Day 2 – 3 January 2014 Boy was I tired. For the first time in ages it was the alarm that woke me. I’m not used to real work but I was back at Meadowfield this morning to help out in the stores once more. The schools come back on Monday and so we need … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 2
A year of work in progress – day 1
I’ve been inspired by Rachel Orr, A Head Teacher I have met and a blogger. On 1 January 2013 she set out to write a blog post every day for a year. You can find it here and it is some achievement: 365 days in my shoes. This year I’m going to try something similar, … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 1
Doing Lean
I’ve been fascinated by the concept of Lean ever since I read the book ‘The Machine that Changed the World’. Its description of the Toyota Production System and the dramatic effect that this had had upon automotive production was, and still is incredible. This must be at least fifteen years now and ever since I … Continue reading Doing Lean
Today we start a new job
It feels like the end of a journey, one that has lasted nigh on three years. It feels like we’ve been working to get meaningful broadband across the County forever. For the people who need it, the 170,000 on the wrong side of this digital divide, I’m sure it feels the same. And in many … Continue reading Today we start a new job
A leaky bucket
Imagine a bucket with a hole in the bottom. That’s how we manage the jobs that we get within the service, or calls as we refer to them, using a leaky bucket. It could be a shiny read bucket with a strong wire handle and comfortable wooden grip or an old galvanised bucket with a … Continue reading A leaky bucket
Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
I’ve been to a conference on channel shift, encouraging your customers to move to different forms of interaction with your organisation. It was good, perhaps not worth the five hour train ride but you always pick up something interesting from these events. Lunch was nice too. But my gripe was that speaker after speaker talked … Continue reading Channel shift – it has to be more than just about money
The day I didn’t buy online
Len Goodman, head judge on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing says that he’s a wind-up watch in a digital world. I’m not. He has a few years on me but I am a silvering surfer, happy to be fully in tune with the shift towards the modern online way of doing things. I use social … Continue reading The day I didn’t buy online
Is work the worst place to work?
Here I am sitting at home working. I’m parked at the kitchen table looking out into the garden with my laptop open in front of me. I’m connected securely to the work’s network and I’m happily and productively beavering away. The sun is just starting to rise. I’ve halved my inbox, done most of the … Continue reading Is work the worst place to work?
All problems can be solved from an armchair
How annoying is it? You’re breaking your back working away on some intractable problem when along comes some armchair critic to tell you where you’ve been going wrong. Very is the answer. They have absolutely no concept of the issues that you’re facing, the hassle that you are under and the multiple directions in which … Continue reading All problems can be solved from an armchair
Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Once again another hospital finds itself in the news because of its target driven culture. This time it is Colchester General Hospital and follows an inspection by the Care Quality Commission which found inaccuracies in recorded cancer waiting time data at the hospital. The manipulation of data to give the impression that targets were being … Continue reading Colchester General Hospital targets improvement
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 