From Clipboard to Cloud: My Journey Automating Data Systems in Environmental Engineering
– by Thomas B. Overton
From the earliest days of my career, I’ve been driven by a singular goal transforming the manual into the modern. Whether it was digitizing air sample analysis or streamlining massive federal operations, I’ve consistently pursued one guiding principle: innovate to automate.
From Microscopes to Macros: The Early Years
As a certified microscopist, I began analyzing air samples on filter media, manually documenting lab results. At a time when Lotus 1-2-3 was cutting-edge, I used it to run engineering calculations and perform parallel quality assurance testing. As technology evolved, so did I migrating these processes into Excel 97, and later using VBA Macros to automate building condition reports and ADA remediation plans. What once took hours became a matter of minutes.
Lead Paint Reporting Reimagined
In Nashville’s Metropolitan Department of Public Housing Administration, I automated lead-paint field assay reporting. Early on, incorrect calculations plagued initial submittals. I identified and corrected those at the algorithm level, enabling instant restarts and eliminating the need to manually edit and reprint dozens of reports.
From Mobile SQL to Pattern Detection in the Field
With SQL Server 2000 running on Fujitsu mobile devices, we surveyed hundreds of housing units for lead-based paint. As a certified risk assessor, I created pattern detection algorithms that prevented repeated data entry errors. This exception logic didn’t just flag issues it empowered field teams to fix them before leaving the job site.
Engineering Precision for TVA
For the Tennessee Valley Authority’s turbine generator installations, I introduced structured data tracking systems that summarized dozens of engineering logs into a single Excel file with embedded exception detection. This brought real-time compliance checks into the field a game changer in an industry known for its complexity.
USPS: From Manual Surveys to 800-Page Automations
Surveying every Tennessee post office for environmental hazards, I built a reporting system using Word Basic, Excel, and FoxPro. Despite initial resistance to automation, the efficiency gains proved undeniable. Once accepted, my report templates generated over 800 mail-merged pages with ease delivering knowledge transfer and customer satisfaction along with significant windfall profits.
Hurricane Emergency Ops with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
When deployed to Florida post-hurricane, I noticed logistical inefficiencies in daily address assignments. I bought MapPoint 2000 and created an automated mapping system integrated with SQL Server and ArcInfo. Field operations adopted the solution overnight, achieving 400–500% gains in efficiency. I later developed an automated contractor pay request system that expedited over $50M in FEMA reimbursements.
Reinventing Reinspections in Nashville Schools
Working with the State of Tennessee on AHERA reinspections, I proposed automating workbook changes with Excel VBA. We programmatically embedded seals, standardized formatting, and updated forms—morphing legacy documents into modern formats and empowering administrative staff to implement complex changes with ease.
Setting National Standards in HUD Risk Assessments
Starting as a field technician, I evolved into a systems innovator building Access-SQL databases to trap errors and ensure near-perfect data quality in lead-based paint risk assessments. By bringing exception detection to the application layer, we created a data infrastructure used by dozens of teams to collect over a million samples across 600+ sites.
