Dedicated to recognizing and rewarding bold thinking and practical problem-solving throughout the company, CHA is pleased to congratulate our first CHAmpions of Innovation winners. Their work shows what’s possible when teams challenge assumptions, test new approaches, and turn ideas into measurable impact for our people, our projects, and our clients.
In early 2026, CHA launched the CHAmpions of Innovation program, inviting employees to share new approaches that solve problems, improve how we work, and strengthen collaboration across teams. The program is designed to foster a culture of experimentation, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement, and to celebrate how CHA people “lead with innovation” by delivering smarter outcomes and lasting value.
Jake Standifer (Generation & Energy Management) developed a project tracker that takes charges from CHA’s proprietary system and automatically updates project financial information weekly. It then forecasts current effort against actual progress and provides project managers with the status to guide resource assignments. This tool can help gauge project status, forecasted completion dates, and anticipate any issues early, bringing great value to our clients.
Tyler Mazun (Transportation – Bridges) created a 3D rendering of a complex proposed bridge abutment. The design team used a 3D isometric view in their plans to help illustrate the proposed concept. This innovation allowed the Bridge team to minimize rock excavation for the contractor and to provide a clearer understanding of field conditions, resulting in fewer surprises, a smoother build, fewer changes, and a more predictable project schedule for the client.
Adam French (Aviation – Planning) created an accurately scaled 3D model incorporating key site and 3D elements from the command tower to lighting poles. The model was then used to produce high-quality renderings to achieve realistic, presentation-ready 3D visualizations, a superior way to convey complex plans and ideas to clients and other stakeholders.
Deimel Perez Martin, Diego Angueira, and Elena Carvallo (Digital Solutions) created a heat map to help our utilities teams confirm that manufacturing sites consistently have safe, reliable, and cost-effective utilities such as electricity, HVAC, pure water, and steam by successfully generating visual heat maps for all assessed utilities and buildings. This innovative tool immediately highlights reliability gaps across systems.
“Over the past few months, teams and individuals from across the organization submitted their innovative solutions for consideration and blew our panel of judges away with the thoughtful, outside-the-box ways they’re rethinking challenges, improving our work, and delivering stronger results,” said Jeff Netland, Chief Digital Officer.
Individually, each of these solutions is impressive. Together, they show how CHA teams are building a culture of innovation by spotting opportunities, reducing complexity, and strengthening decision-making to achieve better outcomes for our clients. By bringing curiosity and practical ingenuity to everyday work, our teams are improving reliability, reducing risk, and helping projects move forward with greater confidence.
CHAmpions of Innovation is an ongoing contest open to all CHA team members, with new winners announced each quarter. It starts with a simple question: “What if we thought about this differently?” Great ideas can come from anywhere, and we’re proud to recognize the people who turn those ideas into real impact. Innovation is not a one-time event; it’s a habit we build every day.