The Job

Since arriving I don't think I've blogged much about the reason I'm actually here, have I?

The Job isn't what I thought it was, especially it isn't what I thought it was when I was on Ascension, which is a good thing.

If you can imagine a Highway Authority, say North Somerset or Devon. In that Authority there are people who plan routine maintenance; people who do inspections; people who design maintenance schemes; people who know about structures, who inspect them and plan repairs; people who know about drainage, again inspecting, planning repairs and designing improvements; people who co-ordinate work, who talk to the utilities to make sure that roads don't get dug up too often (I know some of you don't believe me, but it's true we DO do that); what have I missed? Oh yes there are people who know about road safety; people who write traffic regulation orders; people who design road signs; people who design road improvements; people who design town centre improvements; people who arrange traffic surveys; people who do Traffic Surveys; people who speak to developers to make sure they don't screw up the roads; people who deal with difficult members of the public and people who liaise with Councillors. Oh I nearly forgot, people who know about materials, who sample materials being used and make sure they meet the standards; people who write those standards; people who oversee works;  people who run databases with asset records and construction histories; people who make sure that contractors do what they're supposed to. In small authorities some of these people may be the same person, but in many Authorities these people will be a small (or large) team of people. In St Helena they're me. Well they were till Monday, now I have a Technician.

Oh I did forget, in the UK you would also have Senior Management levels with the Contractor; Plant Managers; Trainers; and the like. That's mainly me too.

That's not to say I don't have a very good team working for me, I do. But they're people who actually do real work, there's the Guys who dig the holes (you know what I mean), the Guys who tell them to dig the holes and give them the spades, the Guys who make sure the holes are where we want them and they've got enough spades; and the Roads Maintenance Manager, who is basically a Works Manager (but isn't as the Works Manager is a completely different job, same words, different meaning - it's caught me out a lot) and makes sure everyone is busy and deals with day to day running of the contractors operation.

It's a challenge. While I've done many of these jobs before, I've not done them all (Plant Manager?) and I've not done them all together!

Last night I was listening to the Radio and I heard an announcement: "The Directorate of Infrastructure and Utilities are seeking Expressions or Interest to supply a..." I was intrigued, what are they after now? "...Lorry Mounted Road Sweeper", oh, its me, I want one of them. And with a bit of luck next week it'll be a JCB, Dumper, and 2 Transit Trucks. Oh and a Tar Spray Tanker. What do I know about any of this stuff? Well a lot more than I did a month ago, and, unfortunately, more than anyone else it seems...

But I don't just buy plant. On Tuesday I commissioned a speed survey at Half Tree Hollow so I'm now working with my Technician (ok he is doing most of the work) to try and work out how the speed loops work....  Commissioned wasn't really the right word.

Oh and I need to make sure we have enough Colas (Tar) to keep working, and because it's in short supply I need to make sure that everyone knows to prioritise jobs that don't need it.

And I need to design that bridge widening....

Luckily, as I've said, I have a very good team. So the next job is being developed by my Works Manager and he's doing all the public liaison and ordering the huge concrete pipes that we need (I didn't want to design a whole bridge!). I don't actually have to supervise much, once or twice a week I pop out to make sure my face is recognised and to make sure they're doing things ok.

Yesterday (Wednesday) we had a works meeting. I did a power point, which I think went down ok, there were a few Jokes and some serious stuff. Whether I got the balance right I don't yet know. They certainly seem to have accepted me, but whether they think I'm weak I don't know. Still, I think there may be a couple of disciplinaries coming up, so that should set the record straight.

In essence my summary of my job is 3 lines:

• The Road Structure is basically fine
• The Road Surface is basically not
• The Road Section organisation is in disarray from divided management (now resolved) and no clear dedicated leadership for the last year or so.

If I can sort the last one I think the middle one will be ok. But to sort the last one means buying plant, setting standards, getting people trained up... and at the same time actually keeping the section running by dealing with the Day Job. Luckily all those working with me seem to be keen to step up a gear and try new things. So I don't have to do all the jobs, as with the right support they'll do them. I guess that's my main task, to provide the right support.

I think I'll probably cope, but it's going to be a tough first year or so. Still, looking forward to tomorrow when I get my first diving lesson J there are some advantages of being here!