As the first monthly report to be presented on our new website, this report covers actions undertaken and trends observed for the month of February 2021.   As noted below we are striving to implement further productivity improvements - and ever more new projects - over the next months and years.

By way of background, we allocate priorities drawing firstly from the WBI strategic plan, secondly from our maintenance master plan, and finally onto our weekly and daily job allocations as managed from our operations board

A summary of the teams’ activities this month are below:

Security related new and ongoing maintenance

Maintaining our defences against crime is an ongoing task.  To this end, this month additional lighting has been installed at the south end of the island – covering the dark area adjacent to the lagoon there.
Security fences are constantly monitored – this month we replaced cut razor wire at the Lighthouse end and added further extensions to that along the lagoon at the south end of the Island.

Pond related achievements

The summer heat – without any plant/water-lily water cover in the pond - allowed suspended algae to turn the water green.   To avoid using chemical additives, a supplier has introduced us to a bio water treatment product that specifically targets the removal of algae through biological processes.   We are in the process of experimenting with the optimum dosage and have thus far been partly successful in reducing the density of the suspended micro algae.  
Dosage trials will continue, as well as the addition of more plants and water lilies by gardening department.   We hope to strike an optimum balance between cost versus water clarity during March.

Water leaks

For several years now – since the underground piping was replaced throughout the Island – the frequency of water leaks has been minimal. 
However, this month we have experienced a decided uptick in that frequency.
To minimize this trend we will need to once again revert to reducing the water pressure through the pressure controller near the main gate. 

Street sweeping

As a first step toward increasing the productivity of the cleaning team, we are in the process of sourcing a manual push-sweeper.    An initial trial showed its efficiency to be measurably greater than manual sweeping.  

Sewer maintenance

Since the spate of wet-wipe-related blockages which occurred during last winter there have been no further instances, thanks to the folk who monitor what is flushed down their toilets.
However, tree roots are an ongoing scourge to the sewers as they grow larger over the years and their roots encroach upon adjacent sewers and manholes.   To pre-empt emergency blockages, we are about to embark on a camera survey of the sewers to provide advance information on locations where roots are encroaching or other damage or sand and stone blockages are starting to occur.

Age-related maintenance

Monitoring the degree of maintenance due to the age of the WBI complex has been included in the breakdown of time merely to highlight the extent to which increased age of a residential complex incurs increased maintenance.

Streetlight replacement

Since we are unable to replace the basic fittings for the round streetlights, we are in the process of replacing the set of streetlights in the square at the admin office as a trial area..
We plan to recondition the poles – or replace where necessary – and fit several candidate new light fittings there for review and selection.
The remainder of the working original lights there  will be used to replace other damaged lights around the Island until decisions are made on the replacement schedule