THE WELCH COMPANY

440 Davis Court #1602

San Francisco, CA  94111-2496

415 781 5700






October 20, 1997                                                                     03 00050 97102003



Mr. R. Max Wideman
Wideman, R. Max
2216 West 21st Avenue
Vancouver, BC  V6L 1J5
Canada

Subject:  Communication Metrics Cost Savings

Ref:   a. Welch letter to USACE CEMP-E, Oct 19, 1997
          b. USA Corps of Engineers' Report Oct 7, 1997
          c. Wideman letter Oct 7, 1997

Dear Max,


Thanks very much for comments on the  cost savings
report issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ref c.  I am sending
a printed copy with government letterhead for your records.  Possibly the
report can support your writings and presentations at professional events.




With luck, there will be an opportunity to develop more experience to test the
ideas.  I sent you some discussion on this point with Jim Jones at HQ USACE,
ref a.




My sense is that actual savings on management can be more significant than
estimated.  The correlation between span of attention and

rework
seems like a
promising way to quantify productivity for level-of-effort work under risk
management precepts.  In any event your input has been helpful and I appreciate
it very much.




Sincerely,


THE WELCH COMPANY






Rod Welch




Enclosures