It is often heavier and more stable

Sculpture has been used for centuries to enhance a garden's natural beauty. Every garden would have a little spot which could be better highlighted using an unusual sculpture, a bird bath or water feature rather than just another plant. Careful positioning of Lag Screw these sorts of things has traditionally  been used in garden feng shui to bring all the elements into the garden. Any size garden can be enhanced with sculpture as it draws the eye to a focal point as you walk around the garden. Metal sculpture is often chosen due to its durability to withstand the variances of weather and the uniqueness that the artist can create.

It is often heavier and more stable with the ability to be pegged to the ground which is important in strong winds. With the correct coating outdoor sculpture should last for years in the garden.One sculptor who is creating uniquely Australian garden sculpture is Peter Kozina of Brisbane's bayside. Peter's works are made completely  from recycled steel hence he goes by the business name  "Recycled Treasures". He is often  inspired in his work by what he sees in a discarded piece of scrap metal whether it be a piece from an old plough, a brush hook or railway spike from days gone by. He immediately sees an emu, eagle or perhaps a person's stance in a shape he discovers buried in the scrap heaps of Queensland. Recycling has long been a passion of Peter's and he likes nothing better than making something worthwhile out of supposed "junk". He was featured in a segment on Channel Nine's Brisbane Extra last year which highlighted the benefits of recycling in the Brisbane area.Peter also makes a series of garden ornaments which feature terracotta pots which can be planted up as an added feature in the home garden.  Old pushbike wheels have been transformed into penny farthings which look really colourful when the 3 pots are planted with your favourite annuals.He turns a rusty wheelbarrow into a real talking point complete with a huge central terracotta bowl and 4 smaller pots surrounding it enhanced with scrollwork. Another popular item is his unique birdbaths. No two are the same as he builds the stand out of an old car or truck spring which leads up to the bath encased in a discarded basketball hoop with 2 feeders on either side. Water features are popular in modern garden design.

Peter makes his uniquely Australian by using farm posts with an old brass tap attached. It flows into a bucket so for the water saving folk it uses only a small amount of water to get that soothing sound of running water.Peter is aware of the difficulty metal features have in being able to withstand the weather. All his garden ornaments have been coated with a  high quality etch primer followed by an enamel exterior paint. His individual sculptures have been specially treated with a formula he has created to allow the natural look of rusted metal to be maintained without rusting any further. All the purchaser has to do is spray it occasionally with clear lacquer if it is in direct sunlight and the sculpture once again has that wonderful lustre. Peter's motto has always been : "Bringing the past to life in sculpture".

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As a case study the Eurostar events explain all the key issues

The recent problems experienced by the Eurostar train service that links London to Paris and Brussels is a very precise example of Operational Risk. As a case study the Eurostar events explain all the key issues that Risk Professionals have been speaking about for years. Because it is topical and has affected tens of thousands of people like you and me, at a critical travel period of the year – in the run-up to the Christmas holidays, it is worth taking a closer look at events in relation to their operational risk aspects.
The Eruostar “event” has all the drama and the pulling power that very few other events have in drawing attention to the nature of operational risk and the practices and procedures that should have been in place to mitigate the severity of the event.  
For those who may not be familiar with the nature of the event this is what happened. The week before Christmas (2009) five Eurostar trains mysteriously broke down as they traveled through the English Channel Tunnel. Some two thousand passengers were trapped in the cold and the dark, without food or water for up to twelve or more hours. Thousands of other scheduled passengers were stranded at stations in all three countries.    
This is precisely what Operational Risk is all about. Using the definition contained in the Basle II capital adequacy rules, operational risk is defined as “the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events”.
The failure of five trains in rapid succession clearly points to “inadequate or failed internal processes, people or systems”. As matters unfold, “external events” play into this as well.
What failed and why? Well investigations rapidly revealed that sudden extreme weather conditions in France caused a very fine powdery snow that was able to penetrate the protective filters on the locomotives. Once the trains moved into the warmer air of the English Channel Tunnel, the water from the melted snow, now on the wrong side of the filters, led to the engine failures. This was the external event.
Could these events have been prevented? Possibly, but it is extreme situations like this that usually cannot be predicted because they are so rare. In normal operating conditions we would expect a combination of conditions like this to occur only once in a long, long time – usually to the magnitude of tens or even hundreds of years.   
Where the real problem comes about is in the follow-up or lack of it. This part is the “…inadequate or failed internal processes, people or systems” component. In the Eurostar case it was the inability to move those stalled trains and their hapless passengers out of the tunnel quickly that became the real difficulty.  This should have happened within no more than one hour after each train had stalled. This “rescue” ability has nothing to do with the cause of the event, but rather with the location. By its nature a tunnel is a weak point. It is a single concentration of train tracks in a very vulnerable position. Any stoppage of any train here, irrespective of the reason is a potentially extreme danger.
It is this issue that is the acid test for back-up, business continuity or the like. Getting the trains and their passenger out of the tunnel should have been a priority irrespective of what caused the problem. This should have been in the form of standby locomotives that are on twenty-four hour call at both ends of the tunnel. The provision of emergency lighting and basic food and water for such situations should not even be in question.  
A further problem was the initial inability of Eurostar staff to provide adequate information to either the stranded passengers in the tunnel or at stations for an inordinately long period of time. Aside from other events this issue is awful for customer relations and bad for company reputation.
This highlights two more aspects to being prepared for such events. The one is practice, test-runs, drills, for all staff on a regular basis; the second is communicating with trapped passengers and telling them what is happening and what to expect. That is why airlines make you sit through that awfully boring demonstration before each flight.  

Happily, apart from financial loss and ruined vacations, there was no real physical loss or injury. Yet these events provide a very clear example of what operational risk is and the procedures that should have been in place to mitigate the effects of Phillips Wood Screws Manufacturers the event once it had occurred. The Eurostar saga also provides a clear example of critical aspect of public relations in events like these.

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