Recent Forum Posts

From categories:

All categories General: Bugs, Errors & Broken Links General: Definitions General: General General: Jobs General: Mailing List General: Questions General: The future of the wiki General: What's New General: News General: Ratepayer Feedback Asset Management: Asset Types Asset Management: Asset Lives Asset Management: Asset Management Practices Asset Management: Asset Management Plans Financial Services: Financial Services Human Resources: Human Resources Information Technology: Information Technology Information Technology: Software Records Management: Records Management Roads & Drainage: Roads Roads & Drainage: Drainage Town Planning: Town Planning Water & Wastewater: Water Reticulation Water & Wastewater: Wastewater

page 1123...next »

Re: Australian Community Wiki Network

Wayne Eddy 1258519834|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » Australian Community Wiki Network

G'Day Darron.

I agree with everything you say. It isn't a part of the LGAM Wiki, and it does have its own identity & structure.

It is a big, big project, so there is no way I will be able to do it all by myself, but I have been trying to work on it a little bit each night, with a view to getting a framework in place. Once the framework is in place, I will try and develop the Bundaberg wiki as an example of what other communities can do, but it from there on I will be relying on people & community groups in other areas to grow it. I would have thought there would be quite a few groups & businesses that would be interested in a bit of free advertising and networking opportunities, but I guess only time will tell.

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Re: Calling all retired Council employees.

darronlpasslow 1258511943|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / General » Calling all retired Council employees.

Wayne
Again a good idea but I do not like your chances of getting much input from retirees (especially the busy ones).
Good luck.

Re: Australian Community Wiki Network

darronlpasslow 1258511804|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » Australian Community Wiki Network

Wayne
This is a good idea. (I do not know where you find the time).
However, it should have it own Wiki with its own relevant headings and not be part of the LGAM Wiki.
It could reference the LGAM Wiki but to get the community involved (and others) it would need to be separate and have its own identity and its own structure.
It would also need to be marketed and managed diligently (and you know how time consuming this can be).

In summary, good idea but wrong driver and wrong set up.
Regards
Darron

Calling all retired Council employees.

Wayne Eddy 1258437251|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / General » Calling all retired Council employees.

OK, so probably a lot of recently retired Council employees, will be out travelling or fishing or just relaxing down the beach, and the last thing on their minds will be their former career, but it has occurred to me that some of the information locked away in their heads could be very valuable to those still employed in Local Government, and I would like to personally invite any former Council employees, who have done enough fishing/travelling/relaxing/playing with their grand kids for a while, to contribute some of their knowledge to this wiki. Is there anyone out there who falls into this category & would like to help?

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Australian Community Wiki Network

Wayne Eddy 1258436735|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » Australian Community Wiki Network

One of the main objectives of this site is to try and find ways to help Councils help themselves by making it easy for them to collaborate & share information with each other. Another opportunity for collaboration is between Councils and their communities. The Australian Community Wiki Network has been set up with this in mind. It will be a place for community, sporting & other groups to tell their communities where they are and what they do, and to share information with other similar groups around Australia. It is a work-in-progress at this point in time, with only a dozen or so wikis created so far, but hopefully with time it will become a good resource for Australian communities, and possibly a neutral place where councils can interact and consult with their ratepayers. For now if you belong to a community or sporting club of some description, why not give it a visit, and give your group a free plug?

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Re: Penstock Valve Discussion

BruceJ 1257484642|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Hidden / Per page discussions » Penstock Valve

Yes I agree on your thoughts on penstock.
Thanks Darron
BruceJ

Re: Penstock Valve Discussion

BruceJ 1257484467|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Hidden / Per page discussions » Penstock Valve

Yes Good point Darron I totally missed it first time.
Thanks
BruceJ

Re: Penstock Valve Discussion

darronlpasslow 1257484399|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Hidden / Per page discussions » Penstock Valve

Bruce
Excuse my basic description here but;
A penstock (specifically) is the pipe or sluice way that allows liquid to flow under gravity. A penstock in a Hydro-Electric Plant is the pipe(s) that bring water from a Dam and deliver it to the hydro-electric turbines that generate electricity. There are Penstock Valves that are used to turn the water off ("isolate the flow").
A knife valve could be a type of Penstock Valve but there are a number of types (Google "Penstock Valve"). I am sure there are knife valves used in other applications that are just "knife valves". I am told we have penstock valves (like a plate that goes into a sewer sluiceway) to stop the flow of sewerage to one of our Sewer Treatment Plants. I assume the sluiceway is the Penstock?

Penstock Valve Discussion

darronlpasslow 1257483017|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Hidden / Per page discussions » Penstock Valve

Bruce
You appear to have started a discussion without giving the "Post Title". This leaves the discussion/comments under a Hidden/Per Page discussion. Perhaps this is where you wanted it but it is not a place where people will find it.
I saw your post as a moderator because I see most new posts.
Perhaps administrator (Wayne) can give your post a "Title" and perhaps it can be moved into one of the Forum headings (if all else fails "General" might work). This way you have more chance of people seeing it and responding. Just a thought that Admin might like to comment on.
I will reply separately on Penstock Valves.

Penstock Valve Discussion

BruceJ 1257465818|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Hidden / Per page discussions » Penstock Valve

It appears that originally a Penstock Valve was a rudimentary gate slide in a frame that could be mounted or attached to a penstock to control isolate the flow. Do other people think that a knife gate valve (type) that you would connect to a pipe (maybe also called a penstock) into a sewerage station for example could also be called a Penstock valve (being its use). Apenstock from my research appears to be a pipe, channel or sluice used to direct flow to a desired spot.
Love to hear others thoughts.
Cheers
BruceJ

Re: Front Page Makeover

darronlpasslow 1257459466|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » Front Page Makeover

Wayne
I cannot see the graphs (png). Perhaps its an IT issue at WSC but LGMA "Home" looks pretty ordinary on my screen.
Changing IT habits is another issue!
I suggest if you must leave the (blank) images on "Home" put them at the end. Move the Forum up (and ths would push graphs off my front page view anyway).
Also I am not interested in a "pretty" home page. I just want to quickly see what is available and get to what I want (with 1 click). I do not expect the home page to have all the info I need.
Presenting information graphically (rather than words) is definitely a good idea but don't crowd the "home" page.
Happy to hear what others think.
Darron

Unit Rates

Wayne Eddy 1257386817|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » Unit Rates

Determining accurate or even realistic unit rates seems to be a big issue for local government. I know for a fact it's an issue for both Bundaberg Regional Council, and for some of our neighbours, and I have seen a number of discussion about it on various other forums. I know it is true that the cost of an activity will vary considerably from location to location, but all-the-same I think an open database of typical unit rates for those works regularly undertaken by Councils would be a very useful resource for many Councils.

I have been thinking about this for a while now, and I think I have come up with a good way of getting the project happening.

If you are interested, please check out the Unit Rate page, for more information.

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Re: Front Page Makeover

Wayne Eddy 1257312552|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » Front Page Makeover

Hi Darron,

When I first put the membership graph on the front page, I was linking live to zoho, which is what I presumed was causing you trouble. This time around it is a local file so didn't think you or anyone else would have any trouble viewing it. It is a png file, but all browsers should be able to view "png" files without any difficulty - the banner which appears on every page is a "png" file.

I have deleted the image of the culvert, and the graphs will move down the page and disappear from the front page automatically as new news items are added. I hear what you are saying about making sure the front page doesn't get too busy, and I hate sites chock full of flash animations and the like that take ages to load, but on the other hand doesn't having just text make it a bit bland and boring?

Like Darron, I'd like to know what everyone one else thinks?

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Re: Front Page Makeover

darronlpasslow 1257288897|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » Front Page Makeover

Wayne
I repeat my comment of previously. The home page is now far to busy with too much bumph!
Get rid of the jpg and png which I (and I assume others) cannot see or access. They are just taking up valuable "real estate" on the home page. Most of this should be off somewhere (via a click) and available if required. To me I should be able to view the Home Page (in fact any key page) on one screen with minimal scrolling. Then jump to details, if appropriate. Perhaps this is weird but hey!!!
This is my feeling but I am happy to hear what others think.
Darron Passlow

October 2009 Update

Wayne Eddy 1257209409|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » October 2009 Update

15 new members joined the site in October, bringing the total to 165.

The site now contains 2050 pages of information, and as of 31 October, 6,604 different people have visited the site on a total of 11,900 occasions and viewed 81,742 pages.

The average number of people visiting the site each weeks seems to be trending in the right direction, but it is still pretty up and down from week to week.

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Re: Six Sigma In Local Government

Wayne Eddy 1256876794|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Hidden / Per page discussions » Suggestions

Hi Ashish,

When you change the title it can sometimes cause problems with existing links. It is usually best to create a new page and copy the contents across to the new page, and depending on the situation make the original page a redirect page.

I have made a copy, but I have left both pages the same for the moment.

I think perhaps ABEF & Six Sigma should be on the Business Improvement page, and the other links on the problem solving techniques page, but I am open to further suggestions.

ABEF certainly references a range of problem solving techniques, I don't know so much about Six Sigma, but I think it might too.

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Re: Six Sigma In Local Government

Ashish Shah 1256870856|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Hidden / Per page discussions » Suggestions

Changed the title to Business Improvement Techniques to start with.

---

Ashish Shah
Engineer - Infrastructure Management

Watching Pages & RSS Feeds

Wayne Eddy 1256865652|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion Information Technology / Information Technology » Watching Pages & RSS Feeds

Wikidot provides two main ways of keeping up to date with what's going on with the site with out having to visit.

1. Watching Pages
2. RSS Feeds

Watching pages is the easiest. All you have to do is click on "Start watching this page" at the bottom right hand corner of the page, and you will be sent an e-mail whenever the page is updated. This is a good option if you are interested in one or two subjects and you want to know when there is a change, but if you start watching everything on the site your inbox could start to clog up very quickly with notification messages so it may not be for everyone.

I actually prefer the RSS Feed option in combination with Google Reader & the IGoogle Google Reader gadget.

It is all a bit tricky to take in, but I think it is worth the effort of at least looking at the Google Reader link above. It wasn't immediately obvious to me when I first signed up how Google Reader would benefit me, but I use it a lot now.

If you do decide to use it, here are a few LGAM feeds that you might like to subscribe to.

http://www.lgam.info/feed/forum/posts.xml - all forum posts
http://lgam.wikidot.com/feed/front/start/news.xml - just the posts in the news category

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

The Forum

Wayne Eddy 1256851339|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / News » The Forum

The Forum has been pretty active over the last few weeks or so - in comparison to its usual slumber at least. It is very gratifying to see it being used, and I hope more users take advantage of it in the future. If you are a bit hesitant to contribute to pages, but would like to be part of the site, leaving a comment on the forum is probably the easiest way to start.

I just started an Introduce Yourself Thread, which would be an ideal place to start if you are thinking of taking the plunge!!

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia

Introduce Yourself

Wayne Eddy 1256851076|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
in discussion General / General » Introduce Yourself

Hi all, I have been very remiss about not starting an "Introduce Yourself" in the forum until now. I'll start to get the ball rolling.
My name is Wayne Eddy, I am Manager Assets at Bundaberg Regional Council. I studied Civil Engineering at was then the Swinburne Institute of Technology in Melbourne. I graduated in 1986 and have been working in Local Government ever since. Firstly at the Shire of Rodney (3 years), then at the Shire of Mildura, which was amalgamated into the Mildura Rural City Council (17 years) and most recently for the City of Bundaberg / Bundaberg Regional Council. (3 years and another amalgamation.) I started this site just over a year ago, to try and encourage information sharing in Local Government and (fingers crossed) I hope it will be a good resource for Councils in years to come. In the unlikely event you want to find out more about me, clicking on my name below you, should take you to a (as yet mostly empty) personal website with a bit more info.

---

Wayne Eddy
Bundaberg, Australia