Recently, NASSCO members gathered in Hollywood, Florida, for NASSCO’s 47th Annual Conference. With a full agenda of NASSCO membership meetings, educational sessions and networking events, the conference content all started with NASSCO’s strategic plan.

In 2019 NASSCO’s board of directors, staff and paid consultants gathered in Washington, D.C., to set a course for NASSCO’s next five to 10 years. The brainstorming session resulted in a solid strategic plan that examined and addressed NASSCO’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

NASSCO’s mission (to set industry standards for the assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation of underground infrastructure) set the foundation. NASSCO’s vision (to increase the awareness of aging underground infrastructure and to provide viable solutions through education, technical resources, and industry advocacy) helped us stay the course. And NASSCO’s core values of adaptability, camaraderie, efficiency, fairness, knowledge and support were the undercurrents to ensure our two-day strategic planning session was as effective as possible.

The outcome of that 2019 session boiled down to a simple future direction for NASSCO: to become the trusted underground infrastructure industry source for education, technical resources and advocacy.

That is a bold statement, but it is one that our board, staff and NASSCO’s Technical Advisory Council have all agreed to and on which we stand to make sure that NASSCO serves the industry well.

In 2022, we gathered again for the purpose of re-examining our strategy and adjusting it based on a changing market, evolving technology and resources. While specific tactics have changed, our strategy to be the source for education, technical resources and advocacy remains firm. How does this work get done? Through our dynamic and productive committees, with the support of our TAC and staff:

Education: In addition to NASSCO’s trusted Pipeline Assessment Certification Program and Inspector Training Certification Programs, NASSCO committees are developing additional educational programs for the safe use of grouting, the safe use of styrene used in the CIPP process, a residential inspection program for laterals in the sale of real estate, a drain cleaning certification program, a new course on jetter safety and more. With the launch of The NASSCO Training Source (nasscotrainingsource.org) these sessions will all be available online.

Technical Resources: NASSCO committees are also in the process of developing a library of trenchless technology videos designed to help individuals either new to the industry or to a particular technology. Committees are also committed to sharing their technical knowledge with a wider audience through industry-wide webinars which are all posted on NASSCO.org following the online events. Finally, NASSCO has been the trusted source for the development of NASSCO specification guidelines for decades and our library of trusted documents, which are developed and peer-reviewed by our committees, continues to grow.

Advocacy: NASSCO takes the topic of safety very seriously. When questions arose a few years back regarding the safety of styrene emissions used in the CIPP process, NASSCO formed an industry-wide workgroup and funded third-party research on the subject. This research continues today, with TTC’s Phase 3 report being recently released. Full studies and recommendations can be found at nassco.org/safety. NASSCO also advocates for our industry through its Government Relations Committee and the need to fund important underground infrastructure, and its Workforce Development Committee which is diligently working on ways to fill the skilled trade gap for the entire industry.

All of the educational opportunities, technical resources and advocacy NASSCO committees are available to all — you do not need to be a NASSCO member to download specifications, share videos, watch webinars, take a class or benefit from our advocacy initiatives. To learn more, visit www.nassco.org.

About the Author

Sheila Joy is executive director of NASSCO. She can be reached at director@nassco.org.