backfill consisted of Flowable fill cement for the bottom of our excavations to fill any voids that opened during pipe pullback and then compacted sand.

  8. How do we know that a sinkhole won't re-occur - what did you do differently so that you know that the sinkhole won't re-occur?

    ​* The new and existing manholes within the project area were lined. HDPE and PVC Drop pipes were installed within the manholes.

    ​* HDPE pipe was used to replace the collapsed sewer

    * ​Leaks within the Existing 48-inch sewer were grouted and the 48” pipe was completely filled with flowable fill

    * Sinkhole area was backfilled with robust engineered fill system

    * Downstream area of the collapsed pipe between MH-4 and MH-3 (approximately 175 ft) was also lined with CIPP liner. Additional downstream leaks in the vicinity of the project area were grouted.

  9. Did you do any geotechnical investigation like the moisture content, permeability, and strength of the subsurface soil? 
    Yes we did during the early phase of the investigation and during design phase. A geotechnical investigation report was issued as part of the Construction Documents.
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An Award Winning Week for NTH!

5/13/2019

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NTH Receives Two ACEC National Awards and an ASCE SEMI Project of the Year, Young Civil Engineer of the Year and Life Member Award
2019 ACEC National Engineering Excellence Awards Presentation
On May 7, NTH Consultants was honored with a ​National Recognition Award at the ACEC National Engineering Excellence Awards for our project "Telegraph-Franklin Sewer Replacement: Using Modified HDD Techniques to Mitigate Sinkhole Risks." For this project, NTH was retained to lead a design-build emergency rehabilitation following a water main break which created large sinkhole. NTH and the lead contractor, DVM Utilities, used Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) technology to restore the sewer and stabilize the sinkhole area without impacting existing utilities, structures, and the highway. NTH was pleased to be joined at the awards ceremony by our clients, Sid Lockhart and Joel Brown from the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's Office.
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Hosam Yaldo (NTH), Saju Sachi (NTH), Sid Lockhart (OCWRCO), Joel Brown (OCWRCO), Jason Edberg (NTH)
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The ACM design team: WSP Michigan Inc., HNTB Michigan, Inc., Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. and NTH Consultants.
The design team consisting of WSP Michigan Inc., HNTB Michigan, Inc., Mannik & Smith Group, Inc. and NTH was also honored for the American Center for Mobility Project (ACM) in Ann Arbor. The project included utilizing re-purposed MDOT right-of-way along US-12 to complete the approximately 3-mile highway loop, development of a boulevard and urban corridor, a 700’ roadway tunnel, and deployment of connected technologies. 
2019 ASCE SE Michigan Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation 
On May 11, NTH accepted the ASCE Southeast Michigan Branch's Project of the Year award for the Auburn Wastewater Treatment Plant - 66-Inch Diameter River Crossing Influent Pipeline Rehabilitation project. We accepted along with the contractor,  ​Kevin Clarey, Weiss Construction Co., LLC and client George Nichols of the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's Office.
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ASCE SEMI Branch also bestowed the 2019 Young Civil Engineer of the Year Award to NTH's own Ashley Lesser. She was singled out for her work with the Southeastern Michigan ASCE Branch's Committee on Younger Members, the Engineering Society of Detroit {ESD), Society of Women Engineers {SWE), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and for her overall commitment to her profession and the field of Civil Engineering. We thrilled to have Ashley represent NTH and are proud to boast that she is part of our team. 

Finally, NTH President and CEO, Kevin Hoppe, P.E. was honored with a Life Member Award!
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    The NTH Narrator

    NTH Consultants, Ltd. (NTH) is a nationally recognized engineering firm specializing in Civil, Geotechnical, Environmental, and Facilities Engineering. 

    On our blog, our engineering experts address current news and events in our field, review new projects and highlight NTH news.

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