Author Archives: Affinis Corp

John McCanless Recognized with Schmitty Award

Posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2021 by
In Firm News, tagged in
schmitty affinis john mccanless

For over 15 years, we’ve recognized outstanding co-workers who best model our firm’s core values with the Schmitty Award. Today, we’re excited to share Senior Project Representative John McCanless, a leader in our Construction Engineering Group, was selected. To choose a winner, the three previous recipients collaborate to develop a list of nominees. Those names […]

Customized Approach to Storm Sewer Repairs Maximizes City of Shawnee’s Budget

Posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2021 by
In Stormwater, tagged in
city of shawnee pflumm storm sewer

On a recent project with the City of Shawnee, Kansas, our design team used a customized approach to maximize taxpayer dollars. Instead of performing a wholesale replacement, we reviewed the condition of each storm sewer pipe and inspected sections of pavement to determine which should be left in place, rehabilitated, or removed on Pflumm Rd. […]

City of Overland Park Replaces 1,944 Linear Feet of Pipe with 2020 Project

Posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2020 by
In Stormwater, tagged in
Overland Park Stormwater repair

The City of Overland Park, Kansas targets deteriorating infrastructure as part of their yearly stormwater maintenance plan. This annual investment protects commercial and residential areas across the city. For the 2020 effort, the city chose seven, separate sites. The Affinis team began by analyzing the existing drainage areas for each. Then, we worked with the […]

Veterans Offer Diverse Backgrounds and a Team-Based Approach to the Affinis Workforce

Posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2020 by
In Firm News, tagged in

In celebration of Veterans Day, we are excited to share that Affinis was recognized with a platinum medallion from the Hire Vets Medallion Program in 2019. To qualify for this distinction, at least 10 percent of an organization’s team must be comprised of military veterans as well as provide a variety of tools and benefits […]

Affinis Survey Crew Previews New Topcon Solution

Posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 by
In Survey, tagged in
affinis topcon beta test

Members of our survey crew, Garrett Spease and Justin White, recently beta tested Topcon’s new workflow solution, which includes GT-1200, MAGNET Field, and FC-6000. As a long-time partner, they wanted our feedback on its performance, so we evaluated it out in the field. The new total stations include a new field computer, a full-version update to […]

New HyDrone Equipment Increases Safety and Accuracy for Survey Team

Posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 by
In Survey, tagged in
hydrone affinis survey

The Affinis survey team has been using a new, remote-controlled Unmanned Survey Vessel (USV) to gather measurements on bodies of water. This new tool, called the HyDrone, increases safety, efficiency, and accuracy in the field. We recently asked Garrett Spease, Field Crew Member and GIS Specialist, to share more about how it’s used and why […]

Cindy Martens to Retire in October

Posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2020 by
In Firm News, tagged in
cindy martens

Today, we’d like to share that Cindy Martens, SPHR-SCP, our Manager of Recruiting and Retention, will retire in October. Over the course of her career, she’s helped attract and retain talented co-workers who embody our firm’s principles. Cindy has worked at Affinis for 15 years. When we asked her to describe how the firm has […]

USACE Protects 27,000 Residences with Large Scale Levee Raise

Posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2020 by
In Federal Services, tagged in
usace-kc-levee-raise

In 1993, flooding caused water to reach to top of the levees in Kansas City. To protect businesses and residences from future floods, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has embarked on the process of raising 60 miles of levees along the Kansas river, as well as a small section of the Missouri […]

Co-Worker News: 2 New Hires

Posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020 by
In Firm News, tagged in

Today, we’re excited to introduce you to two, new co-workers. Addison Miller has joined our team as a traffic engineer, and Mark Hoppe is now a senior project engineer at Affinis. You can learn more about each person by following these links: Addison and Mark. There, you’ll see their favorite things to do in Kansas […]

Evaluating Risk and Resilience in Stormwater Systems

Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2020 by
In Stormwater, tagged in
stormwater risk and resiliency

The practice of risk and resilience assessment has been around for years for the evaluation of dams, levees, and bridges, because if one were to fail, the effects would be catastrophic. Now, we are seeing risk and resiliency evaluations being applied more broadly to stormwater systems. It is being used to prioritize stormwater improvements and […]