CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Personal, Finance, Taxes, 96
Tax Return 1997

0504 -    ..
0505 - Summary/Objective
0506 -
050601 - Follow up ref SDS 33 0000.
050602 -
050603 - Completed check register report, and obligations calculation.  We
050604 - need to get Ed Traille to make the adjustment in the obligations
050605 - spreadsheet.
050606 -
050607 - Actually, did this work over a couple of weeks, while getting up to
050608 - speed with Excel.
050609 -
050610 -      [On 990221 submitted report to Gallina. ref SDS 35]
050611 -
050612 -      [On 990311 received tax return from Gallina. ref SDS 39 5040]
050613 -
050614 -      [On 990330 received refund from State ref SDS 40 7323
050615 -
050616 -      [On 990413 received refund from IRS. ref SDS 41 0765]
050617 -
050618 -
050619 -
0507 -
0508 -
0509 - Progress
0510 -
051001 - As a result of getting help from Microsoft for the Excel spreadsheet
051002 - program on 990211, ref SDS 34 4966, can now complete tax report begun
051003 - on 990209. ref SDS 33 8738
051004 -
051005 -
051006 -  ..
051007 - Expense and Income Register from Bank Statement
051008 -
051009 - Completed work begun on 990209. ref SDS 33 8738
051010 -
051011 - Created...
051012 -
051013 -          g: 08 03 02 01 14 tx98.XLS     sorted register
051014 -
051015 -          g: 08 03 02 01 14 tx98         report to Ed Traille
051016 -
051017 -
051018 -  ..
051019 - Obligations
051020 -
051021 - Follow up ref SDS 12 3936, ref SDS 15 1285.
051022 -
051023 - Converted to Excel, and updated the file....
051024 -
051025 -
051026 -                   g: 08 03 02 01 0202.XLS
051027 -
051028 -
051029 - Appended results for 1998 to...
051030 -
051031 -
051032 -                   g: 08 03 02 01 14 tx98
051033 -
051034 -
051035 -     ...which is the tax report to Ed. ref OF 6 8736
051036 -
051037 -     This eliminates the need to print the entire obligations
051038 -     spreadsheet, although we wound up submitting the spreadsheet file
051039 -     itself to Ed so he can adjust the amount owed to UPR, per his
051040 -     letter last year on 980224. ref SDS 12 3936 see also below.
051041 -     ref SDS 0 2400
051042 -
051043 -     There are several "tricky" steps needed to do this work.
051044 -
051045 -
051046 -     Update Summary, Post Amounts Owed to Millie Separately
051047 -
051048 -     Go to the summary for last year, and below it, add enough rows to
051049 -     replicate the format.
051050 -
051051 -     Copy the summary last year, and past it below.
051052 -
051053 -     Change the date to the past year.
051054 -
051055 -     Modify the summary explanation at the bottom of the Summary
051056 -     pointing to the annual interest owed.  Change the dates for years
051057 -     used to calculate calculating annual interest.  This does not
051058 -     affect any actual mathamatical operations, it is just a single
051059 -     sentence.
051060 -
051061 -     After posting the new activity for obligations owed to Millie, per
051062 -     below, modify this part of the Summary to use the appropriate
051063 -     cells in the other section.
051064 -
051065 -     See note below on interest owed to UPRR. ref SDS 0 2400
051066 -
051067 -
051068 -     Interest Owed to Millie
051069 -     Import New Activity from Check Register Tax Report
051070 -
051071 -     We have to grab the loans and payments to Millie through the
051072 -     course of the year from the check register.  This comes from the
051073 -     sorted tax report file...
051074 -
051075 -
051076 -                      g: 08 03 02 01 14 tx98.XLS
051077 -
051078 -
051079 -     ...it is not clear how to do this efficiently, because the columns
051080 -     and amounts are structured slightly differently.  We can copy the
051081 -     check numbers, descriptions and amounts, and paste them into the
051082 -     obligations spreadsheep.
051083 -
051084 -         After descriptions and amounts are posted, use copy to
051085 -         transfer formulas from the cells for the prior year to the
051086 -         corresponding cells for the new year.
051087 -
051088 -
051089 -
051090 -     Save as Text File .PRN, Open with Wordpad and Edit for Medit
051091 -
051092 -     After the obligations spreadsheet is updated with new information
051093 -     from the check register, the entire file can be saved as a .prn
051094 -     text file.  Excel does not have the feature in Lotus 123 of
051095 -     printing a range.  So we have to print the entire file.
051096 -
051097 -     Then open the file in Word or Notepad or Wordpad.
051098 -
051099 -         Delete the part that is not needed to create a text file that
051100 -         can be loaded into an Medit file.
051101 -
051102 -
051103 - ..
051104 - On 980303 received from Ed a letter that explains how to adjust
051105 - formulas for interest owed to UP on Pier 11. ref SDS 15 1285
051106 -
051107 - I do not seem to have that letter, and, further, I was unable to
051108 - follow Ed's instructions well enough to make the changes to the
051109 - spreadsheet.  Seems like he was using an Excel file, and up until this
051110 - year we were using Lotus.  This year we changed to Excel.
051111 -
051112 - Therefore, this year, I will submit the obligations file to Ed and ask
051113 - him to enter the appropriate changes along with a record of what was
051114 - done and why.
051115 -
051116 -      [On 990221 did this. ref SDS 35 4488]
051117 -
051118 -      [On 990308 discussed with Ed. ref SDS 38 6192]
051119 -
051120 -
051121 -  ..
051122 - Welch Company Review
051123 -
051124 - Follow up ref SDS 12 4092.
051125 -
051126 - This was another huge leap in technology, but no revenue to speak of.
051127 -
051128 - In September, the Kwan Henmi firm tried Communication Metrics on a
051129 - design project for Moscone Convention Center, Expansion Phase III. The
051130 - firm was attracted by new features using the Internet, developed over
051131 - the past year. ref SDS 23
051132 -
051133 - They wanted to use Communication Metrics for taking notes at design
051134 - review meetings, but not to manage the work.  The lead architect,
051135 - Gensler, did not want Communication Metrics for the same reason that
051136 - the Port of Oakland did not want it, fear of accountability. ref SDS
051137 - 25 2945  So this was cancelled, after about 8 weeks.  The record
051138 - indicates there is a lot of opportunity to improve design by reducing
051139 - mistakes and rework that cause extra cost and delay for this type of
051140 - work, as seen from the meeting on 980930. ref SDS 24 3099
051141 -
051142 - The difficulty is that savings come from improving global management,
051143 - which is really at the owner and surety level.  Design firms feel
051144 - insulated from poor management by insurance, and contractors see it as
051145 - income opportunity through claims.  But somebody is paying a lot of
051146 - money for mistakes that occur in daily management of design.  Only a
051147 - small portion gets visibility through litigation.
051148 -
051149 - The first part of the year was devoted to setting up the web site...
051150 -
051151 -                      http://www.welchco.com
051152 -
051153 -      ...for deliverying intelligence via Internet.
051154 -
051155 - On 980226 reviewed IBM's announcement marketing business intelligence.
051156 - ref SDS 13 0000
051157 -
051158 - On 980307 reviewed Andy Grove's book, who is CEO of Intel.  Grove
051159 - supports a key concept of Communication Metrics on the need for
051160 - copious notes of business meetings in order to avoid ambiguity, i.e.,
051161 - to "understand" what happened and plan follow up. ref SDS 17 3668  He
051162 - also points out the marketing challenge of improving management that
051163 - is resisted by managers. ref SDS 17 1660
051164 -
051165 - On 980403 the concept of "business intelligence" was demonstrated to
051166 - the Corps of Engineers because they had published a report that
051167 - Communication Metrics supported an "intelligence" role for the
051168 - management function, and so presumably they are positioned to make a
051169 - reasoned evaluation.
051170 -
051171 - They found that it enhances their existing methods of managing
051172 - information.... ref SDS 20 4756
051173 -
051174 - They requested a web site Home Page to explain Communication Metrics.
051175 - ref SDS 20 4129
051176 -
051177 - So this was another big development effort to explain the thing and
051178 - to provide a way for people to interact with it in order to grasp the
051179 - meaning of "intelligence."
051180 -
051181 - On 980803 the system was again presented to the San Francisco District
051182 - Corps of Engineers for assessment of reducing the cost of document
051183 - management by using a "paperless office" or "virtual office" method.
051184 -
051185 - The Chief of Con Ops advised that the advantages of Communication
051186 - Metrics are self-evident. ref SDS 22 5141
051187 -
051188 - There had been rumors that the Communication Metrics work product
051189 - provided to District Counsel on 970417 had saved the government hard
051190 - money, from $40K or $80K.  On 980803 I asked District Counsel to
051191 - confirm the amount of the savings in a letter, ref SDS 22 2798, in
051192 - order to provide a record of actual cost savings, since this is a
051193 - reason people give for not using Communication Metrics.  For example,
051194 - the District Engineer said he would not approve Communication Metrics
051195 - because there is no proof that adding intelligence to management saves
051196 - money. ref SDS 6 7388
051197 -
051198 - The most likely reason Communication Metrics was not approved is fear
051199 - of accountability, which was cited at the meeting on 980403, mentioned
051200 - above. ref SDS 20 6581
051201 -
051202 - On 980405 developed ideas to solve fear of accountability, as much as
051203 - it can be solved. ref SDS 21 5065
051204 -
051205 - On 981027 finally received the letter from District Counsel reporting
051206 - that Communication Metrics with "certainty" saved the government an
051207 - additional $190K on a collateral environmental regulatory matter....
051208 - ref SDS 26 7315
051209 -
051210 - This made total savings reported by the District approximately $500K.
051211 - ref SDS 26 7315  The cost of this savings was less than $50K, making
051212 - ROI 10:1 for direct costs.  District Counsel's letter further stated
051213 - that the government paid the contractor $30M to settle $60M in claims,
051214 - which indicates that Communication Metrics could have saved additonal
051215 - sums between the $30M paid and the $65M claimed, or it may have had no
051216 - impact on the settlement, under analysis on 981027. ref SDS 26 9152.
051217 -
051218 - On 981104 the Project Engineer, who had worked with Communication
051219 - Metrics on the Oakland Harbor project, reported that using the system
051220 - on the Internet is "pretty neat." ref SDS 27 4320
051221 - ..
051222 - On 981118 received letter from counsel for bonding company on
051223 - the Pier 11 Fender project. ref SDS 28 0000  Counsel demanded a
051224 - schedule for making payment, stating the "day of reconing is here."
051225 - Analysis shows there is no rational basis to support a schedule.
051226 -
051227 - On 981119 notified HQUSACE about new evidence that establishes cost
051228 - savings, ref SDS 29 1985, which had been requested by HQ on 971205,
051229 - ref SDS 8 6039, following the presentation in Washington DC on
051230 - 971202. ref SDS 7 0000
051231 -
051232 - On 990126 received report from HQUSACE issued on 990106 saying that
051233 - Communication Metrics solves information overload. ref SDS 30 7370  It
051234 - passed the ball to the Information Management Directorate for further
051235 - study.
051236 -
051237 - On 990128 there was no information on progress of this review.
051238 - ref SDS 31 7399
051239 -
051240 - The San Francisco District Corps of Engineers management staff
051241 - continues to pursue Communication Metrics. ref SDS 32
051242 -
051243 - I plan to inquire about supporting a government audit on the Oakland
051244 - Harbor project to assess $30M settlement on a $40M contract, and to
051245 - gather a little more proof on establising cost savings from using
051246 - Communication Metrics. ref SDS 26 9152
051247 -
051248 -     [On 990222 proposed review of Oakland Harbor project to audit
051249 -     settlement. ref SDS 36 4232]
051250 -
051251 - Since the case was settled without trial, it may have been that
051252 - plaintiff (contractor) was aware or believed that it would not likely
051253 - recover on its $65M claim substantially more than the $30M offered,
051254 - and that it could stand to lose significantly if the SDS record was
051255 - presented, as for example on 970106. ref SDS 3
051256 -
051257 - At a minimum, this would indicate that Communication Metrics methods
051258 - contributed to avoiding litigation costs of several $million dollars,
051259 - and could be attributed with saving a significant portion of the $35M
051260 - claimed above the settlement amount.  This would justify District
051261 - Counsel Jim Stout's recommendation on 961015 that Communication
051262 - Metrics be continued on the Oakland project in order to protect the
051263 - interests of the government. ref SDS 2 6118
051264 -
051265 - It may also break the log jam of credibility (disbelief) that adding
051266 - intelligence to management saves a lot of money for everybody.
051267 -
051268 - This is a long shot, but it is worth an inquiry.
051269 -
051270 -     [On 990304 received letter from HQUSACE recommending a project
051271 -     review and wider use of Communication Metrics within the Corps of
051272 -     Engineers. ref SDS 37 1070]
051273 -
051274 -
051275 -
051276 -
051277 -
051278 -
051279 -
051280 -
051281 -