Bid Request Research Articles

Pruning for Failure Prevention

Hank Richardson is the owner and chief surgeon for The Tree Guys, a small tree service company in Pulaski, Virginia. He has been effective in preventing failures at 7154 Island View Way for the past several years. Hank first came to our house in response to a request for bids to remove and/or prune several trees which either blocked a view from our deck, or were leaning against our boat lift. We needed Hank’s expertise a second time when a tall white pine was swaying extensively in the wind and about to be blown onto our garage. Hank’s third visit was to remove two trees, one which was leaning over our deck, and one which was infected by pine bores. On each visit Hank performed a visual assessment of the tree’s condition, evaluated the potential damage that tree failure would produce, then estimated the remaining operating life for the tree before performing the service necessary to prevent failure. In many ways The Tree Guys services are similar to those performed by a failure analyst. The Tree Guys respond to three very different situations. These situations generally involve a need for either: (a) preventative maintenance, (b) emergency services, or (c) reclamation after a failure has occurred. As Hank discussed the causes of the potential failures in our trees, similarities between tree care and failure prevention became increasingly apparent. As failure analysts we are most often involved with the reclamation process, but should never forget the need for preventative maintenance. The simplest services that The Tree Guys have provided are: (1) pruning or ‘‘limbing up’’ healthy trees simply to improve the views of the lake, and (2) removing a few dead or dying branches from otherwise healthy trees to improve the looks of the property and help assure against falling branches and scattered debris. These services are very similar to the maintenance activities required to assure that the workplace appearance provides a healthy image for the corporation, and that the equipment works properly. Clutter, faded paint, outdated signs, and non-working systems provide images of lack of concern, deterioration, and general difficulties within the workplace. However, the appearance of the workplace generally changes slowly, and frequently the need for change goes unnoticed until arrangements are made to host a special client or customer. Preparation for customer visits often includes the ‘‘pruning’’ needed to improve the looks of the workplace. As we prepared for Hank’s visit, we examined our trees carefully and found pruning needs that we had not noticed prior to the examination. The pruning always improved the looks of the property. On one occasion after the trees had been pruned, a good friend asked, ‘‘What have y’all done? The place looks so much better!’’ The friend couldn’t identify what the improvements were, but did notice the change. Isn’t this typical of many of the maintenance activities necessary for failure prevention? We grow accustomed to the need for paint, the increased operational noises and vibrations, and the subtle deteriorations. Preventative maintenance is easy to postpone. Unfortunately, postponement is often first recognized by our customers or, worse yet, leads to otherwise unnecessary repairs and costly services. Hank’s latest service was the removal of a locust tree that stood about 3 feet from our deck and towered over the house. About a year ago we noticed that the wind swayed this tree more than either of the two locust trees nearby. The tree held our bird feeders and one end of our hammock, and we simply accepted the swaying as ‘‘normal’’ until our neighbor asked, ‘‘Have you noticed how your M. R. Louthan (&) Box 623, Radford, VA 24143, USA e-mail: macfran61louthan@yahoo.com

Agent-Based E-Supply Chain Decision Support

The global Internet economy is expected, over time, to give rise to increasingly agile practices where new supply chain arrangements are dynamically set up in response to changing business conditions and demands for highly customized products and services. To implement these "e-supply chain" practices, enterprises need the ability to rapidly evaluate new business opportunities and dynamically identify the best potential supply chain partners to respond to them. They also need the ability to effectively coordinate production and delivery of goods or services across the resulting value chains. In this article, we introduce MASCOT, an agent-based decision support environment for dynamic supply chain management. MASCOT agents help users distributed across multiple organizations and across different levels within a given enterprise to collaborate on the development and revision of supply chain solutions, as they evaluate different business opportunities (e.g., requests for bids from potential customers) and different sourcing options. This article also discusses new coordination protocols, developed within the context of MASCOT and aimed at better exploiting the power of finite capacity scheduling functionality across the supply chain. Empirical results are presented quantifying the benefits afforded by these new protocols under different loads and supply chain configurations.

Asking the right question: Risk and expectation in multiagent contracting

In this paper we are interested in the decision problem faced by an agent when requesting bids for collections of tasks with complex time constraints and interdependencies. In particular, we study the problem of specifying an appropriate schedule for the tasks in the request for bids. We expect bids to require resource commitments, so we expect different settings of time windows to solicit different bids and different costs. The agent is interested in soliciting “desirable” bids, where desirable means bids that can be feasibly combined in a low-cost combination that covers the entire collection of tasks. Since the request for bids has to be issued before the agent can see any bids, in this decision process there is a probability of loss as well as a probability of gain. This requires the decision process to deal with the risk posture of the person or organization on whose behalf the agent is acting. We describe a model based on Expected Utility Theory and show how an agent can attempt to maximize its profits while managing its financial risk exposure. We illustrate the operation and properties of the model and discuss what assumptions are required for its successful integration in multiagent contracting applications.

Agent-Based E-Supply Chain Decision Support

The global Internet economy is expected, over time, to give rise to increasingly agile practices where new supply chain arrangements are dynamically set up in response to changing business conditions and demands for highly customized products and services. To implement these "e-supply chain" practices, enterprises need the ability to rapidly evaluate new business opportunities and dynamically identify the best potential supply chain partners to respond to them. They also need the ability to effectively coordinate production and delivery of goods or services across the resulting value chains. In this article, we introduce MASCOT, an agent-based decision support environment for dynamic supply chain management. MASCOT agents help users distributed across multiple organizations and across different levels within a given enterprise to collaborate on the development and revision of supply chain solutions, as they evaluate different business opportunities (e.g., requests for bids from potential customers) and di...

County use of the RFP process to select joint venture developers of water-view property: a case study

Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are typically issued to solicit competitive proposals for a variety of professional services and commodities. The Baltimore County Purchasing Bureau issued 30 RFPs in fiscal year 2001 as well as 550 requests for formal and informal bids. The use of RFPs and the RFP process for choosing a land developer was creative. The fact that the property to be developed impacted the quality of life of the neighboring residents made their buy-in to the project critical. Therefore, it was prudent to include community representatives in the proposal selection process. This article identifies the unique issues on an RFP for the sale of real property rather than the purchase of services or commodities.

A Blackboard Architecture for Integrating Process Planning and Production Scheduling

As companies attempt to increase customization levels in their product offerings, move toward smaller lot production, and experi ment with more flexible customer/supplier arrangements such as those made possible by electronic data interchange (EDI), they increas ingly require the ability to (1) respond quickly, accurately, and competitively to customer requests for bids on new or modified products and (2) efficiently work out supplier/subcontractor arrangements for these products This in turn requires the ability to (1) rapidly convert standard-based product specifications into process plans and (2) quickly integrate process plans for new orders into the existing production schedule to best accommodate the current state of the manufacturing enterprise

Getting the Most From a Contract Laboratory

With today's regulatory and staff pressures, an increasing number of water utilities are considering the use of an outside contract laboratory for all or part of their analytical needs. This article is intended as a guide for utilities in selecting a contract laboratory to best serve their requirements. Among the desirable qualities sought in an outside laboratory are current certification, a familiarity with drinking water analysis, and an established quality control program. Cost is an important but not primary consideration, because costs can be contained without a loss of efficiency. A request for proposals and subsequent bids help to eliminate unsuitable laboratories. The authors explain the importance of building a partnership with the selected laboratory in order to maximize the benefits of such an arrangement.

Toward a common prototyping language

Several years ago the U.S. Department of Defense created its Defense Science Board Task Force on Military Software, chaired by Dr. Frederick Brooks, to provide recommendations on how best to solve the problem of escalating military software acquisition costs. The final report (reference 2) of this task force was completed in September 1987, and was widely distributed. Among its several major conclusions are the following: DoD Directive 5000.29 and STD 2167 codify the best 1975 thinking about software, including a so-called 'waterfall' model calling for formal specification, then request for bids, then contracting, delivery, installation, and maintenance. In the decade since the waterfall model was developed, our discipline has come to recognize that setting the requirements is the most difficult and crucial part of the software building process, and one that requires iteration between the designers and users. In best modern practice, the early specification is embodied in a prototype, which the intended users can themselves drive in order to see the consequences of their imaginings. Then, as the design effort begins to yield data on the cost and schedule consequences of particular specifications, the designers and the users revise the specifications. Directive 5000.29 not only does not encourage this best modern practice, it essentially forbids it. We recommend that it be revised immediately to mandate and facilitate early prototyping before the baseline specifications are established. DoD STD-2167 likewise needs a radical overhaul to reflect best modern practice. Draft DoD STD 2167A is a step, but it does not go nearly far enough. As drafted, it continues to reinforce exactly the document-driven, specify-then-build approach that lies at the heart of so many DoD software problems.

Evaluating alternatives for providing home health-care services

Alternatives for providing home health-care services (HHC) are discussed. An institution may provide HHC services for a variety of reasons including economic incentives, physician requests, consumer demands, and a desire to provide continuity of care. In planning an HHC program, data should be collected to provide a reliable estimate for potential HHC referrals. Demographic and reimbursement information on potential referrals should also be collected. Six basic HHC functions--patients screening and selection, patient training, product compounding, supply distribution, clinical management, and reimbursement--are described. The level of institutional participation in each of these functions is determined by the number of patients who require the services, the availability of resources, and the interest and expertise of the hospital staff. Alternatives for carrying out these responsibilities are discussed. The process for screening potential HHC providers is described. The value of competitive bidding for HHC services is emphasized, and specific data for the bid request and contract development are presented. Hospitals can provide HHC services through a variety of mechanisms ranging from the total delegation of HHC responsibilities to an external organization to the independent assumption of all HHC functions by the hospital. Hospital pharmacists can play a leadership role in HHC program development.

Requiring rational promotions as part of a bid request

Requiring rational promotions as part of a bid request

Turnkey Projects for Downtown People Movers

Los Angeles, Detroit, and Miami received proposals for construction of downtown people mover systems. The requests for bids contemplated turnkey type construction contracts. The multiplicity of requirements for functional and environmental compatibility lead to a complex proposal preparation process but allows the owner to deal with a single contractual entity in negotiations. The background of the people mover projects, the design, and contract development, and a comparison with more conventional procedures are all briefly presented. Advantages of the alternative procedures are described in the context of three ongoing projects.

Performance specifications for diagnostic x-ray equipment.

The specification of performance characteristics for diagnostic x-ray equipment involves an interplay between purchaser and supplier which often results in inadequate understanding of imaging requirements by the supplier, and unfulfilled expectations by the purchaser. A statement of performance specifications has been prepared and accompanies requests for bids distributed to suppliers. The statement is described in its general form; modifications bay be needed to adapt it to a specific radiographic system.

Cost Cutting in Exploratory Drilling: ABSTRACT

Geologists responsible for costs on exploratory wells may effect savings through non-technical, common-sense attention to bid requests, rig and personnel selection, and integration of the geological well program with that suggested by drilling engineers and practically trained contractor supervisors. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1084------------