Displaying a small amount of energy

Energy Australia (or their infrastructure arm, Eneserve) are making some inroads into painting the 15 or so green "kiosks" that I've reported over the last few weeks.  This is one of them.

This one is just around the corner, and it's still waiting to be done - or it's been done and hit again.  The inexplicable thing is that there is another kiosk about 50m from the one in the above photo, and although I have not reported it, they've left it covered in graffiti.  You really have to wonder about the mentality of people that turn up to remove graffiti, drive straight past another example of it and just ignore it.  

There might be a number of reasons for this.

They could be half-blind.

They might be on very strict instructions from management to only do the work on their work orders, and not to deviate under any circumstances to paint any other kiosks (for safety reasons or whatever).

They're using contractors, and the contractors will only paint those items that are on their work order.  (If I was a contractor though, engaged to paint vandalised kiosks, I'd be reporting every one that I saw in order to generate a bit more work).

I would have thought by now that a manager at Energy Australia would have looked at the stats coming through and thought, "Gee, we seem to have a problem with vandalised kiosks in this area.  Maybe I'll look into it and see if there are any that have been missed".  In other words, taking a systematic look at the problem.  These people should be trained to systematically look at safety hazards - you don't want the same problem to kill people on a repeat basis.  If they applied the same ideas to analysing graffiti, we might have these kiosks cleaned up much more quickly, and without the need for me to continually report them.

The next photos are of a Sydney Water pumping facility of some sort in Concord - it was finally cleaned up this week.  My fifth and final contact with them seems to have done the trick.  Instead of reporting it via their web site (again), I wrote to the Managing Director (letter below).

Whoever has done the job this time has bothered to replace the safety warning stickers on this equipment cabinet - good.

This photo provides a bit of context - that road on the right is Concord Rd, and it's a busy road that's 3 lanes in each directions.  It's not like this pumping station is hidden out of the way - it's right next to a busy road that is passed by tens of thousands of people each day.  It should not have been that hard to find.

It looks like the RTA has also come along and painted over some graffiti on the base of this pole.

Dr Kerry Schott

Managing Director

Sydney Water

PO Box 53

Sydney South NSW 1235

16 October 2008

  

Dear Dr Schott 

Removal of graffiti from pumping station 94 in Concord 

Since July this year, I have contacted Sydney Water on four separate occasions requesting that graffiti be removed from pumping station number 94 on Concord Road.  I have taken photographs of the pumping station every time I have been in the area, and posted them online.  Some of them are available at: 

http://tinyurl.com/4ln4bm 

The reference number for my original report filed on 18 July is 080718-000104.  I logged further requests on or around 10 August, 27 August and 25 September because the earlier reports were closed without any action being taken. 

Since July, the public toilets adjacent to your pumping station have been vandalised to a similar extent, yet Canada Bay Council managed to have a crew on site within a few days, and to have their asset cleaned within an hour.  

To say the least, I am less than impressed with the response of Sydney Water to date, which is why I am writing to you directly.  

Please arrange to have the graffiti removed from pumping station 94. 

Yours sincerely

-----------------

If all else fails, hit the person at the top.  I hope Dr Schott is absolutely mortified at the lackadaisical response from her organisation.