David James Reeves M3.

01 Solving problems and making decisions

20/03/2012

1. SOFA Re-use is a furniture and appliance re-use project which collects donations of furniture and appliances. These donations are then sold on to members of the public and people in need at a discounted price. SOFAs charitable aims are to: Alleviate hardship for residents of Charnwood and surrounding areas. Provide a recycling service, diverting items from landfill.

2. Since 2005, the project has been situated in the former Towles hosiery factory, a building which consists of four floors. SOFA leases and is able to make use of the ground floor, the first floor and the third floor. The ground floor is a show room while the first and third floors are devoted to storing furniture.

3. I volunteer as a customer service assistant. I am based on the ground floor and my role is to serve the general public, deal with enquiries both face to face and over the phone and to arrange deliveries and collections of furniture.

4. The problem is some of the furniture at SOFA has become spoilt.

Figure 1: This figure shows a Fishbone Diagram.

5. The Fishbone diagram in Figure 1 has been used to determine possible causes for the problem of furniture spoilage. All furniture is inspected prior to collection so this rules out the possibility of damage being caused by a Material factor. All volunteers undergo training and all furniture is inspected on site before it is consigned to storage so this eliminates the damage being attributed to the factors derived for Man or Method. The only possibility is that the furniture became damaged in storage.

6. Some of the space dedicated to storing furniture is or has become unfit for that purpose. This is as a result of: Pipes bursting due to ice expansion. The roof leaking. Windows becoming broken on the first floor due to vandalism.

7. The problem affects the first and the third floor, although as a result of different causes. Three desks and two settees have incurred water damage resulting in them having to be disposed of, thus losing stock with a re-sale value of 150.

8. Water damage to the first and third floors could pose a risk to warehouse volunteers as water creates the hazard of slipping.

9. Any solution to the problem would need to: Create an environment where furniture could be stored without incurring or being exposed to the risk of damage. Allow for warehouse volunteers to place, access and remove furniture without incurring additional risks. Take some action to ensure exiting problem is not allowed to develop or reoccur.

10. If the problem goes unresolved, this would lead to: More spoilage to furniture. Loss of credibility as a recycling organisation because SOFA would be discarding as opposed to recycling furniture. The opportunity for parasites such as moulds and fungi to grow, creating an unhygienic working environment for staff. The risk of further damage to the building as water is aloud to seep in, freeze, expand and create more damage as a result.

11. Based on my existing knowledge and through conducting research, I have established that SOFA Re-use leases the building it operates. We can also see in the excerpt in Appendix 1 that SOFA has insurance to cover foreseeable scenarios in addition to a contingency fund. SOFA has relationships with, but not limited to the following organisations: County Council Environmental Services and Health and Safety Teams. Charnwood Borough Council SERCO The Furniture Re-use Network (FRN). Leicestershire Cares Dunelm Mill Communities in Partnership

12. As a result of this investigation, there are three possible solutions, these are: Option 1 The organisation could replace damaged windows and replace pipework on first floor, lag new and existing pipework so cold cannot penetrate which would prevent ice from forming and cracking pipes. Furniture on the third floor could be relocated or sold off and, when it is up for renewal, the lease on the third floor could be allowed to expire, leaving the organisation with only the ground and the first floors.

13. Option 2 Create quarantine areas within unaffected areas of the first and third floors away from potential sources of water damage and relocate furniture to these areas. Each issue affecting the building would be prioritised and the burden of resolving each issue

would be referred to the landlord or the insurer. The organisation would need to pay to resolve the issue if neither had responsibility for it and it was a high priority.

14. Option 3 The organisation would carry on operating as normally as possible, prioritising issues with the building and then resolve them as expediently as possible, working with partner organisations and using the contingency fund to pay for repairs made.

15. In order to help me make a decision on a proposed solution, I have used a weighted Pros and Cons analysis. I have written down the effects that each option is likely to have, determined if they are a Pro (a positive) or a Con (a negative) and attributed a numerical score from one to five, one being the least and five being the most. This numerical score will determine the level of impact each effect is likely to have, be it positive or negative. At the end, an overall score will be given by subtracting the score for Cons (negatives) from the score for Pros (positives) and the solution with the highest overall score will be implemented.

16. *(Please note in the tables, both paid staff and volunteers are simply referred to as Staff. Although the group that would be almost exclusively affected by issues related to moving furniture such as slipping and tripping would be warehouse volunteers).

Table 1: Below shows a weighted Pros and Cons analysis for Option 1.

Pros Item Human resources Risk to staff* would be reduced on 1st Floor. Material resources SOFA no longer has responsibility for the roof. Problem is prevented from re-occuring. Financial resources Contingency fund not burdened. Insurance not burdened. Score Item 5

Cons Score

Staff* would incur risk when moving furniture on 3rd floor.

4 5

Reduction in capacity to store stock. Renegotiating lease agreement may not be possible.

5 5

4 3

Windows and pipework would need replacing. Lease on 3rd floor would have to be paid until agreement expires.

3 5 21

Total:

21

Table 2: Below shows a weighted Pros and Cons analysis for Option 2.
Pros Item Human resources Score Item Staff risk hazard of slipping. Molds could form and pose risk Low morale and loss of pride. Material resources Similar levels of furniture storage maintained. Cons Score 5 4 5

Reduction in capacity to store stock. Risk of damage to stock Problem allowed to develop.

2 4

Financial resources Contingency fund not burdened. Total:

5 9

Higher insurance costs.

5 25

Table 3: Below shows a weighted Pros and Cons analysis for Option 3.
Pros Item Human resources Option is safe for staff. Staff have a sense of pride as building is maintained. Score Item 5 4 Staff and customers incur short-term disruption. Cons Score

Material resources Similar levels of furniture storage maintained. Risk of damage to stock is minimal. Problem is not allowed to develop. Financial resources May prevent financial loss by removing risks to injury and loss of stock.

5 5 4

Short-term loss of furniture storage space.

Contingency fund is used. Higher insurance premiums

5 2

Total:

28

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17. When Cons are subtracted from Pros for the weighted analysis for each option, Option 1 scores 0, Option 2 scores -16 and Option 3 scores 15. As a result of this analysis, I have deduced that Option 3 is the most preferable option.

18. Option 3 will be implemented. The following actions are required: Establish EXACTLY what repairs to the building are required and derive list. This process would be carried out through dialogue with paid staff. This would take approximately 1 day.

Review the list and establish who the obligation to deal with these lies with. This would take approximately 3 hours.

Review the list and prioritise items, so items having the biggest impact can be addressed first. This would take approximately 3 hours.

19. Then, assuming SOFA is responsible, to make a repair SOFA should: Get at least three quotes for work. A decision should be made on which tradesperson to use based on who has the lowest cost AND whos competences can be verified. This could take approximately three weeks. Factors should be taken in to account for when the work should be carried out so as to minimise disruption. This will largely be contingent on the weather, if the organisation has any special obligations within a time-frame, for instance a VIP visit or a special delivery of furniture and when the tradesperson can accommodate the work required in his or her schedule. This process could take a day. All staff, particularly warehouse volunteers will be informed of when the work is expected to be carried out and the expected duration. They will also be given instructions on where to relocate furniture to for the expected duration of the work. All volunteers would be made aware of areas which would be designated off limits for the duration of the work. The work would then be carried out for an interminable duration. At the end of the duration, the work done should be checked to ensure it is of a satisfactory standard.

Payment should then be made from either the maintenance fund or the contingency fund.

The prioritised list should be reviewed, the completed item should be crossed off and, if there are other items for repair, these should be dealt with in priority order and by repeating the steps until all items have been dealt with.

20. Repairs could also be dovetailed. Figure 2 shows a Gantt Chart which establishes priorities and then dovetails repair work to ensure work is carried out promptly but with minimal disruption.

Figure 2: This figure shows a Gantt chart for the proposed repair work.

22. The implementation and effectiveness of my proposed solution can be tracked and monitored through: Setting SMART objectives and reviewing actual performance in line with the SMART objectives set.

Using a Gantt chart to outline expected duration of tasks and review actual completion of tasks in comparison with the expected duration on the Gantt chart.

Using existing mechanisms within the organisation such as Key Performance Indicators and Service Level Agreements to assess the impact (if any) as a result of implementing the solution.

23. For my solution to resolve the problems at SOFA, I have outlined the extent and the expected duration of the tasks. These are similar to SMART objectives. I have also produced a Gantt chart for the work.

24. The effectiveness of the proposed solution will be determined by SOFAs second charitable aim. This will be whether or not the risk of spoilage of furniture has been eliminated and furniture is being re-used instead of going to landfill.

1,524 Words

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APPENDIX 1: EXERPT FROM END OF YEAR REPORT

Risk Management The Trustees actively review the major risks that the charity faces and formulate a reserves policy that would enable the charity to have sufficient resources in the event of adverse conditions. The charity prepares an annual budget and strategic plan. Performance against budget is monitored by regular management reporting. A system of internal financial control is in place to govern day-to-day financial transactions. The charity has in place appropriate policies of insurance to manage insurable risks.

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Excerpt taken from year end report 31st March 2011

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