department in that the consultant engineers, private architects or private quantity surveyors must all be provided with a detailed brief, the Government standards to which they must conform, the background data for the site or problem, facilities for paying contractors' bills etc.
1.24. In the Highways Office some 22 projects have been delayed due to lack of staff. In Waterworks Office the staff shortage is mainly in the Electrical and Mechanical Division and although no conscious decision has been taken to defer any project due to the increased load which would be placed on that Division, the increasing burden has necessarily created a loss of efficiency.
1.25. In the Civil Engineering Office, which has an almost full establishment, the problem is that the strength of the office is inadequate for the growing volume of work, especially in the field of sewage disposal and pollution. Additional staff has been requested but so far no increase in strength approved. Similar problems exist in the Electrical and Mechanical Office.
1.26. In the Architectural Office there must be a balance between the number of architects, quantity surveyors, structural engineers and building services engineers and a lack of staff in any one of these professions will inevitably affect output. The Quantity Surveying Division in particular has been at something like 25% below strength for several years and while this deficiency has been made up by employing private quantity surveyors these firms are now overloaded with work from the private building sector.
1.27. Much of the work of the Buildings Ordinance Office is controlled by statutory time limits, such as the 28 days laid down for the approval or disapproval of building plans. Unfortunately, due to lack of staff it is becoming more and more difficult to meet these limits even though surveys to detect dangerous buildings have been severely restricted and the staff diverted to the examination of plans for new building works.
1.28. The Crown Lands and Survey Office has had to suspend lease enforcement activity because of the need for available staff to concentrate on work of higher priority. The rate of urban renewal will also be slower than was originally hoped due to the lack of sufficient urban renewal teams.
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department in that the consultant engineers, private architects or private quantity surveyors must all be provided with a detailed brief, the Government standards to which they must conform, the back. ground data for the site or problem, facilities for paying contractors bills etc.
1.24. In the Highways Office some 22 projects have been delayed due to lack of staff. In Waterworks Office the staff shortage is mainly in the Electrical and Mechanical Division and although no conscious decision has been taken to defer any project due to the increased load which would be placed on that Division, the increasing burden has necessarily created a loss of efficiency.
1.25. In the Civil Engineering Office, which has an almost full establishment, the problem is that the strength of the office is in- adequate for the growing volume of work, especially in the field of sewage disposal and pollution. Additional staff has been requested but so far no increase in strength approved. Similar problems exist in the Electrical and Mechanical Office.
1.26. In the Architectural Office there must be a balance between the number of architects, quantity surveyors, structural engineers and building services engineers and a lack of staff in any one of these professions will inevitably affect output. The Quantity Surveying Division in particular has been at something like 25% below strength for several years and while this deficiency has been made up by employing private quantity surveyors these firms are now overloaded with work from the private building sector.
1.27. Much of the work of the Buildings Ordinance Office is con- trolled by statutory time limits, such as the 28 days laid down for the approval or disapproval of building plans. Unfortunately, due to lack of staff it is becoming more and more difficult to meet these limits even though surveys to detect dangerous buildings have been severely restricted and the staff diverted to the examination of plans for new building works.
1.28. The Crown Lands and Survey Office has had to suspend lease enforcement activity because of the need for available staff to con- centrate on work of higher priority. The rate of urban renewal will also be slower than was originally hoped due to the lack of sufficient urban renewal teams.
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