Time for the scrap heap.
"City repair shop found in complete disarray; Study finds ineptitude, infighting, and waste" by Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff | September 11, 2010
Years of mismanagement and infighting at Boston’s vehicle and equipment garage have created a woefully inefficient and occasionally inept repair shop in need of a complete overhaul, according to a report from an outside consultant the city made public yesterday.
The 16-page study details an array of shortcomings at the garage on Frontage Road, which services 1,150 vehicles from snowplows to sedans to bucket trucks, but no police, fire, or water and sewer equipment. Consultants discovered that employees brought their own private cars to the garage for repairs, that skilled mechanics wasted hours on handwritten paperwork despite a sophisticated computer system, and that the facility lacked adequate inspection and preventive maintenance programs, noting that this year four vehicles serviced in the garage blew engines....
Because the repair shop lacks a preventative maintenance program, vehicles often go for long periods without oil changes, according to the report by the consultant, Mercury Associates Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md....
The garage’s computer system is largely unused, according to the report....
The scathing report underscores larger issues that have plagued Public Works and other city departments....
I hope all the tax loot was worth it as they cut your schools and services.
And look where the money for nothing goes:
"State rejects Green Line bid; Big Dig firm’s history cited in contract denial" by Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | September 8, 2010
Parsons Brinckerhoff partnered with Bechtel to oversee the design and construction of the multibillion-dollar Big Dig, the massive Central Artery/Tunnel project that was beset by delays, engineering difficulties, and cost overruns and marred by a 2006 ceiling collapse in an Interstate 90 connector tunnel that killed a Jamaica Plain woman.
Weren't they supposed to rebuild Iraq?
Related: The Price of a Massachusetts Life
And look at the MILLIONS they are taking in for TALK!
Although Governor Deval Patrick has expressed concern about allowing the firm to do business with the state, since 2007 Parsons Brinckerhoff has worked on preliminary design for the Green Line extension — a nearly $1 billion transit project that the administration said is one of its top transportation priorities. That has prompted criticism from Patrick’s gubernatorial rivals in recent weeks.
Yesterday, the Patrick-appointed board of directors expressed its own discomfort about Parsons Brinckerhoff’s participation, as well as about a contracting process that has allowed the firm’s involvement to grow significantly over three years without seeking new bidders....
In 2007, Parsons Brinckerhoff became involved in the Green Line as a subcontractor on what was then a $2.8 million contract for environmental review and conceptual design. The primary contractor was the civil engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin. That contract has been amended four times, and now totals $12 million....
With the Patrick administration eager to advance the timeline for the long-delayed Green Line project, Department of Transportation officials came before the board last month seeking another extension to the Vanasse Hangen Brustlin deal, worth $24.5 million, expanding the contract’s scope to include preliminary engineering and design of the route, stations, and a related maintenance facility....
Can you say LOOTING?
“I’m bothered by a contract that goes from $2 [million] to $9 to $12 to $36 and who knows from here,’’ said John R. Jenkins, board chairman and president of a Boston insurance agency....
I hope it was all worth it, taxpayers.
--more--"
