Operations
Challenge

 

What is the Operations Challenge and How do I get Involved?
The RMWEA Operations Challenge participants represent some of the best and brightest water quality professionals in the Rocky Mountain region. Plant operators, lab analysts, maintenance mechanics and technicians are some of the personnel that help comprise the various teams. These team members have one goal in mind and that is to win the prestigious National Operations Challenge title.

Operations Challenge is a great learning and team-building experience that has been instrumental in helping these RMWEA members become a real asset to both their employer and community.

Each year, a regional competition is held to determine the team(s) that will represent the RMWEA at the National Operations Challenge competition. Those team(s) that compete at the national level are sponsored annually by treatment plant vendors, engineering firms, analytical labs and other organizations that directly or indirectly support the RMWEA and the Colorado Professional Wastewater Operations Committee (PWOC).

Both the regional and national Operations Challenge competitions consist of five events:

  • pump maintenance
  • collections systems
  • process control
  • laboratory
  • safety.

Teams make repairs to pumps, enter confined spaces, work on collection systems, troubleshoot process control problems and perform designated laboratory procedures while racing against the clock. The events are held simultaneously and provide for a lot of action and excitement.

Teams are comprised of 4 members and are judged on the time it takes to complete a series of tasks for each event as well as accuracy. Penalty points are assessed by the judges when specific event tasks are not performed correctly or in a safe manner.

Operations Challenge is a wonderful learning tool because it allows team participants to use state-of-the-art equipment and requires that they learn the latest techniques. The Challenge is fun and interesting for both team members and spectators alike!

If you are interested in forming a RMWEA Operations Challenge team, or would simply like more information, please contact the RMWEA Operations Challenge Committee