U.S. Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA): Sr. Construction Manager, Construction and Engineering Departments (1989 – 2016)
Construction Leadership: With over 25 years of leadership in the construction group for BPA, Michael was instrumental in safe, on-time, and on-budget construction of over 300 miles of 500kV transmission lines and 2,000 miles of fiber installation. Michael successfully led and completed numerous projects for BPA that spanned difficult mountainous terrain (Swan Valley to Teton), highly restrictive environmental areas (Kangley to Echo Lake through City of Seattle’s watershed), culturally sensitive and historical landmarks (Schultz Wautoma), large river crossings (McNary to John Day), and complex designs spanning multiple construction competencies (BPA Control Center). As a senior mentor for the BPA construction group and expert on transmission construction, Michael consulted on over 100 transmission projects for BPA and was responsible for leading the line build forecast for 800 miles of proposed 500kV transmission resulting from gas and renewable Purchase Power Agreement (PPA) queues.
Engineering: Michael holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Portland State University and has significant experience in the structural engineering and design of substation foundations, support structures, and yard layouts for BPA, where his designs were used in over 40 substations in the utility’s footprint. Michael was also responsible for the engineering and design of transmission tower foundations, monopole towers, and lattice towers. His structural designs were used in over 400 miles of 500kV transmission lines.
Quality Assurance and Contract Management: Michael designed and implemented BPA’s contract quality assurance program, which codified the inspection, documentation, and sign-off of contractor compliance with the technical specifications for transmission and substation construction. Michael led the development of BPA’s Contract Management Office, which manages the contracted Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) for substation and transmission projects.
Safety: Michael received BPA’s first Annual Award for Safety Excellence for his work in fostering a strong safety culture in BPA. Spending eight years on the Bonneville Power Administration Safety Council, Michael was integral to the adoption and adherence to construction and safety best practices in the utility. He developed and led BPA’s initiative to have all contractors pre-qualify on their safety performance and programs (ISNET World), which led to a significant improvement of contractor safety throughout the organization.
