We are delighted to announce the promotion of Kristin Schmalried, our Human Resources Manager, to the role of Human Resources Director. This well-deserved advancement recognizes Kristin's exceptional leadership and commitment to fostering a vibrant company culture. With her guidance, our expanding team of HR professionals has become an indispensable pillar of the OMS organization, creating an environment where OMS is a destination and talent thrives. Please join us in extending heartfelt congratulations to Kristin on her new role and continued contributions to making the OMS companies outstanding places to work.

OMS is excited to unveil the winners of our inaugural company photo contest! Our team members were encouraged to get creative, capturing everything from their daily work routines and office locations to the stunning landscapes, vibrant work teams, and even their personal hobbies.

Over the span of three weeks, we received more than 100 incredible submissions. Each photo offered a unique perspective, making it a challenging task for our judges to choose the top entries. After much deliberation, we're proud to announce the winners of our Grand Prize, Runner-Up, and Honorable Mention awards:

Mr. Joey Luvale has 8 years of broad-ranging experience in utility-scale Vegetation Management. He brings strong leadership and communication skills to every project. Joey is based in the North Valley Region of PG&E’s service territory. He is passionate about working outdoors and keeping our environment safe and clear. Outside of work, he enjoys fishing, dirt biking, and being with his kid. He enjoys anything that keeps him close to family and nature.

Nick Blackwell is a Vegetation Program Lead with OMS Field Services, supporting Pacific Gas & Electric’s vegetation management operations across Northern California. He began his UVM career after earning a B.S. in Environmental Science from CSU Chico and is an ISA Certified Arborist and Utility Specialist.

​Nick brings several years of field experience to the team, with a strong focus on environmental compliance and quality assurance. For the past several months, he has been dedicated to quality control work, reviewing vegetation prescriptions for safety, efficiency, and regulatory alignment. He recently transitioned to support the interference team, where he now specializes in resolving vegetation issues involving customer properties and sensitive access situations.

Luis Lepe is a Vegetation Project Lead for OMS Group, LLC. Mr. Lepe brings over 5 years of experience in biology, vegetation management, data analysis, database management, and environmental/agency permitting.

​Mr. Lepe routinely identifies innovative analyses to assess performance and to pinpoint outliers in data sets and overall vegetation program performance. Luis applies his advanced GIS and data management skills to bring unique problem solving solutions to improve project metrics and performance.

As part of his job, understanding wetland ecosystems and their regulations is crucial for ensuring environmental compliance for his client. Alec enrolled in the Wetland Training Institute, Inc.’s “Basic Wetland Delineation” course earlier this year to gain a deeper understanding of wetland indicators and common observations made by crews during their delineations. The course itself was engaging and thorough, combining both fieldwork and online lectures on topics such as hydrology, soil science, and plant ecology. The field day instructors were experts in wetland delineations and focused on specific challenges and scenarios faced in Southern California’s diverse environment. Through this course, Alec can analyze and review wetland delineation data with more confidence and looks forward to strengthening his wetland delineation practice.

OMS Field Services is actively hiring for multiple Vegetation Support Services roles. The following positions are available as remote, hybrid and field-based:

• Vegetation Program Lead
• Contract Vegetation Program Manager
• Registered Professional Forester
• GIS Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Database Administrator
• Master Arborist
• Estimating Arborist

For more details and to apply online, click the following link: ​www.omsfield.com/careers.html

OMS is pleased to announce that we have recently been selected to continue forward as an alliance partner for a large west coast utility to provide program management and emergency preparedness services for vegetation management and wildfire risk reduction. Our team is pleased to continue our more than half-decade of direct support to vegetation management and wildfire risk reduction in the western U.S.

With over 200 dedicated staff to be assigned to this effort, we are grateful for this partnering opportunity as we continue forward on our journey of delivering Sound Business Results, in support of facility and public safety.

In support of these programs, OMS offers a variety of services, including:

• Program Management
• Planning and Scheduling
• Compliance Assurance and Reporting
• Safety Observation
• Work Competency Assessment
• Cost Controls
• Emergency Response / System Restoration / Storm Patrol
• Public Outreach and Agency Interactions
• Constraints Management / Resolution
• Risk Assessment
• Quality Assurance
• Quality Control
• System Inspection

If you are interested in learning more about our services in support of these programs, please contact Alex Cates or Chris Herrala.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Parker, Colorado – Alex Cates, OMS Group, LLC is returning to serve on the Board of Trustees for the National Small Business Association (NSBA) for 2024. NSBA is the nation’s oldest small-business advocacy organization and operates on a staunchly nonpartisan basis. Cates, a recognized leader in the small-business community and has been an asset to the leadership team in promoting the interests of small business to policymakers in Washington, D.C.

“I look forward to continuing my work with NSBA in the coming years to ensure small business has a seat at the table,” stated Cates, “It is critical that Congress and the administration to do everything in their power to support small businesses as we face whatever economic challenges may face us down the road.”

Cates is a Texas A&M College of Architecture graduate who started out in the architectural design space. He moved into the environmental contracting field in 2004 and spent twelve years in the professional services industry as a senior partner supporting national and multinational industrial clients as a global service and area operations leader. He and his business partner launched OMS Group in 2020 to provide clients with environmental, health, and safety services (EH&S). Within the EH&S space, OMS also provides capital project delivery services.

Cates has been active with NSBA for several years and has been an exemplary representative of small business issues in the Mountain West, Pacific West, and Gulf regions. In addition to the leadership role with NSBA, Cates is active in various local and regional organizations and has been an outspoken advocate for small-business issues with his elected officials.

“I am grateful for the vision and insight Cates has provided to NSBA as we look to an active election year in 2024,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. Alex has been an asset to our leadership team, NSBA’s members and the American small-business community, and I look forward to another impactful year together pushing policymakers to seek and support pro-small-business policies.”

Please click here to learn more about www.omsgroupllc.com.

For more on NSBA, please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate.

OMS Group's team of professionals are organized around three pillars of services: Consulting Services, Field Services, and Infrastructure Services. These three pillars of service provide our clients with an end-to-end solution for operations, maintenance, project development, capital investment, divesture, and facility decommissioning and retirement needs.

OMS partners with our clients to bring the owner’s perspective, institutional knowledge, and continuous improvement. This in turn facilitates enhanced business outcomes: ​OMS Delivers Sound Business Results.

​Orion is excited to announce we are now held by OMS Group, LLC. The OMS team is forever grateful to have been able to start our business as a service provider who has helped enable California’s utilities to further their efforts at fire risk reduction.

We are pleased to see our service lines continue to rapidly evolve. We have since expanded our services to include traditional EHS consulting services and are now proud to announce that we’ve added engineering, construction management, and project management services.

​Please join us in celebrating this transition and expansion of our services and capabilities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Parker, CO – Alex Cates of OMS Group, LLC. has been elected to serve on the Board of Trustees for the National Small Business Association (NSBA) for 2023. NSBA is the nation’s oldest small-business advocacy organization and operates on a staunchly nonpartisan basis. Mr. Cates, a recognized leader in the small-business community brings his talents to the national level in promoting the interests of small business to policymakers in Washington, D.C.

“I look forward to working with NSBA in the coming years to ensure small business has a seat at the table,” stated Cates, “It is critical that Congress and the administration do everything in their power to support small businesses, who collectively employ nearly 50 percent of our nation’s workforce. Small business is the backbone of the economy, and we need to have appropriate representation.”

Cates is a Texas A&M College of Architecture graduate who started out in the architectural design space. He moved into the environmental contracting field in 2004 and spent nine years in the professional services industry as a senior partner supporting national and multinational industrial clients as a global service and area operations leader. He and his business partner launched OMS in 2020 to provide clients with environmental, health, and safety services (EH&S). Within the EH&S space, Orion also provides capital project delivery services.

Cates has been active with NSBA for several years and in his current capacity has represented small business issues in Colorado, California, Idaho, and Texas. In addition to the leadership role with NSBA, Cates is active in various local and regional organizations and has been an outspoken advocate for small-business issues with his elected officials.

“I am energized by the new leadership here at NSBA, and I am certain Alex will play a key role in helping take our efforts to the next level,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “Alex’s dedication, pragmatism and drive are a perfect fit for our leadership team as we push policymakers to seek and support pro-small-business policies.”

For more on NSBA, please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us on Twitter at @NSBAAdvocate.

About OMS –

Consulting Services:

OMS' team of management consultants, environmental health and safety professionals, and engineers bring real world, practical solutions to your operational, compliance, safety, and project needs. Our teams of consultants operationalize your strategies through sound execution and delivery.

Field Services

You need scalable resources to meet your fluctuating business needs. OMS' staff of professionals are equipped to act as owner’s agent to help you address your inspection, compliance, customer service, quality assurance, safety, and environmental resource needs in the field and in the office.

Project / Construction / Demolition Services

Your mission is to own and operate. You need a bespoke solution for your capital infrastructure projects. OMS delivers the solutions you need. We tailor solutions for your capital projects, facility retirement, decommissioning planning, demolition, and site restoration and redevelopment needs in partnership with our affiliate companies.

​We share our sincere appreciation to our colleagues and our clients as we reflect on milestones that we have achieved this past year:

Orion is pleased to announce that we have recently received our Gold Shovel Certification. This certification recognizes Orion’s safety leadership related to safe excavation practices around underground facilities. We are committed to Driving Better Results for our business partners.