When it is not enough for SMRT to apologise for breakdowns
By Lee Kok Fatt
Published: 6:10 PM, October 27, 2017
The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) service disruption on Oct 7 due to flooding of the tunnel between Bishan and Bradell MRT stations was one of the longest service disruptions on the North-South Line (NSL).
Nine days later, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan called a press conference to explain the cause of the disruption.
An anti-flood system in the tunnel had failed to work and was not replaced in time. Mr Khaw said that the SMRT team in charge of the anti-flood system at Bishan station had “failed us”. He and the SMRT senior management apologised for the incident. SMRT Corporation and SMRT Trains Chairman Mr Seah Moon Ming added that the bonuses of the maintenance staff would be cut.
One could sense Mr Khaw’s frustrations in his comments on the incident. The disruption had taken place in spite of the immense investments and efforts that have been made to overhaul the rail system, including adding new trains, replacement of wooden sleepers with concrete ones, putting in place a new signalling system, and changing the third rail, which supplies electrical power to the trains.
In addition, the Land Transport Authority had launched the Singapore Rail Academy earlier this year to deepen rail engineering expertise.
These measures, which cost the Government hundreds of millions of dollars, have translated to measurable MRT service improvements, and gradually restored the trust of Singaporeans in our MRT system, after two serious service disruptions in December 2011 and July 2015.
Mr Khaw was obviously disappointed that the efforts to regain public trust were set back by the latest disruption, which was caused by the SMRT maintenance team not doing what it was supposed to do.
Up till then, major service disruptions were attributed to structural issues such as ageing infrastructure, high passenger loads, and insufficient resources dedicated to maintenance, which the government could and have addressed. But the government cannot undertake the day-to-day operations of SMRT.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...ise-breakdowns
Talk so much for what ? So does that mean SMRT need not have to apologise anymore ? You still have not offered solutions to these problems . Do you think it is fair for the commuters to be stuck in a situation where they cannot arrive at their destinations on time ?
The way forward to improve the situation is to sack the 2 jokers for a start . It is obvious the 2 jokers have failed on the job. If SMRT is so quick to sack its workers how come they are slow at sacking its top management ?
So do you still want to vote for PAP ?
Commuters should file class action lawsuit against SMRT
Protected October 27th, 2017 | Author: Contributions
Our patience was tested again when SMRT CEO, chairman and MOT minister absolved themselves of blame for the MRT tunnel flooding on 7 October.
You should know the real issue has never been addressed since 2012, after the previous CEO was replaced by former paper general Desmond Kuek.
In order to resolve the issue, top management executives – including Kuek and his army buddies – must be given the boot.
It is insufficient to simply increase the number of engineers, set up own self check own self audit teams or introduce other ‘afterthought’ measures because the rot is at the top.
Former engineers probably know what went wrong but will never return to a company with a culture of unaccountability, ie management only penalizing rank and file employees.
Yesterday, another rush-hour disruption caused by software fault inconvenienced tens of thousands of commuters.
This morning (25 Oct), commuters were again inconvenienced during rush hour due to track fault
As usual, SMRT/LTA management executives are never at fault. It appears we may have to put up with this forever if nothing is done about it.
As disruptions worsened, not only did SMRT fail to inform commuters in a timely manner, it has even resorted to lying.
continue reading here :
http://www.tremeritus.com/2017/10/27...-against-smrt/
Got any lawyers here can advise if this possible ? Thanks a lot .
Discount for commuters who enter stations before 7.45am on weekdays; all other fares unchanged
The new off-peak discount will apply to all stations and when a commuter taps in before 7.45am.
PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO
Sue-Ann Tan
SINGAPORE - Commuters can pay up to 50 cents less in transport fares if they enter any of the 157 MRT stations before 7.45am on weekdays.
This reduction will be implemented from Dec 29.
The announcement was made as part of the Public Transport Council’s (PTC) annual transport fare review where it added that all other transport fares for the coming year will not be adjusted.
The discounted fares before the morning peak period will amount to a fare adjustment quantum of -2.2 per cent. The balance -3.2 per cent quantum, which was allowable under this year’s fare formula, will be rolled over to the 2018 Fare Review Exercise.
The lower pre-peak fares will translate to a combined reduction of about $40.1 million a year in fare revenue for public transport operators.
“About 300,000 rail commuters already travel before the morning peak and stand to benefit from lower fares. We hope that the lower morning pre-peak fares will encourage more rail commuters to make the shift to morning pre-peak travel.
“Spreading out travel demand in this way will also make more efficient use of our public transport system, as capacity during off-peak periods will be better utilised,” said PTC chairman Richard Magnus.
continue reading here :
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...days-all-other
The MRT service is such world class . You guys never address the issues head on . Such a disappointment . Commuters will boycott mrt and find other modes of transport .
SMRT internal probe finds maintenance of pump station not carried out for almost a year
By Valerie Koh
Published: 6:08 PM, October 31, 2017
Updated: 6:42 PM, October 31, 2017
SINGAPORE – The crew responsible for the maintenance of the pump system had signed off and submitted maintenance records for nearly a year, without carrying out actual works, in the lead-up to the flooding-induced train outage earlier this month, said SMRT in a media statement on Tuesday (Oct 31).
The manager and staff members in charge of maintenance have been suspended, and are assisting in investigations, SMRT added.
Although SMRT required maintenance works to be carried out quarterly, investigations showed that there were no track access approvals granted for the maintenance of the pumps last December, March and June – dates when the crew had claimed to carry out maintenance works in the records.
Pump records also revealed that the pumps had not been activated on those dates “which would have been required as part of the maintenance procedure had the work been actually done”, said SMRT.
On October 7, a heavy downpour had led to Bishan MRT station being flooded, and train services on the North-South Line being shut down for over 20 hours.
In its media statement, SMRT said that integrity and responsibility by managers and supervisors were key.
“We are determined to correct these weak links swiftly and decisively and are implementing a series of measures to do so,” said the operator. Where warranted, appropriate changes to the management and maintenance team will be made, it added.
A joint readiness inspection team will also be set up to supplement report to SMRT’s audit system. This will report independently to a SMRT Board’s audit and risk committee and to the Land Transport Authority and SMRT joint board technical committee.
Third-party experts will also be roped in to step up quality control surveillance of preventive maintenance activities and conduct a system-wide inspection of critical systems, while training will be intensified to create a higher work responsibility within front line peer groups.
SMRT Corporation chairman Seah Moon Ming said: “SMRT has zero tolerance for failures in supervision and diligence over maintenance tasks.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...ut-almost-year
Management should also be held accountable for their lack of proper supervision . So when are going to sack your CEO and Managing Director ( Trains ) ?
In full: SMRT and LTA’s statements on the suspected falsification of maintenance records at Bishan station
Published: 6:55 PM, October 31, 2017
Updated: 7:02 PM, October 31, 2017
In separate statements on Tuesday (Oct 31), SMRT and the Land Transport Authority addressed the investigation into the flooding-induced train outage on the North-South Line on Oct 7. Preliminary findings suggest that the maintenance records of the portal sump pumps at the Bishan station might have been falsified. Here are their statements in full:
Our investigation team will be completing and submitting its report soon. From preliminary reports, it appears that prescribed quarterly maintenance works for Dec 2016, March 2017 and June 2017 were not conducted as prescribed in our manual.
The maintenance records were signed off and submitted. However, our investigation reveals that there were no track access approvals issued for preventive maintenance of the Bishan portal sump pumps for these dates. Further pump records for the same dates show that the pumps were not activated on the stated maintenance dates, which would have been required as part of the maintenance procedure had the work been actually done.
The manager and staff responsible for the maintenance of the Bishan portal sump pump system have been suspended and are assisting in these investigations. We will be working with the union to ensure due process is followed.
Integrity and responsibility by our managers and supervisors are key, and constitute part of our core values. We are determined to correct these weak links swiftly and decisively and are implementing a series of measures to do so. These include:
a. Making appropriate changes to the management and maintenance team, where warranted;
b. Setting up a joint readiness inspection team that will supplement report to SMRT’s own audit system and which will independently report to a SMRT Board’s audit and risk committee. In addition, this joint readiness inspection team will together with LTA, report to the LTA/SMRT Joint Board Technical Committee. This will ensure that maintenance and asset renewal are independently audited and monitored in a systematic manner;
c. Engaging third-party subject matter experts to step up quality control surveillance of all preventive maintenance activities and conduct a system-wide inspection of critical systems. This will ensure that maintenance works are carried out in accordance with our specified standards; and
d. Intensifying training to establish a higher work responsibility and excellent culture within front line peer groups.
Mr Seah Moon Ming, chairman of SMRT Corporation and SMRT Trains, said: “As the new board chairman, I am here to work with the SMRT board and management to comprehensively identify and solve problems, as well as upgrade our train service systems, processes and people, so as to deliver safe, reliable and comfortable travel for our commuters.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...bishan-station
Don’t just blame your workers . Where was the audit and supervision ? Management should also be held responsible .
Bishan MRT station pump maintenance works not conducted since Dec. 2016
Manager and staff responsible for the maintenance have been suspended.
By Belmont Lay | 7 mins
Serious lapses have reportedly been uncovered following preliminary investigations by SMRT into a train tunnel flooding incident.
No maintenance for almost 10 months
According to Channel News Asia on Oct. 31, maintenance works for the Bishan portal sump pump system were discovered to not have been properly carried out since December last year.
Quarterly maintenance works for December 2016 and March and June 2017 were not conducted as prescribed in SMRT’s manual.
However, maintenance records were still duly signed off and submitted.
Moreover, the investigation revealed there were no track access approvals issued for preventive maintenance of the Bishan portal sump pumps for the maintenance dates.
The pumps were also not activated on those days that the maintenance procedure had been carried out, pump records for the same dates showed.
Had the maintenance work been done, the pumps would have been activated as required as part of the maintenance procedure.
continue reading here :
Negligence by SMRT crew tantamount to criminal offence, analyst says
MPs, transport experts shocked by initial findings of investigation
By Cynthia Choo
AND
Valerie Koh
Published: 11:20 PM, October 31, 2017
Updated: 12:23 AM, November 1, 2017
SINGAPORE — The negligence of the SMRT crew responsible for the maintenance of a water pump system borders on a criminal offence, Dr Park Byung Joon said.
The findings showed that the crew responsible for the maintenance of the pump system at Bishan MRT Station had signed off and submitted maintenance records for nearly a year, without carrying out the works.
This was in the lead-up to the flooding-induced train service outage along the North-South Line.
Dr Park said that such negligence would be criminal in other countries such as South Korea. “If someone is committing this level of negligence, there could be some kind of crime,” he said. “Negligence is not just about bodily harm. A certain amount of monetary damage can also be constituted as a criminal offence.”
Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Transport Government Parliamentary Committee expressed shock and concern that such negligence could take place in the organisation.
Mountbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan said that the actions of the crew are “downright unacceptable”.
“It’s disappointing. If you’re a technician or engineer with SMRT, you are tasked to carry out routine tasks. If you don’t play your part, the whole system will suffer consequences. You may think that it’s a small role, but the consequences can be huge.”
He added: “When you’re involved in maintenance of the system, the company and public is entrusting you to keep the equipment in tip-top shape.”
On the team submitting records even though the maintenance works were not done, Mr Lim said: “It’s one thing to have a lapse in maintenance, but another thing to falsify records altogether.”
He hopes that more robust actions will be taken, “otherwise you won’t send signals that such actions are totally unacceptable”.
Mr Yee Chia Hsing, MP of Chua Chu Kang GRC, called it “irresponsible” behaviour by a small group of employees, calling them the “weakest link” in the organisation.
He hopes that this was an isolated incident, because most of the employees “have been working their guts out” to ensure the system was restored after the incident this month. “I am sure that the bulk of the employees are conscientious and have been working hard to ensure that our commuters have a smooth train journey,” Mr Yee said.
Another committee member Zaqy Mohamad, also MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, said that the results of the probe are quite shocking, given that there was a lot of emphasis on maintenance issues for trains in recent years.
What struck him was the culpability of the employees. “It doesn’t reflect the entire population, but it’s unfortunate that a few bad hats will spoil the image of the hardworking men and women who are trying to solve the engineering issue,” Mr Zaqy said.
“Another thing is governance and control. How well are maintenance regimes being checked and managed? We need tighter governance over maintenance,” he added.
Assistant Professor Terence Fan, transport analyst from the Singapore Management University, was taken aback by the revelation.
continue reading here :
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...e-analyst-says
Now blame on workers . Did the management check to see if the work was done or not ? Or they just simply sign the service report ??? All are to be blame .
SMRT flooding incident: LTA ‘deeply concerned’ about suspected falsification of maintenance records
The lack of maintenance led to the failure of a pump system and the flooding of the train tunnel causing a massive 20-hour disruption on the North-South Line on Oct 7.
PUBLISHEDOCT 31, 2017, 7:34 PM SGT
Maria Almenoar Assistant News Editor
SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will independently evaluate SMRT’s investigation findings on the suspected falsification of maintenance records at the Bishan depot.
It added that it was “deeply concerned” that the maintenance work was not done and viewed breaches of all rail operating licences - which covered maintenance work - seriously.
The lack of maintenance led to the failure of a pump system and the flooding of the train tunnel causing a massive 20-hour disruption on the North-South Line on Oct 7.
SMRT in a statement on Tuesday evening (Oct31) said that it found its maintenance team had signed off on work done to the pump system on three occasions since December last year but such work was not actually carried out.
LTA added that it will make its recommendation on the penalties to the LTA Board after completing its full investigations.
Separately, the National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) said that it would ensure any disciplinary action taken by SMRT against its workers would follow due process and would be fair and appropriate.
SMRT on Tuesday said that the manager and staff responsible for the maintenance work at the pump have been suspended and are assisting with investigations.
It also urged SMRT to put training for its workers as one of its top-most priorities.
LTA’S STATEMENT:
As the regulator, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) views breaches of all rail operating licences seriously. This includes those pertaining to the maintenance of the rail operating assets.
LTA is deeply concerned by SMRT’s findings that maintenance was not done at the Bishan sump pump. LTA will independently evaluate SMRT’s investigation findings on the suspected falsification of maintenance records into the 7 October tunnel flooding incident. LTA is carrying out a full investigation into the incident and will make its recommendation on the penalties to the LTA Board in due time.
continue reading here :
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...lsification-of
You guys better to triple check all your systems to see if proper maintenance was carried out before something serious happens.
Concerns raised over SMRT’s corporate culture, system of checks
By Wong Pei Ting
Published: 11:30 PM, November 1, 2017
Updated: 1:40 AM, November 2, 2017
SINGAPORE — In light of the serious lapse in SMRT’s maintenance regime, corporate governance experts are expressing concern over its corporate culture, given that public scrutiny on rail reliability has intensified in recent years, and there were tell-tale signs of weaknesses it did not catch.
For example, on days when maintenance were to be carried out, there were no records showing requests for track access.
Associate Professor Mak Yuen Teen, from the Department of Accounting at NUS Business School, said: “Given the reliability issues that have plagued SMRT for such a long time, I would have expected a laser focus of the organisation on maintenance. This should include internal audits reviewing policies, procedures and controls relating to maintenance and compliance with them.”
He added: “There is certainly a concern with corporate culture, and whether there is sufficient emphasis on factors other than financial performance and efficiency, and whether reporting to management and the board… covers factors relating to maintenance, safety, etc.”
On Tuesday (Oct 31), SMRT released the initial results of an internal investigation into the flooding of tunnels at Bishan MRT Station after a downpour on Oct 7. Train services on the North-South Line were down for more than 20 hours.
It was found that the crew responsible for maintaining the pumps at the station had signed off and submitted maintenance records for nearly a year, without carrying out the works. Records did not indicate that the pumps were activated during maintenance last December and in March and June this year, nor were there records to show that approvals were given for the crew to get on the tracks.
AUDITS MAY NOT UNCOVER ALL PROBLEMS
Dr Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations at NUS Business School, said that things may have gone undetected because audits are typically “not 100 per cent comprehensive”, but often a “sampling” of problem spots.
“Have they (acquired) a very thorough mechanism to know which are some of the most unlikely places (where problems could occur), but could have a very high impact?” he asked.
continue reading here :
Full SMRT & LTA statements on possible falsification of Bishan MRT station maintenance records
The two statements addressed the investigation into the North-South Line flooding on Oct. 7.
By Belmont Lay | 4 hours
SMRT’s statement
Our investigation team will be completing and submitting its report soon. From preliminary reports, it appears that prescribed quarterly maintenance works for Dec 2016, March 2017 and June 2017 were not conducted as prescribed in our manual.
The maintenance records were signed off and submitted. However, our investigation reveals that there were no track access approvals issued for preventive maintenance of the Bishan portal sump pumps for these dates. Further pump records for the same dates show that the pumps were not activated on the stated maintenance dates, which would have been required as part of the maintenance procedure had the work been actually done.
The manager and staff responsible for the maintenance of the Bishan portal sump pump system have been suspended and are assisting in these investigations. We will be working with the union to ensure due process is followed.
Integrity and responsibility by our managers and supervisors are key, and constitute part of our core values. We are determined to correct these weak links swiftly and decisively and are implementing a series of measures to do so. These include:
a. Making appropriate changes to the management and maintenance team, where warranted;
b. Setting up a joint readiness inspection team that will supplement report to SMRT’s own audit system and which will independently report to a SMRT Board’s audit and risk committee. In addition, this joint readiness inspection team will together with LTA, report to the LTA/SMRT Joint Board Technical Committee. This will ensure that maintenance and asset renewal are independently audited and monitored in a systematic manner;
c. Engaging third-party subject matter experts to step up quality control surveillance of all preventive maintenance activities and conduct a system-wide inspection of critical systems. This will ensure that maintenance works are carried out in accordance with our specified standards; and
d. Intensifying training to establish a higher work responsibility and excellent culture within front line peer groups.
Mr Seah Moon Ming, chairman of SMRT Corporation and SMRT Trains, said: “As the new board chairman, I am here to work with the SMRT board and management to comprehensively identify and solve problems, as well as upgrade our train service systems, processes and people, so as to deliver safe, reliable and comfortable travel for our commuters.
“SMRT has zero tolerance for failures in supervision and diligence over maintenance tasks. We do not condone any acts of dishonesty and dereliction of responsibility, whether by management or staff.
All who are accountable will be disciplined sternly, regardless of rank and position. Accordingly, the relevant management chain of command in SMRT must be held accountable.
continue reading here :
https://mothership.sg/2017/11/full-s...nance-records/
Why can’t SMRT just sack your CEO and Managing Director ( Trains ) for a start ?
So you still want to vote for PAP ?