Employee Spotlight: Andrew Kavanagh, RRS Midwest Region Project Manager

It is often said “variety is the spice of life”, and for Andrew Kavanagh, Project Manager II in the RRS Midwest Region, this phrase could easily be applied to his work. Kavanagh’s role tasks him with a diverse range of responsibilities- from managing field teams and field personnel, to maintaining equipment, developing and contributing to new ideas and systems, scheduling projects, and much more. He begins, “A lot of us wear many hats, and by managing the RRS applications in the Midwest, I am involved in a bit of everything as it relates to the RRS division. I also develop much of the technical training content for our division in conjunction with our R&D and Technical Services teams.”

Kavanagh joined the REGENESIS® RRS division nearly 5 years ago and appreciates he is able to use his experience in the field on a routine basis to meet day-to-day challenges head-on. He shares, “Every site has its own set of challenges. We overcome obstacles by maintaining a high level of communication, professionalism, and technical expertise. A good example would be a site where there were 102 injection wells spread across eight acres. We designed and tested a site-specific, proprietary system prior to going into the field. The work was originally scheduled to take 32 days and we completed it in seven using our new system, treating 8 million cubic feet of groundwater.” Prior to joining the RRS team, Kavanagh served as a Remediation Specialist, and earlier, as a Wellsite Geologist. To prepare for a career in environmental remediation he earned his BS in Geology from Colgate University, where he played Division 1AA college football for four years as a linebacker.

Although he began his career in the oil and gas industry, Kavanagh decided to transition to environmental remediation after a couple of years, in part to achieve a better work-life balance.  And his new position allowed him to contribute more towards making a difference in sustaining our environment. “I am proud of the work I do now because there is no question REGENESIS is a company focused on making a positive impact on our environment. I also enjoy having an integral role in developing young professionals. I take tremendous satisfaction and pride in fostering positive growth in the individuals that work here, and in turn, I learn just as much from them.”

Learning and continuing to garner valuable experience in the field enables Kavanagh to provide optimized solutions across a diverse range of sites and conditions. He continues, “My experience in the field is widespread throughout the US, so I’m familiar with a wide variety of geologic conditions and their response to hydraulic augmentation (injection). From an application standpoint, I know what to look for and what it means. However, I also know that observation bias is real, and every line of evidence from the field is noteworthy. Injections take equilibrated systems out of equilibrium, and observation and synthesis of the effects and dissection of the causes are critical to a successful remediation project. That, in essence, is the scientific aspect.” And while he feels confident in his scientific approach as it pertains to his work, he is keenly aware of the importance of effective overall client management. He shares, “Managing clients always comes back to understanding their goals and expectations. When we work with a client, they are allowing us to be part of their team. It is a partnership. They offer valuable expertise and so do we, but ultimately, we are working for them, so I try to listen twice as much as I talk. I always strive to keep our clients informed of progress, good or bad, and maintain a team atmosphere. We are hired to help our clients achieve their goals. So, their goals become my goals.”

“Managing clients always comes back to understanding their goals and expectations. When we work with a client, they are allowing us to be part of their team. It is a partnership. They offer valuable expertise and so do we, but ultimately, we are working for them, so I try to listen twice as much as I talk. I always strive to keep our clients informed of progress, good or bad, and maintain a team atmosphere. We are hired to help our clients achieve their goals. So, their goals become my goals.”

When it comes to assessing his strengths and those of the team around him, Kavanagh’s past success on the gridiron as a member of the Colgate University football team has helped him focus on teamwork.  He shares, “Without a doubt, my team is my key strength. They say ‘it takes a village,’ and the personnel that I manage are some of the hardest working people I know. Having reliable, competent, motivated, and professional people is an invaluable asset. Their persistence and determination are an endless source of inspiration for me.” When asked what the catalyst is for his day-to-day motivation, he quickly points out that it’s about excelling at what you do. He continues, “I want our group to be the best. It helps provide a great client experience because we are interested in the success of our technologies, and revenue is really the byproduct. The decisions we make in the field put project performance in the driver’s seat.” In an effort to continually stay abreast of emerging technologies Kavanagh takes continued education coursework in the geologic field. He shares, “It’s a great way for me to stay up to date for my professional license. At RRS we are always doing trainings, and it is a huge part of our company culture. I also like to get involved with beta test sites or sites where conditions are appropriate to perform additional testing/measurements for geochemical signatures and distribution diagnostics.”

Residing in Osceola, IN with his wife and three children, Kavanagh works from home when he’s not at the office or on-site. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, and often takes his oldest son fishing or out for a round of golf. He laments, “Unfortunately, he is better than me at both. Our middle child likes to drive everyone crazy, and my youngest likes to talk about superheroes and villains for hours on end. When I have spare time, I like to work on cars, barbecue, snowboard, and play guitar. My band ‘Praise the Fallen’, is always busy with shows and recording in the studio. All of our stuff is on Spotify, iTunes, Google, and all of the streaming platforms.” When asked how he’s seen the environmental remediation industry change over the years, he points to the rapid expansion of shared data. He concludes, “The exponential increase in information availability and the expediency with which it can be shared has led to a rapid evolution in the way the industry approaches things. Pretty much ubiquitously from site investigation to remedial implementation, everything moves faster now.”

REGENESIS is proud to have Andrew Kavanagh, RRS Midwest Region Project Manager II, as a valued RRS team member in environmental remediation, and they appreciate his experience, enthusiasm, and leadership in providing successful remediation outcomes for REGENESIS and its clients.