WHAT CHANGES ARE NEEDED?
SMRT will implement several measures to address its problems, including setting up a Joint Readiness Inspection team that will audit its maintenance work and renewal of rail assets.
It will bring in external experts to inspect critical systems across its network, and intensify training to address lingering cultural issues. When asked to elaborate, the transport operator said it was unable to provide more details.
Its new chairman, Mr Seah Moon Ming, has pledged that all staff accountable for the falsification of records will be sternly disciplined, “regardless of rank and position”.
The manager and staff responsible have been suspended and are assisting in investigations, while SMRT also replaced its vice-president of maintenance a week after the flooding.
News of the falsified records has renewed discussion over whether SMRT needs fresh leadership.
In a letter on Friday (Nov 3), Straits Times Forum writer Loh Wengmun wrote:
“The burning question in public minds: What needs to happen before the ministry decides to have a leadership change?”
MP Yee Chia Hsing, who also sits on the Transport GPC, says he can understand why the public is calling for Mr Kuek’s dismissal.
The SMRT board will have to decide if he is still the best person available to take the organisation forward, he adds.
PeopleWorldwide Consulting’s managing director David Leong reckons Mr Kuek must go.
He says: “Enough damage has been done. The public view of the current management is arguably worse than the previous management (under Ms Saw).”
While there will be transitioning pains, this will be mitigated if the SMRT board finds a new leader experienced with running a rail network, he adds.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan, who is the MP for Mountbatten, however, says he would be “hesitant” to see a change, unless the CEO is truly responsible for the company’s problems.
“It’s better that the current CEO stays on and solves the problem,” he says.
Observers say SMRT’s management will have to not only find ways to motivate their maintenance staff, but also conduct more random checks.
They add that the LTA must also be willing to acknowledge any existing design flaws in the rail network if those are uncovered, and work with SMRT to improve them.
The former SMRT senior executive says management has to go to the ground level to make its presence felt.
Insight understands Mr Seah has begun to take a more active role in influencing the company’s operations. This includes making several unannounced visits to SMRT staff, including going to the operations control centre at night.
Mr Seah, who is chief executive of liquefied natural gas player Pavilion Energy, is an engineer by training, and was president of ST Electronics when it won contracts to install signalling systems on the Taipei Metro.
SMRT’s senior management must talk to all staff, and impress on them the importance of taking responsibility for their actions, Mr Lim says.
“You don’t want one bad apple to taint the whole SMRT.”
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