Relocating the office...where to?

[turboplanner]

Would it not be possible to simply own the trailer and contract the hire of a prime mover and driver to deliver it around as required?

Yes it would, and some organizations run caravans, but "non-ownership" of the maintenance, cleaning, packaging, security is the main issue - evenryone wants to just open it up on function day.

 

 

[Oscar]

Well, that is an issue (and I don't question your statement, that's human nature at work) of setting the terms of use - call it the Ops. Manual, if we want to be provocative.. It's also probably a budgeting issue, but then I doubt that at any RAA event there is no set-up and 'make-good' cost.

 

As for the packing and security - thought put into what is carried and how the layout is organised would be required, but that's surely not beyond the wit of intelligent people? Hell, the entire motoGp (world championship of motorcycles) gets carried around in a fleet of jets - and at the busy part of the season, they actually have a race in Americe and then one in Europe a week later. The RAA 'travelling circus' would only require extremely simple stuff, on the lines of a large camper-van, I would think.

 

Certainly, good thought would be needed to layout, equipment etc. and it would be silly not to recognise that - but an intelligent approach taken in the spirit of 'maximise the opportunity, don't just focus on the problems' with input of professionals such as yourself could develop a scheme that can be costed and examined..

 

 

[turboplanner]

F1 does the same world tour, and the efficieny is achieved through a highly paid employee structure from managers down just for that. The bill in both cases is affordable because of the huge income. You jut have to extract that income from the members.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Im afraid guys our team today struggles to do what it needs to to keep status quo from ending us.......Adding a new thing such as a bus or semi display may well be a good thing longer term but unless you can point to someone within the current team that has capacity to do the extra thing then we are up for staffing costs as well..........I think that in survival mode we need to have a long term plan but spend the majority of our time in the shorter term timeframe. If we get to a more stable steady state then fill your boots with forward looking.

 

For clarity Im not saying that we must only fire fight without any idea of where we are wanting to go, but reality is that worrying about increasing membership in 3 to 5years timeframe is irrelevant if CASA put us down for the count because we, for example, didn't pass our 9th re-audit of our tech area (and that's just as an example, not as a statement of fact around our inability to pass etc so don't read it that we will fail yet again our next reaudit)

 

Its my view that some of te IT transformational activities that have been discussed here have the potential to free us resourcing within the RAAus employee pool, once we achieve that a view as to how we might use that spare capacity for growing member base etc would be very timely

 

Andy

 

 

[Oscar]

Andy, I completely agree - getting the RAA admin systems working effectively is paramount. It's much, much more important than relocation etc., because this is a cart/horse situation: with decent IT systems supporting admin., the whole picture about re-location changes and the physical requirements will be different.

 

 

[dazza 38]

We could think a bit smaller and have a medium rigid pantec truck decked out . We could call it the RAA traveling circus.

 

 

[horsefeathers]

We could think a bit smaller and have a medium rigid pantec truck decked out . We could call it the RAA traveling circus.

Yeah OK, all very well and good, but what do we then call the existing RAA circus, hey???

 

 

[DWF]

Yeah OK, all very well and good, but what do we then call the existing RAA circus, hey???

The stationary circus?

 

The running around in circles circus?

 

 

[kgwilson]

How about a Mini Moke with a bunch of ex presidents (we have plenty) in the back wildly flapping their arms. Now that'd be a circus.

 

 

[Oscar]

Not a good idea. There are only two seats in the back of Moke, and just the 2013 crop would end up fighting in an unseemly fashion for the space.

 

 

[jetjr]

Renting prime mover services doesnt work, no one has them sitting around. Also dont want them travelling unloaded anywhere.

 

So to get say a trailer from brisbane to temora, etcetc would mean paying both ways twice. They will charge $3 per km plus on costs like accom etc

 

Have to own it, problems with amateurs and trucks mentioned above are common.

 

Then the maintenence cost will overrun you. Think old aeroplanes doing 20 hrs/yr

 

Buy an old cheap one and youll be up for big annual costs for rego AND have someone broken down alot on the way somewhere

 

This idea could easily cost more than buying and building hanger at an airport

 

 

[DonRamsay]

I am definitely warming to the idea of moving Natfly around for promotional and equity reasons.

 

We have two opposite approaches to how/where you hold the national flyin and can be very successful. The obvious one for us is the EAA and Oshkosh. The slightly less obvious but well known anyway is the Ulysses Club AGM that is in a different location every year and is a huge logistical exercise but unbelievably well attended.

 

The Oshkosh approach preaches to the converted whereas the Ulysses approach speaks to a much wider audience.

 

The equity issue is that one day we probably should have a Natfly in WA. Obviously it will be small and many of the importer/distributors won't see the value in attending but if we got enough notice (3 years?) then it could just be a success.

 

If we go down the path of a NATFLY on wheels (or wings) then that is one less reason to have the Office at an airfield and an airfield big enough to cater for a NATFLY.

 

My original thought was that having the Office at an airfield is not so much so the members can fly in spending a few hundred dollars to do what they could have done with an email or a $1.20 stamp. They should not, however, be prevented from flying in though if the urge overwhelms them to so do. It should be located at an airport so that the staff in the office SEE aviation everyday that they come to work. They then get indelibly imprinted on their brain that their reason for being is to facilitate aviation - recreational aviation. You just don't get that in Fyshwick or a capital city.

 

If we are doing things well, access by or to CASA should be rare and that makes it insufficient reason to locate near or in Brisbane. Some might think that being close to CASA is a good reason to not be in Brisbane (or Canberra).

 

SAAA survives and is prospering despite being based at Narromine with Dubbo just 20 minutes up the road. They have their successful annual flyin (AUSFLY) at Narromine, where they are based. That is a low cost, convenient approach for hosting AUSFLY.

 

We have an Ops Mgr at Temora, an Asst Ops Mgr based in SEQ and a Tech Mgr working out of Melbourne and I think all that works well these days. None of them would need to relocate.

 

I agree that it would be nice to sort out our strategic plan and get our fee collecting systems web-based and self service before we move out of Canberra. That way we will have less (no?) disruption of service and we will move only what and who needs to be moved.

 

That doesn't mean we can't go through the exercise as we are doing here of hammering out the criteria of how to judge which location is optimum. And it wouldn't stop us from applying that criteria against all the usual suspects plus a few ring-ins to choose where RA-Aus should call home.

 

It does not have to take up a lot of time of the Board or the General Manager. The Board commissions the project the GM takes on the Project Sponsor role and a Relocation Committee Chairman takes on the job of Project Manager drawing resources from the 10,000 brains that make up our Association. It could all be run and done by the AGM if it got the go ahead soon.

 

If we wait for a host of other very important things to be done, getting based in the right location could blow out to ten years from now.

 

 

[Oscar]

I am definitely warming to the idea of moving Natfly around for promotional and equity reasons.

I suggest that Oshkosh as the paradigm model for an fixed annual event has the 'critical mass' element that we just don't have - let's face it, Oshkosh is THE international fly-in venue, with trade representation coming from all over the world. Everybody (well, nearly everybody) involved in very light aviation wants to get to Oshkosh at least once - it's the vibe... Without being churlish, Natfly is a family barbeque weekend by comparison.

 

We have an Ops Mgr at Temora, an Asst Ops Mgr based in SEQ and a Tech Mgr working out of Melbourne and I think all that works well these days. None of them would need to relocate.

And that's fairly much the point of departure for me: we are moving inexoribly (if glacially) towards a decentralised administrative model. I don't believe that any further consideration of the 'home field' vs other HQ location needs to be just put on hold until the development of the future RAA administrative system(s) is complete; however with a sufficiently detailed scoping of the tasks within a strategic plan it should be possible to refine the model for any physical infrastructure based on functions to be performed there and thus ensure that whatever decision is made, is made on 'form following function' grounds, not a nebulous idea of what an HQ should 'look' like. With homage to Parkinson's Law, I think we can see that 'functions (will) expand to fill the space available in which to do them'...

 

 

[jetjr]

Combining all RAAO events to single one would add significantly to scale and would be a much more significant event

 

Nothing is stopping RAA having flyins or training....BBQ's all over the country, but there needs to be one major aviation event together. When you can sell the idea that ~1000+ pilots will be at Narromine in September from all divisions of aviation then suppliers etc will come and more easily justify expense. Also will get better displays etc.

 

I agree head office is a different issue and should be based around function. Do the admin staff really need to hear planes to know what industry they are working in? What about a webcam from Temora and projector onto the office wall in Canberra :)

 

 

[turboplanner]

If RAAus took a decision to vacate Canberra and establish itself in a regional setting, where would you consider to be the most appropriate choice?The GM raised this question in his column in Sport Pilot and it would be good if it were canvassed here.

This was the original post, and has opened up a variety of ideas.

 

In another thread there was a cry from the FNQ group against losing a geographical representative if board member numbers were reduced, even though this would mean disproportionate representation in terms of numbers of members.

 

In looking at three aspects, location of office to combine all employees together for efficiency, location of office to allow more frequent board meetings and location of office to allow more regular general meetings and communications, I'd like to share some aspects of my current work project which might open up a whole new way of thinking, and certainly provide direct close representation into almost every remote corner of Australia.

 

I work five days a week in a Virtual Office in New York, from my office in Melbourne.

 

My day starts at around 8 am New York time (11:00 pm ESST) and finishes at 4 pm (7:00 am)

 

So effectively I work a five day week in New York without leaving Melbourne.

 

In the New York Office are administrative staff.

 

The President works from Texas

 

The Vice President works from Florida

 

The rest of the group, about 25 are from all over the world

 

The virtual room is like a Chat Room on steroids

 

The two senior executives can talk at any time

 

The rest of us can type to the group at any time, and we can pm each other and have a private discussion while the main activities are in progress, then input the main meeting.

 

In my office I run two computers with 9 active screens pulling data from the room and other sources around the world

 

I can pull up any one of 50,000 files and with two clicks post it in the room at any time (or email it)

 

I can type on any of the screens, draw on any of the screens, modify what's on them, take measurements, incorporate them into powerpoint etc

 

I can go away and do a couple of hours work while still seeing what is going on in the meeting and then come back with a presentation or solution.

 

And we all get a one hour break for lunch, which I haven't had for about 25 years.

 

I'm probably not working harder than I ever was, but I'm getting a lot more done because my work doesn't have to be put into presentations and wait for a monthly meeting etc, or go through the email process and then get six different replies all asking for something different.

 

And it is by far the most exciting work environment I've ever been in because of its dynamic environment and fast moving pace.

 

If you translate that to RAA:

 

Some of the positions would be more efficient in a virtual environment, creating a smaller office environment (or more space)

 

You can have full geographic representation, or you can pick the best workers for the Committee ("board")

 

13 members would probably be too small rather than too big

 

You can have the Committee conducting the business through short weekly meetings with ease

 

 

[nomadpete]

Turbs,

 

That just sounds too modern to contemplate. We are having trouble dragging ourselves into the last century, let alone trying to get into the 21st one.

 

 

[turboplanner]

It took me about five minutes to explain the system to you in Toowoomba.

 

Without any extra effort, perhaps several hundred people, maybe over 1000 will see it if they look at the thread

 

It would take me two days to drive up to Toowoomba, and knock on your door, probably half a day talking about it and two days back, so multiply that by several hundred and you're back to the old pilgrim days.

 

If I phoned you it would take aout 45 minutes explaining who I was, and discussing what I'd been doing and what you'd be doing, and we'd have no written record, and that has to be multiplied by hundreds.

 

If I wrote to you it would take about half an hour and cost 80 cents and you'd get it a couple of days after the event.

 

If all the people who will read this thread had arranged to come on line at a set time, every one of you would have received that explanation at the same time, and you won't catch my flu.

 

The 21st Century is not a bad place to drag yourself into, and you can bypass the 20th.

 

 

[Oscar]

All routine administrative processing that is reportable electronically and requires only manual checking of some elements (such as the actual information content of photos) can be done in a virtual office situation.

 

It can be more difficult to work up policy that requires multiple inputs simply because the written expression of ideas etc. is not always immediately clear between different members of a group and version control of documentation often requires considerable juggling to ensure everybody is reading from the same, current version of the song-sheet; electronic conferencing is often the quickest way to achieve a consensus when one is required.

 

Once you have worked in a (properly-organised!) virtual office situation, you will never want to go back to a 'traditional' office environment because it is clumsy, slow, and far less efficient. The only caveat here is the absolute necessity for high-quality communications access - and I'm talking fibre-to-the-site between sites. It also requires some training in effective use of IT and a good network manager.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

...Once you have worked in a (properly-organised!) virtual office situation, you will never want to go back to a 'traditional' office environment because it is clumsy, slow, and far less efficient. The only caveat here is the absolute necessity for high-quality communications access - and I'm talking fibre-to-the-site between sites...

I hope Malcolm Turnbull is listening.

 

 

[Oscar]

Yes, the whole NBN thing is a bloody mess. Anybody who thinks it's all about fast movie downloads has the cow by the wrong teat. The engineering company I consulted to, calculated the real cost of a one-day outage; with just a central office staff of around 65 engineers, it came to over $250k PER DAY in lost chargeable time - and that was 10 years ago.! With four State offices and two overseas ones, the nightly back-up across the network was over 3 TB (each office backed-up to servers in another office for data security reasons). For some of the remote projects, poor communications options had people flying once or twice a week to their nearest State office just to lodge their back-up from hard memory devices.

 

 

[turboplanner]

I've certainly seen the value of the original Labor Party model to Australia. It had the ability to convert the skills of a far flung population into a power house of energy which compete with businesses in the most concentrated parts of the world.

 

I've seen the disadvantage of the Liberal Party system; where I wasn't even going to get the second rate system.

 

And I've gone out and bought a 4G mobile modem which upped my transmission speed from 1.3 Mbps to 23 Mbps, which has got me thinking; wouldn't it be better to invest the billions on satellites and then reach all of us?

 

 

[coljones]

I've certainly seen the value of the original Labor Party model to Australia. It had the ability to convert the skills of a far flung population into a power house of energy which compete with businesses in the most concentrated parts of the world.I've seen the disadvantage of the Liberal Party system; where I wasn't even going to get the second rate system.

And I've gone out and bought a 4G mobile modem which upped my transmission speed from 1.3 Mbps to 23 Mbps, which has got me thinking; wouldn't it be better to invest the billions on satellites and then reach all of us?

TP, for a minute there I thought you were talking about political organisations but it then dawned on me that you were probably talking about the NBN. You were talking about the NBN aren't you?

 

 

[rankamateur]

The sole purpose of the NBN is to give people who already have fast affordable internet, internet that is even faster than they need now or in the medium future, at a price that will make them squirm. The rest of us can just get stuffed and put up with our satellite latency issues or our over priced, undersized wireless plans that could be mobile if we had anywhere else to take them too.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Yes, I was talking about the NBN Col, sorry I wasn' t more specific.

 

 

[turboplanner]

The sole purpose of the NBN is to give people who already have fast affordable internet, internet that is even faster than they need now or in the medium future, at a price that will make them squirm. The rest of us can just get stuffed and put up with our satellite latency issues or our over priced, undersized wireless plans that could be mobile if we had anywhere else to take them too.

Yes, it's totally out of kilter and the suppliers seem to have no idea of the massive market they are dis-incenting.