PLANTRAC-OUTLOOK Project Management Software

PLANTRAC helps to plan the Trident Submarine Programme

HMS Vanguard departing for contractor sea trials

The Trident Co-ordinating System Design Agency (CSDA) is an MOD funded project office which liaises between the Ministry and Vickers Shipbuilding Engineering Ltd (VSEL). The work of the CSDA involves the Trident submarine programme at Barrow-in-Furness plus the activities of three shore based facilities at Barrow (system development), Portsmouth (maintenance training) and Portsdown (communications).

To control and monitor their projects, CSDA use several project management software packages including Computerline's PLANTRAC and CORONET which are being used to plan the design and development of the submarines' tactical weapons systems and their subsequent acceptance trials. PLANTRAC is also being used for the three shore facilities and to monitor and plan the CSDA's overall work as well as the submarines.

PLANTRAC is used for the project control and monitoring in a multi-project environment and CORONET for cost estimating and management.

Of some 50 people employed by CSDA, up to eight users have access to PLANTRAC, on a Novell LAN network, including one person at their Bath office. The software is also available on a laptop computer enabling the operator to update information on-site.

With PLANTRAC operational on the network, CSDA can use a single database with the ability to access and update it through any workstation on the network and equally they can call up information to any point on the network so they have the security of knowing that everybody has the same up-to-date information.

"The major benefit of PLANTRAC is its power and flexibility," commented Ken Armistead, Programme Manager, CSDA. "It provides us with swift and accurate scheduling and reporting and the presentation is very good."

Work on each of the submarines and shore based facilities is regarded as a sub-project of the overall project which is the task of CSDA. There are some 1,000 activities associated with each of these sub-projects. Critical path networks are generated by PLANTRAC in the precedence format. From this, bar charts are created for reporting - simplified summary bar charts showing a couple of months work broken down into days for executive management and a series of more detailed charts each in different levels of detail management and engineers "at the coal face".

Control of some projects is required in very fine detail. PLANTRAC copes with planning for sea trials in hours and minutes over a twenty day period. Conversely the software can also cope with really long spanning programmes one of which runs from 1992 to 1999.

PLANTRAC is also used to provide histograms and resource limited scheduling. The software's analysis and reporting features are also used to plot tracking and trending graphs where progress can be measured by comparing current schedule lines against a pre-set base line schedule producing two "S" curves. It is an ideal method of comparing actual and planned progress clearly in terms of activity days. This is immediately meaningful and, like the easy comprehensibility of the bar charts, prompts a spontaneous reaction.

The multiple bars on one line and comments facilities help to condense more information into management presentations, often on one A3 sheet, which further aids comprehension.

"When things slip and a programme has to be amended, we pride ourselves on our speed of response in reporting, to management, what the knock-on effect will be of difficulties such as delays in the build, software delays or some resource not being available," continued Ken Armistead. "If there is a slippage on a weapons system, for instance and analysis shows this to be critical, we can go on to use the "what-if" facility to determine the consequences of various actions. PLANTRAC is invaluable in demonstrating the consequences of decisions and of delays in making those decisions."

Data is imported into CORONET from PLANTRAC. The project is first planned then costs applied. Usage of the two packages goes hand-in-hand.

The cost management software provides CSDA with comparative reports between:

(a) the original Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS)

(b) the Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) -and-

Output from CORONET can be shown as further costs histograms and "S" curves. CORONET can provide reports against items, resources and time and offer performance ratios - cost performance, schedule performance and completed work. It will also predict cash flows, provide models of potential scenarios using different rates, inflation factors and other variables. Time-phased reports show exactly when costs are going to occur.

Data from both PLANTRAC packages is exported to Design CAD and Microsoft Excel packages; to the former for enhanced graphics presentation (including the placement of divisional logos or drawings on bar charts), and to the latter for spreadsheet output.

"One of the real advantages of PLANTRAC is that it is British designed and developed. We have a first class support service from the Computerline office near Weybridge and have no hesitation in recommending the software," concluded Ken Armistead.