Beware of retired and semi-retired public works officials. They have time to wander around town and notice things that they never noticed before. That would be all right if they didn't share what they found with the rest of the world. I share. Last time I pointed out a problem with pedestrian buttons. Unbeknownst to me, the problem had been partially solved. I found this out when I took a walk with my grandchildren and crossed the street at a new traffic signal. It's one of those that tells you how much time you have to cross but the real improvement is that the button lights up when you press it. I'd have to apologize for ranting about this but I don't know whom to apologize to. No one wrote to me to point out my error. That either means that all the fully employed people don't care about such things so they didn't take the time to comment; or it means that nobody is reading this stuff.
I know that maybe someone in the Southwest District of the Department of Transportation is reading this stuff because the upside down catch basin grate I talked about last time is now right side up. Or it was just a coincidence and the 6-year cycle of catch basin cleaning took care of the problem. My guess is that it was just a random case of corrective action by a maintenance worker because the grate 50 feet away is still aimed the wrong way. I'd actually like someone in the District to send me an email and tell me what really happened.
Why do so many of these little things go unnoticed? If the catch basin grate doesn't need to be installed a particular way, why stamp those instructions on them? If this were really important would someone other than me notice it? Or is it an indication that we've given up on doing high quality work? Wouldn't that be ironic if after all the talk about the quality movement of the last decade and the increased focus on performance measurement, that we're no better off than we were before.
The National Infrastructure Report card gets worse every year and no citizens march on Washington to turn that around. I remember reports and books on America's failing infrastructure 20 years ago. I think one of them was called "America In Ruins". Since we were in ruins 20 years ago and nothings gotten better, living in ruins must be ok. Maybe it makes us feel like Ancient Greeks. Actually, the Ancient Greeks didn't live in ruins but some modern Greeks do.
Have we been crying wolf all this time? Or are we being such superb stewards of the public infrastructure that we're keeping it alive past its time and its prime? Probably a little of both is true. In either case, (and you're not going to like to hear this so cover your ears while you read on) we have very little credibility when it comes to managing the public works of this country. That statement should have hurt your feelings. I just told you that you're doing a terrible job.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm not. I'm probably a little wrong and a lot right. As with everything else in the world, there's a distribution curve that shows who's doing a great job and who's doing a terrible job and who's in the middle somewhere. Maybe if you're reading this it's because you care about doing a good job so you are giving it your all. But is that enough?
It's not enough if it's not directed toward the right goal. What are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to meet some levels of service or some performance measures or a balanced score card or some other management principle du jour? What does all that tell you? Does it tell you that your citizens believe in what you're doing and support it? Probably not. If I were asked the most important thing to measure I'd say measure customer satisfaction. If I had to satisfy my citizens' needs and was held accountable for it, I'd have to do all the right things and explain them well and get the respect of my citizens. If you want to be sure you're doing a great job ask the people who really matter. If you believe that what gets measured gets managed, measure customer satisfaction.
Will that result in catch basin grates aimed the right way? I seriously doubt the two are connected. I'm hoping the catch basins aren't a sign, however, that we've given up on trying to get things right.
As usual, comments or questions can be fielded at ostrowj@pacifier.com