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builder in hardhat with a stormwater inspection tablets at a construction

Top 4 Stormwater Inspection Tablets

It is no secret the value a stormwater software brings to an environmental program, which traditional methods cannot achieve. With the use of mobile tablets, site inspectors can efficiently collect data, all while reducing the time spent at each site. Tablets allow inspectors to take advantage of software capabilities such as BMP scoring, and auto-populating inspection forms. Going digital makes environmental compliance simple, keeping the inspector productive while on the go. No more repetitive data entry and inconsistency, damaged paperwork due to weather conditions, or bring your camera to work day.

Stormwater Tech

A plane flying over a city with a view from below between buildings

10 Stormwater Conferences Worth the Flight

As quarter one comes to an end, the stormwater conference season is well underway. With that in mind, make sure exhibitions and expos have a priority on this year’s calendar. Stormwater conferences are the strongest investments in establishing new and improved ways to protect water, our most valuable resource. Industry conferences consist of training, networking, scouting competitors, industry trends, and discovering compliance strategies.

Stormwater Conferences

Three men on a construction site preparing for EPA visit

EPA Inspection: How to Compli

The Clean Water Actand the Safe Drinking Water Act are the two primary laws regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States. Of those two laws, the Clean Water Act gave the EPA the authority to implement pollution control programs and set standards related to water cleanliness. Compliance monitoring is one of the principal ways the EPA ensures that the regulated community obeys the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Act, among other laws and regulations.

Environmental Policy

construction site tractor

5 Common Violations observed by CloudCompli Users

In California, the Stormwater Multi-Application, Reporting and Tracking System (SMARTS) issue the Industrial Stormwater General Permit (IGP) and the Construction Stormwater General Permit (CGP) in accordance with the EPA’s National Discharge Elimination System Permits (NPDES). Both permits are designed to reduce pollution entering into stormwater runoff. Failure to obtain the required permit as well as unpermitted discharges are two obvious and direct violations, but other violation of state stormwater permits may be less obvious.

Environmental Policy

Municipalities and the overview of the mass amount of GIS Data

GIS Isn’t Enough. Municipalities Benefit from Interactive Mapping

Walk into any building owned by a local municipal government and not far from the official seal, you’ll undoubtedly see a map hanging on the wall. Thick black boundary lines mark the limit of the local government’s political control and responsibility. The map’s prominent presentation is not out of a sense of pride, but rather to help meet the informational needs of local leaders which revolve almost entirely around geographic locations.

Municipal Stormwater

gif or data analytics on a computer opening and closing

The way ahead for CloudCompli: Data Analytics

Data is often touted as the key to solving big problems. But data is only useful if it validates a hypothesis which and support steps towards a viable solution. The key to this three stage paradigm is converting data into information that is useful to decision makers. Conversion means analysis. Since data analysis, rather than data alone, is the real key to solving big problems, what does it mean in terms of maintaining a clean environment? The process begins with collecting raw data, but then what?

Cloudcompli

Brain storming of essentials to a environmental compliance software

8 Essential Elements of Environmental Compliance Software

When searching for an environmental compliance software solution, it is important to identify elements that deliver the most return on investment for time, money, and efficiency. Even though compliance regulations vary between industries, the overall characteristics of the core essentials are the same. So, if you are in the market for a compliance software, these are the top eight elements you should look for:

Stormwater Tech

6 Advantages of Working with a SaaS Company

Software products were initially sold on the market by bundling them with hardware products. This bundling approach quickly led to antitrust issues and forced a change in the distribution method. Eventually, “floppy disks” and CDs were used to distribute software, independent of the computers themselves. However, when sold on disks, software became subject to piracy which forced a second significant change to the software industry.

Cloudcompli

To Build or to Buy – That is the Question

Many of the decisions business managers face center on the employment of three finite resources: people, time and money. Business owners and managers are always trying to determine the best combination of these three key ingredients when making their “secret sauce” a.k.a. their competitive advantage. Managers know that all the capital in the world can be squandered without the right tools and talent. The same can be said for tools and talent if you lack the time to invest in a project. Would you prefer to occupy a building hastily constructed, or one where each brick was laid with care and precision?

Cloudcompli

silhouette of Environmental Consultant performing a site inspection on a construction site.

Environmental Consultants Achieve Efficiency through Innovation

Sometimes it’s fun to reminisce. I can remember when environmental compliance inspections were completed with pen and paper. I bet eight-out-of-ten people today don’t even know what “carbon-copy” paper is, let alone ever used it. But there I was, pressing hard against my clipboard with a ballpoint pen hoping the bottom sheet of my carbon-copy inspection form would be legible. Back at the office, I’d spend precious time sorting through the pictures I took in the field, trying to recall which photo matched with the dozens of work-site deficiency I annotated. And the woes of the annual inspection!

Cloudcompli

Dealing with the Uncertainty of Weather

Military strategist and U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd is famous for developing a decision-making process used when facing uncertainty and ambiguity. The four-step decision-making cycle of Observe Orient Decide and Act is simply referred to as the OODA Loop. The ability to cycle through these four decision-making steps faster than the situation unfolds increases the chances of a favorable outcome.

Weather Monitoring

Flying Drone on construction site.

Brace Yourself: The Drones are Coming

Drones are becoming ubiquitous in daily life, particularly because of new Federal Aviation Administration rules that allow for their commercial use. One such application where drones are delivering tremendous value is to construction sites. No matter how big or small, a construction site is an incredibly dynamic environment and drones are becoming increasingly important tools for managing site activity.

Stormwater Tech

QSP Performing a Site Inspection.

2017’s Top 3 Tablets for Inspections

The stormwater inspection process has historically been driven by the production of paper forms and hard copy reports. This paper-driven process costs stormwater site inspections valuable time at the inspection site and negatively impacts the quality and quantity of the collected data. With the use of mobile tablets on construction sites, a site inspector can efficiently collect data while reducing the amount of time spent at a given site.

Stormwater Inspections

Stormwater Management Software Explained

Unless you have already needed to facilitate it, the term “stormwater management” is likely to be a little confusing the first time you hear it. What does it mean? And how is it important to you?

Stormwater management is a part of stormwater compliance. This is a responsibility by law of municipalities and certain other entities such as farms, and to be permitted to discharge any stormwater from your premises you need to have an active, effective, and up to date stormwater management plan.

Stormwater Management

The Role of Plants in Stormwater Management

There are numerous different ways of designing a stormwater management plan, and one of these may include the use of plants to improve stormwater treatment.

Plants and trees not only provide visual appeal and generate fresh oxygen; they also play an important role in the treatment of stormwater. Plants and trees are living organisms and they can help to mitigate pollution loads that discharge from a stormwater drainage area.

Stormwater Management

Stormwater Inspections – What’s Involved?

If you run a construction business, stormwater management is a crucial consideration for you, and stormwater inspections will need to be carried out on a regular basis. But exactly what is involved in stormwater inspections?

According to California State Law, owners and operators of construction enterprises need to obtain permits and have in place a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). Part of obtaining this and complying with regulations involves having regular stormwater inspections.

Stormwater Management

MS4 Permits – Explained

You’ve heard the term “MS4 Permit”. But do you know what it means?

Each state within the USA has its own regulations relating to storm water management. California has, for twenty years, regulated the runoff and treatment of stormwater in its industrial and municipal sources. Urban storm water in California is considered to be a primary impairment source for ten percent of all local rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and almost twenty percent of all estuaries (source: 2010 Integrated Report). This is high considering only six percent of all California’s land mass is urbanized.

Stormwater Management

From Point Source Data to Systemic Understanding

The stormwater industry collects substantial amounts of point source data to comply with NPDES permits. Operators of construction sites and industrial facilities perform regular inspections, each providing a snapshot of conditions at some discrete point in time. MS4s do this for each facility, as well as monitor outfalls and receiving waters, log street sweeping activities,…

Stormwater Tech

CloudCompli at LAX

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is currently undergoing a multi-billion dollar renovation and modification, overseen by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). This LAX development program consists of multiple projects, carried out by many contractors and development firms, spanning a period of several years. Due to its ambitious scope and high visibility, environmental protection is crucial to…

Cloudcompli

Cloudcompli.com New Features Update

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first new features blog post for Cloudcompli.com! We here at Cloudcompli are constantly working to improve our platform, which means that every week we are rolling out improvements, optimizations, and new features to help you stay in compliance. However, we realize that it may be a bit confusing for…

Cloudcompli

The Case for Digitization

Digitization is a common goal of nearly every industry. The primary drivers for it include remote access, ease of sharing, secure archival, simplified searching and waste reduction. Construction and industrial operators are as interested in these benefits as anyone else, yet adoption has occurred more slowly than in other sectors. When asked about the lack of adoption,…

Cloudcompli

CloudCompli Launches Groundbreaking Industrial Stormwater Compliance Application

Laguna Hills, CA (PRWEB) June 24, 2015 With new California stormwater regulations taking effect July 1st, affected firms and industry consultants are busy preparing for the sweeping changes by boosting compliance staff and updating infrastructure. Anticipating these changes, California-based software company CloudCompli recently released the latest module in its suite of stormwater compliance tools, developed…

Cloudcompli

CloudCompli at the Nasa/JPL West Arroyo Parking Structure

The innovative Cloudcompli system was recently deployed to help manage stormwater compliance during construction of the West Arroyo Parking Structure at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Operators of construction sites face two major weather-related compliance challenges. First, site operators are required to gather weather reports each day from NOAA.GOV and then use that…

Cloudcompli