Consultants’ Proposals To Drainage Board

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28385, 18 September 1957, Page 12

Consultants’ Proposals To Drainage Board

Savings of at least £6OOO a year are estimated to result if the Christchurch Drainage Board applies to its routine maintenance work changes proposed by Associated Industrial Consultants, Ltd., which has made a preliminary survey of the board’s organisation and operations.

“There is evidence that the present pattern of development is on a piecemeal basis, with too great an emphasis on personal considerations and too little on the long-term effectiveness of the board’s work,” said the survey presented to the board last evening.

"It appears to be essential that the main staff structure should.be overhauled before attention is directed to the routine activities of the members of the board's staff."

The consultants considered the time opportune to introduce changes in the organisation, and said that some were long overdue. Changes envisaged could not be introduced successfully without a more detailed investigation. Of the engineering staff, the report said a careful investigation into engineering and supervisory activities was desirable, but it was more likely to reveal hindrances and causes of lost time under the present conditions, than to show an underworked staff. While impressed with the cooperation between engineers responsible for planning and construction, the consultant company considered that in the near future some degree of combination should be attempted. “The demands on engineers’ time for private subdivision and Government work suggest that at least a nominal charge should be made for these services,’’ the report continued. “A rough calculation shows that about one-third of the supervisory time is given over to this class of work, which appears to be running at about £20,000 a month.” The main criticism made of office procedure was the system of filing correspondence. Procedure Proposed “We are of the opinion that as a first step the staff structure should be reorganised so that all subsequent work can proceed in the light of the changes envisaged.” the report continued. “The question of engineering salaries might then be dealt with by the board on the basis of the new responsibilties. We consider that the reassessments should be determined by the process of job evaluation, in which we can assist. This is the method of determining, without regard to personalities, the worth of one job in relation to that of another. It is applicable to all classes and levels of staff.” Bonus Incentives After proposing to establish control of long-term development of stormwater drainage and sewerage, the consultants said: “In addition, if required, we would investigate the practicability of introducing incentive payments to those classes of labour whose activities are susceptible to time estimates or measurement.” ; . “It is our normal practice to arrange for the workers to share in the economies which ‘result from schemes such as we are now recommending. We anticipate that their bonus earnings would amount to some 25 per cent, of basis rate at the level of output attainable by a worker of average ability.”

Advantages, tjie consultants said, would accrue from adoption of . e Proposal, would be a reduc* tion in the over-all cost of work after allowing for bonus payments and any extra clerical expense, increased productivity leading to additional maintenance work by the same labour force, and increased wages for the direct workers, which would assist in recruitment and reduce the labour turnover. Individual Jobs Individual elements of each job and process were investigated and the amount of work in the elements established, it said. During the investigations, existing causes of lost time and wasted effort were recorded and steps taken, wherever possible, to eliminate them.

Handling of materials and the performance of routine tasks were also examined to ensure that only the most practical and effective methods were employed. Its estimate of £6OOO a year in savings was based on experience in similar work, the company said.

For its services the company said the fees would be 170 guineas a week. It considered that the services of a consultant would be required for an initial period of 12 weeks, by which time the staff organisations and progress control procedures would be completed. Thereafter, it proposed that the position would be reviewed and a decision made on the question of introducing labour cost control and financial incentives for the maintenance gangs.

The board went into comriiittee to discuss the report with the consultants’ New Zealand representative, Mr A. W. Buckland. Members of the staff, including the senior executives, left the meeting.

Earlier, Mr A. J. Smith said that no decision should be made last evening, as there were only six* members of the board preThe chairman (Mr H. P. SmithY said that it would be for the meeting to decide on any action after discussing the survey with Mr Buckland. After the meeting it was ah-t nounced that the board had agreed to engege the consultantsjforan initial period of 12 weeks.: . The board agreed earlier that irrespective of whether the boatd agreed to employ the consultants, the special salaries committee should urgently consider engineering staff difficulties. The chief engineer (Mr E. F. Scott) had reoorted that the appointment of Mr B. D. Forbes to the City Council’s staff would further weaken the planning staff. The board required two assistant engineers, an engineering assistant for sewer reticulation, a payments clerk for sewer reticulation, a junior draughtsman for the mechanical section, and two clerks of works, he said. Further staff would be needed before the sewage treatment works were commenced.