Penny Camus - Mother and director of Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery

Last September (2017) I lost my mother, Penny Camus. She was one of the strongest people I have ever known. I put her in the league of Maggie Thatcher and alike. My mum was the very proud mother of five children and each of us gained an amazing strength from her. She enabled each of us to reach amazing heights.

Penny was also the founder, company director and retired nursery nurse of Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery at 5 Western Elms Ave, Reading, England. She managed the nursery with infinite detail, everything she did was to the direct benefit of the children that attended.

Mum was so proud of her children that in her dying months she had a picture of each of us made, and put it on display in a place of dominance, where everyone would see it when entering the building.

I know many people in Reading that knew of, attended, or had children who had attended the nursery.  Her name was strong in the industry and for over 45 years she was in charge.

I grew up in this wonderful  family home, with the nursery underneath and I have many, many beautiful memories.

Those of you who knew my mother knew she managed the nursery  from the little cabin she lived in, at the back in the garden. She also made a private secret garden, solely for the use of the family and grandchildren, all based on the wonderful novel.

Initially mum started the nursery some 45 years ago, and for any business survival of that length is a wonderful effort. Heather and Julie, my older sisters both played a pivatel part as nusery nurse directors for some 30 years plus, while my youngest sister, my brother and I finished our schooling. In the last few years, though in some pain, she not only managed the nursery with the help of the youngest daughter, but also walked the coast line of England raising money for life boats RNLI.

My mum left this world and as she did she made it clear to her children that we must celebrate the exciting things that she had in her life. She left us hoping that the company would abide by her dying wishes of sharing the directorship between loving brothers and sisters. She left us in fits of laughter, it was never about mum, she just wanted everyone to be happy.

Image by Leanne Valerie Smith

Thank you all for your time in reading this.

Team Building through the missing CAT!

In 1995 Greenslopes Private Hospital was drawn through a rough process of being privatised. I started not long after this and ended up as the Qld ICT Manager.

Late in 2000 (after Y2K had come and gone like a wet rag) Ramsay Health Care went through some internal turmoil with the centralization of internal services down to Sydney.

With inter hospital turmoil happening, and intra departmental turmoil going on it was moral was down, specifically in the Finance and ICT areas.

A small group (of 2) designed a team building exercise, without even releasing the extent the exercise was going to reach.

The IT Help Desk was the central point of issue management for ICT. When difficult customers called, professionalism and persistence was paramount to understand and by emphatic to the caller. When they got off the phone a lovely little stuffed cat took the consequences of the caller. It was thrown, kicked, slapped, squeezed, hugged and cried upon. It was loved.

One Monday the stuff cat walked; IT VANISHED. In turmoil the help desk searched, blamed and were dismayed as they were unable to find it. A week later an email appeared with a picture of cat, sitting on a printer. This went on for days with pictures from all around the hospital. The team was building cases of evidence, printer types, room types, sun positioning. Finance got on board, they had their own ideas on where the cat was, and each was investigated.

The pictures grew, different hospital came into the game! Now the teams brought in their counterparts in Sydney and Perth! These were the very same people, just a few weeks earlier, that had been arguing and disgusted with each other as roles were split and centralised.

Another week past, team meeting took on a new turn, a standing agenda item of the CAT update.

It was a month into this that one bright spark turned on monitoring of all printer queues across all Hospitals (even through this strained infrastructure resources, we let it happen as it did not compromise confidentiality). Then it happen, someone printed a jpeg with the word ‘cat’ in the name. The Cat, as one commonly states, was out of the bag……

"Moral, when the borders are broken down, and the conflict is removed, we can all work for a common cause." 

David Camus, Program Director, LKT Consulting.

Photo ©2017 David Camus - North of  Warakurna

It’s a Journey (are we driving it?)

The first trials of autonomous (unmanned vehicles) are sneaking onto the shores of Australia. Is our legislation ready? Is the government ready? Are the public informed? Where are we going with this

I meet many, many people in my pocket money job each day, all sorts of people, from DG’s through Architects to dancers, and I would estimate that less than 5% understand what a fully autonomous car is, what it will change and the fact that we are well under way with autonomous testing both overseas and locally. They are even more surprised when I explain that 400 tonne trucks waddle their way through 1000's Km's of the Pilbara to the coast every day in WA, all controlled out of Perth.

Where am I going with this?

We need to communicate, we need to inform. We know that when we release public the information is going to shock and surveys will be released that show how 60% of Australians do NOT want unmanned vehicles. We also know that this will change as the early adopters keep pushing and the bell curve moves forward.

I am a strong believer in providing all information to the public, the good, bad and evil. If we do not, google will do it on our behalf.

So to the Government communicators, please think about what to communicate and when, get the 10 year plan into operation (it’ll be condensed into 3-5 years anyway), to the trial operators, look at how the trials are being released in the UK. They have gone through the same issues with “it won’t happen”; “It can’t happen”; “It shouldn’t happen”; “What happened?”; “When did this happen?”; “I like this idea!”.

It will happen, either by stealth or by our guidance.

David Camus Program Director LKT Consulting

Looking back at QBCC - now 3 years old

QBCC was one of the most memorable whole of business deliverables I have been instrumental for.

In the first year, QBCC reported it had 1097 dispute cases lodged by builders and home owners. 83% of cases were resolved within 28 working days.

In the first six months EDR saved 304 families and contractors from the need to use litigation

Four years ago I started with QBCC. I turned up and was given a hostile reception by nearly every member of staff, who all believed I was from 'over the river' and about to cause them more pain. It was at that point I realised this was going to be a hard task!

In my first week the QBSA commissioner had been relieved of duties; the board that had been dismissed was replaced by a new, strong, board; and I had been asked to produce a blueprint of the road ahead.

At a senior level the business was set for change. At a grass roots level the teams were in pain, had been shoved around by the Parliamentary 'Inquiry into the Operation and Performance of the Queensland Building Services Authority 2012'; they felt that their conversations had been taken out of context and they had not been listened to.

It was a great start.

Phil Kesby, the QBCC chairperson and a very strong, kind and dedicated person with 34 years’ experience in infrastructure delivery and property related industries explained to me on the second week we had 12 months to deliver, and he expected a plan from me within 5 days on how we were to deliver, what I would take accountability for and what my personal belief of delivery confidence was on each item, O yer, and I was to walk it through the minister, Tim Mander.

One month later we had a signed off plan with 32 projects, $18M of delivery, confidence levels in writing and being held accountable to the board, the new commissioner, Steve Griffin, and the minister.

Out of that came a very strong PMO, a team of dedicated personal with Darren Evans at the helm reporting through to me. We were off!

For the QBCC as a business I had to deliver a new commission, new board, new structure.

And for the people, a strong advocacy and meaningful changes for the consumers and industry with new legislation, new act of parliament, internal review, early dispute resolution, review of licencing, education, fast track processes, bringing pools, plumbers, trade-persons and painters under the act, subcontractor and suppler debt recovery and new 24 hr contact centre, standards and tolerances guide (in consumer simple terms)

Making everyone working under the envelope of a building accountable

Consumer and industry events were being held nearly every week. Vendors, contractors, agents and more were brought on to deliver. We had to fight to bring everyone along the journey; consumers, industry, the press, legal teams, and the parliamentary opposition.

Regular headlines such as 'Death of the QBSA: Start of the QBCC' caused us pain

And a very rushed year later after many meeting with Minister Mander (at that time) we delivered, I had brought the teams on board, sold the successes, the visions and delivered to Commissioner Griffin and the board a business that was capable of delivering to the public. Don't get me wrong, I left with the understanding that there was plenty more change to happen, and work to be completed, but I left with my head high and feeling proud.

Customer First

Fairness and Equity

Accountability

And as for my confidence levels that I reported at the beginning to the board. I was successful by 96% on my deliverables.

And to the team, the business, the board, Minister Mander, Phil Kesby, Commissioner Griffin and Darren Evans I thank you for your dedication and a year of rides, uncertainty and change; without everyone pulling together the train would have stopped. Often!

David Camus

Note:- This article is not endorsed by QBCC. Facts have been taken from the QBCC website and from the QBCC annual report.

Automated Supply Chains

Automated Supply Chains

I travelled to Europe recently and met up with autonomous trial project staff (humans I think) to find out how the UK trials are progressing.

It is no secret that in the UK and Europe there are many trails are underway for autonomous cars, autonomous busses and autonomous taxis. Even Uber has joined hands to start the autonomous Uber ride share and also a food delivery service.

All of these trials are looking successful in providing various results. At a minimum the UK is now is a good space to start legislative changes to allow autonomous vehicles of many kinds on the roads.

1.      Autonomous Trucks on the German autobahn, driving all the way to the coast, over the channel on a ferry and onto the UK soil. Following interesting findings that have shown the highest concentration of people, industry and money across Europe. (http://i1.wp.com/globalriskinsights.com) Trials are well underway to increase supply chains throughout this logistics base.

3.      Autonomous transportation couriers. In Germany and Switzerland  a number of exciting trials are happening around parcel delivery.

2.      Autonomous trail trucks, 4 or 5 semi-trailers following a driven truck, each mimicking the first. This trial is providing remarkable success through cars cutting in, traffic lights and alike.

Mercedes Electric Robot-VAN Delivering Packages In Germany

Swiss Post is already testing self-driving delivery robots

Switzerland have proposed an underground logistics network to be established by 2030. These underground lanes will use a network of underground “pod trains”

Many of these trials have now got UK representation so that they can be extended with ease into England.

Last year on the 6th August, after one of the largest strikes on the London Underground network, the tube lines came to a scary halt. In a city where 66% of the 8.6M people use the tube (for 1.27B journeys a year) it cost the London economy $600M. FOR ONE DAY! So should tube drivers be able to hold a city to ransom? Is this a prime case for autonomous train drivers? Plans are already underway on to roll out autonomous trains on the Piccadilly, Central, Waterloo & City and Bakerloo lines by 2022. Maybe this will now be brought forward a lot faster so that technology can get you to your destination. Well that is the plan, but will it deliver you on time or at all?

Let me know your thoughts.

David Camus LKT Consulting

Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery turns 45 Year Old

Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery turns 45 Years Old

45 years ago, on the 21st September 1971, my education career started out. I was the first child to be enrolled at Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery in Reading Berkshire England.

As a boisterous excitable 4 year old (by 4 days) I was ready to take on the whole world of building blocks. My mother told me I was in seventh Heaven as she toured me around this incredible establishment full of toys, blocks, colour and fun.

The warm and friendly place was started by a mother and daughter team, Penny Camus (owner) and Heather. They were committed to early childhood care and the lives of young children, fostering and nourishing the minds and building these minds into something wonderful that would go onto schools, colleges, universities and around the world.

Names still sit in my head from 45 years ago; John Staker, Michael Pick and Tracy Baker (I am sure there is a picture of Tracy and I getting married on the Pine Rivers Kindergarten steps as a beautiful 4 year old couple!!).

This wonderful place consists of a team that is committed to building character in young children and inspires the education and imaginative development of those early years.

As well as a wonderful indoor environment, Pine Rivers has excellent outdoor play areas, including grassed areas that are in touch with nature, decked areas and all-weather classrooms.  

I have travelled 12,000 miles to be back at the nursery for this special event and hopefully see some faces from 45 years ago. Flag making, clowns, fun activities and an all-day Friday Party have been arranged for the entire week. I am so excited to be part of this awe inspiring event. It is so nice to hear such a good news story about a business that is still operational after so many years.

My wonderful elderly mother started all this and I am inspired by her dedication through the easy years and difficult years. To this day she still owns and runs it at the ripe old age of 85, now, with the wonderful help of the Director, Lesley Delecia (another daughter) and a team of dedicated nursery educators. 

For more exciting information about this lovely event call (+44) 0118 9598232.

David Camus

LKT Consulting

Program Manager

Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery turns 45 Year Old

Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery turns 45 Years Old

45 years ago, on the 21st September 1971, my education career started out. I was the first child to be enrolled at Pine Rivers Kindergarten and Day Nursery in Reading Berkshire England.

As a boisterous excitable 4 year old (by 4 days) I was ready to take on the whole world of building blocks. My mother told me I was in seventh Heaven as she toured me around this incredible establishment full of toys, blocks, colour and fun.

The warm and friendly place was started by a mother and daughter team, Penny Camus (owner) and Heather. They were committed to early childhood care and the lives of young children, fostering and nourishing the minds and building these minds into something wonderful that would go onto schools, colleges, universities and around the world.

Names still sit in my head from 45 years ago; John Staker, Michael Pick and Tracy Baker (I am sure there is a picture of Tracy and I getting married on the Pine Rivers Kindergarten steps as a beautiful 4 year old couple!!).

This wonderful place consists of a team that is committed to building character in young children and inspires the education and imaginative development of those early years.

As well as a wonderful indoor environment, Pine Rivers has excellent outdoor play areas, including grassed areas that are in touch with nature, decked areas and all-weather classrooms.  

I have travelled 12,000 miles to be back at the nursery for this special event and hopefully see some faces from 45 years ago. Flag making, clowns, fun activities and an all-day Friday Party have been arranged for the entire week. I am so excited to be part of this awe inspiring event. It is so nice to hear such a good news story about a business that is still operational after so many years.

My wonderful elderly mother started all this and I am inspired by her dedication through the easy years and difficult years. To this day she still owns and runs it at the ripe old age of 85, now, with the wonderful help of the Director, Lesley Delecia (another daughter) and a team of dedicated nursery educators. 

For more exciting information about this lovely event call (+44) 0118 9598232.

David Camus

LKT Consulting

Program Manager