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In this issue’s Building Capacity column, the author seeks to provide an understanding of AI agents (or agentic AI) and how this new new version of AI could be used by environmental health professionals.

Booth had previously imposed an AI cooling-off period for his column. He felt that the bombardment of news, updates, releases, and hype did not need amplification. There is, however, something new. And it is something that he wants to introduce: AI agents (aka agentic AI). The word \"agent\" signals a new expectation--the ability for some AI products to act on their own on behalf of somebody else. For better or worse, this buzzy concept will wash over in 2026. AI agents shift from advice to action, which is why leaders should pay attention.

Bregman's model establishes for Booth that accountability has little to do with termination or punishment. It is much more about discipline to adhere to a process. The five elements are really a test of leadership, setting up Quinn and the whole organization for success. When they talk about building capacity, they are exploring strategies to accomplish and expand on the important work done among environmental health professionals. The call to action is twofold. First, to encourage and expect accountability, which is a necessary concept. The second is to acknowledge the entire framework around accountability, a framework that seems to be equal parts leadership, communication, and action. Without that framework and a commitment to it, perhaps one should refrain from choosing the word accountability in this sense. All this information is to respectfully suggest that accountability is a superpower, invoked when the stakes call for the organization's full commitment. In his own organization, he thinks he will choose his words carefully before he utters the word accountable. But when he does, he will know that leaders also are, of course, accountable.

In this issue’s Building Capacity column, the author explores how environmental health professionals can use Sankey diagrams to illustrate their data. The column provides a simple example of how food complaints enter a health department system to show how Sankey diagrams can tell a story with your data.

In this issue’s Building Capacity column, the author explores how voice-to-text options can be used as one more way to work with more flexibility. The column looks at how it works, how you can try it, and how you can get the best results.

Booth started a new job this week, one in which his responsibilities are divided between two functions. The expectation is that he will spend 75% of his time on project A and 25% of his time on project B. For many years, he touted the benefit of daily time and activity tracking. He would explain that if you did not know your time per program and task, how could you know if your permit and/or license fees are defensible? He remembers one environmental health director who carried his department's time accounting data into the board of supervisor meetings as his best explanation (or defense) for why fees had to be adjusted. In his case, the fees had to be adjusted to offer any chance of meeting the minimum staffing and service expectations, and he let the data tell the story.

Editor's Note: A need exists within environmental health agencies to increase their capacity to perform in an environment of diminishing resources. With limited resources and increasing demands, we need to seek new approaches to the practice of environmental health. Acutely aware of these challenges, the Journal publishes the Building Capacity column to educate, reinforce, and build on successes within the profession using technology to improve efficiency and extend the impact of environmental health agencies. This column is authored by technical advisors of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Data and Technology Section, as well as guest authors. The conclusions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of NEHA. Darryl Booth has been monitoring regulatory and data tracking needs of environmental public health agencies for over 20 years. He serves as a technical advisor for the NEHA Data and Technology Section. Booth is the general manager of environmental health at Accela.

Modern environmental health data systems are built on three interconnected players or users. The three legs of this stool are: office staff, public and inspectors. Each of the three players has their work processes. The office staff process applications, manage work, and conduct financial transactions. Public are individuals from the public check inspection results, pay fees, or submit forms. The inspector are environmental health professionals record inspection activities while in the field. Here, Booth discusses the 2024 hardware available to our field inspectors.

The cost to put inspectors in the field is a big component of any health department budget. For the many agencies that are fee-supported, this cost is a substantial component of the permit or license fee charged to operators. Here, Booth discusses the costs associated with field inspection.

Editor's Note: A need exists within environmental health agencies to increase their capacity to perform in an environment of diminishing resources. With limited resources and increasing demands, we need to seek new approaches to the practice of environmental health. Acutely aware of these challenges, the Journal publishes the Building Capacity column to educate, reinforce, and build on successes within the profession using technology to improve efficiency and extend the impact of environmental health agencies.