Business Ideas of SCT and DB - Essay Example

26 October 2008 Case Study This will first elaborate the three questions and try to answer those according specified criteria in the case study. First question is:  Provide a summary of the business reasons why SCT required the ASRS warehouse and from SCT’s perspective what do you consider their success criteria would have been? To answer this question I will first present the introduction regarding the SCT and DB, in the current situation. In the year 1996 a contract was made among a famous beverage manufacturer, known as a Taiwan, (SCT) and a small Australian electrical engineering company, Dag-Brücken ASRS Pty Ltd, (DB), this agreement was related to the supply of an automated storage and retrieval system know as ASRS facility as part of SCT’s production facilities in Asia. The answer of the question: Here it is observed that the Australian warehouse storage and retrieval of product is still predominantly a labor-intensive or semi-automatic process employing a multiplicity of materials handling equipment such as conveyors, elevators and fork lift trucks. The relatively low cost of land in Australia, compared to high density population centers in Asia, generally limits that country’s use of high rise storage facilities to special situations that might include hazardous storage conditions or where desired throughout cannot be maintained with a manual system. So we can say that was the main reason behind the development of an automated warehouse by the SCT. They have planned to minimize the storage cost and have an efficient faculty to switch the on the whole movement, storage and delivery of the products on the main office through the automated warehouse. 1 It was believed by the DB that a market could be developed in Asia providing high rise automated warehouse solutions at more aggressive prices than that demanded by the most important suppliers, using dissimilarity to the by and large used ASRS configuration that involved automated ASRS robots (cranes) that were able to drive around corners. Globally, most high rise warehouses use ASRS cranes that are only capable of traveling in a straight line (referred to as straight-aisle cranes). The limitation of a straight aisle crane is that one crane is required to service each storage aisle in a warehouse. As cranes are a major part of the cost of this type of warehouse solution, by reducing the numbers of cranes there are significant savings. It is supposedly promising for a single aisle-changing crane to service a whole multi-aisled warehouse. So the above given reason can also be the motive behind the SCT has set the decisions on the development and setting up and intelligent artificial intelligent environment for the warehouse working. They have thought that this will contribute to expand there business enlargement and set up a new and better standers in this new automated field. So we can say that SCT have taken this decision to have more-better working environment that this automatic and taken less time in the overall working of the business. The SCT has decided to start up its ASRS project by viewing the following given requirements. In this new automated ASRS system there was at the end of multiple production lines, that manufactured an assortment of beverages in P.E.T. bottles, tetrapak containers and aluminum cans and in-feed into the ASRS warehouse from the production lines took place on three levels. Level 1 used a palletiser to feed an automatic guided vehicle (AGV), (referred to as the shuttle car), filling 9 double gravity roller locations, used exclusively for P.E.T. bottles. Level 2 used 2 third party supplied robots to palletize stock that were then fed by another AGV into 7 double conveyor in feed locations used exclusively for tetrapak containers. Level 3 used a single robot palletizing for a single, double deep conveyor in-feed locality used exclusively for canned products. Empty pallets were required at each palletiser for product to be packed onto. Out feed production was reliant on external demands for stock and requirements for these movements more difficult to estimate. An hourly rate figure equivalent to the number of pallets entering the ASRS was considered appropriate, i.e. 50 in and 50 out. Out feed locations were via 75 triple deep gravity roller locations situated in imagining the environment in which they have the whole working that is and automated Structure to help the company to save working time, minimize the overall labor cost for the warehouse and to have an efficient working system that improves quality. one of the long aisles. When any of the out feed locations was emptied, sensors fitted to each crane were competent to perceive it and a job created to fill up this empty hole that needed to be filled. The crane was required to perform an aisle scan every 30 minutes. Ordinary production line speeds demanded that to avoid hold ups the ASRS had to be capable of constantly performing all the tasks. So as seeming the above requirement of SCT, we have pointed out that the company was as seeing this all we can say that it was a success criteria for the SCT’s perspective, because if this project starts working properly then the SCT has more efficient business working environment, so we can say that if this system can contribute to the success of the SCT. Next question is: If you had been asked by the DB management team to suggest an appropriate project development methodology at an early stage in the project, describe which type of methodology that you believe would have been most suitable for this project, (e.g. waterfall, evolutionary, Boehm’s spiral etc); stating the reasons for your choice? To answer this question we have considered several factors we have to deal with throughout the project. By completing the comprehensive study we can select an appropriate project development methodology for this project. This was a very big project and we can have the risk of implementing the conventional waterfall project development methodology, because there are lot of things that we have seen have been changed during the development of the SCT ASRS project. So if we have such circumstances then we can not afford the conventional waterfall project development methodology, because it was not flexible for such a big project that has fluctuating requirements throughout the project life cycle. Another reason for not using this model is its sequential life cycle that is not feasible for the development of such innovative project. We have to handle so many recourses, we also have to face a few technological limitations, and in such situations our work can stop by having such project development methodology. So we will select any better and high technology project development methodology for the development of SCT ASRS project. Now have to think about better and effective project development methodology like some evolutionary, Boehm’s spiral models. But I have decided to incorporate the Boehm’s spiral project development methodology, for this project. For the big projects we have to establish some iterative project development methodology in which we have more flexible working environment (Kerzner, 2003). In the Boehm’s spiral project development methodology we have iterated around the spiral of the planned project plane. We will complete the project in sections. For instance we will divide the project into small modules and complete them in an iterative fashion. It does not means that we will consider them individually, but our approach is to consider them in an incremental way. For the illustration I have given below the main sections of this SCT ASRS project. A graphical user interface (GUI) showing the position of the cranes and storage status. A database to accumulate information of storage and transactions. A “product mover” (PM) application to establish optimum storage and movements. A “traffic controller” (TC) application used to decide on routes, job priorities and crane separation. A communication package transferring data between PLC and PC. PLC programming of each crane. In the above given sub sections of SCT ASRS project we will handle the project in such a way that we would be able to deliver a little working prototype for the each section. This little working prototype will help in quantifying, estimating, establishing, and reviewing the project further development in an effective way. For instance we will produce a GUI for the working section; we will develop a database to store information of storage and transactions for that GUI. Then A product mover (PM) application to determine optimum storage and movements corresponding that little section that we have till now developed. Then we will develop a traffic controller (TC) application used to select routes, job priorities and crane separation for those sections that we have develop. Then we will develop the Programmable Logic Controller for the each crane. After completing all these tasks we will present this model to the clients and take more suggestions and comments on the further development of the other section. It will help us to find out the right solution that we have to follow and those things that we need to avoid in future, so a success in this project can be achieved. I have taken lesson from the things that DB has done wrong during their development of the project. Below I have mentioned a few of them. For the software designing DB management prior to employing any specialist IT personnel the choice of a Windows NT environment on PC servers and workstations together with Visual C++ and Visual FoxPro application development systems had been already incorporated in each client contract. After approximately six weeks of preliminary design work using the Visual FoxPro application system, it was obvious to the SA/P working exclusively on it, that there were some serious technical limitations in using this combination of FoxPro combined database and front end with Visual C++. Although his background had been with FoxBASE+/FoxPro and he had no professional experience with Visual Basic, the SA/P still advised management that they should reconsider the use of FoxPro in favor of VB with a separate database of either Microsoft Access or SQL. It was agreed to change the application development tool to VB and after further analysis, management decided to adopt MS Access as the database back end in preference to SQL. Here this problem happens due to the inefficiency in determining the effective tool for the project development. By adopting the spiral project development methodology we can determine the things that we have to change in periods of time but here they have spent the six week to determine this factor. In this section I will explain the DB inefficiency for the adoption of appropriate project development methodology. The language used in the PLC coding was itself not sophisticated to work with. The individual functions likewise were not that difficult, but the combination of all of the individual components made this software component very awkward to develop. The lack of overall functional specifications, design documents, test plans or formal documentation forced developers to adopt an ad-hoc approach in which there was a reliance on reactive rather than pro-active responses for fixing problems, as they occurred. The graduate developers working in this area had never worked with this simple type of software, having studied more sophisticated application systems such as C++ and Java at university. This conversion has done because the management has not assessed the need and requirement properly they did not have properly analyze the project compatibility levels. So that is on going change has happen that shows the weakness of planning. Now in this section I will explain how they can be able to determine the Communication Module inefficiency by having proper project development methodology. But they have not done this so that project becomes a failure. It was clearly evident after three months that development of the communication module and initial design of the traffic control module was proving to be more difficult than originally anticipated. The SA/P enveloping these modules had failed to deliver even an initial prototype for the communication module. As nobody at DB, (including his fellow SA/P), understood what he was doing the SA/P was unable to get internal help and unlike his fellow SA/P had not developed his own informal network of experts that he could call on for assistance. The SA/P being extremely introverted did not communicate readily with his colleagues, keeping to himself while working feverishly producing copious lines of code, the value of which only he understood. Because there was no formal inspection process in place and no way of interpreting what had been achieved, this stand alone type development relied on an ‘all or nothing’ tracking approach, commonly referred to as the ‘one hundred-zero’ approach. Either a finished product emerges at the end or it doesn’t. When ultimately a development ends up with 0% rather than 100% it is convenient to allocate blame on developers, yet a fundamental of modern quality assurance systems recognizes management’s ultimate responsibility for quality. Unable to assist his fellow SA/P technically, the GUI SA/P was also unable to convince management that the total absence of any deliverable should be urgently addressed. His warnings were misconstrued by management as being simply a ‘clash of personalities’ between an extraverted developer and his introverted colleague, so management decided to bring in a third to oversee interaction between the SA/Ps. These all problems are consequent of the poor planning and choice of ineffective spiral project development methodology. (Kerzner, 2003) In this section I will discuss the how I will measure progress on the SCT project? E.g. what sort of estimation techniques and metrics would you have employed? A project management model offers the strategies for project administration (Kerzner, 2003). It enables us to well influence the whole arrangement of a business and the method it carries out business. Organizations and businesses generate a project management control that balances their civilization and tactical aims. The market insists for products and services, industrial progress, and business customs all donate to an overabundance of models. The lots of dissimilar kinds of project management forms are the product of these situations (Kerzner, 2003). Here I will discus a few areas in SCT ASRS project: how I will measure progress, which estimation techniques I will utilize, and how we take decisions and other performances evaluation techniques. These are two well accepted techniques that are utilized for decision analysis and evaluation many organizations. These are called Decision Trees and Monte Carlo. The Decision Trees offers a structured arrangement for classifying possible decisions and possible results. It is a visual network of conclusions, possible result, and chance (Atkinson, 2006). Prince2, PMI’s PMBOK, are procedures foundation on the SE (Software Engineering) Institute’s potential Maturity Model. These techniques are generally associated with businesses that play perform function in SE centric corporation areas. These areas observe software actions as an engineering method; rather than an imaginative procedure depend on the abilities of individuals or little groups. Associations with grown-up procedures commonly illustrate their behaviors in a suitable way, related techniques with severity, and watch the procedures and consequences cautiously. These performances are a lot of times make up in excess of time and approach about from side to side direct knowledge, moreover high-quality or dire. So I have decided to employ one of them to estimate project progress and resources estimation for out SCT ASRS project. So that we are able to minimize those factors that DB have to face (Kerzner, 2003). I have chosen the PERT technique that also known as “Program Evaluation & Review Technique: The equation and procedure representation of a mission for PERT is given as: Exp= (Opt+4Mos+Pes)/6 (equation) Exp= Expected Value Opt= Optimistic Value (this is equal to a smallest value) Mos= Most Likely Value Pes= Pessimistic Value (this is equal to a utmost value) By this type of mathematical technique we have a better way to estimate and analyze the progress. Pros and cons of inflating a project based on PERT technique of approximations have to be emphasizes on the motivation of this method. PERT is utilized to find out where the maximum work attempt should be done to remain the project on agenda, to decide the chance of gathering time limits with interchange strategies, and to assess the result of modifications to the project (Balachandra, 1997). So these are the different techniques that I have decided to incorporate in my suggested SCT ASRS project planning manual. I hope all these methods will lead us towards success and we would be able to complete the task on time. Work Cited 1. Atkinson R, Crawford L, Ward S. Fundamental uncertainties in projects and the scope of project management. Int J Project Manage 2006;24(8):687–98. 2. Balachandra R, Friar J. Factors of success in R&D projects and new product innovation: a contextual approach. IEEE Trans Eng Manage 1997;44(3):276–87. 3. Kerzner, H. Project management a schemes approach to planning, preparation, and scheming (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2003. 4. Jewels, Tony. The Dag-Brücken ASRS Case Study. Journal of Information Systems Education 14(3):pp. 247-257. 2003. Read More