MoD paid £22 for 65p light bulb..
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stik, such is the way of things that these days £50K would have one stepping on to the roof of a Jaguar XF. A V8, naturally, but merely a Jag nonetheless.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
1. Pay all up front - £277.
2. Pay 10% deposit - £28.70 - pay balance £258.30 on departure
3. Pay whole bill on departure - £327.
The no penalties charge therefore had an 'insurance' element of £40. bviously if you cancelled then option 3 was cheapest.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
WW, you forgot defence inflation. What is £50k now 30 years later? Probably pay for two Roller at each station too. Since there are so few stations make that 4.
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B and Q steps on offer this week
Why not buy a few, pop some bubble wrap on end that might touch aircraft, and invest the balance of the budget in Euro Lottery.
just a thought.
glf
just a thought.
glf
endplay wrote:
Endplay, looks like you were caught out by confusing the DofQ (aka unit of issue) with the PPQ (Pre-Packed Quantity). The PPQ of your tie wraps would be 100's and the DofQ would be Each (EA) or Single (SGLE). The quantity you should have asked for was 'One'. Don't worry, lots of folks have been a victim of this confusion and is, perhaps, one of the reasons why "Chiefy's Drawer" always had more stock than Stores. BTW, you could have returned your excess if the original packaging hadn't been broached.......and sleep.
DofQ can really catch you out. I ordered 100 tie wraps for servicing kits but failed to notice that the DofQ was 1000. As they were C class (and therefore nonreturnable) I had 100,000 of the buggers to dispose of.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Replaced overnight by shiney new aluminium ones? No idea of costs in those days but the first thing we knew was when the damn things got airborne in the venturi under to Vulcan.
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Best one I saw was nothing more than a tyre rubber inner tube designed to support the nozzle petals of a RB199 Module 15. Designed by Fiat, as part of the Italian contribution to the Tornado, it cost £4500 and that was back in 1982 at TTTE. I saw the invoice, honest!
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Tiger Mate - Im not ex-forces, just a taxpayer. There were quite a few ex-military guys on the project, many from the Signals - unfortunately, I think due to their background in accepting what they felt was an order\instruction from higher up the chain would accept it without any query. eg I installed a duct system around an army camp for DiiC - all compliant with JSP480. Along comes F and I get the same site. I am somewhat bemused to find the new design has a new twin duct section alongside the one I put in 16months earlier. Its the best part of 3/4 mile long with numerous pits all for...... ONE DiiF cable. I queried this with the ex-military guy who was the customer PM explaining that this was an unecassary waste of money and the system installed was still complient and had capacity. I was somewhat taken aback as the ex-major seemed to think I was some poor squaddy of his. After his tirade of how I should not dare to challange the design and accept his and the designers (again ex-Mil) "orders".
Pleased to say in this case I had the last laugh (its different in the civy world) as at the pre-start meeting I queeried the lavish waste of money on this duct system, the Budget Holder soon got involved and the new duct sytem was removed. However there were hundreds of incidents like this all over the UK. It seemed to us that EDS went out of their way to over design and over manage what they had to put in and if they could scrap perfectly good C stuff and replace it they would. It wasnt a surprise that F ran out of money.
Lastly my company also operates the 'use the Hotel Desk' to book rooms for you, we have exactly the same gripes. As you have discovered they always seem to charge you more than what you could book it for (if you have the time and your not involved in multile bookings) however what you may not be aware of is that they also neoitiate a 'discount' for themselves as well! Double bubble!
Pleased to say in this case I had the last laugh (its different in the civy world) as at the pre-start meeting I queeried the lavish waste of money on this duct system, the Budget Holder soon got involved and the new duct sytem was removed. However there were hundreds of incidents like this all over the UK. It seemed to us that EDS went out of their way to over design and over manage what they had to put in and if they could scrap perfectly good C stuff and replace it they would. It wasnt a surprise that F ran out of money.
Lastly my company also operates the 'use the Hotel Desk' to book rooms for you, we have exactly the same gripes. As you have discovered they always seem to charge you more than what you could book it for (if you have the time and your not involved in multile bookings) however what you may not be aware of is that they also neoitiate a 'discount' for themselves as well! Double bubble!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
C installed a fibre optic cable as the best solution in my office.
F replaced this with copper AND a huge router in the wrong place and which would cost £10k to move. They also used the original BT cabinet installed for C.
Like I said, the budget was equivalent of TWO aircraft carriers.
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Don't forget the VC10 million pound bin bag holder opposite the tankers galley. 
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I get this story now - and although horrified and angered at the original post, I can see what is going on. This story is not about the cost of the light bulb, but the political spin by civil serpents to justify to the British public why there are some many and so deep cuts across the MOD.
This is purely a smoke screen and should not detract from the whole very reduction in UK military capability. Of course sort the procurement and contract system out, but whilst the MOD and treasury are doing it, don't slash and burn a military capability that will takes years, if not decades to regenerate if (and when) required.
This is purely a smoke screen and should not detract from the whole very reduction in UK military capability. Of course sort the procurement and contract system out, but whilst the MOD and treasury are doing it, don't slash and burn a military capability that will takes years, if not decades to regenerate if (and when) required.
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If I was a Falkland Islander, I would start polishing up on my Spanish linguistic skills. The Argentinians will not give two hoots for political compromise at a future date and there is nothing that UK Defence Plc can do beyond the small contingent already resident, and a prepared (argie)SF force on the ground could do serious damage to that.
Back to thread: The military are themselves subscribers to overpayment. I can recall that if you had to pay for damaged or missing items through service sources that 30% admin fee was added to an already outragious bill.
HRG accomodation booking is a license to print money, but one that accountants, and them alone endorse. Just so that an MT mate does not sleep in his cab and claim a nights rates. It is a pathetic waste of money.
Any supplier that is contracted long term will take the puss; that is business. You would not have to look far for examples of stationary costs being extortionate compared to nipping down to Staples.
Messing supplies. The flip side is poor quality supplied at top or even standard pricing. This principal is; I am led to believe, how Witherspoons can provide such perceived good value for money.
They are the problems, but the solutions can be an admin burden that make the problems apear trivial.
Back to thread: The military are themselves subscribers to overpayment. I can recall that if you had to pay for damaged or missing items through service sources that 30% admin fee was added to an already outragious bill.
HRG accomodation booking is a license to print money, but one that accountants, and them alone endorse. Just so that an MT mate does not sleep in his cab and claim a nights rates. It is a pathetic waste of money.
Any supplier that is contracted long term will take the puss; that is business. You would not have to look far for examples of stationary costs being extortionate compared to nipping down to Staples.
Messing supplies. The flip side is poor quality supplied at top or even standard pricing. This principal is; I am led to believe, how Witherspoons can provide such perceived good value for money.
They are the problems, but the solutions can be an admin burden that make the problems apear trivial.
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£22 supply and install is a very cost effective price, particularly if it's a standard price across several locations.
£22 supply only is probably factoring in the cost of going through the hoops at tender stage: 66p for the lamp/bulb/light_emitting_thing, £1.50 postage and packing, £19.84 for the interminable method statements, risk assessments and responses to pointless questions prior to winning the contract, or not winning another contract somewhere else.
I'm going through the hoops with a non-MOD tender process now
£22 supply only is probably factoring in the cost of going through the hoops at tender stage: 66p for the lamp/bulb/light_emitting_thing, £1.50 postage and packing, £19.84 for the interminable method statements, risk assessments and responses to pointless questions prior to winning the contract, or not winning another contract somewhere else.
I'm going through the hoops with a non-MOD tender process now
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Dunelm Mill had low energy light bulbs @ 15p each and 3 for 20p. I queried that and was told it was correct. A local charity I work for has been giving all-comers 4 such bulbs free of charge
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Supply-quantity has always been an issue.
Lucas car electrical.....donkey in stores enters his request for 50 alternators ,in the wrong column.
The alternator is on back-order (again!)....some weeks later, an Artic lorry turns up at this little provincial branch....the sniggering driver holds out a delivery-note for 50 CASES of alternators -100 per case.....not only had they used the entire country's stock and had to make extra,but there were enough to supply the entire population with one each.
The total was probably greater than the entire production -run of this particular model.
Everyone who touched the order KNEW ther was not room in the depot for that quantity......but it was no-one's responsibility to pick up the phone and query the qty.
Water-board, man orders 25 fluorescent tubes....yup! 25 cases. 2 years later, every branch in the area had a few cases lying around and the culprit no longer had a stack that filled a 12' x 20' room!
Lucas car electrical.....donkey in stores enters his request for 50 alternators ,in the wrong column.
The alternator is on back-order (again!)....some weeks later, an Artic lorry turns up at this little provincial branch....the sniggering driver holds out a delivery-note for 50 CASES of alternators -100 per case.....not only had they used the entire country's stock and had to make extra,but there were enough to supply the entire population with one each.
The total was probably greater than the entire production -run of this particular model.
Everyone who touched the order KNEW ther was not room in the depot for that quantity......but it was no-one's responsibility to pick up the phone and query the qty.
Water-board, man orders 25 fluorescent tubes....yup! 25 cases. 2 years later, every branch in the area had a few cases lying around and the culprit no longer had a stack that filled a 12' x 20' room!
Gentleman Aviator
Many years ago when 72 were (briefly) at Benson, I was a pipe-smoker, and so knew that locking wire made a v g substitute for pipe-cleaners, albeit non-fluffy.
The Wessex 2nd line hangar always had (almost literally) tons of the stuff - yes you guessed it.
It was ordered by weight, and someone wanted two pounds for a particular task as so scribbled "2lb" on the chit ... which was of course read by some eejit as 216 ....... and by the way it was also now issued in kg
And so best beloved, shortly thereafter almost exactly 240 times the desired amount duly arrived!! 216 kg
The Wessex 2nd line hangar always had (almost literally) tons of the stuff - yes you guessed it.
It was ordered by weight, and someone wanted two pounds for a particular task as so scribbled "2lb" on the chit ... which was of course read by some eejit as 216 ....
... and by the way it was also now issued in kg And so best beloved, shortly thereafter almost exactly 240 times the desired amount duly arrived!! 216 kg
