A few years back the EARTH moved under our feet and the roads in the city of Christchurch had to be redone all at once.

The Christchurch City Council, restorer of roads and footpaths, found themselves in the ultimate freakout: Numerous bituminous contractors metalling tarmac in greater count than pupae in a fly farm.
Think Sauron’s Mordor with hi-vis vests. Orkland.
But in Christchurch.

Some of these roadies were lax in their labour, queer in their quality and immodest in their invoicing. It became a standard amongst peers, extending job times and pushing up prices. Just think how cordial their council masters and the rate paying citizens were feeling!

Numerous bituminous contractors
metalling tarmac in greater count
than pupae in a fly farm.

The council rightly gave no plaudit, they designed a new kind of roading audit. This meant jobs had to be done in time at the cost quoted (including sick days) or finished at the contractor’s own expense, within good reason. The Council staff themselves had to learn how the new system would work and what was expected in dealing with both citizens and contractors. Cue a System wide Staff Training montage with a nice set of posters to facilitate the whole thing. TheCartoonist (dot net!) was called on to do the posters. Even the contractors got to have fun, I think.