Backhoe Backup Blunder

Traffic was backed up for some reason but finally the road cleared a bit and the problem was made quite apparent.

This truck was backing up into some area and was taking its sweet time.

The tops of the cars on the other side of the road trapped behind this truck can just barely be seen. The line of cars was long and growing. 

The real reason for the truck blocking traffic? It was this: 

The backhoe, ether being offloaded or unloaded, was tilted over and falling off the truck! What a mess!

Defective Unit For Replacement

It's mind boggling how a person can take something so easy and simple and transform it into something very hard and complicated. Take this broken water fountain for instance.

Can you read the "Out of Order" sign on this water fountain?  No, because there isn't one.  Instead there is this rather cumbersome and awkward message.

Not only is the English bad but they set a target completion date a whole month away! Is repairing this water fountain really that involved of a project that they have to set aside a whole month to fix it? And what if the target date is not met? What if this water fountain does not get repaired until October? Or even December!?

You can't even see this sign until you are already bent over to take a sip of water. That's then you realise you got gypped. What a waste of your time. Here you are expecting a cool burst of water to cool your throat and some idiot maintenance man who was thinking way too hard decided to write a convoluted and un-understandable message in tiny print which you can't read until you walk up to the fountain. By then it's too late for you sucker!

Frankly I don't care if it ever gets repaired all I want is a drink of cold water. Courtesy would dictate that patrons be told if the fountain is in working condition or not. Instead of this stupid message they should have just placed a huge "Out of Order" sign on the water fountain.

See how much easier and convenient that is for everyone involved?

The Master Plumber

One morning a few months ago the knob came off as I was taking a shower. Afterwards actually. The tap kept dripping and I tightened it too much which caused it to pop off and then a flood of water poured through the pipe. 

After getting it under control a I decided to hire the services of a real plumber as last time there was work needed on the kitchen sink it was not done exactly professionally.

He was called but then the guys from last time were called also and they proceeded to "fix" the problem.

They fixed it the good old fashioned Filipino way. With lots of glue. They jury rigged it! Actually what they did was slather the broken pieces with epoxy and smush them together. Ta-da! Perfect. Now just wait for a few hours until it dries and it can be used like normal.

That was around 9am. At 3pm I tried the tap and it promptly fell off and water was gushing everywhere. Out of sheer embarrassment I was reluctant to call the Master Plumber because I had already called him at 6:30am, scheduled his services, and then cancelled when the other two guys showed up. But he came anyway and made no mention of the earlier call and cancellation.

I was expecting him to pull up in a truck but he did not. He was in a tricycle. Of course. I should have figured.

They came at night and evaluated the situation.

The pipe would not be fixed tonight. They would return tomorrow. In the meantime the leak must be plugged so the water could be turned back on.  A stick was whittled down and hammered into the hole.

The solution was to install a new pipe fitting because the damage was too deep and the broken pipe was plastic. A galvanised steel pipe would have to be bought and fitted. They would also have to cut out the tile. The total cost? 1500 pesos plus material costs which turned out to be 650 pesos. I gave a down payment for materials and they left promising to return tomorrow.

Next afternoon the Master Plumber's helper showed up by himself and promptly set about cutting through the tile and making a huge mess. Dust everywhere all over the bathroom.

The finished result?

Beautiful huh? How different from slack job of the other two guys. Very professionally done and very nicely put back together. 

However today, two months after this situation, the new knob came off in my hands! 

What? Did I break it again? I pushed it back together but it came off again. This time I heard some shaking. What was that? I looked the knob over, took off the silver cap, and was greeted with this site:

Now I cannot imagine this screw came loose just by regular use. And if it did why would it be lying like that? How would it have managed to get into that position? If the screw had been screwed into the proper place it would be loose in that place and not looking like it was never screwed in in the first place! What else am I to conclude but that the Master Plumber or his assistant never properly installed the knob but just shoved it together?

Don't Live on the Construction Site

Many times I have seen evidence of construction workers living on the job site. You can see their washed clothes hanging on the fence to dry and their little shanties where their women cook food. Its absolutely unsafe. And now a bunkhouse where contraction workers stayed has collapsed and people are dead.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/973099/breaking-news-cebu-lahug-emergency-rescue-unit-foundation-bunkhouse-collapse-nagiel-banacia

Five construction workers were killed while four others were seriously wounded following the collapse. At least 154 others suffered minor injuries, reports said.

The construction firm J.E. Abraham C. Lee Construction and Development Inc. put up the bunkhouse in September last year so workers in its project sites will have a place to stay. 

Butch Abaya, the construction firm’s project engineer, said the structure’s foundations were not buried but were supported by metal braces and clamps. 

“That has been the standard practice for bunkhouses,” he said. 

Abaya said the bunkhouse was stable, noting the firm had yet to determine why it collapsed. “This has been here for some time now, and yet nothing happened until this incident,” he said.

Joseph Bernaldez, city legal officer, said they discovered that the contractor had no business permit since 2001, adding that it also failed to secure another permit to construct a bunkhouse. 

“Under the Building Code, contractors have to secure permits for its bunkhouses. The way you look at it, its bunkhouse is not really for workers, but a storage room for construction materials,” he said.

This bunkhouse seems to have been offsite but what does that matter? This illegally operating contractor constructed a shoddy building to house its employees and now five of them are dead. The building wasn't even properly grounded but according to the firm's project engineer it's not standard practice to do so! But I wonder what does the Building Code say about the construction of bunkhouses? Especially one that is four stories! Don't you think a four-story building ought to have it's foundation buried in the ground!?

Abaya, the firm's engineer, says the bunkhouse was stable and had been up for some time until this incident. Why does he sound surprised? Typical short-term thinking. Not realising that just because the building didn't fall until now does not mean that it was ever safe. How many shortcuts has this guy made when constructing buildings? I bet none of the buildings he has made are safe.

People should not have been housed there. As Bernaldez says, a bunkhouse is a storage room for construction materials. That's how low this contractor thinks of its employees. They are just materials and not human beings. Look around at any construction site and witness the unsafe practices. No helmets, wearing sandals, no safety harness, sometime shirtless.

And to top it all off this contractor has had no business permit for 17 years now! Have they also shirked on paying their taxes? How many officials have they bribed? How were they able to operate for so long? Somebody knew for sure. How many other contractors are operating illegally in this country? Don't count on the Duterte administration to find out. They are too busy giving away the country to China to truly and honestly confront and root out the corruption that infects the Philippines at every conceivable (and inconceivable) level.

What is to be done to accommodate all these construction workers? It's probably not practical to put them up long term in a hotel. Though that would be safest. Why not house them in a large tent?

Life's a circus in the Philippines!

Once More Into the Ditch

It's not just the congested traffic and unruly drivers which makes driving in the Philippines scary. It's also the many unprotected deep excavations and other road constructions scattered all about. I wrote about this a few months back.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2017/10/highway-to-danger-zone.html

Look at this deep pit with nary a barrier except flimsy caution tape.

Fear of falling into these crevices is palpable when driving in the crowded traffic alongside the edge. I have yet to experience such a fall but one man has and he did not escape death.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2018/02/06/man-bike-falls-dpwh-drain-project-dies-587498

What a senseless and preventable tragedy.

In a separate interview, District Engineer Leslie Anthony Molina told reporters that since December last year, he has reminded the contractor to put up protective barriers or caution lines to prevent accidents in that area. 

“We advised them to acquire steel plates to cover the excavated manholes but the contractor said they were apprehensive of acquiring them as these might get stolen,” Molina said. 

When I read that I burst out in laughter.  What a joke!  I have heard excuses like this plenty of times. I ask why we can't get a doorbell and I am told because the children will play pranks. I ask why don't the cops just arrest those children since they found them drinking and playing with guns and I am told because they will just say the cops planted the weapons. It's always a ridiculous case scenario with no thought for safety or convenience or rule of law because the first thought is always: It might get stolen or someone might lie about it or something might go wrong.

I wonder is that why these construction workers so often have no boots but only sandals? They think their boots might get stolen?

This deep hole did not even have a flimsy caution tape! There was absolutely nothing to prevent this accident which means it's a miracle this guy is the only one to fall in and die.

But it gets even worse.

Despite the accident, Molina said that DPWH can’t sanction the contractor, who is obligated to finish the project as part of their contract. He, however, advised the contractor to assist Delos Reyes’ family with their needs, including burial assistance. 

Can't sanction them? Why not? This company should be sanctioned out of existence. Huge fines should be levied for each day there was no barrier and they should be criminally charged with negligence leading to death. The lawyers for Cebu should find a way for the city to get out of the contract so a responsible company can be employed. If this were not the Philippines this business would be sued to the last dime by the family but this is the Philippines and the family is lucky that the company has agreed to pay funeral expenses. Of course if this were not the Philippines this outrageous tragedy would never have happened because proper safety precautions would have been followed.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2018/02/06/dad-wont-file-charges-vs-contractor-587567

Alejo delos Reyes Jr., father of Norman, said there was no need for them to file charges against AR Adlawan Construction, as the company already committed to shoulder the funeral expenses of his son.

What this family needs is a bright lawyer who is willing to assist them free of charge or for a percentage of the inevitably enormous sum this company would be forced to pay in a wrongful death suit.

Stay safe out there on the roads!

Family Living On A Construction Site

Last year the water company built a new water filtration or processing plant not far from my house.  I passed it everyday when I went running, taking pictures to document the building process.  Throughout the whole process it was obvious that the men working at the job laying the pipes and preparing the foundation were living onsite in a wooden shack. You could see all their laundry hanging about as well as their makeshift kitchen.

At a some point a family moved in. A few women and children just showed up washing dishes, washing laundry, and having a grand old time. I have witnessed many construction workers living on job sites but never have I seen a whole family move onto one. I took as many pictures as I could whenever I saw them out on the premises.  There was a blue cargo trailer which I was convinced they were all living in and the inside of which I eventually was able to photograph. It was filled with equipment so I don't think that was their temporary living quarters.

There is a story in these pictures but I'm not sure how to narrate it nor do I know what it is exactly. Did these children go to school? Where did they come from? Who allowed a family to live on the job site? Did the water company know about this? Is this against OSHC-DOLE safety standards? Does this family move from job site to job site or do they have a permanent home? Technically they are not on the job site because they are outside the fence but does that even matter?

It will be best to let these pictures speak for themselves.

The last picture shows the job nearly completed and the family, as well as the cargo trailer, gone. They disappeared just as suddenly as they appeared.