CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Office Organization
SDS Software Training/Setup
SDS for Management support

0505 -
0505 -    ..
0506 - Summary/Objective
0507 -
050701 - Follow up ref SDS 1 0000, ref SDS 2 0000.
050702 -
050703 - SDS improves management at the Broadwater Plant by combining routine
050704 - management work for scheduling, reporting, planning, and coordinating
050705 - people and tasks, and also tracking documents -- tracking information
050706 - on most everything is fast and easy.  SDS does some things other
050707 - programs don't do here at DNRC, like time management that connects
050708 - past, present and future by using records of relevant experience to
050709 - plan future tasks, linking records, subjects to organize and find
050710 - information, document logs, automated follow up and citations.  As a
050711 - result, it takes time to understand how they all fit together.
050712 - Integrating these various features makes SDS very powerful, so I
050713 - believe it is best to learn SDS with training support from The Welch
050714 - Co.
050716 -  ..
050717 - Writing reports, which are a big part of managing a power plant, is
050718 - faster and more useful with SDS.  The flexible structure of SDS using
050719 - time for chronology, plus subjects, contacts and document files,
050720 - provides a lot of ways to find information quickly for preparing
050721 - reports.  Linking and subject reports in SDS significantly reduce the
050722 - time required to find information for writing an accurate report,
050723 - compared to conventional methods by hand and using wordprocessing
050724 - programs (we have Wordperfect).  SDS tools make assigning subjects and
050725 - linking related records fast and easy, so so it is practical to look
050726 - things up rather than rely on personal recall.
050727 -
050728 -     [On 920127 discussed with Rod. ref SDS 3 0001
050729 -
050730 -
050731 -
050733 -  ..
0508 -
0509 -
0510 - Progress
0511 -
051101 - Background on Evaluating SDS
051102 -
051103 - This is to report progress using SDS for my job as superintendant of
051104 - the Broadwater Dam Power Plant (BPP).
051105 -
051106 - Rod asked about a week ago for feedback on SDS, and I have been having
051107 - trouble getting to it because of my work load.  Today there is some
051108 - time to breathe, so here are initial impressions.
051109 -
051111 -  ..
0512 -
0513 -
0514 - History
0515 -
051501 - On October 18, 1991 Rod Welch of The Welch Company (TWC) installed his
051502 - Schedule Diary System (SDS) program on my computer to evaluate from a
051503 - plant manager's standpoint and determine if it would be helpful in my
051504 - daily routine.
051505 -
051506 - A copy of the software was also installed on our work terminal at the
051507 - plant.  This was necessary for the system to work as intended since it
051508 - is critical for me to have my records available at either location.
051510 -  ..
051511 - I have been using the SDS software on a daily basis since the install-
051512 - ation date, with support from Welch Company.  It is my understanding
051513 - that since my preliminary reports on the software were positive and I
051514 - wished to continue to integrate the system into my management scheme,
051515 - DNRC paid for the software.  Rod has been providing support for Broad-
051516 - water contract management, so his time training on SDS has been
051517 - incidental.
051518 -
051520 -  ..
0516 -
0517 -
0518 - Experience Learning SDS
0519 -
051901 - The levels of SDS proficiency that I have achieved are as follows:
051903 -         ..
051904 -    1.  Learn to Use the Schedule
051905 -
051906 -        I started by learning to enter tasks in the Schedule. This
051907 -        entailed learning to type task descriptions, revise (edit),
051908 -        delete and move them when necessary from one day to another.
051909 -
051910 -        This got me into the habit of writing down things to do so I
051911 -        can decide what is most important rather than what I happen to
051912 -        think of at the moment.  It helped immediately to avoid letting
051913 -        things "slip through the cracks".
051915 -         ..
051916 -        Soon I had a very big list.  I could see that everything could
051917 -        not be done in one day.  SDS let me move To-do tasks to spread
051918 -        them out to other days to make a realistic schedule based on
051919 -        priority given by Walt and my own sense of plant conditions. It
051920 -        also alerted me to let people know in advance when a delay
051921 -        would occur, or give DNRC management the opportunity to provide
051922 -        supplemental help.
051923 -
051925 -         ..
051926 -    2.  Convert Schedule Tasks Into Diary Records
051927 -
051928 -        The next thing I learned and one of the more difficult to grasp
051929 -        (though not to implement) was what Rod calls "integrating
051930 -        scheduling and reporting."  He also calls this:
051931 -
051932 -                     Turning plans into action!
051934 -         ..
051935 -        That's something I've always wanted to do.  With SDS you just
051936 -        press F8 to put a dot in front of a Scheduled task to identify
051937 -        it as a Diary record to show that some work was accomplished on
051938 -        the task.
051940 -         ..
051941 -        Tasks in the Schedule with a DOT in front of the description
051942 -        means some work was done, but does not necessarily mean that
051943 -        the task is complete.  Most of the things I work on at the
051944 -        plant go on for days, sometimes weeks or months.  It took
051945 -        awhile to catch on that SDS Diary records are just about the
051946 -        work accomplished on a particular day, like filling out a daily
051947 -        report (later I learned how powerful SDS is in assembling these
051948 -        daily reports into subject chronologies).
051950 -         ..
051951 -        Another interesting aspect of using F8 is that tasks with a DOT
051952 -        are removed the next day, so that the Schedule always starts
051953 -        out in the morning showing only the things that need to be
051954 -        done.  However, I can see what has been accomplished with F3
051955 -        which instantly produces a list called a "Diary" of what has
051956 -        been accomplished on prior dates.
051958 -         ..
051959 -        Thus, while F8 is a powerful tool in SDS to set the status of a
051960 -        task in the Schedule, it is really just a simple switch that
051961 -        enters and removes the dot, so the User can identify a task as
051962 -        a Schedule or a Diary record.
051963 -
051964 -        Shortly, I began to build a Diary of the things worked on each
051965 -        day.  This is helpful in filling out my time sheets.  It is
051966 -        also very easy to look up what has been accomplished or occur-
051967 -        red that was important to plant operations.
051969 -         ..
051970 -        At this point I began to learn to do "maintenance" on the
051971 -        Schedule e.g. making diary entries for prior dates, deleting
051972 -        diary entries that were made in error, moving tasks, etc.
051973 -
051974 -        I was now becoming more proficient at handling incoming tasks
051975 -        entering them into the Schedule right away so I would have a
051976 -        tool which forced me to remember "to do" things which I had
051977 -        previously committed myself to or had identified as being                                                                                                        had a
051978 -        important.
051979 -
051981 -         ..
051982 -        Create Notes of Important Diary Items Builds Knowledge
051983 -    3.  Writing and Linking in SDS Solves Problem of Haste Makes Waste
051984 -
051985 -        This was difficult for me at first because I was not used to
051986 -        putting my thoughts down "on paper."  I had always thought I
051987 -        know what I "know" in my head.  I am not a good typist, and
051988 -        like a lot of engineers, did not feel comfortable with writing
051989 -        because it takes time to struggle with the language.
051991 -         ..
051992 -        As time went on I made a few notes on important matters, and
051993 -        saw how helpful it was to have this information, since it can
051994 -        be retrieved quickly with SDS.  The data entry functions and
051995 -        being able to outline and highlight ideas is very helpful.
051996 -
051997 -        Now it has become more natural for me to develop my ideas about
051998 -        events in SDS, in a way that makes sense to me later.
052000 -         ..
052001 -        This is becoming a quick and simple task and helps me discover
052002 -        gaps and inconsistencies in my initial understanding or
052003 -        approach to a problem.  When the writing does not come easy, it
052004 -        usually means my understanding is incomplete and so I can check
052005 -        into it more. This avoids a lot of mistakes.  Taking time to
052006 -        write things down and link them up in SDS saves a lot of time
052007 -        fixing the mistakes that were previously overlooked in the rush
052008 -        to take action before all of the factors and implications were
052009 -        checked.
052011 -         ..
052012 -        So I guess in a way, my experience shows SDS solves the
052013 -        problem of...
052014 -
052015 -                         Haste Makes Waste
052016 -
052017 -           [On 980307 Andy Grove's book "Only the Paranoid Survive"
052018 -           says committing thoughts to paper removes ambiguity of
052019 -           understanding in the mind; he writes copious notes and askes
052020 -           questions to clarify meaning. ref SDS 4 3668]
052021 -
052023 -         ..
052024 -    4.  Contacts Track People and Organizations
052025 -
052026 -        While learning to create SDS detailed records, I learned to use
052027 -        the "Contacts" system which is very valuable to me since I deal
052028 -        with so many professionals, technicals, vendors, etc.  If one
052029 -        of my diaries deals with someone in particular, I look it up in
052030 -        the "Contacts" Summary and have it automatically pasted into my
052031 -        Diary record.  This becomes important later on if I have to
052032 -        follow up on a conversation because this information is quickly
052033 -        displayed in my notes each time I examine them.
052035 -             ..
052036 -            Rod entered most of my contacts to get me started.  This
052037 -            was a life saver because it allowed me to concentrate on
052038 -            using Contacts as a resource to tag and look up records,
052039 -            without having to struggle with learning Contact data
052040 -            entry.  Now I just use the records he created as templates
052041 -            for adding new Contacts as they come up.
052042 -
052044 -         ..
052045 -    5.  Develop Subject Index
052046 -
052047 -        By now I was beginning to sense the value of SDS to record all
052048 -        my notes about plant operation and maintenance.  Brian and I
052049 -        have been doing this at the plant using WordPerfect but were
052050 -        somewhat discouraged about it because  we were creating notes
052051 -        which we never looked at again because it was so difficult to
052052 -        retrieve them or in some cases even find them.
052054 -         ..
052055 -        By watching Rod retrieve his notes with great proficiency I
052056 -        began to believe that our maintenance and operation notes at
052057 -        the Plant would be much better off in SDS which afforded easy
052058 -        research and access to the notes.  The Subject Index is one of
052059 -        many powerful SDS tools for researching the Diary.  Rod set it
052060 -        up to track all of the information encountered at the plant and
052061 -        the entire DNRC organization.
052062 -        ..
052063 -        At first, I tried creating subjects "on-the-fly" to
052064 -        crossfile my notes as they arose while writing SDS reports.  It
052065 -        wasn't long before I realized, however, that careful thought
052066 -        was needed to layout the Subject Index "tree" so it exhibited
052067 -        logical organization.  Rod spent an entire day helping me
052068 -        analyse how to break the Broadwater Power Project down into
052069 -        subject categories, sub-categories to reflect the relationships
052070 -        between various systems.
052072 -         ..
052073 -        Filing Headache Solved
052074 -
052075 -        Now I can identify and find information by date, contacts, and
052076 -        subjects.  SDS puts it away, and I have five ways to find it.
052077 -        This is better than before when papers piled up on my desk or
052078 -        the floor, because I didn't know where to put them, and never
052079 -        had time to put things away or research the files.  I was
052080 -        afraid to have papers filed because it took too long to get
052081 -        them back, something would be missing, filed incorrectly, etc.
052082 -        It takes only a couple of seconds to tag records with subjects
052083 -        and contacts.  The subject index prompts consideration of other
052084 -        aspects of an event or problem.
052085 -
052087 -         ..
052088 -        Learn to Link Records Which Are the Result of On-going
052089 -    6.  Attempts to Solve Specific Problems
052090 -
052091 -        The next level of SDS I achieved is very important.  As I work
052092 -        on problems at the plant, I engage in many conversations with
052093 -        salesmen, vendors, engineers, etc.  Often the dialog continues
052094 -        over many days or months even. The sequence of records I have
052095 -        been creating each day, lets me instantly research what has
052096 -        been done or agreed by Contractors, vendors, engineers, etc.
052097 -
052098 -        I learned how SDS automatic record linkage lets me reuse all of
052099 -        the Contact, Subject and other management "buttons" without
052100 -        entering them over again.
052101 -
052102 -        During phone conversations I can instantly look up related
052103 -        tasks and documents, for talking points and to make sure we are
052104 -        consistent with prior commitments.  When I am writing the diary
052105 -        of what happened today, SDS linkage lets me quickly check to
052106 -        see the impact of new facts on past understandings.  This dis-
052107 -        closes inconsistent reasoning that otherwise is not discovered
052108 -        until an expensive plant failure occurs.
052109 -
052111 -         ..
052112 -    7.  Management of Documents
052113 -
052114 -        I am currently learning how to create documents which I will
052115 -        maintain on a regular basis.  For example:
052116 -
052117 -           Oil Sample Log
052118 -           Tool Inventory
052119 -           As-Built Discrepancy List
052120 -           Maintenance Procedures
052121 -
052122 -         I foresee the management of many more of these documents as
052123 -         time goes on.
052124 -
052126 -         ..
052127 -    8.  Operator is Beginning to use SDS as His Work Planner
052128 -
052129 -        The plant operator is beginning to use SDS as his To Do list
052130 -        and is currently at Level 2 proficiency.  He expresses faith in
052131 -        the system and believes it will be an effective way to file and
052132 -        access all the historical plant information.
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0522 -