There was a time when the Planning and Property Management Specialist met with departments, designed work environments, counted inventory, physically performed reconfigurations and ensured that every impacted user was satisfied. Those days are apparently behind us.Not long ago, when Capital Projects was reconfigured, the grand total came to $900 and it was done overnight by a highly capable individual with a lot of experience in doing reconfigurations. While the office manager for Capital Projects complained about the cost and seemed to take forever to pay the tab, it was an amazing deal at just $100 per cubicle. That, my loyal readers, is a bargain for any agency - public or private.
Facilities Operations just finished a reconfiguration for the sole purpose of providing a window seat for the Director. Grand total? $11,000. Parts were purchased that weren't needed because no one counted inventory. Earlier inventory lists were apparently misplaced or deleted by the District because no one knew what they were deleting before they deleted it.
The work took place during the work day - interrupting the productivity of many, no doubt. The noise must have been disruptive. The people moving around with parts and pieces must have heightened the probability of injury to ESC occupants. The justification for having the work performed during the work day was purely financial, of course. The hourly rate must have been the determining factor. Someone wanted to save some money, but didn't look at the price tag for the entire project and just decide to make due with what exists.
Even more problematic is that no one from the District was there during the reconfiguration to take notes or discover how everything works. Next time a reconfiguration is planned, it will involve expensive designers and project workers from an outside vendor.
Is this really the way we want our public funds to be spent during another budget crisis? Are these the sorts of decisions that are being made when dedicated employees are facing the budget axe?
Fun Factoid: This reconfiguration works out to be $1,570 per cubicle and four of these cubicles are smaller than the building standard.
15 comments:
By "reconfiguration" do you mean just moving around some walls and desks and chairs? How tough is that? Just invite some strong friends over, buy lots of beer and the job will be done quickly on a Saturday afternoon. (Ok, ok, it might take 2 or 3 trips to Home Depot too.)
Now that I am gone I can tell you, there is nothing easier than a reconfiguration. It takes an allen wrench, a drill with a phillips bit and a few Cat-5e patch cables.
The panels come apart in a jiffy and the work surfaces snap right in. One of the reasons we prefer to do the work on weekends is so people don't realize how easy it is and start asking for more changes.
I have a friend who does this exact work for a living. He would do it as a side job for a couple hundred dollars, in less than a day. My drill happens to be laying out right now. I've been thinking about doing some screwing at ESC for a long time.
To make matters worse, the plan is to move into a new building by Fall 2009. So the $11,000 is for less than two years of service.
Maybe this fa-silly-ties director knows that ain't gonna happen.
I've been involved in at least two major "reconfigurations" at my school. We "reconfigured" during spring or winter vacation. We had family members help us and the custodian helped us too. It took hours of sweat and hard work and didn't cost the district any extra money.
It's pathetic to think that the ESC spends $11,000 to do the same job. Imagine how $11,000 could enhance a school's library!
I cannot believe the need for reconfiguration of work stations at ESC. This has been going on since the ESC was built. Why can't the Maintenance Department do this task? $11,000 surely would be better spent on Library materials as mentioned by a writer on this blog. Just another good example of tax dollars being spent on unnecessary, careless spending.
There is a belief that a good manager need not know the technical details of the work that their staff performs. The caveat to this statement is IF, and only IF the manager has experienced competent staff.
Why didn’t the manager suggest the property specialist look into the files of previous reconfigurations and talk to the custodians who have done it before since she had no experience? Brian set Stephanie up for failure and she obviously is unable to ask the right questions. Their salaries are a total waste of tax dollars and its time to vote them off the island.
Worse still, the new configuration was uninspired, contrary to building standards and took far too long (because no one in the ESC understands how long it should take).
A new precedent has been set. Small reconfigurations in the future will start at $11,000.
Hey Mark do school board members have any ability to control this type of expenditure? I don't really understand exactly what school board members are told in advance about this size of expenditures. Help me understand, please.
I believe there is a middle management reconfiguration coming on Monday. More later.Pray for us.
We should consider ourselves lucky if the custodian isn't cleaning drool from the school board's dais.
The board doesn't care about wasting $2,300,000.00. Why would they care about even smaller numbers? [Clue: small numbers, when added together, become larger ones.]
I rather doubt that the daytime work of reconfiguring cubicles somehow interfered with productivity at ESC. So little is accomplished there anyway.
I still do not see why we need the Director of Facilities, but better he stares out a window and daydreams, than actually trying to work. That would mean that something is going to get screwed up.
I see no need for Robert Hansen either. Custodial staff are perfectly able to approach building principals or administrators and ask for direction, and that is all that Hansen is capable of. Oh I forgot, he can also pass off work to his assistants. Better reconfigure him a window seat too.
Setting someone up for failure is one way of bullying people.
Put this in your browser to see if you've been bullied at work.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/have-you-been-bullied-at-work/#more-302
There are only three or four that we didn't see, experience or were told about while working in Edmonds.
As a payer of property tax, I guess I will be footing this bill for the next four years.
Seems the district decided that Bob Hansen's job needed some additional duties added to it because he will now be incharge of the Warehouse staff and custodians. MMM maybe his job at ESC was being eliminated but someone liked him so found another title for him to keep him around.
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