Shining Light on Our Smart Lighting Team

Clearing Out the Orange Glow

Believe it or not, Chicago was one of the most orange cities in the world. When the sun would set in Chicago, the streets and parks took on a hazy orange glow, mimicking the colors of the sunset. When the Smart Lighting Program is done, it’ll look completely different, on the street and from space.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to re-light Chicago has recently reached a major milestone — 100,000 new LED streetlights installed and $12 million in energy efficiency rebates secured from Commonwealth Edison. The Chicago Smart Lighting Program is currently 37% complete and on schedule to be finished by 2021, at an estimated cost of $160 million.

Team Milhouse’s Role

As a part of CDOT’s (Chicago Department of Transportation) Smart Lighting Program, Milhouse Engineering & Construction, Inc. is providing Phase III Construction Engineering Services, managing the upgrade of more than 270,000 street and alley light fixtures throughout the city.

Implementation and management of the program consist of three parts that were be rolled out concurrently:

• Targeted Infrastructure Stabilization Repairs: contractors will visit each light pole and assess its current condition, evaluating the wiring and foundation
• LED Conversion: replacement of 270,000 luminaires located on 248,000 light poles on 22,753 separate electrical circuits
• Lighting Management System: contractors will implement the start-up and commissioning of a lighting management system using remote monitoring and control

The Milhouse team assigned to the Smart Lighting initiative plays a critical role in the largest city program in the country. They are responsible for overseeing and inspecting the field operations of the contractor, assist in coordinating between the various City Departments (i.e. Mayor’s Office, CDOT Commissioner’s Office, CDOT Division of Electrical Operations, Department of Streets and Sanitation and Alderman’s Offices). Also, documenting the LED conversion and infrastructure repairs, investigating citizen’s complaints and providing recommend solutions, attending community meetings and providing supporting documentation for the ComEd Rebates. On a typical day, each field inspector oversees 2-3 crews. Their success in managing the program has led to an additional task for CDOT, which is the TIF District lighting evaluations for future projects.

Behind The Scenes

Team building is both an art and a science. Creating a great team is a challenge which requires a lot of skill and a little bit of luck. Although no organization is the same, high performing organizations such as Milhouse have one thing in common – outstanding teams. So what makes the CDOT Smart Lighting Program team great?

When asked this question recently, Program Manager and team leader Craig Turner, P.E., P.L.S. was happy to share his thoughts about the project, his team and his views on leadership.

Craig started at Milhouse in May 2009 as a Sr. Civil Engineer working on the O’Hare International Airport Runway 9C/27C project. In 2012, Craig was asked to join the management team as the Manager of Construction Services when Milhouse won its first prime construction management contract with the Illinois Tollway. Craig was the Civil Design Section Manager for Milhouse when he was chosen to head the Smart Lights Program, which started in June of 2017.

Early on, his leadership skills became apparent. Craig has a gift for reading people and situations, and is able to respond intuitively to whatever challenges come his way. Everyone’s a winner when the team is able to successfully overcome challenges by solving problems collaboratively, with input from the entire team.

Unlike the perception of a “typical” engineer, Craig is very outgoing and social, personality traits that help him excel when dealing with a very diverse group of people, from the Mayor and local politicians, to families directly impacted by the program.

His Mom is one of his biggest fans and enjoys hearing about the success of the program and day-to-day progress the team is making. She loves seeing her son engage with the community and civic leaders. It requires skill, caring and patience to distill such a highly complex project into simple terms that the average person could understand – another reason Craig excels in community relations.

When asked to explain his job, Craig had an interesting analogy for the team, “We are like bull riders, and the project is the bull. It requires all your strength, skill and focus to stay on top of it!”

Behind The Scenes

Team building is both an art and a science. Creating a great team is a challenge which requires a lot of skill and a little bit of luck. Although no organization is the same, high performing organizations such as Milhouse have one thing in common – outstanding teams. So what makes the CDOT Smart Lighting Program team great?

When asked this question recently, Program Manager and team leader Craig Turner, P.E., P.L.S. was happy to share his thoughts about the project, his team and his views on leadership.

Craig started at Milhouse in May 2009 as a Sr. Civil Engineer working on the O’Hare International Airport Runway 9C/27C project. In 2012, Craig was asked to join the management team as the Manager of Construction Services when Milhouse won its first prime construction management contract with the Illinois Tollway. Craig was the Civil Design Section Manager for Milhouse when he was chosen to head the Smart Lights Program, which started in June of 2017.

Early on, his leadership skills became apparent. Craig has a gift for reading people and situations, and is able to respond intuitively to whatever challenges come his way. Everyone’s a winner when the team is able to successfully overcome challenges by solving problems collaboratively, with input from the entire team.

Unlike the perception of a “typical” engineer, Craig is very outgoing and social, personality traits that help him excel when dealing with a very diverse group of people, from the Mayor and local politicians, to families directly impacted by the program.

His Mom is one of his biggest fans and enjoys hearing about the success of the program and day-to-day progress the team is making. She loves seeing her son engage with the community and civic leaders. It requires skill, caring and patience to distill such a highly complex project into simple terms that the average person could understand – another reason Craig excels in community relations.

When asked to explain his job, Craig had an interesting analogy for the team, “We are like bull riders, and the project is the bull. It requires all your strength, skill and focus to stay on top of it!”

The Future’s So Bright You’ll Have to Wear Shades

The Milhouse team is very proud to be part of this project. Their work directly improves the safety of the neighborhoods and the lives of city residents, while changing the city from orange to white. Click here to see what the new lights look like from the air.