FALL - Issue 3 | 2019

In This Issue: The Fox River - 16 Seasons Four-Person Dive Teams Meet the Team Behind 24/7 Dispatch Introducing the Board of Directors The \"Pile Buck\"- Retiree Jim O’Neill Brennan takes on the challenge of rehabbing LaGrange Lock and Dam in Versailles, IL

The Longest (Cubic) Yard: By Matt Binsfeld Sometime soon, in late September 2019, Brennan crews will dredge our last cubic yard from the Fox River, probably near the spot where it spills into Green Bay. In this area, otherwise known as Operable Unit 5 (OU5), the removal of that final yard will herald the end of the largest and most sophisticated environmental remediation project ever conducted in North America—and a transformative experience for Brennan. Over the last 16 seasons, the Fox River project fundamentally changed our organization for the better. Looking back, the journey, the people involved, the risks taken, and successful outcomes are almost unbelievable. Many doubted that we could win the work and if we did, that we could perform in the manner we believed necessary. When Brennan started our efforts on the Fox, we were very much an underdog and a newcomer to environmental work. The industry already included many strong and established players, most of whom did not see us as serious competition. What we accomplished together over these last 16 years is unprecedented. OUR INITIATION The story of the Fox really begins in Oakbrook, IL on September 11, 2001, at a kick-off meeting for our project at US Steel in Gary, IN, which was our first-ever environmental remediation project. Due to the tragic events that occurred on that fateful day, our initial meeting was interrupted and then cancelled; however, it was still the first time we met the players with whom we would work as we ventured into environmental remediation. Ultimately, many of these people played roles along the way in our Fox River journey. To pursue the work for US Steel, we collaborated with an environmental engineering firm named Earth Tech, now part of AECOM, to draft a proposal for what was at that time, the largest subaqueous environmental cleanup project accomplished in the United States. US Steel planned to remove some 300,000 yards of contaminated material from the West Branch of the Grand Calumet River (aka, Grand Cal), and was looking for companies to execute its work. Prior to 2001, we had never performed any environmental cleanup work, but our skilled workforce partnered with Earth Tech’s environmental know-how formed a strong team. We ultimately won the job and executed the work at US Steel because of some extremely creative ideas Tony Binsfeld and Vic Buhr put into practice. A few of the innovations included use of a pump system to reroute the river, Victor flanges, and RTK GPS on small dredges for precision removal. All these ideas were expertly accomplished by a wonderful crew, many of whom later became leaders within Brennan. The Grand Cal provided us with a tremendous learning opportunity: unique work for a new client with distinct and different expectations. I often reflect on our experience on the Grand Cal—our “environmental initiation”—when I see how deftly we handle those same issues today. Toward the end of the project in 2003, one of the Earth Tech project managers moved to CH2M Hill in Milwaukee, WI. Brennan’s former head of business development, Glenn Green, and I later ran into that project manager at a luncheon that same year where he cryptically said, “There is something bigger we should talk about.” Glenn, for his part, was one of the first people within Brennan to recognize where environmental work could take us. Thankfully, he did a splendid job of pushing us to revise the way we thought about ourselves—to consider what we could do and how we could be a player on the Fox River.

THE FOX BEGINS for the full OU1 Project, which was to commence the following year. Remediation work on the Fox River began in late August 2004, in a section of the river called Little Lake Buttes des Retaining our spot on the Fox after the pilot project in 2004 Morts near Menasha, WI. Located 40 miles south of the proved just as difficult as executing the initial work itself. Fox River’s terminus point in OU5, Little Lake Buttes des Despite the odds and many sleepless nights, Brennan was Morts is also known as Operable Unit 1 (OU1). The Fox awarded the work in OU1. Five years later, after facing River, as you may know, flows south to north. down many more challenges, we and our good partners completed the work for our client. “Something bigger,” as Glenn and I heard at that luncheon, turned out to be the Fox River. CH2M Hill, a As work on OU1 concluded, I vividly recall one of the most large environmental engineering firm, initially held the gratifying experiences of that time. A client representative contract; the Earth Tech project manager with whom approached me to say how happy he was that they hired we’d worked on the Grand Cal now represented CH2M the “A team” to do the job. Just five years earlier, this Hill as the Fox River Project Manager. By early 2004, same gentleman bemoaned our selection, saying, “We Brennan established a small track record and good name haven’t even hired the B team to do the work.” Although in the environmental industry. This was enough that now retired, this individual remains a strong advocate for CH2M Hill, seeking firms that could execute the work in Brennan to this day—another example of how our hard OU1, reached out to us and asked us to propose on a work and excellent results forms lasting relationships. pilot project involving geotextile tubes; at the same time, they also asked a small environmental firm in Michigan Throughout our work on OU1, we brought new technology to propose on operating those geotextile tubes. That firm to the environmental industry: pre-thickening sediment was Infrastructure Alternatives Inc., and OU1 was our for geotextile-tube dewatering, mastering the use of RTK inaugural project working with them—forging a relationship GPS for precision dredging, the VicVac™ for removing that is now over 15 years old. This was also the first time containments over hard surfaces, and our patented we worked with Foth Engineering, another collaboration Broadcast Capping System (BCS™). Admittedly, these that has developed into an equally long-lasting and strong innovations didn’t start out looking anything like they do relationship. today. I still laugh at the memory of a group of us working in the parking lot in front of the old office, measuring Executing pilot work in OU1 was no easy task. Protocols, spread patterns from a salt spreader we bought from both ours and those at the oversight level, were neither Trempealeau County—the first iteration of the BCS™. well developed nor well practiced at that early stage on We learned a lot in those years at OU1, and it prepared the Fox. Expectations ran wild regarding what could be us to pursue our biggest opportunity yet: cleaning up the accomplished and how work should progress. At times, remaining portion of the Fox River. tempers ran short. Despite the challenges, we completed the pilot work and that allowed us to formulate a proposal (Continued on next page)

THE BIG ONE financially burdensome, and fraught with risk. We proposed things that we knew were As we entered the latter years of our work in possible, but which had never been executed OU1, Brennan ramped up our pursuit of the on such a grand scale. For instance, we cleanup for the remaining portion of the Fox knew that our BCS technology worked, but River. Operable Units 2–5, the next phase of the we faced an extraordinary number of acres Fox, was one of the largest and most attractive that required capping. We were certain that projects in the country—the Super Bowl of we could excavate to the required tolerances environmental cleanup. Everyone in the industry but doing so over such a large area was wanted the work. To further complicate matters, unprecedented. We understood that we could some of our strongest competitors were already pump two dredges through the same pipeline, working on the section of river where this large but over 10 miles was next-level. Because of the project would take place. It was going to be a project’s immense scope, a small mathematical dogfight and we were still a small underdog. miscalculation in any of these scenarios could generate exceptionally bad results. How the team as we know it today—Tetra Tech, SPRI, and Brennan—came together was our Even with such great risks, I don’t think anyone first piece of good fortune. SPRI, or Boskalis on the team ever believed that our work on Environmental at the time, was ending a joint the Fox River was going to be anything but a venture (JV) relationship with another dredging success. One of my favorite memories from firm in the southern United States; had that JV those early years came during a meeting with remained intact, they would have likely been our client in New York City in early 2009 as one of the strongest competitors. Instead, we negotiated the full contract. At that point, over drinks and a handshake in the lobby of we had worked at the site for a year under the hotel at the 2007 World Organization of a mobilization contract and were nearing Dredging Associations (WODA) Conference, the day when dredging would begin. Johan Tony Binsfeld and Johan Dolman agreed to Dolman made a point of illustrating our team’s work together in pursuing the remaining portion excellent work to design, procure, and build of the Fox. We still needed an environmental the infrastructure needed to do the project. He firm with whom to partner, and as luck had it, rightly pointed out that another project of similar many of our working partners from our Earth size took nearly 36 months—our team, Tetra Tech and Grand Cal days had by now moved Tech-SPRI-Brennan, did it in 12 months. There to Tetra Tech. These three companies created was never a doubt that we had the right people a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and and the right team! embarked on our pursuit of OU2–5. In the spring of 2009, we began to move After 18 months of chasing the work, our team, mud in OU2–5 … slowly at first, and then we with Tetra Tech in the lead, was declared the really turned it on! There are so many people winner. Our quest to secure this opportunity who helped get the project off the ground. In was probably the most hair-raising endeavor particular, Vic Buhr, Greg Smith, and Kevin in which we have ever been involved. Our Zenke demonstrated amazing leadership in proposed methodology was very much “outside getting us to the point where we could start the box” and required a profusion of meetings the work. All three invested countless hours of all over the country to convince the decision- effort during that time. Fortunately, as many makers of the viability of our process. Much of of you know, we perfected our work on the the work to convince the client fell to our team Fox in the years since we began work there, and many times, we had people fly throughout although it has taken significant time and focus. the country on a moment’s notice to assuage We successfully faced down many logistical, the client’s concerns with our proposed plan. It oversight, or contractual challenges. We created was a consolidated effort; Tetra Tech and SPRI our own technology for this project, and even also had to travel to all parts of the country on as naysayers questioned our designs, we keep a moment’s notice. Greg Smith, Vic Buhr, and improving the quality and reliability of our tools Tony B. did most of Brennan’s heavy lifting, and processes. In fact, many of the items we and what an awesome accomplishment they invented for use on the Fox River have become achieved. commonplace in the industry—sometimes even specified for new work we pursue. For Brennan, OU2–5 was a “bet the company” type of moment. The contract was large,

THE FOX AND BRENNAN sustain a vision of where the Fox could lead us. We honor Vic Buhr and Danny Maust, with their In the years since we started work on the Fox ability to experiment and innovate that lead us River, Brennan has changed a great deal. We to create new technologies and make us more brought a lot to the Fox and the Fox returned competitive. We gratefully acknowledge Greg much to us. We are no longer an unknown in Smith, Kevin Zenke, Del Groth, Tyler Lee, Jake the environmental industry, although I think Abraham, Tim Tolvstad, Mike Tolvstad, Dillon we properly continue an underdog attitude Sperberg, Zack Meyers, Chad Defoe, Steve that keeps us hungry and focused. The Fox Feenstra, Doug Soper, Dustin Bauman, and allowed us to reinvest more into the company Paul Olander, whose instrumental leadership in the last 15 years than perhaps all 85 years got the operation off the ground—and then kept prior. We have grown, creating better and more us moving toward completion on the lightning comprehensive systems that significantly raise ride that followed. We are awed by the field the bar for safety, quality, and efficiency. engineers who took us further in our GPS and instrumentation efforts than we could have In 2004, as with contemporary construction dreamed in 2001. Under the leadership of Mike companies, baby boomers dominated Wyatt, Josh Podjaski, Dan McCauley, and Dan Brennan’s team and we faced the prospect Huycke, our teams consistently achieve some of key retirements coming throughout the of the toughest tolerance standards anywhere company within the decade. We knew we in the world! We could never do this work faced a significant challenge in recruiting without all the mechanics and shop support in younger folks to the company to learn from, La Crosse, along with Dave Pradovic and Matt and ultimately replace, those who would retire. Wagner in Green Bay, who not only keep the Today, millennials and members of generation equipment going, but consistently go “above X predominate our workforce; some post- and beyond” when emergencies arise. There millennials are now joining our ranks as well. are, quite literally, too many people to thank or The abundance of young talent seeking growth mention in this space, but if you ever worked opportunities here at Brennan is staggering. at the site or in support of the job, it’s you who Others in our line of work, and even our direct made this happen. competitors, frequently tell me how much Brennan’s “deep bench” and knowledgeable I am often asked what we will do after Green workforce impress them. We have clarified our Bay—how will we move on? My answer is that purpose: our work matters because we tackle it is time to close out this work. As good as some of the greatest challenges of our time. the Fox has been for us and to us, countless People want to be a part of our team because other opportunities await us and it’s time to our important work makes a difference in the move on. We have the ability to respond to world—and the Fox made that point for us. almost anything that comes our way because we have talent and we have depth. In our 100 Like other substantial projects such as building year history, the 16 seasons we spent at the Fox a bridge crossing the Mississippi River or undoubtedly defined a high-water mark for us, constructing a skyscraper, there are scant but it’s not our only one. We march forward as a physical reminders of a contractor’s time on more advanced company and a stronger team. the site after the job is complete. Our efforts on You better believe it, there are higher-water the Fox will also leave little apparent sign of the marks ahead for every one of us. We will never time and major effort we expended. However, forget what we collectively accomplished on the what we accomplished in the last 16 seasons Fox River—the story of the Fox is the story that is nothing short of amazing and it will continue defines our best selves. We faced down one of represent the best of what we can do, even the largest and most difficult challenges of our though there will be no physical indication of our day. We seized the chance to make a difference tremendous accomplishment. So many times, and while doing so, we made history. things could have gone the wrong way for us on the Fox; so many times, our incredible team Thank you to all involved on the Fox; what an stepped up to ensure a positive outcome. awesome ride! It is, after all, people who made this happen— Matt Binsfeld it’s all of you. As the project comes to its President and CEO successful conclusion, we celebrate Tony B. and his willingness “bet the company” and

SAFETY Updated! Brennan’s Environmental Management Progr am By Michael Cannell and Brandon Siebenaler As a marine contractor, Brennan faces a unique array of regulations and rules. While every company deals with regulations, most deal with rules that impact operations only on land or only in the water. We are accountable for regulatory requirements in both areas and have been for years. THERE ARE TWO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE AREA OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE 1. Federal, state, and local governments track business activities much more closely. This translates to an increase in potential trouble for companies which aren’t following the rules precisely. 2. Our clients are increasingly focused on the activities we perform for them during project work. This is a very fundamental change from the past, when it was nice to find a contractor who followed environmental regulations. Now, environmental regulation management is an absolute requirement—one that clients monitor aggressively. On some client sites, a single drop of oil impacting the ground means an “all-stop” to work until cleanup and reporting are completed. Serious business indeed. Brennan has always been sensitive to the environment and our company follows the rules. Our business reputation is built doing the right thing, as well as doing it better than any of our competitors. When we considered regulatory and client changes, we realized we needed more resources across the company to ensure that we meet or exceed government and client requirements. During implementation of the “Brennan Quality Management System,” it became apparent that it was a natural fit for managing our environmental responsibilities. Fortunately, an international standard for environmental care and compliance, ISO 14001, matches Brennan’s environmental management philosophy as if designed for us. THREE ELEMENTS IN THIS AREA THAT ARE EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND USE Our Environmental Risk and Knowledge of the Reasonable Care Impact Assessment System Reasonable care is “the degree of caution This is a process where we Every employee and concern an ordinarily prudent and rational examine all the ways that understands that we have person would use in similar circumstances.” we could possibly impact a documented system for Using reasonable care as we go about our the environment across our dealing with environmental tasks drives a common-sense—and highly locations, as well as consider risks, and that the system effective—approach to dealing with risks. It potential effects or risks. We contains resources to means that we plan activities before we start, then put processes or plans in establish requirements for taking risks into account, and then perform place to prevent risky actions our activities and response those activities based on established rules and from occurring and establish plans. requirements. After completing operations, we proper emergency responses. review to ensure our effectiveness and drive process improvement. In addition to the areas highlighted above, there are some things we’ve put into place to ensure that our Quality Management System is effective and continues to improve.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? implemented this in the La Crosse shop & yard and are moving this standard into the field. Project sites Since this is truly a collective effort, we created a feature their own challenges as everything needs to training program so that every employee has a level remain mobile; this is one of the reasons we now use of environmental awareness. We provide annual double-walled tanks with built-in containment. training and regular consulting through the safety department to ensure the availability of all necessary At a minimum, every container must be labeled with a resources. Brandon Siebenaler heads up our day-to- product identifier and a hazard statement, pictogram, day environmental management activities and is happy or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) symbol, to help. depending on the size of the container. We created our own requirement for the proper labeling of tanks and Brennan has an environmental inspection program that added it to our Environmental Procedures and Work we use to identify and correct any deficiencies as they Instructions. This helps us ensure that we’re labeling occur; we work to learn from deficiencies so that we new tanks correctly and applying the same standard to don’t make the same mistakes in the future. Some of existing tanks in the field. the things we look for include: In 2019, Brennan made great strides regarding »» Proper storage and disposal of oils and hazardous environmental management and our level of materials compliance. Throughout the year, we used external audits, internal inspections, and employee training to »» Use of secondary containment for containers & help us correct issues—some that we weren’t even tanks aware existed. It has been an excellent opportunity for all of us at Brennan to learn, working together to »» Proper labeling of containers & tanks ensure that our daily tasks don’t pose a risk to the environment. Proper storage of petroleum-based materials and hazardous chemicals is critically important to our Effective control and management of our efforts. This is a major issue not only for environmental environmental responsibilities keeps regulators and concerns, given our activities are always on or next clients satisfied. And it’s the right thing to do—that’s to the water, but also for safety. Storing petroleum- the hallmark of Brennan. based materials and hazardous chemicals within proper secondary containment is vital so that in case Contact the safety department with any questions of a spill, another line of protection stands against a or concerns regarding environmental compliance. potential release to the environment. Our company policy states that any container 5 GAL or larger should be stored within a secondary containment system. We

CIVIL Cargill Gets an Upgrade on the Illinois River By Matt Hogan CARGILL CHOSE BRENNAN as the marine contractor for a complete overhaul of their river loading terminal in Meredosia, IL. The marine work includes the installation of four new mooring and breasting structures, a new conveyor support bent, and a new four-legged tower platform over an existing gravity cell. When completed, the client’s grain loadout facilities will be the envy of the area. The facility will also be unencumbered by the fast- approaching 2020 Illinois River consolidated lock closures; Meredosia is located downstream of LaGrange Lock and Dam, the last lock on the Illinois River. Meredosia Water Level Mayhem In April 2019, the Civil group began work on the Cargill Meredosia project. We completed demolition and some pile driving work by the first week of May, at which point the region experienced near-record flooding. Just when the river began to recede after the first crest, a second near-record crest was upon us. We essentially lost May and June to Mother Nature and the Illinois River flood waters. Another schedule setback occurred when an errant tow struck the facility. The tow’s barges struck existing structures which, in turn, pushed into our marine plant. Our crew was not to be outdone, however. Led by site superintendent Kelvin Dondlinger, the crew buckled in and worked safely yet tirelessly to complete this project, adding change order work scopes on time in order to turn the facility back over to the owner. After two near-record crests on the Illinois River and many hard-worked manhours, our crew is nearing the finish line ahead of schedule. The completion date for major marine activities is slated for mid-September, after which the marine plant and crew will continue on to work upstream. New Skills Impress Cargill This Cargill project included complex pipe bracing that requires precision coping of steel to achieve a quality fit. The crew learned a new method for accurately laying out cuts, significantly improving installation efficiency. This new skill will be transferred to other similar projects and will increase our competitiveness moving forward. The project was an outstanding example of talent development on all levels. The work these gentlemen put into the client’s facility has given us an advantage with future Cargill projects up and down the waterways—we continue to prove our effectiveness in safely providing quality results. A huge thank you to all involved in this project! Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Crew Members Included: Kelvin Dondlinger Daryl Palmer Justin Reid Robert Brand Tim Eaker Matt Hogan Levi Dondlinger Jeremy Kroll David Pickett Kurt Lemkuhl Nick Walsky Kevin Miller Nick Vetsch Scott Leatherberry Cole Kamla Stephen Svendsen

Levi Dondlinger New tower platform prior to spout installation Kelvin Dondlinger Steve Svendsen A closeup of a finished steel piling support New tower platform spans across previously used structure

DIVE Safety First Efficiency Next By Steve Pratt Four-Person Dive Team Throughout our organization, dive teams mobilize nationally to complete a broad assortment of tasks utilizing only a 3-person dive team; made up of a diver, tender, and supervisor. Historically, this has been the standard not only within Brennan’s practices, but for most other inland diving organizations. The Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) gives guidance that requires, at a minimum, a 3-person dive team. While this practice is sufficient in some circumstances; such as non-penetration inspections and wheel jobs. It became apparent with our growing scope of work that a 4-person dive crew—adding a standby diver—should be our internal minimum standard moving forward. A real concern, and something we practice throughout the Dive group on a regular basis, is the need to rescue an unresponsive diver. While this may seem like a “man-overboard” recovery, the stakes here are much higher. Our process requires a detailed series of events that must happen to successfully recover an affected diver: 1. Having a standby diver in the immediate 5. Securing the affected diver for recovery. area, ready to enter the water at a moment’s notice. 6. Having both the standby and affected divers’ umbilicals hoisted to the surface in unison. 2. Switching breathing air to the backup air source. 7. At the surface, bringing the affected diver onto the diving platform. 3. Entering the water in a manner that captures the affected diver’s umbilical so that it can 8. Removing life support equipment from the be followed to the diver. affected diver. 4. Capturing the diver and inserting a 9. Providing first aid. pneumofathometer hose into his helmet. 10. Transporting the affected diver to the extraction point. As you can see, with a 3-person team, resolving this situation is nearly impossible because the tender becomes the rescue diver, and the supervisor is left alone at the surface to carry out all remaining duties.

Jared Firle, Max Roozen with additional diver & tender Tender Max O’Meara & diver - Craig Bartheld & Sean McMullen with crew Our work often involves direct interaction with differential pressure (Delta P) environments. These types of projects are the most dangerous for inland divers and provide the greatest chances for a rescue situation. Coupling these types of environments with a heavy workload where the tender must commonly be away from the dive station providing tools and performing general labor tasks, the duty of the tender diver becomes split and could result in poor performance in an emergency/rescue situation. Overall, at Brennan we pride ourselves on our ability to operate in a safe and productive manner. The Divers Certification Board of Canada (DCBC)—Canada’s version of the ADCI—has already implemented a 4-person crew minimum across the board. Although the ADCI has not yet ruled to require a 4-person minimum for dive teams, Brennan sees the necessity of this change with our growing scope of work; we acted to provide the extra team member for both quality of work and for the safety of all personnel.

BRENNAN MARINE The TEAM Behind Our dispatch center stays open 24 HR per day, 365 days per year. Brennan serves as a resource throughout the inland river system; providing quick responses to employees and clients is crucial to our success. We have a committed team working around the clock to ensure marine support for those who need it. DISPATCH Tim Degenhardt, Kevin Moore, Matt Randall, and Doug Schmidt make up our 4-person dispatch team. While obviously dedicated to Brennan, there’s more to learn about our hard-working dispatch crew. We dug up some information on each of them, and also asked them to share a little about themselves. Buckle up! Doug schmidt Doug has worked at Brennan since April 1997. He remembers being ready to move to Colorado when he got the call from Brennan, hiring him for the dispatch position. He attributes his longevity at Brennan to his willingness to work hard and learn new things. Doug recently learned to weld and enjoys it immensely. PERSONAL DETAIL ABOUT YOURSELF: I’ve been cards and games when the girls are around. On the happily married for 17 years—have 2 daughters who are rare occasion we watch TV, it is usually something on both in high school. We have owned a hobby farm for YouTube. about 10 years now and have tried chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats and now cows, plus our dogs and barn cats, BUCKET LIST ITEM: My wife and I would like to spend and we have a very large garden. some time in Alaska. We are now planning on moving onto a sailboat after the girls are out of the house. Just WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED? Motivation comes like life at Brennan, life at home is always changing. and goes, but Brennan has been very good to me, so I feel a responsibility to pay that back. MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT AT BRENNAN: I have so many stories: fleet breakaways, multiple hires and FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: I used to be a huge Packers fires, police involvement, floods, bosses at my house fan but gave up watching football. Now we just work on waking me up, military deployments and cancelations, moving towards our goals of moving onto a boat and health issues, new buildings. I could go on and on but, it’s doing a little fishing on our off-time. safe to say that I could not name just one because every year brings something new and exciting. FAVORITE MUSIC OR MOVIE: Gave up on TV also. It has increased time with family anyways. We play “ Dispatch is the proverbial glue that holds all harbor and BMI operations together. Every day, the dispatch team manages crew schedules, boat schedules, customer requirements, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, regulatory audits, and much more. We call dispatch when things aren’t going as planned yet often fail to give them the credit ”deserved, especially when all is well. Thank you, team, for all you do! -Adam Binsfeld

Kevin Moore Kevin began at Brennan in January 2014. Back then, Kevin felt stuck at a job where he didn’t see long-term career and wanted a change. He knew multiple people who worked for Brennan and spoke highly of the company. A dispatch position became available and seemed interesting. Kevin came to Brennan with no previous experience in the river or harbor industry; his strong work ethic helped him learn on the job. PERSONAL DETAIL ABOUT YOURSELF: I am married FAVORITE MUSIC OR MOVIE: I basically listen to little to my wife Kellie and have two girls, Claire and Elena. of everything. I enjoy historical war films, but Star Wars would be one of my favorites. WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED? Making sure I can provide the fun and full life that my family deserves. BUCKET LIST ITEM: My biggest bucket list item is to one day get my 1966 Plymouth Satellite road-worthy FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Honestly not a big sports enough to either go on the Hot Rod Power Tour or take person; I follow hockey a little, maybe some drag racing it down the entire route of Route 66. I would also like to events, but that’s about it. make it to Hawaii and see Pearl Harbor, and visit Europe. Matt Randall Matt started his career at Brennan in April 2008. Before then, he held a variety of positions, including training technicians in phone and cable installations and cutting lumber for Ashley Furniture, but Matt found his home here. He’s the go- to TowWorks programmer and customizer on the team and hopes to train more folks on the program. He has taken it upon himself to learn more about computer programming on the side and is excited to continue increasing his skillset. PERSONAL DETAIL ABOUT YOURSELF: Married 8 years FAVORITE MUSIC OR MOVIE: I listen to a lot of AC/ and have a 22 year-old stepdaughter. I have 2 dogs, Angus DC. Watch a lot of science fiction, suspense, and horror and Coal. One is a full Staffordshire terrier; the other is a movies—especially Bruce Campbell. mix. Both were adopted into our family when the owners could no longer care for them. BUCKET LIST ITEM: I need a motorcycle—looking to get an Indian. WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED? My alarm clock. MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT AT BRENNAN: When the FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Packers fan. Not really into Megan McB went down. Up at the lock, they went to go into much else. the chamber, and we lost someone that day—it was July 3rd. Tim Degenhardt Tim started at Brennan in May 2000. Brennan was looking for someone in harbor services, and a dispatcher at another harbor service company lined up the interview for him. Tim’s background in river-related occupations made him a great fit. In the past, he worked in the McGregor, Cassville, Dubuque, Clinton, and St. Louis harbors, and on linehaul vessels. PERSONAL DETAIL ABOUT YOURSELF: I do enjoy ANYTHING ELSE THAT FOLKS SHOULD KNOW watching other people work on a project. I can usually ABOUT YOU? I wasn’t a very pleasant person when I learn a little something and mistakes made don’t cost me was young. Contrary to what most people say about time, a thing. it hasn’t improved anything. WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED? My taste buds. BUCKET LIST ITEM: I am looking forward to the time when being up at night means nothing more than a trip to FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: I can watch most any kind of the bathroom. sporting event but I’m not a blood and guts fan and if the weather is nice, I’m not a fan of anything on TV. MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT AT BRENNAN: The first time I got on the Barbara B. and the Megan McB incident FAVORITE MUSIC OR MOVIE: Shoot ‘em up, tear ‘em at Lock 7. up, blow ‘em up movies are my go-to. And as a color- blind ol’ fart, they don’t need to be recent or in color.

Opportunity to Innovate By Brian Jerzak Getting LaGr ange Lock and Dam Up to Speed Brennan recently won a contract with AECOM Energy and Construction (AECOM) for remediation work on LaGrange Lock and Dam on the Illinois River, just south of Beardstown, IL. in Verailles. The contract required us to supply internet not only to our own Brennan office trailers, but also to prime contractor AECOM and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the duration of the project. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL “fixed wireless” provider. Simply put, fixed wireless provides broadband internet access to a single location AECOM and USACE knew there were no high-speed through radio waves, eliminating the need for phone, wireless internet options in the area. They wanted Brennan cable, or fiberoptic lines. CASSCOMM, the closest to get onsite and find a solution for them. We investigated high-speed internet service provider (ISP), told us cell towers, providers, and satellite internet solutions, too; that they did not have equipment in place to provide a all available options were unmanageably slow. So, being wireless connection over the 8.4 MI from Beardstown to Brennan, we started thinking outside the box. LaGrange. Brennan IT worked with the site’s survey crew to test the THINKING IN HIGH SPEED signal strength of Verizon®, US Cellular®, and AT&T® That’s when things got interesting! Brennan IT dug around the LaGrange project site. Tests confirmed very deep and recalled a contact we’d been preserving for a little cellular signal strength at LaGrange, with the best situation exactly like this. We reached out to TELECO, a signal allowing downloads of approximately 5 megabytes company which provides radio frequency engineering, per second (Mbps) and uploads of 1 Mbps. For products, and solutions. After several meetings with reference, Brennan’s La Crosse office currently operates Brennan, AECOM, USACE, and CassComm, we at speeds of 200 Mbps—5 Mbps wasn’t going to cut it. decided that Brennan would engineer and build our own fixed wireless solution. Every person and company we talked to about providing high-speed internet to the LaGrange Lock and Dam site arrived at the same conclusion: nothing is available. Even the USACE lockmaster was resigned that the best possible internet speed at LaGrange was only 1.54 Mbps (again, our offices run at 200 Mbps). Going back to the drawing board, we realized that the remaining high-speed solution might be to find a

Our Plan! Erect a 100 FT tower at the LaGrange Lock and Dam to connect to CASSCOMM’s tower, 8.4 MI to the north »» Dig and place concrete for the communications tower »» Provide electrical connections for the tower »» Erect the tower and install radios and antennas at 90 FT »» Install routers and switches, and configure network Install radios and antennas at 120 FT at the CASSCOMM Beardstown tower »» Connect to CASSCOMM’s fiberoptic infrastructure »» Align antennas between the Beardstown and LaGrange Lock and Dam towers »» Test the data link and start the internet feed »» Test internet connectivity at the LaGrange tower Install antennas on Brennan, AECOM, and USACE project trailers and offices »» Push wireless signal from the communications tower to each individual office »» Test internet connectivity inside each office »» Run speed tests to ensure proper configuration and throughput Lessons Learned 1. Internet communication has been a key factor in the success of the LaGrange Lock and Dam project. As such, the small cost of the radio equipment compared to the overall project cost is worth the investment. 2. The inability to pour a tower foundation due to high floodwater was a critical factor that delayed erecting the tower. Today, the 100 FT tower is extremely stable; it will stand for many years beyond the initial expectation. 3. If we undertake future projects similar to the one at LaGrange Lock and Dam, we may want to invest in a portable mobile tower solution. With current speeds of 135 Mbps, internet performance at LaGrange is above AECOM and USACE requirements—drastically surpassing the 1.54 Mbps previously utilized by the USACE. With web speeds rivaling that of some of our stationary offices, Brennan’s LaGrange IT and project management team achieved something that seemed impossible only months ago. In fact, the USACE already reached out for information on additional internet support on other lock and dam sites!

ENVIRONMENTAL Lake Zumbro Dredging A small lake near Rochester with a big lift … liter ally By Ross Johnson SHARED TIMELINE preparations to get this far, the job itself is about three- Lake Zumbro is a reservoir that was impounded with quarters complete. Brennan crews started fusing slurry the creation of a power dam in 1919—the same year and return lines late February 2019. Approximately four Brennan was founded. As we celebrate our 100th miles of pipeline run the road ditch from the lake up to year, we share the occasion with the folks on the lake the confined disposal facility (CDF). The CDF is located celebrating their own 100 years. The watershed for two miles away from the water’s edge with a large Lake Zumbro is massive, with many miles of tributaries lift of 180 feet in elevation gain. The crews ran both feeding it. The lake has gradually filled in over the years; the slurry and return waterline through the culverts of the biggest influx of material came after the dam blew several driveways and one county road crossing without out upstream on the Zumbro River. The current project incident. After mobilizing the large length of pipe into the is a lake-deepening and restoration job funded by ditch, the dredges and floating equipment arrived. private donations, utility contributions, taxes from those along the lake, and grants. Brennan mobilized two dredges, along with two floating marine plants, after the road bans were lifted. We utilized The watershed for this lake is so large that even a small a local private landing as access to the lake, which was burst of rain concentrated in the area will raise the lake extremely difficult. The dredges—Michael B. and our level by feet rather than inches. Floods are common; newest dredge, Kevin Zenke—each utilize one 11 inch since Brennan has been on-site, we witnessed two of inside diameter (ID) line joining into a 16-inch ID line at the top 10 floods in the past century. Our staging area the double-booster plant. The dredges are outfitted with has been underwater three times and it seems that the idler barges which are equipped with booster pumps that lake always crests above NOAA predictions. Thanks to allow them to ramp up line speed and pressure at the our proactive crew, all our marine equipment has fared dredge. The double-booster plant consists of two inline well through these events. 825 horsepower booster pumps that take care of the heavy lift and long journey to the CDF. OUR WORK By cubic yards dredged, the Lake Zumbro project is just APPRECIATIVE PUBLIC over halfway finished as of early September; with all the One sentiment is clear through the time Brennan has

STORY BEHIND THE ZENKE Utility/Fuel Barge Brennan’s newest dredge – The Kevin Zenke – hit Confined Disposal Facility the water this summer on Lake Zumbro. The dredge’s Ross Johnson namesake began his career with Brennan in 1983, having been on-site at Lake Zumbro: people on the lake are previously operated for Domke excited for us to be here. Some folks go out of their way Contractors. In 1989, Kevin to stop and thank us for all our hard work; others leave us Zenke became an important tabs at local watering holes and invite us into their homes member of Brennan’s newly- and yards for cookouts and refreshments. It’s a pleasure formed Dredge division (now to be surrounded by all these welcoming people. Folks known as the Environmental are giving compliments of what a great group of guys Group). Brennan has, and they keep an eye on our equipment Throughout the next several when we’re away. decades, Zenke continued his PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS leadership within Brennan’s We expedited the project schedule with the addition of a environmental dredging second shift and anticipate finishing up near the end of operations. His hard work October. At that time, we project a total dredge removal and leadership are credited volume of around 450,000 cubic yards. It has been for the company’s expertise challenging work with a complex hydraulic system, late in geotextile tube dewatering, starts, flooding, and around-the-clock efforts, but the and development of the crew will surely miss the area and hospitality after the patented Broadcast Capping project is done. Another great memory of Lake Zumbro System (BCS™). includes Kevin Zenke and his family, who toured his After 34 years with Brennan, namesake dredge for the first time during this project. Zenke retired in 2017. Zenke’s If you’re ever in the Rochester area, be sure to check out impact on Brennan can still be Lake Zumbro—the hidden gem nestled in the valley. And seen in many areas, especially if you find yourself at a local restaurant or in conversation in their personnel, leadership with area residents, mention your affiliation with Brennan and dredging operations. … you just might get treated like royalty!

Quality Management System Update By Mike Cannell Recently, there’s been an increasing buzz about the development of the Brennan Quality Management System. Employees at virtually every level have been involved in discussions about how to best implement this concept and maximize benefits for the company. I can’t overstate how greatly we appreciate your efforts and I’m happy to report that we’ve made significant progress. THE BACKSTORY: QMS VS. ISO We’re constructing a quality management system with a united approach that combines quality, environmental, and safety management within a single program using the International Standards Organization (ISO) standard model. To be clear, this isn’t a canned “ISO Program;” we’re looking at total quality across Brennan—technically speaking, what we’re creating is an integrated quality management system (QMS). Although the idea of incorporating multiple functional areas within a single QMS is on the rise in manufacturing, Brennan is one of a select few who have chosen to take the path of integrated quality management in our industry. This is not a “one size fits all” situation that we unpacked from a box—we created something absolutely unique to Brennan: we conceived it, we built it, and we own it.

THE BREAKDOWN things—but it’s important to focus on the positive. We’re adopting a set of standards that will help us refine our While most of you are aware of our pursuit of ISO business processes and improve productivity so we can certification, you may not realize that we’re simultaneously concentrate our efforts on what matters most. Everyone adopting 3 separate standards: 9001 (quality in the organization benefits from having a crystal-clear management), 14001 (environmental management), understanding of our objectives and the standards to and 45001 (safety management) as the basis for our which we will be held. integrated QMS. In the long run, this will present us with a host of new opportunities; in the short run, it does To that end, since our last Scuttlebutt article on quality, mean shouldering an extra burden. Because we chose to we developed something that Brennan has never had: implement QMS, we’re now subject to regular internal and a formally trained Internal Audit team. This team is third-party reviews. This process incorporates corrective composed of members of nearly every group in the action methodologies as well as continuous improvement company and will monitor our compliance to the standards requirements. In layman’s terms: we plan, we do, we we adopted. This is an integral aspect of QMS as it gives check, and then we act on what we find—lather, rinse, us the ability to look ahead, find, and correct issues repeat. before the external audit, thus positioning us for success in our audits. It may seem repetitive or extraneous—and it certainly involves minor changes to the way we have done some When will we be an ISO Certified Company? Our certification audit is broken into two stages: STAGE 1—The registrar (the company who’ll audit and STAGE 2—The registrar sends an external audit team to then certify us) reviews all of our documented processes. La Crosse and they conduct the audit. We will likely host a This gives them insight into how we operate and ensures 3- to 4- person audit team for 3 or 4 days. that we have written documentation for certain mandatory items. It also helps the auditors plan their approach At the end of the Stage 2, Brennan management will to running the audit (i.e., which departments to visit, meet with the external auditors. They’ll discuss what with whom to speak, where we store records, which they observed and will issue any necessary non- types of records we store, etc.). This stage will kick off conformances; at that time, we’ll have a very good idea in mid-December when we transfer the majority of our of when we’ll receive our official certification. Typically, documented system processes to the registrar for review. it takes about 30 days to receive the actual paper certificate. We chose British Standards Institution (BSI) as our registrar. In terms of size, BSI is one of the top 3 registrars in the world for ISO certification. In fact, their own internally-developed standards formed the basis for establishing all 3 individual ISO standards that we adopted; we can be certain that they’re intimately familiar with and perfectly situated to audit our compliance to these standards. THE BENEFITS »» A strategic competitive advantage over others in the So, why are we putting ourselves through this? In short, industry who are not certified our decision to proceed positions us to better address client and regulatory requirements, but that’s not the end »» An improved capacity for growth as ISO certification of it. Through adoption and use of procedures and work opens doors that are generally shut to companies of our instructions that integrate our know-how and experience size with industry best practices, we add tremendous value to both our services and the Brennan name. There are plenty of other advantages as well; there’s virtually no part of the company that can’t improve through We will emerge from this process with: the implementation of QMS. I welcome and encourage anyone who’s interested in learning more about how to »» A truly world-class safety program that will reduce leverage QMS to improve standards of work to contact incidents and downtime me. As always, if there’s anything I can do to facilitate your movement through this process, please don’t »» Significant improvements in our environmental hesitate to ask. compliance, both onsite and at home »» More efficient and effective training operations that will improve productivity

INDUSTRIAL Study Time at the Fish Disco Barkley Lock and Dam Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence (BAFF) System By Raen Schechinger British company Fish Guidance Systems Ltd specializes in fish guidance equipment. They were set to work alongside Barr Engineering Company (Barr) as the prime contractor in a new project in Kentucky, and together hired Brennan to help execute their revolutionary endeavor. ASIAN CARP AND THE BARKLEY LOCK AND DAM The full project name is a mouthful: the Barkley Lock and Dam Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence System project, or BAFF System for short. Brennan was contacted as a qualified contractor to assist in both design and construction due to our marine expertise. Since most installation of the BAFF System would take place underwater with dive assistance, Barr knew we would be a great partner for the job. The Barkley Lock and Dam BAFF project aims to prohibit upstream movement of Asian carp. Asian carp are a non-native fish species, introduced decades ago into the southeastern American waterways to control weeds and aquatic parasites. But Asian carp began to out-eat, outgrow, and essentially decimate water habitats and ecosystems. Over the years, Asian carp invasively migrated up American riverways and are now spreading throughout the Tennessee River Valley. The hope is that the BAFF System will begin diverting Asian carp, keeping them downstream of the Barkley Lock. If it works well, additional systems will be installed to contain these fish. Design work began in the fall of 2018 with a meeting of the minds. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is the end client of this project as it’s federally funded; the work also involves many other stakeholders to ensure proper management. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), University of Minnesota, Travis Construction, and Collier Electric were also included—in addition to Fish Guidance Systems, Barr, and Brennan. Precast BAFF sections that house speakers, lights and bubble piping Antraquip® AQ-6 Milling head used to dig through bedrock

BAFF SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY Mechanical dredging of lock area Brennan spent the first several months consulting with the USACE and other stakeholders, reviewing plans and estimating New control room conex on lock wall construction costs. We officially began work onsite in May 2019. Bubble piping manifold Five precast concrete units comprise the system, installed Setting new control room and air downstream of the lock at the bottom of the river channel. The compressor conex on lock wall precast units feature speakers, high-intensity lights, and a bubble system, which effectively creates a sound-and-light bubble curtain. The local contractors dubbed the project the “fish disco.” Asian carp are highly sensitive to sounds, lights, and disturbances within the water. The fish disco will safely create a barrier that corrals the fish south of the Barkley Lock and Dam. The system hasn’t been tried to prohibit the movement of Asian carp before; it’s generally used to guide migration patterns in other fish species. This is a test study for all involved. GO BIG OR GO HOME The most intense aspect of the project was finding a way to create a trench at the bottom of the river channel in which the BAFF concrete units could be set. The units must be positioned beneath a specific elevation to allow barges to pass overhead, but incredibly hard bedrock covers the bottom of the river channel. With limited time onsite and the extremely high costs associated with the work, we designed this project to “go big or go home.” We rented the largest milling head Antraquip® makes, an AQ 6, and attached it to a CAT® 374D 170,000 LB class excavator. High water has been a major factor in delays. Over the summer, the water was approximately 20 FT higher than where we could effectively mill the bedrock. We attempted to create the trench with divers, but there was simply too much bedrock to effectively complete the work in the available timeframe. The AQ 6 mill head had to do the job! THE AFTER PARTY This entire project is unique—from planning to execution and follow up. We demobilized as of August 7th but will return to complete the project in October 2019. After finishing construction, Brennan will conduct visual inspections using a remote operated vehicle (ROV). We will perform inspections multiple times during the first few weeks following installation. Over the next 3 years, Brennan will continue intermittent inspections and provide ongoing maintenance support for the BAFF system. Our services will include maintenance of the underwater and mechanical systems, silt monitoring, and potential dredging over the next few years of the planned study. CREW MEMBERS INCLUDE: Raen Schechinger (project manager), Mike Weiers (superintendent), Blake Rocque (dive superintendent), and Mike Rice (estimator).

ThoefMSeriiltly The thing Questions about By Gayle C. Edlin asking silly questions is … I recently asked a silly question. How I got into this situation probably has something to do with my they can lead to more serious personality (“Specialist” according to The Predictive Index, “INFJ” per Myers-Briggs, and “nerd” in the lines of inquiry. opinion of my high school classmates). “What makes people most likely to recycle?” Because I notice minutiae like a cat discerning the tiniest bug in the most remote location, I have no I’m not the only person to wonder about this. objection to any of these terms. Polling shows that the easier it is for people to And so I asked the question: “Have you noticed that the recycle bins don’t match?” recycle, the more likely they are to do it. Which Spoiler: Nobody else in the room had, though at least makes me wonder why some enterprising one will “never un-see it now.” soul doesn’t make it easier to eat right and In trying to placate my nagging fitness tracker with a few extra steps, I developed a habit of dropping off exercise, but I digress. aluminum cans in the breakroom on the first floor. One day after “forgetting” the tracker at home, I went to the The point is that making things easier— second-floor station instead and nearly threw a can into improving a system—is a major way to the trash bin due to unexpected variant bin placement. promote an activity and achieve a goal. When Yeah. I can’t remember jack about when my bills are we ask questions about improving a process or due, but I can remember which of four bins I typically reach for when disposing of a soda can’s carcass. try to find a more efficient means of getting things Thanks, brain, for retaining such critical information. done, we’re essentially trying to make things easier. While even commenting on the subject was well outside my comfort zone—proper care of your inner To be honest, that’s how I learned nerd rarely includes sharing your more esoteric most of the tricks I know in word observations, at least, not offline—after that genie escaped the bottle, I felt compelled to processing—I looked for an easier investigate further. Particularly when I way to do what needed to be done. considered that the people with whom I’d shared this information would Frustration frequently motivates not be above swapping labels and better than the best of intentions. questioning the entire premise of my silly question. Photographic documentation led to a quick graphical representation, and that certainly should have been the end of it.

How do we improve existing recycling systems? About a decade ago, a study found that using shaped lids (a flap lid for trash, a lid with a 6-IN hole for cans and plastic, and a lid with a narrow slot for paper) increased the beverage-recycling rate by 34%. Affordance—a quality/property of an object that defines its possible uses or makes it clear how it can/should be used—clarifies the recycling process, increasing its accessibility and utility. Punny Stuff: The study was titled “It Matters a Hole Lot: Perceptual Affordances of Waste Containers Influence Recycling Compliance.” Color-coding recycling bins, creating prominent labels, or adding pictorial representations of acceptable materials for each bin are other means of improving existing recycling systems. Reducing waste benefits everyone, but to start, we have to get the right material into the proper bins. What motivates people to recycle? Research published earlier this year proposed that something called product transformation salience increases recycling. It sounds almost as cool when you say it another way: knowing something about the second lives of our “garbage” gets us psyched about recycling … one study found that receiving in-depth information on this subject inspired people to recycle almost 60% of their waste material, compared to less than 20% among those who received minimal information. There’s an astounding variety of items created from recycled material. Among other things, plastic beverage bottles can reincarnate as carpet or polar fleece, and plastic detergent bottles can come back as frisbees or stadium seats. Various websites are dedicated to detailing the possibilities. Aluminum cans usually come back as aluminum cans, which is pretty boring until you consider what might go into those cans (e.g., beer). Some sites even show you how much recycling is required to create a given product, such as the fact that it takes 140,000 plastic bags to make 500 SF of composite deck. As you read this, it’s likely that you wondered—probably more than once—what does this have to do with construction and how we conduct our daily work lives? Building aluminum can pyramids notwithstanding, perhaps you’re evaluating how asking silly questions could possibly lead to improvements in safety, efficiency, or quality? Why is it important to question—to understand WHY in addition to HOW? “Why ask why?” If you’re old enough to remember that catch phrase, we’re back to beer. No matter what role we fill, many of the tasks we perform are routine; we repeat them multiple times in the process of completing our work. Moreover, such tasks are rarely unique to a single individual; collectively, we repeat a variety of tasks across working teams, over and over again. When one silly question leads to a small change in process, we gain a few seconds of efficiency or prevent a misstep; when one silly question drives serious inquiry, we accumulate an ounce or two of quality or inspire someone else to examine their own rote activities in a new way. Small gains add up over time and are magnified by every other person performing the same task. Clichés like “a small change can lead to big results” often develop because there’s truth behind them. In the end, asking a silly question can go a lot farther than you might initially suspect. Go ahead: ASK. And here are my references: https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/if-you-want-us-recycle-make-it-easy-says-poll/48434517459621 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916508323737 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022242919842167 https://psmag.com/environment/how-to-get-people-to-recycle https://www.maine.gov/dep/waste/recycle/whatrecyclablesbecome.html https://www.trex.com/why-trex/eco-friendly-decking

STRUCTURAL GROUP ExtremeGreeted by Conditions at LaGr ange LaGrange Lock and Dam is located south of Beardstown, IL in Versailles. It sits 80 MI above the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers at Grafton, IL, and was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) from 1936–1939. By Lars Olsen LBay GLarras Onlgseen’s Supreme History Like the lock and dam near Peoria, LaGrange was constructed in response to a Supreme Court order, meant to limit the amount of water that can flow from Lake Michigan via the river. One of only two wicket dams on the Illinois waterway, the dam’s wickets lower when high flows and open river conditions prevail; the lock is used only during low and moderate river flows when the dam’s wickets raise to maintain the nine- foot navigation depth. When LaGrange was initially built, it was completed for an overall cost of $2,745,000. Times have changed! Current estimated costs for LaGrange rehabilitation upgrades top $117 million. MAJOR REHABILITATION MEETS MAJOR DANGER With 80 years of wear on LaGrange, major rehabilitation AECOM was granted the hefty is overdue. It is arguably in the poorest shape of any LaGrange Major Rehabilitation project lock on the inland waterways system. Having gone in late 2018. The following spring, Brennan started work on the LaGrange through minor rehabilitation, concrete repairs, lock project in conjunction with the USACE, machinery repositioning, and a traveling kevel prime contractor AECOM, Hartman-Walsh installation back in 1988, the last 30 years Painting Company, and Advance Concrete Sawing. Necessary work includes dewatering have worn on the lock. Frequent flooding, the lock chamber, replacing severely worn lock increased usage, and rising temperatures gate machinery, rehabilitation of the Tainter valve machinery, resurfacing the concrete lock chamber, resulted in significant deterioration of decommissioning the existing regulating weir, and concrete, the electrical systems, and making significant repairs to crumbling concrete and steel structures. general performance and reliability. At our April 2019 kick-off, flooding led to a delay in mobilization. After water levels tapered in July, the Brennan crew began prepping the site to remove the Tainter valve and

Travis Schulte & Jim Balonis Pretask Safety Plan Meeting Joey Goats & Dave Bahl access concrete and machinery. This year, we will rehabilitate the intermediate wall Tainter valves, install new valve protection piers and machinery, and perform necessary decommissioning of the old regulating weir. The urgency of these repairs can’t be overstated. In their March report, the Rock Island District of the USACE stressed the potentially dangerous conditions of the lock concrete, “The vertical concrete has deteriorated to the point that sections have had to be removed and/or threaten to fall into the lock chamber. Barges can become wedged under the armor, resulting in a dangerous situation for deck hands and lock personnel and potential damage to the barges. Hazardous working conditions exist due to deteriorated horizontal concrete on the land and river walls of the lock chamber.” EXTENSIVE WORK CONTINUES INTO 2020 Flooding, humidity, heat, and storms have posed constant obstacles at LaGrange and only extenuate its need for these repairs. Frequent flooding and freeze-thaw cycles continuously challenge lock operations and reliability. With this project moving into 2020, conditions of the lock next year remain undetermined. Big-ticket items for next year at LaGrange include updating and replacing operating machinery at all four corners of the lock, replacing anchorage, performing vertical resurfacing, and installing hydraulic actuators. This is a major project for the inland waterways as well as for Brennan. We would like to thank all the hard-working members of the LaGrange crew working together through the extreme weather, changing conditions, and river traffic at LaGrange this summer. Without your constant hard work and determination, the project couldn’t have had such a successful start.

ASSET MANAGEMENT Water Load Test Bags HAVE ARRIVED! We recently received two sets of load testing equipment ordered earlier this spring. We purchased both test weight setups from SUBSALVE USA out of Rhode Island. By Paul Berendes What is unique about these load test setups? These load test setups are essentially giant water balloons capable of holding up to 35 TON of water each. Because we ship the test bags “unfilled,” we save significant freight expenses when our cranes in need of load testing are spread throughout the country. What used to take multiple semi truckloads of counterweight or concrete blocks can now be accomplished with equipment that fits in the bed of a pickup truck. With this equipment, we now have the ability to perform Please contact load testing up to 35 TON at two separate locations the asset group if simultaneously; in cases of heavier required test picks, your project has any we can combine both water bags into one load cell and load testing needs for achieve up to a 70 TON load test. these bags.

NEW ASSET! By Ken Peterson Diamondback Airboat The Need The purchase of an airboat arose from a need on an Xcel Energy job in Nelson, WI. We investigated, researched, and spoke to several airboat companies; in the end, Diamondback Airboats out of Cocoa, FL, had the best design and timeline to deliver the vessel Brennan needed. The boat itself is 22- FT long with a beam of 8.5 feet—this is a large hull compared to most airboats. The gunnels were increased to 30 inches and the transom was raised to 28 inches; these dimensions are also larger than most airboats. Safety and Function Safety was the driving force behind these decisions. The boat is simply more stable and will be able to handle bigger water than a traditional hull. Our Diamondback also includes a dropdown front-loading ramp. The ramp has an internal winch that drops the front of the boat—the “grassrake,” in airboat terms. This provides easier access in and out of the vessel when we’re making deliveries to jobsites. The main power behind the boat is a LS 6.2 L supercharged 550 HP V8 engine. Off the engine is a belt- driven gear reduction with a ratio of 2.3 to 1 that spins an 82-inch, 3-blade carbon fiber propeller made by reputable, long-standing Sensenich Propeller Company. The cab is a much better fit versus other vendors. It allows for better protection in inclement weather and also shields operators from objects they may encounter while running the vessel in swamps and reeds. O PER ATI ONS Crew members attended a full day of education, and then an airboat was brought in for real- world training. Four people participated in that training: Dick Wateski, Sam Marshall, Eric Boldt, and Brad Kensmoe. Dick Wateski comes to us with years of airboat experience and is the main operator on the current Nelson job. The airboat is in good hands with Dick, and he will also be a great asset in training future operators!

MBoeeatrtdheof Directors Why have a board of directors? Will a board of directors change the organization as we know it? In 2017, Brennan’s deliberations centered THE CURRENT BOARD on these questions and whether we could CONSISTS OF THE or should bring in outside directors to help govern our organization. We had little FOLLOWING MEMBERS: experience with true outsiders—non-family members or corporate managers—as Family/Inside Board Members board members. A big decision faced us as »» Tony Binsfeld—Chairman we traveled in unfamiliar territory. »» Matt Binsfeld »» Mark Binsfeld Ultimately, we learned that many multi- »» Mike Binsfeld generational family businesses found »» Adam Binsfeld stable ownership transitions and great success due to the accountability provided Non-Family/Outside by outside directors. As a result, we Board Members added 4 outside board members to our »» Greg Bush 5 inside members, collectively creating »» Jeff Lang a full fiduciary board that holds ultimate »» Sverre Roang responsibility for Brennan’s organizational »» Tom Kennedy oversight. Our search for outside members fortunately led to 4 individuals who each bring unique skills and experiences to Brennan. These abilities and expertise complement our own; they help us further our journey, applying our professional standards to every decision while never compromising our values. It’s been 2 years since we expanded our board with outside members. We are extremely pleased with the decision and now know this is the pathway for corporate governance to continue Brennan as a family business for the next 100 years.

Greg Bush | President/Chief Executive Officer at McCarthy-Bush Corporation (Davenport, IA) Greg currently serves as President and chief executive officer (CEO) of McCarthy-Bush Corporation, the holding company for a 122 year-old family business located in Davenport, IA. Here, he oversees all operations within the McCarthy-Bush family of companies, including McCarthy Improvement Co., Bush Construction, Linwood Mining & Minerals, and Clinton Engineering, among others. Greg served 7 years in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot and instructor; he played college football and wrestled at the U.S. Air Force Academy. As leader of a very successful firm, Greg’s background in heavy construction, materials, and family business provides valuable knowledge and guidance on decisions affecting our overall organizational direction. As a member of Brennan’s board of directors, Greg shares many thoughts and experiences that benefited his firm over the years and provides invaluable guidance in our strategic decisions. | Jeff LangChief Operating Officer of Pilot Thomas Logistics Corporation (Fort Worth, TX) Jeff is the chief operating officer (COO) of Pilot Thomas Logistics, a large provider of fuel, lubricants, and chemicals to the energy, marine, mining, and industrial markets; the Economy Boat Store, which provides dockside, midstream, and terminal services to the inland marine industry, is one of Pilot Thomas’ subsidiaries. For 7 years, Jeff also served as COO and CEO of CECO Environmental Corporation, a diversified energy and environmental technology company publicly traded on the NASDAQ market. During his tenure with CECO, the company nearly doubled revenues and also increased profitability. Jeff exhibits significant knowledge and understanding of corporate decision making. His expertise in environmental operations and logistics of large companies brings a unique vision that critically influences how we make high-level decisions. His insight on topics such as productivity, compensation, corporate metrics, and financial management gives us new perspectives to make Brennan stronger. Sverre Roang | Chief Administrative Officer at Epic Systems Corporation (Madison, WI) We began working with Sverre several years ago while he was a lawyer at White Hirschboeck Dudeck S.C.; he was the go-to resource focusing on the needs of family businesses. In 2014, he became the President & CEO of Flad Affiliated Corporation (FAC) where he oversaw accounting, legal, benefits, and multiple other functions for a 1,200 person group of companies in the architectural, engineering, and construction industries. Sverre now serves as the Chief Administrative Officer at Epic Systems, a 9,000 person firm that provides healthcare software. Sverre’s familiarity with Brennan and the Binsfeld family made him an ideal candidate for a board member. He brings a wealth of experience working with family businesses through generational transitions, growth opportunities, legal advice, and management changes. Retired Chief Financial Officer, J.F. Brennan Company & | Tom KennedyBrennan Marine (La Crosse, WI) Tom first started working with Brennan in 1976 when he was a construction accounting and tax specialist with Alexander Grant & Co. in La Crosse. As an auditor of our tax statements, he developed a good relationship with Tony and Roger Binsfeld; this continued when Tom became Vice President of Commercial Lending at First Bank (now U.S. Bank). In 1983, Tony and Roger recruited Tom to become Brennan’s chief financial officer (CFO). For the next 30 years, Tom was instrumental in Brennan’s growth and success. He also dedicated a great deal of time to serving the local La Crosse community as a member of the La Crosse Community Foundation board of directors, the District of Onalaska’s school board, the City of Onalaska planning commission, and the City of Onalaska police and fire commission. He’s also a founding member of Tom’s Grocery Bag, which helps feed children in times of crisis, turmoil, or poverty. Tom brings many of his skills from his time as Brennan’s CFO to our board of directors. With a mind for sound, conservative financial management and experience in working with 3 generations of the Binsfeld family, Tom provides considerable expertise on the betterment of the company. His extensive history with Brennan—our markets, leadership, and mission—enables him to provide valuable insights.

MILESTONES & DATES TO REMEMBER 10 Years 06/30/2009 CHRISTOPHER PETTY 06/30/2009 Years of Service NATHANIEL PINKLEY 08/3/2009 Anniversaries CLETUS BOWE 08/17/2009 TROY KVITEK 09/16/2009 5 Years 07/28/2014 JASON REGGIN 09/21/2009 DENNIS JONJAK 08/11/2014 ADAM TROFKA SHAWN KIRSCH 08/11/2014 ELIOT KOWALCZYK 08/11/2014 15 Years 08/2/2004 LES ORMOND 08/17/2014 WESLEY GROTH 08/16/2004 KYLE KOKRDA 08/18/2014 DANIEL PALEN JOHN BURCHILL 08/29/2014 09/7/1999 LANCE BARTSCH 08/29/2014 20 Years ERIC BOLDT 08/29/2014 PATTY CUCHIARA RYAN CURTIN 09/05/2014 ANDREW GIBLIN 25 Years TIMOTHY KOSOBUD 07/18/1994 CAREER FAIRS University of Minnesota- Duluth................................. Thursday, September 12, 2019 University of Wisconsin- Madison- Engineering and STEM Career Fair ......................... Monday, September 16, 2019 University of Northern Iowa....................................... Monday, September 23, 2019 University of Wisconsin- Platteville............................ Monday, September 23, 2019 Iowa State University................................................. Tuesday, September 24, 2019 Michigan Tech........................................................... Wednesday, September 25, 2019 University of Wisconsin- La Crosse........................... Wednesday, October 9, 2019 Mass Maritime........................................................... Thursday, October 10, 2019 Western Technical College's Automotive, Diesel & Heavy Equipment Career Fair..................... Thursday, November 14, 2019 Mark your Calendar! NOVEMBER 28 & 29, 2019 Office Closed for Thanksgiving OCTOBER 18, 2019 - FRIDAY American Red Cross Blood Drive in Training Center DECEMBER 24, 2019 - TUESDAY Office Closed 1/2 day for Christmas Eve OCTOBER 25, 2019 - FRIDAY Flu Shots in Training Center (must sign up in advance) DECEMBER 25, 2019 - WEDNESDAY Office Closed for Christmas OCT 29 - NOV 1, 2019 Interactive Health Screenings - Onsite or Test at a MARCH 21, 2020 - SATURDAY Lab appointments available Brennan Annual Celebration - La Crosse Center

NICHOLAS CHYKO 06/1/2019 PROJECT ENGINEER LABORER BRENT GAGE 06/3/2019 LABORER OPERATOR JOSEPH ROSENCRANZ 06/3/2019 DIVER OPERATOR JACOB SHERMAN 06/3/2019 OPERATOR New OPERATOR Hires KORI MEEKS 06/4/2019 YARD LABORER PROJECT ENGINEER PAUL SCHMALZ 06/4/2019 OPERATOR OPERATOR JEFFREY SOULES 06/4/2019 OPERATOR DECKHAND EAN MARKER 06/10/2019 DECKHAND OPERATOR CORBIN TRYNOWSKI 06/11/2019 INTERN DIVER DOMINIC CYPHER 06/12/2019 OPERATOR PROJECT MANAGER ADAM BOCK 06/17/2019 CARPENTER HR ADMIN RICKY BUSH 06/17/2019 OPERATOR OPERATOR LUCAS GOLDIE 06/17/2019 CARPENTER OPERATOR RYAN RAWLINS 06/17/2019 FOREMAN PROJECT ENGINEER CAMERON MELDE 06/18/2019 CARPENTER OPERATOR ROBERT LABRAKE 06/21/2019 OPERATOR DECKHAND GREGORY CANO 06/25/2019 OPERATOR FACILITIES ASSISTANT RONALD BUCHANAN 06/27/2019 DECKHAND DIVER NICHOLAS DAGOSTINO 07/1/2019 DECKHAND OPERATOR JOEL FRANCISCO 07/1/2019 LABORER LABORER COHL KUETER 07/1/2019 OPERATOR OPERATOR LINDSAY TUQUERO 07/1/2019 DIVER MECHANIC JAMES HOXIE 07/8/2019 OPERATOR DIVER CHARLES RICE 07/8/2019 DIVER OPERATOR DUSTIN DOUBET 07/9/2019 OPERATOR OPERATOR ZACH HERMEIER 07/12/2019 DIVER DIVER STEVEN CHAFFIN 07/15/2019 OPERATOR OPERATOR KEVIN DONATO 07/15/2019 LABORER LABORER SHANDON CARTER 07/16/2019 DIVER DIVER ROBERT DUBE 07/16/2019 LABORER DIVER ANTHONY DESPIRITO 07/17/2019 PROJECT TECH DIVER THADDEUS HEIFNER 07/17/2019 OPERATOR OPERATOR DAMIEN PENROD 07/22/2019 DAVID RASK 07/22/2019 ROGER KEISTER 07/23/2019 ERIK RASMUSSEN 07/23/2019 HUNTER JOHNSON 07/25/2019 CHRISTOPHER MILLER 07/26/2019 WILLIAM HAMLIN 07/29/2019 CHASE LHAMON 07/29/2019 ERIC WILBER 07/29/2019 RYAN BECKHART 07/30/2019 WILLIAM MARTIN 07/30/2019 AUSTIN STRASSER 07/30/2019 RICHARD WATESKI 07/30/2019 CHRISTIAN BOONE 08/2/2019 KYLE VOLECK 08/2/2019 COLE GOEDE 08/5/2019 COREY SOBECK 08/5/2019 CHRISTOPHER WARREN 08/5/2019 JOHN CAPIN 08/8/2019 KORIE PITTMAN 08/8/2019 KENNETH FISHER 08/12/2019 BRANDON RICK 08/12/2019 ADEKOLA ADEKALE 08/13/2019 MATTHEW GARTNER 08/13/2019 ERIK LAWSON 08/13/2019 ANDREW COOK 08/20/2019 HAWK EDWARDS 08/20/2019 JERMAINE SYKES 08/20/2019 JEFFREY WAMSLEY 08/20/2019 JERED WILLIAMS 08/20/2019 WILLIAM MATHESIUS 08/27/2019 DANIEL KERR 08/30/2019

Marine Professionals Since 1919 MOVIE NIGHT

2019 Retirment celebr ation Steven Becker Dan Degarmo Gary Dondlinger “Farmer” Danny Maust “Big Boy” Al Springborn Tom Tooke Chamber Business After Hours

The Pile Buck Jim O’Neill 2011 Jim at the helm of the M/V John Manning at Lock and Dam 11 Over the course of our lives, we each develop a reputation. Through the diverse interactions we have with others over time, opinions about us form and shape our reputation; eventually, opinions become general belief that may precede us when we meet new people. We become known by our reputation and it is a big part of our legacy. To purposefully create and maintain a great reputation is nearly impossible. One must be honest, kind, trustworthy, knowledgeable, respectful, and fair to virtually everyone he or she meets. Jim O’Neill built a great reputation by naturally exhibiting all these attributes throughout his long career at Brennan. Born and raised in Harpers Ferry, IA, Jim grew Jim’s first job at Brennan was as a general laborer up on a farm with 2 brothers and a sister. The on a bridge project in Waterloo, IA. There, he O’Neills were no strangers to hard work; they raised worked under the tutelage of Ralph Brennan and chickens, cows, and hogs. Every weekday morning, superintendent Urban Strub, beginning a long and Jim got up by 4:00 to help with farm work before industrious career in pile driving. Soon, Jim was heading to school; after school, he returned to the involved in some of our biggest jobs at the time, farm and worked until 10:00 at night. His weekend including the Dubuque Flood Wall project in 1970 hours were no different. and the nearly catastrophic Prairie Bridge project in 1974. On the latter job, Jim was working in a After graduating from Lansing’s St. George Catholic cofferdam when ice-loading caused an adjacent High School in 1967, Jim landed his first job: loading cofferdam to collapse and sent crew member railroad cars in Cedar Rapids. Mike Manning, then a Donnie Hammel Jr. into the frigid waters of the superintendent at Brennan, recruited Jim to join our Mississippi River. team in late 1968. We become known by our reputation and it is a big part of our legacy.

1977-1978 Dairyland Power Alma Power Plant Project 1983-1984 Eagle Point Bridge Removal 1993 Emergency Levee Repair in Missouri Jim O’Neill working as a loftsman During his first decade working at Brennan, Jim Dam division (Structural group) on several lock was the “young guy” in the crew; he often had the projects, including the Locks & Dams #15 and #10 arduous task of being the “loftsman,” sitting on top major rehabilitation projects. of the sheets and threading the interlocks as a crane lowered each individual sheet pile into position. Jim After spending 43 years at Brennan, it’s difficult to had to shimmy up the sheet pile (or ride the hook) fathom the breadth of impact Jim made along the and use a special set of stirrups to straddle the top Upper Mississippi River. He could travel the river of the wall. It required a great deal of skill to thread and point out countless barge terminals, mooring sheeting from this position, and it was dangerous structures, power plants, bridges, sheet pile walls, work. A gust of wind could catch a sheet pile during and docks that he worked on during the course of a lift and blow it into the unprotected loftsman. But his career. However, his reputation—developed in Jim’s view, he was part of a team and that was his through his interactions with others—may have job: “Everyone had their deal. I was involved in pile made the largest impact on Brennan. Jim shared driving and sheeting.” By the 1980s, Jim ran his own his positive attitude, expertise, and kindness with crews. everyone. He retired in 2011, but his great reputation remains well-known throughout the company. Most of Jim’s jobs took place along the Upper This past year, we named a new towboat in his Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, but as Brennan honor, recognizing his dedication and tremendous expanded, he traveled where he was needed. He contributions to our organization. worked with the Specialty division (Underwater Services group) to raise a bridge in Wall, SD, with When asked about how he would describe his the Dredge division (Environmental group) during career at Brennan, Jim’s answer reflected his the 1993 flood to restore the levees in Missouri, and infectious, positive attitude: “From my viewpoint, on our first environmental remediation project in excellent. I liked to get around to the different towns, 2002 in Gary, IN, where he helped divert the Grand met a pile of nice guys working with Brennans. I was Calumet River. Jim also worked with the Lock and always treated good. What better could you want?” 2001 Grand Calumet Remediation Project, Gary IN 2010 Tyco Barrier Wall in Marinette, WI 2019 Brennan 100th Anniversary - Matt Binsfeld, Mike Binsfeld, Jim O’Neill, and Adam Binsfeld

A Note from Tom Tooke Tom started with us in 1988, and after 30 years he decided to hang up his hard hat. For most of his career here at Brennan he worked in the Environmental group where he had many roles. Good luck in retirement Tom and thank you for the kind words!