CONTACTS 
0201 - A. R. Construction Company           415 656 2800
020101 - Mr. Patrick Heffernan; Project Manager =415 239 2158
020102 - patheff@jps.net
020103 - Construction Operations

SUBJECTS
Inquiries

0403 -    ..
0404 - Summary/Objective
0405 -
040501 - Follow up ref SDS 19 0000, ref SDS 18 0000.
040502 -
040503 - Received ref DRT 1 0001 from Pat responding to my letter, ref DIP 3
040504 - 0001 linked to the record on 991015 for the meeting with Ronald and
040505 - Pat at ARC's office. ref SDS 19 0001
040506 -
040507 - Pat provides a direct phone line, maybe his home phone, not sure.
040508 -
040509 - Got spelling on his last name.
040510 - ..
040511 - Pat asks in relation to the letter on 991015, ref DIP 3 3752,...
040512 -
040513 -     At this stage, why does the owner necessarily have to by off on it
040514 -     other than it allows everyone to be "playing in the same
040515 -     ballpark"? ref DRT 1 5320
040516 -
040517 -     The reason I ask is that you indicated in your communication that
040518 -     if the City engineer is not interested, then this may not be the
040519 -     project to try to implement the program. ref DRT 1 1110
040520 -
040521 -      [On 991020 Ronald asked about this issue. ref SDS 23 3224]
040522 -
040523 - This is the attitude needed at Intel.  Pat seems to sense the need for
040524 - leadership to bring people along, regardless of whether they are
040525 - initially willing to be helped.  Andy Grove cited founder Gordon
040526 - Moore's feeling about the need for executives at Intel to improve,
040527 - reviewed on 980307. ref SDS 10 1660
040528 -
040529 - Possibly I overstated the issue in the letter on 991015.
040530 -
040531 - If the Engineer is neutral or helpful on using technology to improve
040532 - management, then we are okay.  An example is a letter, ref DRP 2 0001,
040533 - from the manager of facilities at Kaiser's Park Shadelands clinic in
040534 - Walnut Creek, reviewed on 990915. ref SDS 16 4988
040535 -    ..
040536 - How can the Engineer be helpful?
040537 -
040538 -    The Engineer can provide the computer file for the project plans
040539 -    and specs, and other documents, like correspondence.  This saves
040540 -    time scanning, which Pat cited in the meeting on 991015.
040541 -    ref SDS 19 3120
040542 -
040543 -    The Engineer can agree to procedures to work with HTML forms
040544 -    online, printing record copies for the City, rather than insisting
040545 -    on receiving printed copies from the contractor.  This reduces
040546 -    duplicate effort by the contractor, which will make it easier for
040547 -    Ronald, ARC's staff and the project superintendent to work with
040548 -    this method.  People may be willing to do some duplicate work
040549 -    initially for awhile, but if everything has to done manually and
040550 -    electronically, this diminishes support over time, because people
040551 -    get tired and busy, and forget about maintaining the record.
040552 -
040553 -    The Engineer can agree to work with the contractor to experiment
040554 -    for a month or so before start of construction to develop
040555 -    procedures for managing the record online.
040556 -
040557 - So, there are a range of responses the Engineer might have that can
040558 - impact the initiative.
040559 -
040560 - I am guessing, or hopeful, the Engineer will cooperate.
040561 -
040562 - However, if the City Engineer is hostile, and is unable or unwilling
040563 - to help work through inevitable challenges of transitioning from a
040564 - manual to an automated world, then this presents a very difficult
040565 - problem.
040566 -
040567 - We can solve it by simply sending paper.  But that is not my
040568 - objective.  Someone else is likely better suited to that task other
040569 - than Welch.
040570 -
040571 - Pat is correct that this effort is a progression that will eventually
040572 - take place through demonstration, i.e. the more you get it out there
040573 - the better your chances? ref DRT 1 6391
040574 -
040575 - An example is Tom Keesling's comment at the U.S. Army Corps of
040576 - Engineers on 961101 that experience showed a much stronger benefit
040577 - from SDS than anyone anticipated, based on initial examination, which
040578 - lasted about 9 months before they let a contract to use Com Metrics.
040579 - ref SDS 6 8888
040580 -
040581 - Einstein observed that experience is the only true source of
040582 - knowledge.
040583 - ..
040584 - Years of experience has shown that, despite eventual strong
040585 - acceptance by the Corps of Engineers, another agencym who was hostile
040586 - to Com Metrics because they feared accountability, was successful in
040587 - causing the Corps to discontinue use, as reported on 970117.
040588 - ref SDS 7 7558
040589 -
040590 - Indeed, the Corps prefered to pay out $10M - $15M more than was
040591 - likely owed, because that was easier than overcoming resistance to
040592 - using Com Metrics, as reported on 981027. ref SDS 13 9152
040593 -
040594 - See also on 980403. ref SDS 11 6581
040595 -
040596 - Experience indicates that effort in the beginning to assess potential
040597 - for acceptance of new methods, as planned and discussed in our meeting
040598 - on 991015, ref SDS 19 5796, avoids wasting time and money on dead
040599 - ends, so that limited resources are applied on stronger opportunities.
040600 -
040601 -    [On 991020 Ronald defers meeting with City. ref SDS 23 3224]
040602 -
040603 -
040604 -
040605 -
040606 -
0407 -