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Management Decision

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controlnovice

Electrical
Jul 28, 2004
975
I just need a place to rant.

I had just returned from a trip to discuss and recommend a DCS system in a plant. I presented the reasoning to use one over the other. It is pretty much the company standard DCS that we've been using for the last 7 years. Standards have been built, graphics are all the same, etc. The plant loved the idea as well as the main engineering office.

I return and get an email that says upper management decided to use another DCS vendor.

I strongly suspect that upper management has become 'bought' from the other DCS vendor/distributor. Probably not the correct phrase, but in some way in cohorts with them.

Can't prove it, but it really stinks.

What to do now?



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Grin and bear it. Look on the bright side, you'll be getting experience in another system, and a chance to compare the two.

To be honest this can be quite legitimate - if the second vendor is keen to expand their customer base they may well make an offer that can't be ignored.



Cheers

Greg Locock

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Something similar happened in my cpomany with different outcome: In a another factory of my company they implemented SAP around 5 years ago. Since then it is spoken to extend SAP to the other factories of the group. By different reasons, the project never went ahead. This year it seems that it goes, but it was a tough fight between SAP and Navision (Microsoft's ERP software). In one side you have all the accumulated experience with SAP and the astronomic licences and consultant fees, in the other you have a new software, with the vendors very keen to get a grip in a SAP client and making very attractive offers. There was a time that it was really being considered to quit SAP and implement Navision across all sites.
I believe that SAP realized that it was loosing hte race and must have offered a real good deal. In the end (as far as I know) we stick with SAP.
 
Think of it as job security...As new/different systems are put in place, there will no doubt be complications which otherwise could have been avoided.

Applying logic:

system complications --> need for engineer(s)
need for engieer(s) --> $$$ and not getting laid off


*Sometimes failure is the key to success*

 
Start applying for the second DCS vendor's traning courses - I hear they are usually in nice destination resort type of places.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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I have seen almost the exact same thing myself (better not say where, in case my cloak of anonymity is not so impervious). In my case it was not a DCS system but a pretty large contract. Our managers were extensively wined and dined by the ultimate winner. The decision came from above without asking for a shred of input from me...kind of a shock since I am pretty much the company's technical expert in this area. Of course they can make the excuse that their decisions are based on the technical merit of what they heard from these sales folks (once again if they were interested in technical decisions...why didn't they ask the technical people?). It is about as close as you can get to abuse of position without crossing the line IMHO but also there is absolutely nothing productive that can be done by you (unless you think there may be some career benefit to pointing out a suspected management impropriety to H.R.). Best thing is to put it behind you and focus on the things you can control.

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What to do now?

Do your job as well as you previous assignment. Don't fret too much over "why" management does what it does.

Just do the job they pay you to do.

Charlie
 
Here is another way to look at it. Will anyone be hurt or killed due to this decision? If not then it is really hard to justify making a big deal about it. I certainly understand the desire to be a good steward of the money and resources put in your control, and I can certainly understand a sense of duty to the share holders to spend the company funds wisely, but I also know that front line engineers seldom have a view of the big picture, and for better or for worse management does. So if it is any consolation here are some possibilities I dreamed up..

Perhaps the plant is being sold and as part of the deal your managment has agreed to install a new DCS of the new owners choosing.

Perhaps as has been mentioned the new vendor bought the job.

Perhaps there is a contracting strategy to give your current vendor some competition in order to get them to negotiate other work.

Perhaps the contracting strategy is simply to share the wealth in order to keep the other vendors willing to bid your work. If I never get a job from company ABC why would I continue bidding, especially in this environment where everyone has too much work as it is.

Maybe there is another move in the works such as ERP program or something that interfaces better with the new DCS company, and this is the beginning of a new standard DCS.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!
 
Perhaps your boss's boss's boss and the new vendor's boss's boss's boss are old college buddies, drinkin' buddies, or perhaps visit the same strip club. Or...maybe they attend the same church, have the same last name, or one of the two saved the other one's life some time in the past. Or...maybe someone just liked the new vendor logo....It really doesn't matter why.
 
I cann understand the question. I would want to know why even if it was a stupid reason. I think it would be a sign of respect if they let me in on the secret. It would also help me to quit wondering "why?" and start focusing on my work. In some cases I think it can be beneficial to the company and its relationships with its emplyees if they shared some info with them.

Ed

 
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