THE WELCH COMPANY
440 Davis Court #1602
San Francisco, CA 94111-2496
415 781 5700


S U M M A R Y


DIARY: January 8, 1997 09:00 AM Wednesday; Rod Welch

Called Max on status of Communication Metrics at COE.

1...Summary/Objective
2...Marc indicated his schedule is very busy at this time. He has a lot
3...COE Prepare Form 2626 Evaluation on Communication Metrics
4...Dutra's Ability to Perform
5...Meeting on 970109 Re "Issues" Cancelled
6...Based on foregoing, submitted letter to Max listing additional support


..............
Click here to comment!

CONTACTS 
0201 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 977 8400 fax 8483
020101 - Mr. Max R. Blodgett, II, P.E., L.S.
020102 - Chief =415 977 8444; Construction Operations Division =415 977 8480
0202 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 977 8400 fax 8483
020201 - Mr. Thompson F. Keesling, Architect; Assistant Chief =415 977 8473
020202 - Construction Operations Division   =415 977 8480
0203 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 977 8400 fax 8483
020301 - Mr. Thomas Benero; Chief =415 977 8511; Contracting Division
0204 - Corps of Engineers, SFD            415 977 8400 fax 8483
020401 - Mr. Marcus Tikotsky; Contract Specialist =415 977 8509
020402 - Contracting Division

SUBJECTS
Increase Budget, Port of Oakland
Contract DACW07-96-P-0705
Sole Source Justification
Mentoring, COE Staffing
Facilitating Meeting Begins with SDS Record
Proactive Management Discovers Problems
70% of Day Wasted in Meetings, Only 10% of
Port of Richmond
Communication Manager
Welch Scope of Services

1512 -    ..
1513 - Summary/Objective
1514 -
151401 - Follow up ref SDS 22 0000, ref SDS 19 0000.
151402 -
151403 - Submitted letter confirming ideas developed yesterday and met with Max
151404 - and Tom to develop a common understanding of Welch procurement status,
151405 - including continued support for Oakland project.  Marc McGovern was
151406 - asked to begin a new procurement effort which may take several months.
151407 - Marcus Tikotsky advised the $98K procurement may be adequate if
151408 - submitted under different authority.
151409 -
151410 - Prepared ref DIT 1 0000 setting out the range of support discussed
151411 - over the past several months, ref SDS 15 0000.  Decided not to submit
151412 - this record for now in order to avoid stifling review by providing a
151413 - lot of information to absorb and manage.
151414 -
151415 -     [See follow up at ref SDS 25 line 400; later on 970403, ref SDS 28
151416 -     line 236; and memo to DE on 970422, ref SDS 30 line 77.]
151417 -
151418 -
1515 -
1516 -
1517 - ë0927 Discussion
1518 -
151801 - Talked to Tom Keesling.  He has talked to Tom Benero about finalizing
151802 - the current Welch contract.  He had not seen the email sent this
151803 - morning, ref DIP 8 0000.
151804 -
151805 - Tom Keesling advised of his understanding that COE will advertise for
151806 - sole source status on the Richmond project, but that the District
151807 - Engineer believes Communication Metrics is no longer needed on the
151808 - Oakland project, as he advised on 961226, ref SDS 19 0549, which is
151809 - why a final contract is being prepared to close out that effort.
151810 -
151811 - Tom will follow up to ensure that Ofell completes the Welch closeout
151812 - contract by tomorrow, so I can submit an invoice before Tom leaves on
151813 - vacation at the end of this week.
151814 - ..
151815 - Talked to Max.
151816 -
151817 - He had not received my email either.
151818 -
151819 - Max seems to have expected that Tom Keesling was developing funding to
151820 - continue Communication Metrics on the Oakland project.
151821 -
151822 - I explained the above understandings from Tom that the DE feels
151823 - Communication Metrics is no longer needed on the Oakland project.
151824 -
151825 - Max asked if there is any money in the current Welch budget for me to
151826 - continue?
151827 -
151828 - I explained the purpose of the present modification was to provide
151829 - interim funding, and since it has not been approved, this effort is
151830 - unfunded.
151831 - ..
151832 - Max indicated he was not aware of this circumstance.
151833 -
151834 - I suggested we meet with Tom to clarify the situation.
151835 -
151836 - Max said he is backed up with other matters, so he does not have
151837 - enough time to meet now.
151838 -
151839 - We considered the difficulty of Tom leaving on vacation next week and
151840 - being assigned to other duties. This requires management support by
151841 - others for continuing Communication Metrics, if that is what the
151842 - District wants to accomplish.
151843 -
151844 - Max said he will discuss this with Tom.  He asked me to call him back
151845 - in an hour.
151846 - ..
151847 - Printed copy of the letter, ref DIP 8 0000, submitted via email
151848 - yesterday, ref SDS 22 4752; and, prepared a current set of Action
151849 - Items. see the record at ref SDS 22 7472
151850 -
151851 -
151852 -
151853 -  ..
1519 -
1520 -
1521 - 1311 visited Max and Tom Keesling
1522 -
152201 - Submitted the letter, ref DIP 8 0000 in printed form per above, on our
152202 - discussion yesterday, ref SDS 22 0000, including the list of pending
152203 - Action Items. ref SDS 22 4752
152204 -
152205 -    [On 970110 advised Tom White about Action Item report to Max. see
152206 -    ref SDS 24 7768]
152207 - ..
152208 - Initially, Tom confirmed his understanding that DE seems to have
152209 - indicated Communication Metrics is no longer needed on the Oakland
152210 - Harbor project, but it can be used on Richmond, per ref SDS 19 8491.
152211 -
152212 -    [On 970109 called Tom Keesling ref SDS 23 8552
152213 -
152214 -    [On 970110 discussed with Tom Benero and Max the DE's feeling about
152215 -    continuing Communication Metrics. ref SDS 24 6482]
152216 -
152217 - Max posed the prospect that DE remains concerned philosophically about
152218 - Welch speaking at meetings, discussed on 961206. ref SDS 8 8851.
152219 -
152220 - DE feels COE staff should conduct meetings.
152221 -
152222 -     We did not discuss today the broad range between "speaking" at
152223 -     meetings, conducting meetings, and facilitating meetings.
152224 - ..
152225 - Max set out CON OPS' position that Communication Metrics should
152226 - be used on the Oakland Harbor project in order to mitigate the
152227 - government's exposure to claims by the contractor, as discussed on
152228 - 960920. ref SDS 1 8854
152229 -
152230 - Tom noted that, to accomplish this objective, the DE will need help in
152231 - understanding the critical circumstances of the project and the unique
152232 - support Communication Metrics provides, as reviewed by former District
152233 - Counsel Jim Stout on 961015. ref SDS 2 3395
152234 -
152235 -     [On 970624 DE disclosed personal belief that Com Metrics is not
152236 -     cost effective. ref SDS 31 7388
152237 -
152238 -     [On 970625 claims grew to $60M, criminal investigation launched.
152239 -     ref SDS 32 2704
152240 -
152241 -     [On 970722 DE advised that claims on Oakland project present
152242 -     problems outside his experience and that USACE needs specialists
152243 -     to support the government. ref SDS 33 7488
152244 -
152245 -     [On 981027 government paid $30M to settle $60M in claims on a $42M
152246 -     contract. ref SDS 34 9152]
152247 - ..
152248 - Max related his understanding that DE's only concern is to
152249 - maintian good relations with the Port of Oakland, from discussion
152250 - yesterday. ref SDS 22 7493
152251 -
152252 - Reviewed again the critical need to maintain continuity of capturing
152253 - the record on Oakland, discussed yesterday, ref SDS 22 6037, and to
152254 - accomplish specific tasks for risk management to mitigate exposure on
152255 - claims, as disucssed on 960920. ref SDS 1 2565 and ref SDS 1 2875
152256 -
152257 - This point was explained yesterday when we met. ref SDS 22 6037
152258 -
152259 -     [On 970110 Max addressed this objective with the Oakland Project
152260 -     Team. ref SDS 24 2487]
152261 -
152262 - Accordingly, some review may be warranted with DE, per discussion
152263 - yesterday as set out in the 970107 letter, ref DIP 8 0000, to ensure a
152264 - reasoned decision is made on this point in order to avoid having a
152265 - break in the support for current initiatives, ref SDS 22 7044, e.g.,
152266 - updating the schedule, Todd-Schnitzer problem, RFP #20, determining
152267 - pay quantities, Galbraith discharge protocols, capturing the record of
152268 - meetings and maintaining Action Items, Navy Sewer Line, etc.
152269 -
152270 -     [On 970110 some form of review occurred with DE on this matter by
152271 -     Max and Tom Benero. ref SDS 24 5739.]
152272 - ..
152273 - Max indicated that the scope of work for Communication Metrics
152274 - needs to have Welch prepare COE staff prior to meetings and review
152275 - results afterwards, as a critique. Max indicated this would be
152276 - acceptable to DE.
152277 -
152278 - He characterized it as a "mentoring" process that facilitates meetings
152279 - without proactive support during meetings.  Max raised this objective
152280 - previously on 961204. ref SDS 5 8420
152281 -
152282 - There was discussion that these steps are being performed under the
152283 - current scope, per Welch letter to COE dated 961205 issued at ref SDS
152284 - 6 9477, and analysis of Eft's memo, ref SDS 16 line 373.
152285 -
152286 - Tom Keesling commented that at this time the Oakland Harbor project
152287 - needs real-time proactive support.  Incomplete, conflicting
152288 - understandings conveyed during meetings, as seems to have occurred at
152289 - the meeting on 961213 by Dutra, causes delays, anger, frustration and
152290 - wastes time and expense to recover.
152291 -
152292 -      [See where Max requests Oakland Project staff assemble their
152293 -      notes on the 961213 meeting, ref SDS 24 line 515.]
152294 - ..
152295 - Marc McGovern joined the discussion confirmed need for proactive
152296 - support.  He related how Communication Metrics has been used this past
152297 - month to step Dutra, COE and UPRR through a series of actions to move
152298 - the Navy Sewer Line work forward, where previously activity had
152299 - stopped under a managerial impasse for four (4) months, ref SDS 3 line
152300 - 55.
152301 -
152302 - As well, since Max instituted weekly Contract Administration meetings
152303 - they have become an effective instrument, which was the goal in using
152304 - Communication Metrics.  Marc noted that COE staff, including Leonard
152305 - and himself, have many projects to follow and so it is challenging to
152306 - keep abreast of the fast moving job record in sufficient degree to
152307 - conduct effective meetings, as discussed previously in connection with
152308 - the need for increased staffing, ref SDS 13 line 77.  The process of
152309 - performing Communication Metrics necessarily places Welch in command
152310 - and control of the record because by definition it accounts for and
152311 - aligns decisions with prior understandings.  This positions Welch to
152312 - facilitate meetings and provide a dynamic visible learning experience
152313 - which the COE staff can apply to other matters.  In this way the
152314 - current practice provides mentoring each day by showing the value of
152315 - creating and using an accurate, complete job record to conduct
152316 - productive business meetings.
152317 - ..
152318 - There was discussion that Marc would develop a scope of services
152319 - to advertise for Communication Metrics support.  Max wants the initial
152320 - effort to be generic support for the Resident Engineer's office, so
152321 - the allocation of the time can be applied to different projects as the
152322 - need arises.  Marc will coordinate with Leonard SooHoo on what is
152323 - needed.  There was discussion about using the language in the recent
152324 - modification that was not approved due to the matter of sole source
152325 - contracting.
152326 -
152327 -  ..
152328 -
152329 - Marc indicated his schedule is very busy at this time.  He has a lot
152330 - of tasks to perform on other matters and so may not have time to
152331 - prepare the scope of services Max has in mind.
152332 -
152333 -     [See follow up preparing scope of services, ref SDS 26 line 86.]
152334 -
152335 -
1524 -
1525 -
1526 - 1450 visited Tom Benero
1527 -   ..
152701 - Tom said he received my email, ref DIP 8 line 28, but was unable
152702 - to read it.  He could not get the attachment, which is the primary
152703 - communication, to show up on his screen. I suggested he try while we
152704 - were meeting.  He was successful in opening the attachment and said he
152705 - will read it later.
152706 -
152707 - Tom said he is working on the contract to pay Welch for closing out
152708 - the prior work and expects to have this done by Friday.  Tom said he
152709 - understands from Tom Keesling that Welch is to provide some final work
152710 - product as part of closing out the current contract.  I indicated that
152711 - I agreed to do the notes for the Contract Administration meeting on
152712 - 961230, and that was performed at ref SDS 21 line 43.  A copy was sent
152713 - to Tom Benero.  We did not discuss whether he has read it.
152714 -
152715 - Tom asked me to coordinate with Tom Keesling tomorrow before he leaves
152716 - on vacation about this point.
152717 -
152718 -     [Did this at ref SDS 23 line 102.]
152719 -
152720 -
152721 -
152722 -
1528 -

SUBJECTS
2626 COE Contractor Evaluation
Evaluation

1705 -
170501 -  ..
170502 - COE Prepare Form 2626 Evaluation on Communication Metrics
170503 -
170504 - I asked about getting a 2626 evaluation of the Welch contract.  Tom
170505 - asked me to contact him after Tom Keesling returns from vacation in 3
170506 - weeks on this.
170507 -
170508 - Max mentioned earlier he felt the Communication Metrics effort had
170509 - been productive and helpful to COE.
170510 -
170511 -    [On 980418 received COE evaluation dated 980328 with endorsements
170512 -    from Max, Leonard, Herb and Marc. ref SDS 29 3368]
170513 -
170514 -
170515 -
170516 -
1706 -

SUBJECTS
Dutra
Cure Notice

1905 -
190501 -  ..
190502 - Dutra's Ability to Perform
190503 -
190504 - Tom advised of having information that Dutra has filed for chapter 11
190505 - protection, posing the possibility that its bonding company may have
190506 - to support the Oakland Harbor project.  He feels the period ahead will
190507 - require increased management support.
190508 -
190509 -
190510 -  ..
190511 - Meeting on 970109 Re "Issues" Cancelled
190512 -
190513 - Tom advised that the meeting scheduled for tomorrow on "issues" has
190514 - been deferred until further preparation is accomplished, following up
190515 - schedule meeting with Dutra on 961213. ref SDS 11 6640
190516 -
190517 - This reflects the fact that Dutra has failed to respond to RFP #20 and
190518 - has failed to submit a methodology to perform Todd-Schnitzer as COE
190519 - directed.
190520 -
190521 -
190522 -
1906 -
1907 -

SUBJECTS
Increase Budget, Port of Oakland
Tom Keesling, Modify Welch Contract
Contract DACW07-96-P-0705
Sole Source Justification
Submit Plan Integrate Comm Metrics and COE

2508 - 1515 discussion with Marcus Tikostksy
2509 -   ..
250901 - As I was leaving the Contracting Office area after talking to
250902 - Tom Benero, Marcus was leaving, as well.  He asked me about the status
250903 - of the Welch modification.
250904 -
250905 - I explained it has not been approved and so there may be an entirely
250906 - new initiative to advertise for management support, per above.
250907 -
250908 - Marcus said he read John Eft's memo dated 961220 and felt that it
250909 - reflected the wrong procurement method was used.  He indicated that
250910 - misscommunication within the procurement effort resulted in using the
250911 - wrong forms and FAR authority, which were different from those he and
250912 - Tom Benero discussed two weeks ago.  His sense of the matter seems to
250913 - be that COE can accomplish the Welch scope developed by Tom Keesling
250914 - and rejected by Chief Counsel John Eft, under a corrected procurement
250915 - submission.  This reflects analysis at ref SDS 16 line 166.
250916 -
250917 -    [See follow up discussion with Tom Benero and Max Blodgett on
250918 -    970110, ref SDS 24 line 792 and at ref SDS 24 line 811, but that
250919 -    DE disapproved the procurement, ref SDS 24 line 842.]
250920 -
250921 -
250922 -  ..
2510 -
2511 -
2512 - 2327 submitted plan to Max
2513 -
251301 - Based on foregoing, submitted letter to Max listing additional support
251302 - he wants Communication Metrics to perform, ref DIT 1 0001, per meeting
251303 - on 961206, ref SDS 8 1204 and discussion with Tom Keesling on 961220.
251304 - ref SDS 15 5773
251305 -
251306 - Decided not to submit this record for now, so that the record before
251307 - COE does not stifle review.
251308 -
251309 -    [On 970109 delivered letter to Max and Tom. ref SDS 23 0001]
251310 -
251311 -    [On 970115 submitted proposed scope of services requested by Max.
251312 -    ref SDS 25 5287]
251313 -
251314 -    [On 970117 Max approved proposed scope. ref SDS 26 4021]
251315 -
251316 -    [On 970225 meeting on SDS to implement Contract Administration
251317 -    practices, in the letter at ref DIT 1 3961, in a meeting on the
251318 -    Richmond project, ref SDS 27 8440]
251319 -
251320 -
251321 -
251322 -
251323 -
251324 -
251325 -
Distribution. . . . See "CONTACTS"