After a month of working at home, we’ve learned a lot and have established our routines. Some of the helpful things I’ve discovered. If possible, set up a workspace that’s away from your main family living area. That makes it easier to “go to work” and also “go home” when the work day is done. It also allows the family to relax without being the background of video and phone calls. Take breaks like you would at the office. It can be easy to keep plugging away. But you gotta get up regularly to stretch the legs and rest the eyes. Dog-therapy is a great way to break up the day. I’ve been enjoying sewing masks on the weekends for family and friends (my husband can’t tease me about saving my scrap materials now). I also like our almost daily family walks in the neighborhood. Those have been a good way to connect with the kids and check in on how they are coping with distance learning and shelter-in-place.

I do miss seeing my co-workers every day and having our civil team lunches with our trivia and talk-story. I also miss my two big monitors, adjustable desk and comfy chair. I did bring home one big monitor, but not enough room to fit two monitors at my home workspace.

Technology has made this process of staying connected relatively easy. MS Teams is our go to program. Many of our sub consultants and clients have been able to connect with us, even without having it themselves. I’m very impressed with how quickly most of our clients have been adapting to this new business paradigm. Everyone’s dealing with the same challenges and doing the best to keep things moving. Using messaging and texting apps, then following up with email has been helpful to get quick responses both ways. Relying on emails alone doesn’t cut it. We need the other communication tools. Video conference or phone with desktop sharing really helps. It’s been harder for those that don’t have good internet connectivity at home. For those that can’t connect via video/desktop sharing, we need to spend more effort on good exhibits and telephone calls to communicate effectively.

Here are a few tips on Microsoft Teams

Set up a separate “team session” for each project within MS teams. Then create “channels” for specific project issue coordination. This keeps the entire conversation threads together and declutters the email box.

Use the MS Teams reaction buttons to signal when you’ve read a message (it lets your teammates know that you got the message and reduces email/chat clutter).

Add MS files that you are collaborating onto the MS Teams “file” tab. This allows multiple people to work on a document concurrently. You can also send alerts to comments within the documents.

At home office space

My homemade masks

Neighborhood walks

Like the rest of the country, Guam is on work at home status. Because of our focus, we are categorized as an essential business. The three of us who come to the office are attentive to social distancing. The transition has been very smooth with the firm’s investments in advanced IT and the incredible support of the SSFM IT team. With our technology we meet regularly with the rest of the firm in Hawaii and Manila, and easily collaborate with our clients.

I have found this time to be an extraordinary opportunity to grow personally and professionally. Sticking to a daily routine, absorbing positive information, learning and exercising more, and focusing only on things I can control, has been fulfilling, despite the seriousness of the virus. Also the chance to reflect on how to bring more value to our customers during this time and what can we do to come out of this stronger have been personally constructive and help make this experience more valuable. I’m sure it will all lead to a productive outcome when we reach the other side.

The transition to work from home has been an easy one for me. A spare bedroom has allowed me to create my ideal workspace. I also have roommates who are working from home as well, so it is nice to have my own separate space. I have learned to make working remotely more effective by getting out of the house. I’ve started running during my lunch breaks, which allows for some fresh air and sunshine which an enjoyable change from being confined to the house all day. I am missing is the face-to-face interaction with my coworkers.

SSFM is taking great strides in combating this isolation with our daily Microsoft Teams meetings. I thoroughly enjoy seeing all of my coworkers faces, even it is through a screen. My birthday was this past week and I was very touched by the outpouring of support and kindness from my co-workers, including a surprise call from our president, Mike Matsumoto. It little things like that, that make working from home an easier and more enjoyable transition from our cubicles!

My virtual birthday party.

My home office.

Happy Birthday from our president.

Michael Y. Packard, P.E., PTOE
Sr. Traffic Engineer

Working remotely is not new to SSFM. The technology we utilize has made the change to working from home seamless. And with no commute into town, the additional time has allowed me to get out on my bike more. This outdoor activity, primarily done alone in the name of social distancing, helps my mental and physical health which in turn reduces my stress. Not only does this make me feel better and more balanced, it results in me being more efficient and productive while working. Recently I rode my bike around the east side of Oahu, starting in my home town of Kailua, I biked through Waimanalo and Hawaii Kai along Kalanianaole Highway, continuing into town along Waialae and Beretania Streets. Upon reaching downtown, I turned up the Pali Highway and rode most of the way home on this 40 mph, four-lane arterial with no bicycle facilities. However, riding up an empty Nuuanu Pali Drive was serene with barely a car on the road and plenty of time to take it in at a 5mph snail’s pace. The payoff was the downhill ride starting at the tunnels, reaching 41mph (slightly over the posted speed limit of 40mph), before being caught by a couple of cars who were patient enough to stay in their lane. Crazy? A little. Fun? Absolutely!

Marissa Gonzales
Public Outreach Specialist

Surprisingly, my greatest challenge is my desk. I have managed to put together tables and cabinets to create a comfortable working space. I feel connected all the time with WebEx, Zoom and Slack, and supervisors who are available at all times. Clients are proactive and get back to us right away.

Mostly I miss the printer and being able to walk over to someone and get a quick answer. My go to technology at home is a tiny Sony Bluetooth speaker. Listening to music on it is nice substitute for other people. I take moments to look outside and listen to the birds. It’s not a trick but something that gets me away from the desk for a bit.

I’ve started working out every other day. I run for 30 minutes. Working out is something I put off in normal times. Unfortunately, right before the quarantine, I joined a gym which promptly closed. The truth is, I eat a lot of comfort foods now – pizza, ice cream, homemade fries, and chips. Running balances my comfort food intake with something healthy. And I take time to watch the sunset and appreciate the end of the day and send good thoughts to my friends, family and the people in the world that are struggling at this time.

We’re learning Japanese

 
Before the work at home program, a bunch of the staff held a Lunch and Learn Japanese class. For the first couple weeks of stay at home we cancelled class, but have since decided to conduct the class virtually via Teams. This week we read through a simple Japanese Children’s book which was a lot of fun. We are fortunate to have Andrea Kocher, a project coordinator with our project management group, as a guide. She’s fluent in Japanese and has been joining the class to help with pronunciation and using “real world” Japanese. We’re all making progress.

Amy Salvador, P.E., PMP
Project Manager

Donald J. Clifford, RA
Senior Project Manager
 
 
 

The sunrises are beautiful! I actually get to see them now from my workstation at home (i.e. the Kitchen Table).

My office is now virtual. Nonetheless, the Team is the same and we still make each other laugh and have fun doing what we do!

I now get a noontime break to go sunbathing with the girls in the backyard for Vitamin D (when they get hot they tell me it’s time to go back to work!).

And…I get to see the beautiful sunsets every night as my workspace is against the kitchen window.

I’m also going back to work after dinner more than normal…most of us are.

We’re following the rules…

And trying limit how often we watch the sad news…

All things considered, we all know that we are very fortunate to be part of SSFM. Other companies are only just now figuring out how to work remotely. We’ve been doing it for years so the infrastructure was in-place to scale it up for COVID.

Last Friday a Team of about 50 of our staff and consulting engineers from Hawaii, North America and the South Pacific successfully completed a 702 page Functional Analysis Concept Development Report in 15 working days remotely.

I am very optimistic about all of our futures post-COVID.

Jonathan Milligan
Structural Engineer

The new Microsoft Teams software has enabled us to easily stay connected. We rolled it out right before this work at home situation started. Our IT staff has been extremely helpful with the rollout, keeping lines of communication open, and handling the usual emergencies like when my laptop screen stopped working. Many thanks to our essential IT department! Clients are also working from home and have been readily available. Since email is already our primary means of communication, staying in touch has been largely unaffected. Teleconferencing has been the main backup to email. I’m also using Microsoft Bluebeam Session for drawing production workflow, and our VPN client have been vital to keeping my workflow healthy. I really love the free time gained from no commute!

Victor O. Valdez, P.E, LEED AP
Civil Engineer

Working remotely means immediate person to person interaction for quick engineering/planning discussions or questions is not as easy. However, with the new company wide implementation of Microsoft Teams, internal team communication has been working smoothly. For outside clients, forwarding my office phone to my cell phone has been helpful for outside clients who prefer phone calls. Private, City and State engineers with whom we have current projects with, are also working from home so we are on the same boat and they all understand. I miss working with two large monitors at the office, but have managed to adjust at home and use one large monitor (from our office), my small TV screen and my home desktop monitor.

Having the family around at home, especially my 6-month old, during work hours requires a bit of adjusting but it’s been ok so far.

Justin Sakamoto
Structural Designer

Working remotely has been relatively easy for me. I live with one roommate so I don’t have many of the distractions or obstacles as those with families. My greatest challenge has been creating an ideal workspace in my apartment. I was able to take a monitor from work. Without it I would need to move the monitor from my personal computer to my alternative work space every day. My personal computer area is not large enough to also have a laptop. I have been staying connected with my colleagues with Microsoft Teams. So far it has been good, and of course we can still use our phones but I miss being able to just turn around to talk my coworkers. One discipline that I’ve established is having my work space away from my personal computer and putting my phone away from my work space so that I stay focused on work.

Carah Kadota
Project Planner

Working from home has made me realize how lucky we are for the technology at the office. Most of us have either two large monitors or one huge monitor. I took home one of my monitors and my docking station. At first I thought it would be difficult to work with only one large monitor and a laptop screen, but it’s worked out quite well. We’re lucky that our IT group recently switched our communications/video conferencing program from Skype to Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams offers better video conferencing capabilities, and can host more participants

But I miss the face-to-face interaction with my coworkers, and the feeling of being in a work environment. Now my only environment is “home”. Although it’s comfortable I miss the routine of going to work, getting dressed and just being in a different environment. Just recently, a group of us started to play board games every day during lunch. Besides just looking forward to my break, I also look forward to playing games. We always have a good time trying new games or placing silly wagers.

Genevieve Runningwind
Office Manager, Hilo

The work from home order has been this introverts dream come true! I’ve encouraged my coworkers for years to work from home and now it’s finally here. As Office Manager, I continue to work in the office providing whatever is needed to keep it running. No working from home for me! I am in contact with my coworkers thru Microsoft Teams. Renee constantly checks in on me to make sure I haven’t locked myself out again (that’s a long story).  We’ll spend the day together with video chat. She says just to make sure I don’t get lonely but I think it’s more for her sanity since she’s with her girls at home too.  Being separated from my coworkers is not unfamiliar. When I was part of the Project Management Group, I was physically in Hilo while my group was in Honolulu. I stayed on video chat with my own desk in Honolulu and when anyone needed me, they would just sit at my desk and strike up a video conversation. I was easily accessible to anyone who needs me just like now. I’m in the office to support my remote coworkers to make it as seamless a transition as possible, help with submittals to clients and get their jobs done. While I miss them all… ever so slightly… I will enjoy this empty office while I can!

Renee Ishisaka
Project Engineer

SSFM is at an advantage for working remotely. With our multiple offices we already have the infrastructure and tools in place. It was easy to transition. We installed Cisco IP communicator which means I could take my office phone with me. Clients and coworkers can reach me at my regular work number. Microsoft Teams allows us to track information on our projects, have chat discussions, hold meetings and make audio and video calls. We had just started using the program companywide shortly before this need for separation. This situation has really helped with its adoption.

I do miss my standing desk and the ergonomic setup that I had at the office. With no access to the plotter and printer, if I need to make submittals I have to coordinate taking a trip to the office. Also I really miss on demand access to coffee since I don’t have a coffee maker setup at home.

The traffic jam I got stuck in on the way to the “office”. 

Amy Salvador
Project Manager

My whole family is adjusting with this new adventure. My kindergartener started distance learning with her school today (last week was spring break), my 2 year old just started wearing regular underwear, my husband is also working from home and ‘complained’ that I type too loudly and I talk to myself while I’m working. We stocked up on non-perishable food items to avoid having to go out as much as possible. Unfortunately, because there is so much and it’s so easily accessible, we find ourselves constantly snacking on chips and sweets. Also, by my kindergartener’s request, our dinner menu consists of pasta, pasta and more pasta.

Funny thing is I have been working from home for a while now because I had a cough. I’ve actually only worked in the office for half of a day this whole month. So…when my husband (who is also an engineer) started working from home too, I think he thought it would be easy and fun…but by 9am on his first day working from home, he was already threatening to pack up and go back to work from his office.

Tyler Allen
Structural Engineer

I’m using a fold out table as a temporary desk, for its size but it also allows me to vary the height of my table so I can work standing, sitting on my computer chair, or sitting on a stability ball. Finding enough table space for all my references, screens, laptop, and coffee cup is the challenge. Luckily I have a quiver of surfboards next to my desk which I use to layout my hard copy references.

Jennifer Scheffel
Environmental Planner

As someone that has worked from home 1-2 days per week and as needed to take care of my kid (I’m a single mom), I pretty much have this work from home thing down. That said, there are definitely some things that I have realized in our new reality. I am much more of an introvert than I ever knew. I have found that I love being home and not going anywhere. It’s an odd realization for someone that has always had a very active social life. Waking up at 7:55 to be “at work” at 8:00. That’s awesome. Having windows open and the wind blowing in is priceless. I am no longer freezing as I was in the office with the super-cold AC.

This is something I have realized for a while, but I feel much more productive and relaxed when working from home. I love not having a 30 to 45 minute commute every morning and afternoon. I also love being able to take a brain break from the work and still do something productive (load/unload the dishwasher, throw in a load of laundry, etc.). This allows me to have a more restful evening, as well, so that I am even more refreshed the next morning. When I am in the office, breaks seem like wasted time and I find myself not taking them, even though they are necessary.

Me getting out of bed at 7:55 to start working at 8.

Lucy Chun
Planner

Working from home has been a transition for me. At first, I felt isolated, stressed and anxious. It’s hard to NOT think about the possible impacts this virus. Focusing on work helps to calm my nerves. It also helps to make time every day to text with colleagues, check in personally and share stories. Even though we are not in one room, we are all in this together. Now I ‘ve found the beauty of working from home. Time is more flexible. Instead of commuting in the morning, I can exercise, take care plants and flowers on my lanai, play with my cat and start a quiet and productive day of work.

Here is an illustration of how I prepare myself to work from home.

Maile LaFave
Civil Designer

I try and keep my daily routine the same as if I was working from the office including logging on/off at similar times, getting dressed and ready in the morning, taking lunch break at the same time, and so on. I definitely miss being around my coworkers. It’s quite the adjustment going from spending a majority of my day in a big office with my coworkers, who I consider close friends, to working alone in my apartment. But, I know it’s for the best at this time and I’m sure we’ll have some sort of pāʻina once we all can get back together.