CONTACTS 
0201 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 744 3033 fax 3449
020101 - Mr. Max R. Blodgett, II, P.E., L.S.
020102 - Construction - Operations Division

SUBJECTS
SDS, Marketing, Sales, Demonstrations
Proposal, Contract & Support
Corps of Engineers, SFD
KH and Airport, Bidding Requirement
Bidding Requirement

0707 -    ..
0708 - Summary/Objective
0709 -
070901 - Follow up ref SDS 10 0000, ref SDS 9 00000.
070902 -
070903 - We considered various ways to try Communication Metrics to support
070904 - Max, and focused on aiding his assistant Tom with the DMMO matter. Set
070905 - tentative meeting with Tom to see SDS next week.
070906 -
070907 -
070908 -
070909 -
0710 -
0711 -
0712 - Discussion
0713 -
071301 - When I arrived, Max was reading the record from our last meeting.  He
071302 - examined the attachments showing possible scope of service, which we
071303 - discussed on 960105. ref SDS 5 8659  He feels the scope for the ALRS
071304 - project ref SDS 4 3457, does not reflect what he has in mind to test
071305 - SDS and the Welch Company for Communication Metrics support.
071306 -     ..
071307 -     It was unclear whether Max's review focused on the specific
071308 -     work shown in the meeting with Kwan Henmi under "Goal" on 951109,
071309 -     ref SDS 4 MY7O, and in particular section "F" for "Scope of
071310 -     Services" ref SDS 4 3457, since these tasks and responsibilities
071311 -     appear to accomplish the objectives Max mentioned during the
071312 -     meeting today.
071313 -
071314 -
071315 -  ..
071316 - Direct Contract on an Existing Project
071317 -
071318 - He feels today that administration of issuing a contract for Welch to
071319 - support their Oakland project is awkward and time consuming.  He
071320 - mentioned budget concerns about adding more staff to that project.
071321 -
071322 -     Concern should reflect the size of the potential loss or gain
071323 -     (i.e., cost/benefit) of the matter to be supported.  The point of
071324 -     the exercise is to avoid unjustified escalation of change order
071325 -     outlay.  If there is significant potential, then adequate
071326 -     allocation of resources to avoid overcharging the government is
071327 -     essential, because the alternative is to place the government at
071328 -     risk of incurring far greater expense due to an improper claim.
071329 -
071330 -       [On 960117 report that DOD procurement requirements have been
071331 -       "streamlined." ref SDS 11 0001
071332 -
071333 -       [On 960913 contract with COE in 960913, ref SDS 14 7734
071334 -
071335 -       [On 961226 concern about modifying contract, ref SDS 19 5723
071336 -
071337 -
071338 -  ..
071339 - Specifying SDS as Contract Requirement
071340 -
071341 - Max mentioned the objective to place a requirement on the contractor
071342 - to produce an SDS record that is submitted to the Corps in real-time,
071343 - via linked network.  This record would supplant the Daily Work Report
071344 - and provide a more robust management record by including telecons,
071345 - meetings, inspections, correspondence, email.  Thus, all management
071346 - activity would be linked together.
071347 -
071348 -     This follows up our discussion last week on 960105 about writing a
071349 -     contract requirement for contractors to use SDS similar to using
071350 -     CPM and C/SCSC, ref SDS 5 1008.
071351 -
071352 -     The first aim is to improve the contractor's understanding of its
071353 -     own work, rather than trying to build the job with conversation
071354 -     under the guise of "expediting" the work.  This alone will reduce
071355 -     problems, claims and disputes, because the contractor will begin
071356 -     discovering the mistakes it is making early enough to take
071357 -     corrective action before extra cost is incurred.  The larger goal
071358 -     of providing enhanced oversight by the Corps of Engineers could
071359 -     evolve as experience is gained with the process.
071360 -     ..
071361 -     For the dredging contract with Dutra on the Oakland project,
071362 -     this would require a change order.  The contractor may be entitled
071363 -     to training time and expense to acquire expertise for producing a
071364 -     record like this. The quality of the output would not meet the
071365 -     Corps expectations, unless Welch did the work. In that case, the
071366 -     Corps would have placed a resource in the hands of the contractor
071367 -     whose duty would be to advocate for the contractor.
071368 -
071369 -
071370 -      ..
071371 -     Change Order Payment
071372 -
071373 -     Of course the Corps might structure the requirement for Dutra to
071374 -     pay for an outside service simply to create the record.  This
071375 -     could accomplish the short term goal of developing revenue to
071376 -     evaluate SDS by charging it to a change order.
071377 -
071378 -
071379 -
0714 -

SUBJECTS
Past History, costly, takes too much time
Controlling the Record
Meeting Notes, confirm understandings
Immediate Benefits, Action Items
Executive Support
Management productivity
Action Items, Liked to Details of Work and
Experience SDS/Communication Metrics Only
Oakland Claims Management, 970722

2112 -
211201 -  ..
211202 - Follow Up on Action Items
211203 -
211204 - Max showed a report from an A/E contractor on a Corps project that
211205 - cites several incidents of potential safety problems.  He showed a
211206 - handwritten note from his boss, the Colonel, who asks Max how the
211207 - Corps is following up on these Action Items.  Max said the Corps does
211208 - not have a ready means to record what is done, roll over pending
211209 - matters into controllable actions, and assemble the record to support
211210 - decisions and report performance.
211211 -
211212 -
211213 -  ..
211214 - Capturing & Controlling the Record
211215 - Past History is Entered as Needed, Not Major Expense
211216 -
211217 - Max would like to use SDS for this but is concerned it would require a
211218 - significant logistical effort to enter a lot of past history, train a
211219 - lot of Corps people and coordinate their use of SDS.
211220 -
211221 -       [On 960312 Max wants to see this capability in action.
211222 -       ref SDS 13 0631]
211223 -
211224 -       [On 961105 after Welch contract began for about 30 days, SDS
211225 -       developed greater command of history than those who had been on
211226 -       the job from inception. ref SDS 18 7429]
211227 - ..
211228 - While we talked, Max examined Bill DeHart's report to PG&E on
211229 - using SDS. ref DRP 1 8444
211230 -
211231 -     We briefly reviewed Bill's comments on 950330 that he initially
211232 -     had the same worry Max expresses today, ref SDS 3 8374  Based on
211233 -     experience using conventional methods, Bill thought it would be
211234 -     too difficult to organize the issues and sources of information
211235 -     from people, agencies, and departments involved in PG&E work, with
211236 -     only Welch using the program.  Bill later reported on 941114 in a
211237 -     meeting with IBM, however, that this initial, intuitive worry
211238 -     proved incorrect. ref SDS 2 3078
211239 -
211240 -        [On 961101 COE has same experience.  ref SDS 17 8888]
211241 -
211242 -     It is not necessary to capture everything in order to improve the
211243 -     productivity of the Department, any more than it is necessary to
211244 -     hire 10 different people to head a single department.  SDS makes
211245 -     the executive at the level where it is applied instantly more
211246 -     productive, and this ripples throughout the organization.
211247 -
211248 -
211249 -
211250 -  ..
211251 - Supplement and Support Corps Claim Procedures
211252 -
211253 - Max said the Corps is reluctant to expose its business practices on
211254 - claims to outside vendors.
211255 -
211256 -     Obviously the Corps must satisfy itself with respect to the
211257 -     character and integrity of its vendors.  Those who support the
211258 -     Corps on claims bring expertise, some of which may overlap Corp
211259 -     practices.  Welch is an expert in contracts, and brings a new and
211260 -     powerful dimension to claims work that may add value to the Corps'
211261 -     efforts without ever being exposed to official and unique
211262 -     practices the Corps needs to protect.
211263 -
211264 -       [See resolution of this matter at ref SDS 16 4882 and
211265 -       ref SDS 16 3849.]
211266 -
211267 -
211268 -  ..
211269 - DMMO Communication Support
211270 -
211271 - DMMO is a joint agency chaired by the Corps of Engineers to formulate
211272 - policy for dredging the San Francisco Bay.  It evidently is comprised
211273 - of 4 separate governmental jurisdictions with the stated aim of
211274 - expediting review of dredging projects so adequate environmental
211275 - standards are maintained and San Francisco can be competitive with
211276 - other Pacific ports.  Progress by DMMO has been slow due to difficult
211277 - communications underlaid by divergent agendas among the four member
211278 - agencies.
211279 -
211280 - The challenge is political.  Max indicated part of the problem is lack
211281 - of shared meaning, part reflects competition to rest the chair from
211282 - the Corps of Engineers, part may be pointedly obstructionist from lack
211283 - of commitment to the DMMO objective.  Max's boss wants a record that
211284 - can be used to support greater attention by the management of the
211285 - participating agencies in the event progress does not improve on the
211286 - group's charter.
211287 -
211288 -      ..
211289 -     Introducing Welch & SDS
211290 -
211291 -     He wondered about how to present Welch and Communication Metrics
211292 -     into the meetings of the group.
211293 -
211294 -     I explained the procedure used on the CDWR pipeline project in
211295 -     Kern and San Louis Obispo counties, where I explained SDS and
211296 -     Communication Metrics following a regularly scheduled meeting on
211297 -     940901. ref SDS 1 BV3Y
211298 -
211299 -     On the CDWR project, PG&E needed approval from the State to use
211300 -     Welch and the SDS process.  In this case, the Corps is charged to
211301 -     successfully chair DMMO.  Based on progress to date, the Corps can
211302 -     present Welch and Communication Metrics as a method to carry out
211303 -     its mission to facilitate communication and progress.
211304 -
211305 -
211306 -      ..
211307 -     Welch Role - 2 Options
211308 -
211309 -     On the CDWR project for PG&E, Welch issued all reports under the
211310 -     name of the Project Manager, Bill DeHart.  This is a convenient
211311 -     role, since it minimizes lines of official communication.
211312 -
211313 -         [See use of this method for COE, ref SDS 15 line 254.]
211314 -
211315 -     Alternatively, on this DMMO assignment, the Corps may wish to
211316 -     provide an outside, objective record of understandings to avoid
211317 -     the appearance of advocating any particular agenda.  In that case,
211318 -     reports would be issued under the Welch Company name.
211319 -
211320 - ..
211321 - Max will discuss these ideas with Tom Kiesling, his assistant
211322 - for the DMMO matter, on Monday when he returns from vacation,
211323 -
211324 -
211325 -  ..
211326 - Follow Up
211327 -
211328 - We scheduled a tentative follow up meeting on 960124 1000 with Tom so
211329 - he can see the methodology and decide if he feels it can contribute in
211330 - expediting progress.
211331 -
211332 -     [See follow up at ref SDS 12 line 74.]
211333 -
211334 -
2114 -