[Answer] The Department of the Interior has named the Saratoga - #80087
SARATOGA MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK CASE
The Department of the Interior has named the Saratoga Mountain area a national park. It is in the planning stages of developing a campsite area over 500 acres of currently undeveloped land. This campsite will span the extremities of the park, from the proposed Mission Creek Campsite area in the west to the Wild Coyote Campsite area in the east.
At this time all the contracts for this project have been awarded with exception of
selecting the company that will develop the management information system (MIS) for Saratoga National Park. The three bidders for this contract are (1) QM Associates, (2) MS Infostructures, and (3) the SBAE Company.
The project has been subdivided into 10 individual activities, as depicted in the
PERT/CPM network in Figure 1. Activity J is the MIS task.
Based on similar projects, it has been possible to determine a cost/time correspondence between the various activities of the project. The normal and crash costs and times (in weeks) are given in the following table.
Activity F that will be performed by Ellis Electric involves laying electrical cable for the
project. To minimize its cost, Ellis will design the system to use the least amount of
electrical cable.
Ellis Electric will charge the government an amount between $100,000 and $200,000. For $100,000, Ellis Electric can assign enough workers to lay 300 feet of cable per week. For $200,000, Ellis will assign additional workers to lay 500 feet of cable each week.
Activity 1 involves constructing one (narrow) paved two-lane road from Mission Creek in the west to Wild Coyote in the east. This work will be done by Harriman Construction.
To minimize costs, the department will pay Harriman to build the road of minimum
distance between the two campsites. At a cost to the governments of $25,000 per week, 200 feet of roadway can be completed in a week. If the cost is increased to $36,000 per week, the completion rate will increase to 250 feet per week.
Due to heavy brush and mountainous nature of the area, 12 possible dirt paths exist
between the campsites. Neither Ellis Electric nor Harrison Construction is permitted to clear out additional areas for constructing either underground cable or the paved road. Thus, electrical cable must be laid and the road must be built along areas of the dirt paths. Figure 2 is a map of the possible dirt paths between campsites showing distances in feet.
Each of the three companies competing for the MIS task ha been asked to submit a
minimal cost and a minimal time (in weeks) bid. The bids are summarized in the
following tale.
The "grand opening" of Saratoga National Park had been scheduled for exactly 52 weeks from now. It is imperative that the project be completed within the 52-week period because a delay of even one day in the opening of the park would result in revised travel costs for the dignitaries, lost income to the park, and other expenses.
Based on the given time and cost estimates, prepare a memo to the Department of the
Interior giving the costs and scheduling for each activity so that the project will be
completed within 52 weeks at a minimum total costs.. Be sure to emphasize the
assumptions you made to perform your analysis. Also include the following
recommendations:
· The firm to be awarded the MIS contract and its funding level;
· The layout and funding for the Ellis Electric cable-laying activity
· The design and funding for the Harriman Construction paved road
· activity.
Your memorandum should be professional in style. Of course, it is typed! Your
supporting work (e.g. formulation and computer solution) should be placed in separate appendices and only the results cited in your memo. The paper will be evaluated according to (1) Composition (grammar, sentence and paragraph construction, transition sand coherence); (2) Mechanics (typing, spelling, punctuation, and format; (3) Content (substance - each question sufficiently addressed); (4) Reflection (analysis).
More information concerning the writing of a memo will be forthcoming. You are
encouraged to work in teams; however the team size is limited to 3. Team members will be asked to evaluate each other's participation. Remember, this is worth 15% of your grade.
Deliverable: Word Document
and pdf
