Nice Chair Sir

[the_grand_dad]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,5-2004320944,,00.html
:p :rolleyes: :yuk:

[airborne_artist]

When I'm Defence Minister they'll get one of these:

http://www.tentsplus.co.uk/lrcv.jpg

[allan907]

Having done my time at MOD I can assure readers that there is a lot of time sitting in chairs, writing reports, researching, computing, conferences etc etc etc. For 2 or 3 years (hopefully not more) that is your primary workplace.

Now, elsewhere in this forum there are millions of bleats about not having the right kit for the job. So where does this put having chairs that are fit for the job?

With RSI and lower back problems caused by unsuitable chairs surely this is a cost effective measure. And I guarantee that in some civilian organisations they would pay a heck of a lot more for office chairs.

It's dead easy taking a crack at someone else's job - until you are in there doing it!

Rant over - exits stage right bloody smartish =======>>>>>>>

[MATZ]

We have some of these chairs where I work (not a MOD establishment).

They are very good, but you do need to do a 3 day course to figure out what all of the buttons, levers and handles do. Unfortunately, the course is not provided with in the cost!

I do agree that it makes a change to have "the right kit for the right job", however, they are I am not convinced they are worth the asking price.

[althenick]

With RSI and lower back problems caused by unsuitable chairs surely this is a cost effective measure. And I guarantee that in some civilian organisations they would pay a heck of a lot more for office chairs.

Spoken like a whinging Shiney!

... A more effective measure to combat RSI and back strain would be to sack the Look-at-me-i'm-important-because-I-wear-a-suit shower of tw@ts and then they can all get REAL jobs in the REAL World (I reckon 0* sh1tboy in MacDonald's is about what 99% of them could aspire to) Then redirect the money the front line people who have to stick their lives on the line.

... Oh I forgot, Golden Brown's gonna do that ain't he? - NOT

BTW - I'm an ex-MoD Civil Servant... but i'm cured now.

[allan907]

Athelnick

You got RSI in your wrist? Must have because you seem to be a right w**ker:yuk:

[Trumpet_trousers]

....just buy bar-stools instead,because you'll need 75% less stools.......just invert them and let them share one between four people......;)

[Always_broken_in_wilts]

Alan:rolleyes: Go back and read your post and ask yourself "what sort of a twit do I look":p

With folks at the sharp end having to buy their own gear just to get by and you are trying to justify a Blunt Command decision to spend an obscene amount on feckin arm chairs to stop some malingerer from getting back ache or a sore wrist:}

Good grief:rolleyes:

all spelling mistakes are "df"alcohol induced

[Jackonicko]

Haven't the civil service got about 90,000 spare chairs, now?

[Archimedes]

No - because the dictates of RAB would demand that they be sold off for £2.50 each to avoid incurring the capital thingumyjig cost... :E

[althenick]

allan907,

I stand by most of what I said. I had the honour of serving in the MoD for 8 years. Some of which was quite rewarding. but as I advanced up the ladder I realised there were a lot of people in higher places making some really bum judgments (or doing nothing at all) For the best part of my career I worked in Faslane as a Comms project Officer (Read Scapegoat) The amount of times I had to go to the RN/RAF and Inform them that key equipment would be late in delivery (For which I was made personally responsible) due to someone higher up not capable of making decisions eventually turned me sour. I left in 1996. I'm not sorry.

As for those who feel i've been somewhat harsh in my last post, I will say this - I appologize to those Civil Servants that can look in the mirror And say to themselves with honesty that they are doing a good job for thier military customers. However I didn't meet too many of them in my time. And Eventually, I became one myself:(

[airborne_artist]

Aunty Betty has Privy Council meetings standing up - perhaps MoD should take its lead from the Head of the Armed Forces.

[comedyjock]

I hope the chairs went through the corrct procurement process. It will take 8-10 years, be 50% over budget, at least 2 people will be promoted and they will do a job that is no longer required.

[SPIT]

What would they do without them???:mad: :mad: :mad:

[WE Branch Fanatic]

http://www.pilot.co.uk/images/Convict_stocks.jpg

[MobiusTrip]

WEBF,

That furniture would be ideal for some people I know ;-)

MT

[allan907]

Althenick .... and others

I do not dispute the fact that MOD (and Command and Group (do you still have those any more?)) contain more than their fair share of idiots. However, one of my thrusts, was the fact that you immediately assumed they are blunties. You forget that most staff officers are drawn from other branches. And perhaps that's where the rub is. A GD officer, or similar, wants to play with Aunty Betty's shiny kit. Staff work, secondary duties etc etc are just a pain in the arse that interferes with the 'real' job of having a good time at the taxpayer's expense. Then, whoops, because he's a 'good mate' and gets the right ticks in the box, suddenly finds him/herself promoted and in the staff officer zone. The various staff courses come hard and they eventually find themselves flying a desk with neither the ability or the enthusiasm to do the job.

Compound that with the system which works on the pollies telling us what to do with how much, put a layer of Treasury and other civil servants in between and you have the classic recipe for screwing things up.

However, when doing your staff job, why should you not be entitled to have the right kit for the job in the same way as a better AAM will achieve a better kill rate, a better boot will keep foot rot at bay, a better bergen will prevent lower back injury, a better racking system will help stores location etc etc etc.

Yes, it is a damned shame that some kit is not up to the job and mates have to buy their own but don't necessarily blame it on the blunties. Have a go at any prat deserving of it but don't simply lump all the blame on one section of the population. In other spheres that can be classed as racist!!!!!

As an ex civil servant Althenick I am sure that you have come across the expression "People in glass houses should not stow thrones". ABIW - careful - you might find yourself in a staff job one day (providing the RAF lasts that long!)

Exits stage right bloody smartish and awaits incoming ====>>>>>>>>

[Captain Kirk]

Allan,

WOW. How do you balance so many chips?

'Play with Aunt Betty's shiny kit'?....
Please tell me you have a more informed idea of what it is to operate on the FL over a recent past that has seen almost continual ops!?

Lacking ability to fly a desk?? It's not for everyone, granted, but I have yet to meet a competent operator who can't handle the 'pressure' of a staff tour. Those that opt for staff tours do so after a conscious decision to pursue that career path - the days of pressing pilots into ground tours are pretty well gone. When did anyone last see a JO pilot/nav in a ground tour?

As for chairs - sure, they should be fit for purpose. But why only at MOD? Do the boys and girls at STC/GP/Stns not suffer from RSI? You'll find a FL FLt Cdr probably spends as much time at a keyboard as many at MOD - not that you would have any knowledge of that.

:cool:

[Ali Barber]

Allan907,

If these chairs are so vital for sucessful staff work, why aren't they in HQ STC, the Gps, SHQ, Stn Cdr's ofice, etc....

I'll answer it myself: Because the self-serving civil bl00dy servants aren't working there!

[Zoom]

Viking Direct - leather-faced, swivelling, adjustable, v v comfy, but not bomb-proof nor NBC protected and without a full ECM suite as the MoD ones will surely have for that price - £50 plus VAT. Discount available for large orders. Can't say fairer than that, me duck.

[Divergent Phugoid!]

Sounds to me like 907 has piles and they are giving him trouble! Have heard that siting on a rubber ring helps ease the pain along with not spending too much time on the ass in the first place!

Have heard a rumour that the blunties are being issued Cross pens and pencils as the flow is so much smoother than the Bic but will give much better service and a snip at 75 english pounds each! Anyone else heard the same?

Oh and if the troops deceide to pay for their own kit it will save the MOD a substantial amount of money, which can then be spent on leather blotters, personal air conditioning units and a years subscription to 'Wingers Monthly'



:E :E :E :E

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

I own one of the Herman Miller Aerons in question:

http://www.hermanmiller.com/hm/content/product/image/P_AER_L122.jpg


Without any doubt they are the finest office chair in the World. Well, maybe Dr Evil had a better one. Purchased recently for £489 + Vat I would imagine the MOD got them for somewhat less than that.

Now. A perfectly reasonable looking chair available at low cost IKEA today costs £90 and looks like this:

http://www.ikea.co.uk/PIAimages/34866_PE125124_S3.jpg

However. Having had one of these and having thrown it in the skip after 2 years due to it being a piece of just good enough crap - I would say the Aeron does stand a very good chance of lasting 10 years. Thereby being no more expensive over its lifetime than in this case an IKEA alternative.

As to the claims about it leading to higher productivity and reduced user strain - I well believe it. No aching shoulders, sore neck or tired back at the end of the day. Got to be a good thing.

Obviously the same principle applies to all MOD kit and I can see how galling it is the HQ got the principle before the front line.

Nevertheless - I can't get worked up about taxpayers money being spent comparatively wisely on Aeron chairs.

Cheers


WWW

ps If you want one then I can give you the contact details of the bloke who does them for £489 rather than the £1,000 as quoted in the papers.

[pulse1]

Based on my experience of being a defence contractor I expect that the MoD did pay more than the standard price for these chairs. I expect that they insisted on their own specification which made it more expensive and, probably, not as good as the standard product.

[allan907]

Gentlemen, I tips me hat graciously and apologises for upsetting anyone.

I was merely trying to make the point that the right kit for the job surely is a good thing. I also tried to make the point that the majority of staffers are NOT blunties - they are pointy end people. As an ex-blunty (now a working pilot) I felt that I had to stand up to the constant tirade of abuse from the pointy end whose mates are doing them over from their lofty towers at MOD. However, like others, I do have a problem understanding the price of the damned things.

Apologies all round and I'll now graciously bow out of this one.:ouch:

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Of course the frontline should be looked after first. But you can't beat about the head the man who made the sensible decision to purchase high performance highly durable office chairs.

You can of course beat about the head the man who ordered the SA80 the melting boots and who forgot the air conditioning units.

Yours, really rather :p comfortably,

WWW