Shropshire council hire £1000/day 'pot hole' consultant.
Discussion
Yes, Shropshire council have hired a £1000/day 'pothole' consultant, for 6 months to look into the problem of potholes. So obviously, whilst driving down our crumbling potholed road network, all the workers at Shropshire council are scratching their heads over the problem, and what to do about it. I'm sure there are 1000's of local motorists who'd be happy to advise them free of charge.
See the below for thereason excuses for this
https://newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk/2020/02/shropsh...
"It’s true that he ‘costs’ £1000 a day, but not that he is ‘paid’ £1000 per day. These costs include recruitment fees, and travel and living expenses. This rate is comparable with usual consultant rates and we are advised are the same rates that have been paid by other councils. We expect that the improvements delivered will save significantly more than the cost of the consultant. We are investing in the consultant’s high level skills and expertise to save money and boost performance – something we know our residents will welcome."........continues
Doesn't seemed have worked anyway:-
https://cllrdavidwalker.org/little-return-for-240k...
http://andybodders.co.uk/2020/02/09/shropshire-cou...
"Under pressure to get on top of the problem, Shropshire Council’s chief executive Clive Wright told the Shropshire Star: “Robust conversations have taken place with Kier at the highest levels. We have agreed an upscaling of Kier mobilisation” on potholes. But the problems are deep rooted. Keir is not delivering, just as Ringway failed to do so before."......continues
Now I know why Essex is bad. Ringway step forward.
See the below for the
https://newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk/2020/02/shropsh...
"It’s true that he ‘costs’ £1000 a day, but not that he is ‘paid’ £1000 per day. These costs include recruitment fees, and travel and living expenses. This rate is comparable with usual consultant rates and we are advised are the same rates that have been paid by other councils. We expect that the improvements delivered will save significantly more than the cost of the consultant. We are investing in the consultant’s high level skills and expertise to save money and boost performance – something we know our residents will welcome."........continues
Doesn't seemed have worked anyway:-
https://cllrdavidwalker.org/little-return-for-240k...
http://andybodders.co.uk/2020/02/09/shropshire-cou...
"Under pressure to get on top of the problem, Shropshire Council’s chief executive Clive Wright told the Shropshire Star: “Robust conversations have taken place with Kier at the highest levels. We have agreed an upscaling of Kier mobilisation” on potholes. But the problems are deep rooted. Keir is not delivering, just as Ringway failed to do so before."......continues
Now I know why Essex is bad. Ringway step forward.
Edited by robinessex on Wednesday 3rd February 16:25
Made me think of this old story
A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.
Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!
A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!”
So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.
The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer………………….. $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap…………………….. $ 9,998.00
A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.
Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!
A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
“What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!”
So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.
The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer………………….. $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap…………………….. $ 9,998.00
robinessex said:
"We expect that the improvements delivered will save significantly more than the cost of the consultant. We are investing in the consultant’s high level skills and expertise to save money and boost performance – something we know our residents will welcome."
If it pays off, then it's nae bother?Castrol for a knave said:
robinessex said:
Yes, Shropshire council have hired a £1000/day 'pothole' consultant, for 6 months to look into the problem of potholes. So obviously, whilst driving down our crumbling potholed road network, all the workers at Shropshire council are scratching their heads over the problem, and what to do about it. I'm sure there are 1000's of local motorists who'd be happy to advise them free of charge.
See the below for thereason excuses for this
https://newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk/2020/02/shropsh...
"It’s true that he ‘costs’ £1000 a day, but not that he is ‘paid’ £1000 per day. These costs include recruitment fees, and travel and living expenses. This rate is comparable with usual consultant rates and we are advised are the same rates that have been paid by other councils. We expect that the improvements delivered will save significantly more than the cost of the consultant. We are investing in the consultant’s high level skills and expertise to save money and boost performance – something we know our residents will welcome."........continues
Work it into an annual salary, add employer's NI, pension, car allowance - works out a lot more plus you then have a full time employee, not someone you draft in for a specific job and for a specific amount of time. See the below for the
https://newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk/2020/02/shropsh...
"It’s true that he ‘costs’ £1000 a day, but not that he is ‘paid’ £1000 per day. These costs include recruitment fees, and travel and living expenses. This rate is comparable with usual consultant rates and we are advised are the same rates that have been paid by other councils. We expect that the improvements delivered will save significantly more than the cost of the consultant. We are investing in the consultant’s high level skills and expertise to save money and boost performance – something we know our residents will welcome."........continues
Not sure I see an issue.
So many people lack the comprehensive knowledge of what work costs and just assume because they earn 30k for 2'000h work, no one should pay more than £15/h for any work carried out by someone else. It simply doesn't work like this.
toasty said:
If he diagnoses a common issue and provides a workable solution that saves the council money in the long run then what's the problem?
I guess the point is - how likely is that with respect to potholes and wouldn't you fill more potholes by, you know, paying some people to go and fill them in?The onus is on the council to demonstrate this guy's "value add" and they don't seem to have been able to.
robinessex said:
Yes, Shropshire council have hired a £1000/day 'pothole' consultant, for 6 months to look into the problem of potholes. So obviously, whilst driving down our crumbling potholed road network, all the workers at Shropshire council are scratching their heads over the problem, and what to do about it. I'm sure there are 1000's of local motorists who'd be happy to advise them free of charge.
See the below for thereason excuses for this
https://newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk/2020/02/shropsh...
"It’s true that he ‘costs’ £1000 a day, but not that he is ‘paid’ £1000 per day. These costs include recruitment fees, and travel and living expenses. This rate is comparable with usual consultant rates and we are advised are the same rates that have been paid by other councils. We expect that the improvements delivered will save significantly more than the cost of the consultant. We are investing in the consultant’s high level skills and expertise to save money and boost performance – something we know our residents will welcome."........continues
Doesn't seemed have worked anyway:-
https://cllrdavidwalker.org/little-return-for-240k...
http://andybodders.co.uk/2020/02/09/shropshire-cou...
"Under pressure to get on top of the problem, Shropshire Council’s chief executive Clive Wright told the Shropshire Star: “Robust conversations have taken place with Kier at the highest levels. We have agreed an upscaling of Kier mobilisation” on potholes. But the problems are deep rooted. Keir is not delivering, just as Ringway failed to do so before."......continues
Now I know why Essex is bad. Ringway step forward.
Kier have the term contract, not Ringway. Potholes won't be hanging around from Ringway times, and if they are then that is 100% down to Kier. Out of the two, I know which I would trust to better maintain the roads. And who is still likely to be around in 5 years to be able to cover the maintenance period.See the below for the
https://newsroom.shropshire.gov.uk/2020/02/shropsh...
"It’s true that he ‘costs’ £1000 a day, but not that he is ‘paid’ £1000 per day. These costs include recruitment fees, and travel and living expenses. This rate is comparable with usual consultant rates and we are advised are the same rates that have been paid by other councils. We expect that the improvements delivered will save significantly more than the cost of the consultant. We are investing in the consultant’s high level skills and expertise to save money and boost performance – something we know our residents will welcome."........continues
Doesn't seemed have worked anyway:-
https://cllrdavidwalker.org/little-return-for-240k...
http://andybodders.co.uk/2020/02/09/shropshire-cou...
"Under pressure to get on top of the problem, Shropshire Council’s chief executive Clive Wright told the Shropshire Star: “Robust conversations have taken place with Kier at the highest levels. We have agreed an upscaling of Kier mobilisation” on potholes. But the problems are deep rooted. Keir is not delivering, just as Ringway failed to do so before."......continues
Now I know why Essex is bad. Ringway step forward.
Edited by robinessex on Wednesday 3rd February 16:25
"Deep rooted", non-delivering contractors in successive contracts sounds like a governance problem rather than a problem with the contractors.
(And it's probably exactly the same guys on the tools, TUPEd over - there will have been a high-level policy decision to concentrate on, say, Cat 1 defects and leave the lower level defects for a once a month inspection. Council budgets are tight as f
k, and roads are the first things hit when schools and hospitals and things need more money. They get told to make £60m savings year on year, that sort of thing) Xtravaganza said:
Pot holes are caused by water and only made worse by cheaply quickly badly made/ repaired roads. So the answer is replace the badly affected roads to a very high standard with water management.
Potholes are worsened, drastically, by freezing water. The snow we've been seeing for the last few weeks will have re-opened many previously "repaired" potholes, which would likely have survived without the freeze. blue_haddock said:
I'm currently sat in Shropshire and if I look out of my window I can see three bloody big potholes that were filled in last summer but such a crap job was done they now need doing again.
Oh well it's on another quid per household per year in the county to pay this guy's wages......
Likewise, even more fun when belting down Hope Valley on the bike. Oh well it's on another quid per household per year in the county to pay this guy's wages......
Hopefully Mr Pothole's report will be FoI and we can see the recommendations, and hopefully that means not using the dreadful patch repairs they seem to love so much.
blue_haddock said:
I'm currently sat in Shropshire and if I look out of my window I can see three bloody big potholes that were filled in last summer but such a crap job was done they now need doing again.
Oh well it's on another quid per household per year in the county to pay this guy's wages......
Me too and the roads are in the worst state I can remember, poor workmanship means that most potholes repaired last about 3 months if you are lucky.Oh well it's on another quid per household per year in the county to pay this guy's wages......
Seems that replacing sunken drains is the job of the last few weeks, had been like it for months but now too far gone to repair
OpulentBob said:
Potholes are worsened, drastically, by freezing water. The snow we've been seeing for the last few weeks will have re-opened many previously "repaired" potholes, which would likely have survived without the freeze.
Countries with much more harsh winters than ours manage to have perfect roads - Sweden was used as a good example above. Britain always acts surprised about winter, on every level. Our road surfaces aren't fit for purpose and fall to pieces when presented with this unusual phenomenon called 'weather': too much rain, frosts or, in summer, melting tarmac creating ruts and random speedbumps that are lethal to motorcyclists. It's compounded by the 'repairs' being the cheapest the councils or highways agency can get away with - they know the holes will reappear in a few weeks but the important thing is to tick the box.It has always been thus.
Getragdogleg said:
Lack of maintenance.
It's as simple as that.
But all simple things can be complicated.It's as simple as that.
Why is there a lack of maintenance?
- finite capacity of the maintenance teams
- poor quality of work by maintenance teams
- poor management of that work
- all probably underpinned by lack of funding for the maintenance work, the management capacity including contract and commissioning, and the huge backlog in repairs that makes the maintenance problems snowball into much bigger jobs
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff