stop using spreadsheets, efficiency and quality through ...tsdos.org/media/presentation2019/gannon,...

SEPTEMBER 4 - 6, 2019

Stop Using Spreadsheets, Efficiency and Quality through technology

Brent M. Gannon, EIT, PMP


History

Slide Rule• 1622

Motorized Eraser• 1932

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Calculator• 1970’s

AutoCAD• 1970’s

Excel• 1985

PLS CADD• 2000’s(1984)

STAAD• 2005


Information Overload – Engineering Reports

390 pages for 15 Structures!

• Engineering Design and Analysis software today is capable of performing weeks or months of manual calculations in an instant.

• The drawback to this is that accurate technical review and QA/QC becomes tedious


Information Overload - Excel

• Excel (was) the best tool for sorting and filtering data from verbose reports

• This requires Engineers to copy and paste information from design and analysis software

• Copy & Paste• Format rows and

columns• Sort and filter

information• Design

Change….Repeat the process over


Software Development


Time Consuming and Prone to Risk

• Existing processes to handle the overwhelming amount of information we are presented with are often time consuming and tedious.

• The excessive amount of “manual” work required is prone to errors which increases the opportunities for errors that may go unnoticed.

• If a design change occurs, the entire process must be redone. Any shortcuts to copy and paste select data that is changed and append to an existing Excel sheet further increases risk of errors.

• Mature workflows may use macros to speed up the process and decrease risk. These macros are easily broken and rely heavily on a standard template that can be modified, deleted or accessed by anyone.


The Solution….

Software Development Life Cycle(SDLC)


Custom Software Applications

• Custom designed software easily replaces repetitive tasks.

• Software will perform exactly as designed every time.

• Drastically reduces the opportunities for human error.

• Custom software is inherently a QA/QC tool, applications are designed to receive input in an expected format and can identify any discrepancies.

• Software can be tailored to existing processes and workflows to allows for seamless integration.

• Standardized outputs tailored to the information the User Requires

• Continuously provides ROI each use

• Lack of perceived need• “We have this all under control”

• Lack of Organizational Buy-In• “This is new, therefore we should

fear it”

• Lack of skills required• “I do not know how to

write/build/ design software”

• Too costly and time consuming• “Only computer programmers

know how to make software and it is expensive”


Before We Get Started – “Data”

• Data - the quantities, characters, or symbols on which operations are performed by a computer, being stored and transmitted in the form of electrical signals and recorded on magnetic, optical, or mechanical recording media.

• Once information exists digitally it can be extracted, transformed, manipulated, sorted or filtered.

• This fundamental idea is the key to software development


SDLC - Planning

•Consider existing processes used throughout your organization

• Identify repetitive tasks • Identify high risk processes• Identify complex workflows that involve numerous software

packages

•What do you wish an existing software package did?•What tools would your organization benefit from?


SDLC - Analysis

•Arguably the most critical step in the SDLC, Analysis creates the framework for your application.

•Break down each step of a process• Inputs • Processes• Outputs

•What are the file types? (XML, CSV, Text, XLS, etc.)•Picture exactly how you want the application to function


SDLC - Design•During Design the application is built by creating functionality from the framework developed during analysis. Design is “building the application”

• Integrated Developer Environment (IDE)• Microsoft Visual Studio – Community Edition (FREE!)

•Programming Language• Java• C# (“C-Sharp”)• Python


Design – Getting Started and Resources

•All applications and modules developed at MEI have been created using 100% free resources.

•Professional Software Developers and Hobbyists provide a large community of support for all experience levels

•The Internet is filled with tutorials, step by step guides, sample applications, forums with questions and answers

•Resources• StackOverflow• GitHub• Udacity

• Youtube• Google• LinkedIn Learning


SDLC – Implementation & Testing

•Once the application is developed it can be implemented or “deployed”.

•The initial implementation is often combined with testing. Users will take the software for a “test drive” and expose the application to a wide variety of situations while providing feedback to fix “bugs” or improve the application

•This phase is the QA/QC of the application to ensure that the outputs are consistently valid for the entire range of designed inputs.


SDLC – Maintenance

•Following implementation and testing the application will provide ROI to the organization through efficiency and consistent quality to its outputs.

•At some point more features may be required or improvements made. A new input format or additional calculation to be performed.

•This step is subjective and will restart the SDLC.


Case Study – MEIxThermal Rating and Clearance Analysis Module

•Designed to improve NERC compliance projects and design checks as well as reporting processes.

•Sorts through all PLS CADD information input, organizes pertinent data into easy to read formats

•Final results can be printed in a report template that is client specific or saved as a PDF or Microsoft Word document.

•Process Improvement: 3 hours per line to 10 minutes.


MEIxThermal Rating and Clearance Analysis Module


Other Examples….

• ACAD Plugin to create plan view drawings and text from GIS database and manual survey information

• Structure Analysis/Usage Reporting• Foundation Designer from PLS CADD Loadings• Section Usage and Stringing Reports• LiDAR database manager and locator• PLS Pole Summaries/ Attachment point visualizer• 15+ Modules to date


Questions?

stop using spreadsheets, efficiency and quality through ...tsdos.org/media/presentation2019/gannon,...

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