Midwestern Consulting

Zingerman's Deli is an Ann Arbor landmark

Ironically the two greatest business icons of Ann Arbor are both about food and at totally different ends of the spectrum.  First is Domino’s Pizza, the world’s largest pizza delivery company.  From their website, I learned that Domino’s Pizza is number one in customer satisfaction in a 2009 survey of consumers of the U.S. largest limited service restaurants, according to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index™. 

In contrast to the instant gratification model perfected by Dominos, Read more…

Surveying underground utilities is complex and very challenging for the surveyor.  The owner can help speed up the survey process by sharing his knowledge of site utility details.

Most proposed developments require an existing conditions survey.  One of the most important items the civil engineer will need to prepare is a constructible set of plans for the location of underground utilities like sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water main.  Public utilities such as gas, electric, fiber optic, telephone and cable are also critical to a successful survey.  Most of these utilities are placed on the existing conditions survey by the surveyor. 

The surveyor will use above ground evidence such as manholes, gate valves, hydrants, cleanouts and MISS DIG flags located in the field survey to plot the location of the utilities.  Utility records obtained from municipalities and public utility companies are also utilized and compared to the field evidence to develop an accurate location for each utility line.  But sometimes physical evidence is not enough.

Many surveyors do not review the finished survey with the property owner of the proposed site.  This is a mistake.  The property owner can be an invaluable source for the surveyor because most property owners are intimately familiar with the locations of utilities on their property.   

Surveyors should always include a review of the existing conditions survey with the property owner prior starting their design.  Such a meeting will provide the surveyor with site details that may not show up on official records and help make the site survey process go more smoothly and efficiently.

Recently found in the January/February 2010 issue of Corp. Magazine under the title “2010 Going Green Winners” is an article of a recent project that received certification as a LEED silver building. 

 -In an effort to be “picture perfect” when it comes to conservation, SchoolPictures.com decided to renovate a pre-1950 structure, making it the first such building in Michigan to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver status. The company, known for taking more than 3 million student images and 10,000 class panoramic portraits, also changed its business practices to include a recycling and reuse program. “The past year truly defines our efforts to go green and limit our carbon footprint,” notes Skip Cerier, SchoolPictures.com president. “It goes without saying that ‘green’ is not just something we should do to market our company’s name or brand. It’s a way we should be living in our community simply because it’s the right thing to do.” Formerly the facility that housed Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, Mich., SchoolPictures.com’s new headquarters includes green features such as: additional insulation to improve heating and cooling; low-wattage lighting and some motion-sensitive lighting; new base board heating and an increased number of zones for better efficiency; all new double thermal-pane windows; waterless urinals, which will save approximately 30,000 gallons of water per year; and all new recycled flooring products including non-PVC tile. During the renovation, the company recycled 80 percent of the 72 tons of debris that were removed from the site. Many materials were put back into the building including hundreds of glazed blocks to construct new walls and the original marble slab window sills. Counter tops were made from recycled beer bottles. “We also donated items from our building that were discarded by the previous occupant including library book shelving, wood doors and computer monitors, which are now being used by others in our community,” Cerier says. “We supplied a local library with $30,000 worth of shelving they needed and otherwise would have had to purchase. Now that we’re settled into our environmentally friendly facility, we continue to make every effort to be as green as possible. For example, we make it a habit to recycle paper and cardboard, and we use green cleaning products. We also participate in a program with DTE Energy to purchase our power solely from renewable energy sources.” Renewable energy offset programs allow companies to take advantage of renewable energy without having to purchase the hardware, such as a wind turbine, Cerier said.

Midwestern Consulting provided surveying, site planning, civil engineering and landscape architecture to this project.  Within the past few months our design team has now been part of 2 projects that have attained LEED certification.

February 2010 was a really bad month for school bus operators in the Detroit-metro area.

First, on February 17, WDIV-TV reported on air and on their website that the Royal Oak, Michigan school district was considering a plan to eliminate student school bus service for six elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school beginning in Fall 2010.  The same day, The Detroit Free Press reported  that Northville, Michigan school district Superintendent Leonard Rezmierski and the school board there is considering limiting busing services for middle and high school students also beginning in the Fall 2010.   

On February 18, it was reported that the Ann Arbor Public Schools could save up to $2,800,000 per year if they privatize the district’s custodians, maintenance workers and bus drivers.  And on February 23, the Detroit Public Schools announced they would fully outsource all student bus routes beginning in May saving the district $50,500,000 over the next five years.

High Level of Service

In 2009, the Dexter Community Schools (DCS) authorized Midwestern Consulting to evaluate the optimal location for a new transportation center which is associated with an approved bond project.  DCS’s 2010 annual operating budget is $36,000,000 and school busing accounts for $2,200,000 of that. 

In order to determine a preferred location, Midwestern first needed to evaluate current per-pupil transport costs and identify how those would be affected if the existing transportation center was re-located.

DCS’s current dual-tier transportation system provides a very high service level:  one that exceeds the requirements of the State of Michigan for student transport and one that costs more than their neighbors.  For example, school bus stops are designated at each student address even when there are several addresses adjacent to each other along a roadway and only right-side pickups are allowed.

Dexter Will Save Money

Midwestern Consulting utilized an innovative scientific data collection process to gather the student ridership and bus utilization data needed to access DCS’s current route system.  The data collection approach included:

• Combining traffic engineering principals with innovative Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies.
• Processing the GPS data and using a computer application to model DCS’s current operations.
• Creating detailed maps for optimized bus routes.
• Creating new efficiency models reflective of revised system metrics using Geographic Information System technologies.

The data in the chart above clearly shows that DCS will save significantly on an annual basis if bus routes are optimized.  The DCS study indicated that over $1,000,000 could be trimmed from their transportation budget

Less Busing – Better Service – Lower Costs

After a detailed evaluation of existing transport routes, bus fleet components, transportation facility location, and future serviceability, Midwestern Consulting recommended the following cost saving measures:

• DCS could save $332/student with optimized routes.
• DCS should relocate the transportation facility to a new site.
• DCS should consider changing the dual-tier system to a single-tier system.
• DCS should begin purchasing larger bus units to be able to respond to changing student demographics.
• DCS should consider implementation of a no-transport zone primarily within 1-mile of the campus, if safe school routes are available.

Effectively managing school bus transportation costs has never been more complex than today. Many school districts are facing the same challenge – how to provide safe, convenient, school bus services for students while keeping the costs down.  Midwestern Consulting’s unique approach to data collection and analysis showed one school district it is possible to significantly reduce transport costs without privatization or eliminating services.