HMS Software Case Studies

Since August 1992, General Motors Diesel Division of London, Ontario has been using Open Plan to manage their military contracts. HMS Software, Welcom Software's Canadian distributor, has been working closely with GM over the last 18 months to assist them with their project management systems implementation.

"We analyzed various project management packages in our engineering area and came to the conclusion that we needed a fully fledged high-end package," says Dave McColl, coordinator of Master Program Scheduling. "We picked Open Plan for its functionality and for its capacity to manage resources. The technical capabilities of HMS Software have been a positive factor as well. They are a Canadian company; they are close by, and this made it easier for us."

The Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), which GM designs and manufactures, is customized to fit each of their clients' requirements. For example, one client may ask for an "ambulance" APC while another requires a "weapons" APC. The requirements change the role of the vehicle and, by extension, the details of the project.

Each APC is delivered with a full data package that was developed by the Logistics Support Analysis (LSA) department. This package includes analysis of the design, failure rates and their effects, a reliability and maintenance analysis, and a spare parts record, all of which is managed using Open Plan. "Resource scheduling is crucial in the LSA department and version 5.0 has allowed them to properly model the way they really wanted to," says McColl.

"To a large extent, we are a departmental organization. The flow of process goes from Contract to Engineering to Systems Engineering to Logistics Support Analysis to Technical Publications. Open Plan has helped identify and cross the department boundaries so that it enables each department to see the impact of how it contributes to the overall project."

Open Plan has also improved the level of resource planning and scheduling to support the GM programs. Open Plan has helped identify potential resource overload problems before they occur. "We've cut down on unnecessary overtime and highlighted when overtime was necessary," says McColl.

Because of its ability to integrate with Open Plan, Welcom Software's Texim Project is also being considered for other departments such as Purchasing. "We see them loading up Texim Project on a laptop, going to a customer site, going over a development schedule, then coming back to the office and integrating all the data into the master schedule in Open Plan," adds McColl.

So far, it seems that Open Plan's solid product support, an open architecture that allows the planning group to design their own reports, and integration with other systems are helping GM Diesel's Defense Planning Organization work as a team. How are they planning to improve their productivity? McColl outlines his plans for a phased-in approach across the entire organization. "We want to integrate one department at a time and put this into practice with all the managers."

For more information on this article or any HMS product or service, contact HMS at 514-695-8122 or via email at info@hmssoftware.ca.