CONTACTS 
0201 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers         415 977 8501 fax 8483
020101 - San Francisco District
020102 - Mr. Max R. Blodgett, II, P.E., L.S.
020103 - Construction Operations Division

SUBJECTS
COE Evaluation Communication Metrics
USACE CESPN CSB Review
Wider Use Communication Metrics
Experience, Need Broader Base
District Support
Denial Managers Making Mistakes Reject
Reduced Paper handling
Paperless Office Failed
Paperless Office
Cost Savings Paperless Office Virtual Office

1912 -    ..
1913 - Summary/Objective
1914 -
191401 - Follow up ref SDS 43 0000, ref SDS 42 0000.
191402 -
191403 - Set meeting tomorrow with District Counsel on using Communication
191404 - Metrics.  Reviewed reduced paper handling as potential cost savings
191405 - and developed preliminary calculation.  Did some research for industry
191406 - standards on cost of paper handling.
191407 -
191408 - Submitted ref DIT 1 0000 asking the author, Jamal, if there any
191409 - studies on the average cost of paper handling.
191410 -
191411 -
191412 -
1915 -
1916 -
1917 - Progress
1918 -
191801 -  ..
191802 - Implementation on Internet Saves Time and Cost
191803 - HQUSACE Report on Internet Illustrates Source of Cost Savings
191804 -
191805 - Follow up ref SDS 43 4361, ref SDS 42 3960.
191806 -
191807 - Tom received my letter, ref DIP 14, submitted to Max on 990127.....
191808 - ref SDS 42 3960, with link to the report, ref DRP 16, issued by Jim
191809 - Lovo at CEMP-EC, originally on 990106 and per our telecon on the snafu
191810 - that delayed distribution to CESPN until 990126. ref SDS 41 4826
191811 -
191812 - He saw Jim's report. ref DRP 16
191813 -
191814 - We discussed the potential savings from avoiding management "snafus"
191815 - which cause wasted time, extra work, delay and stress, as cited by Jim
191816 - Lovo on 990127. ref SDS 42 7399  This savings is explained in para 8
191817 - of Tom's report issued on 971007, ref DRP 2 4172, concerning "rework."
191818 -
191819 -
191820 -  ..
191821 - Paperwork Reduced Using Webmail on the Internet Saves Time and Money
191822 -
191823 - Another source of savings is using the Internet to reduce the
191824 - cost of handling, storage, copying and faxing information, which takes
191825 - labor, equipment, paper, postage, packaging, storage, and is highly
191826 - labor intensive, and suffers chronic error. This opportunity was
191827 - considered in District Counsel's review on 981027, ref SDS 19 5208,
191828 - and previously on 980803. ref SDS 17 0774
191829 -
191830 - On 980613 the benefits of reducing the burden of paper handling was
191831 - reviewed in an article on the "paperless" or "virtual" office.
191832 - ref SDS 16 0526
191833 -
191834 -      [Below is research on Internet. ref SDS 0 8839]
191835 -
191836 -      [On 990308 asked Ed Traille about this. ref SDS 45 3180]
191837 -
191838 -  ..
191839 - Since USACE is downsizing, it needs to increase unit productivity of
191840 - management, otherwise savings from reduced staff is exceeded by the
191841 - cost of recovery from continual mistakes, snafus and rework, per
191842 - example on 990126. ref SDS 41 4368  On 971007 the District estimated
191843 - savings from using Communication Metrics. ref DRP 2 4172
191844 - ..
191845 - Jim Lovo at HQUSACE observed that cost savings of Communication
191846 - Metrics are "self-evident" in the telecon on 981119. ref SDS 22 2272
191847 - Merry seemed to make a similar observation in her letter on 981022.
191848 - ref DRP 4 3587  Tom White made the point also in his letter on 981103,
191849 - ref DRP 5 4550, as reviewed on 981104. ref SDS 20 4320
191850 -
191851 - The discussion with Jim Lovo at HQUSACE on 990105 shows Communication
191852 - Metrics is a strong step toward paperless office. ref SDS 37 1235
191853 - ..
191854 - Once assembled, distribution by Communication Metrics requires
191855 - merely sending a link to information, rather than sending the
191856 - information itself.
191857 -
191858 -     [On 990311 asked Ed Traille about this. ref SDS 46 5865]
191859 -
191860 -  ..
191861 - A good example of cost savings for reduced paper handling is CEMP-EC's
191862 - report on Communication Metrics which included a lot of enclosures, as
191863 - seen on 990129. ref SDS 44 0000
191864 -
191865 - How to estimate the cost....
191866 -
191867 -    Assume in the entire San Francisco District there are 10 reports
191868 -    generated every day and each has 10 pages.
191869 -
191870 -    Assume distribution is to 20 different people.  Even when a report
191871 -    goes to only 5 people, they ususally make copies for others, so 20
191872 -    people may be a very conservative estimate over the life of a
191873 -    document.
191874 -    ..
191875 -    So, each day there are 10 x 10 x 20 = 2,000 pages are
191876 -    generated and distributed.  For a week, that is 10,000 pages.
191877 -    ..
191878 -    Say, each page costs $4 for labor (handling), equipment,
191879 -    material, storage, distribution, disposal, archival, so that is
191880 -    $40K per week x 52 weeks = $2M per year.
191881 -
191882 -  ..
191883 - Estimate savings...
191884 -
191885 -    We are not going to save the entire $2M the first year.
191886 -
191887 -    It would take a month or so to mobilize.
191888 -
191889 -    Communication Metrics can support several business units in the
191890 -    beginning to transition from paper to the Internet.
191891 -    ..
191892 -    Transition takes time to ramp up, say 6 months.
191893 -
191894 -    It is estimated that for the first year approximately 15% of $2M
191895 -    annual cost for copying and handling expenses can be reduced, say
191896 -    $300K.
191897 -    ..
191898 -    The cost of Communication Metrics for a year is approximately
191899 -    $200K, so net savings is only $100K.
191900 -
191901 -    However, this enables the District to use Communication Metrics for
191902 -    a year at 0 cost.
191903 -    ..
191904 -    The District's report on 971007 shows that Communication Metrics
191905 -    reduces management costs by reducing rework, and based on the
191906 -    original estimates, for an investment of $200K per year, this would
191907 -    yield an additional $1M savings to the District.
191908 -
191909 -    Presumably, the District has legal exposure on a variety of issues
191910 -    which is reduced by Communication Metrics, as Jim Stout pointed out
191911 -    on 961015, ref SDS 6 3395.  Max characterized this as "insurance"
191912 -    in our discussion on 990126. ref SDS 41 8944  Effective risk
191913 -    management does not result in readily identifiable savings, but
191914 -    rather produces unexpected savings, as District Counsel reported on
191915 -    981027 when $190K was saved 18 months after using Communciation
191916 -    Metrics for only 3 months. ref SDS 19 3272
191917 -    ..
191918 -    After the first year, it is expected that direct savings on
191919 -    document production and handling will increase by 20% or more, and
191920 -    continue to increase until it reaches about 80% of the $2M annual
191921 -    cost.  There will always be some need for document production and
191922 -    handling.
191923 -
191924 -
191925 -
191926 -  ..
191927 - Presentation to District Counsel Tomorrow 1000
191928 -
191929 - Tom said that Merry Goodenough wants to have the meeting on
191930 - Communication Metrics, tomorrow at 1000, on the points of concern
191931 - reviewed on 990105. ref SDS 36 6392
191932 -
191933 - We can use the agenda developed on 990111. ref SDS 38 0242
191934 -
191935 - The Deputy District Engineer, Major Blenchinger, cannot meet tomorrow,
191936 - so we will give him a separate demonstration, possibly on Thursday.
191937 -
191938 -
191939 -
191940 -  ..
1920 -
1921 -
1922 - 1916
1923 -
192301 - Need a source for estimated cost per page of documents in large
192302 - organizations. ref SDS 0 8388
192303 -
192304 - Looked on the Internet and found a paper at...
192305 -
192306 -          http://munshi.sonoma.edu/working/swafad91.html
192307 -
192308 -   ...which has a paper...
192309 -
192310 -  ..
192311 -
192312 -               A FRAMEWORK FOR MIS EFFECTIVENESS
192313 -               Jamal Munshi, Sonoma State University
192314 -
192315 - This paper does not have specific cost parameters.  It offers guidance
192316 - on how to set up a testing program to evaluate a system like
192317 - Communication Metrics.
192318 -
192319 - Submitted ref DIT 1 0000 asking the author, Jamal, if there are any
192320 - studies on the average cost of paper handling in government management
192321 - settings.  It should be on the high side, per Kissingers' observation
192322 - about "Alice in Wonderland" environment. ref SDS 3 4238
192323 -
192324 - Included link to definition of "intelligence" in POIMS, ref OF 1 0582,
192325 - and to the Communication Metrics web site, as a potential source for
192326 - acedemic papers. ref DIT 1 4366
192327 -
192328 -
192329 -
192330 -
1924 -