DECISION FRAMING 1 Taylor Wildberger 6/5/16 DATA 610 SUMMER 2016 Assignment 1: Decision Framing [email protected] Professor: Steward Huang, Ph.D.
DECISION FRAMING 1
Taylor Wildberger
6/5/16
DATA 610
SUMMER 2016
Assignment 1: Decision Framing
Professor: Steward Huang, Ph.D.
DECISION FRAMING 2
Introduction
A key element of using analytics to improve decision making when solving a problem is
to “frame” the decision. The purpose of this assignment is to implement real world problems
involving solutions based on everyday operational decisions and understand how to frame them
for a better comprehension. The Decisionfirst modeling software outlines decisions and breaks
down necessary factors that contribute to the decision making process. Models can be updated
and manipulated based on findings throughout development which results in a better framed
decision or problem. By generating an Analytics Requirements Document (ARD) all data
structures, knowledge sources, and decisions are represented by their relationships and take into
account organization resources necessary for the proposed solution outcome. The decision
framing assignment is appropriate to begin the journey of data analytics because without
defining and framing a decision using analytical solutions may not be effect.
The Prince Georges Public School Maintenance Facility is a department of the county
public school system that provides building upkeep and repairs. The department has over 250
employees on the payroll year round that perform maintenance duties. With roughly 200
buildings in total and more than half over forty years’ old there is a constant demand for
maintenance. All repairs are submitted by the building staff through an online work order
system, processed, then assigned specifically throughout the department employees. Most jobs
are simple in scope and can be completed easily by the trades employees.
DECISION FRAMING 3
Currently the Maintenance Facility performs all necessary preparation work required
before either parties can begin the maintenance job. Inspectors from both the state of Maryland
and the school board are sent to examine the extent of the building disrepair. A harsh chemical
test is performed during the inspection as well to indicate “hot” chemicals such as Asbestos to
determine if the job requires an abatement (Most abatement related jobs must be performed by
contractors due to insurance issues). All jobs are estimated by an internal estimator that provides
the approximated requirements for job completions and are recorded into the pending job
working order database.
The Building Maintenance department has systems in place to help provide their
employees a with a proper work load and schedule. By using the pending work order database
system jobs are assigned and scheduled to employees. Taken from the job estimate data, the
system configures how many employees should be assigned and factors how long the job should
take. The employee leaves data bank that shows pending requested days off is also considered
when assigning and scheduling
Through state government regulations, the school system is obligated to dedicate a
portion of repair jobs to third party private contractors. The Maintenance Facility has created a
separate department called Capital Improvement Planning (CIP) that strictly develops policies
and contracts when dealing with outside contractors. Determining which contractor to use based
on previous encounters current bid CIP can develop the work production schedule. This
department is responsible for payment, inspection, and regulations regarding the work being
performed in our facilities by these contractors.
DECISION FRAMING 4
The decision leaders of the facility insist on finding a better solution the problem of
determining which maintenance repairs should remain in-house to be performed by the internal
employees and which should be externalize to the private contractors. This question is often
proposed and the choices should be automatically determined using previous statistics and
obtainable knowledge sources. Our challenge when making this decision is determining which
factors and elements are involved. By using tools and information from all Maintenance Facility
departments a solution can be developed and implemented.
Analytics
When performing a Job Estimate Assessment, best practices and real world experience
are used mainly to gage the scope and scale of repairs. By developing an analytical model to
better understand how to govern these regulations and automate the scalability based on previous
jobs. The completed work order database will be analyzed to provide these predictions to provide
the accurate man hours and completion time specified in the job estimate assessment.
Regardless of state regulations the maintenance facility is looking at cost efficiency when
it comes to repairs. The department has the option to hire more employees, but feels reluctant to
because currently there is no way to measure their productivity. A solution can be implemented
make this decision easier by using the closed/completed work order history and the pending
work orders. The productivity model relies heavily on the job estimates by comparing and
contrasting the proposals verses the real world data. This model proposes how to automate the
calculation to determine employee productivity.
DECISION FRAMING 5
The school board management has been pushing for the maintenance facility department
to increase their productivity and provide information for their lack thereof. The purpose of this
project is the inform the maintenance facility leaders of the current state of production process
and how current decision making can be improved. By understand the relationships of their
resources and how they are used, the leaders can understand the importance of framing decisions
and understanding current problems with productivity. Without this project, decisions will be
made with little to no insight or knowledge and continue to be made without any clear
determination of how it could impact all facility parties. We should implement these decision
making processes to ensure justification and provide improve productivity.
Analysis
This approach to decision making would be using in my organization compared to the
current status of our decision framing method. The Maintenance Facility department takes little
to no time framing their decisions for a number several reasons. Budgetary issues due to lack of
planning frequently arise causing decisions being made quickly and without total analyzation.
Calculated time on paper (or within a database) vs. real world time almost never comply with
each other when taking the human factor and accidents into account and lead to decisions being
made that were not originally foreseen. Being a government and dealing with several thousand
stake holders and human entities means we are bound with legal issues and are unable to make
certain decisions based those limitations. Our organization would benefit from this decision
making project because it serves as a platform to show how framing a decision and hammering
down on the elements helps determine a prolific outcome.
DECISION FRAMING 6
The biggest resistance that will be encountered will be from the employee workers and
their union. The maintenance employee union is very strong (almost too strong) and have
opposed versions of these types of methods in the past. From my understanding they do not want
the maintenance leaders to have the ability to determine if their work should be taken from them.
Most of the decision making model/project promotes that jobs stay within the facility, but the
union will feel that it decision leans too far away from their side; even though a deciding factor is
to hire more of employees.
I also foresee the facility leaders apposing this model because of the amount of man
power and resources it requires to keep up while also presenting the extreme lack of productivity.
With our budget being cut next year, if they were to implement this decision making model and
present finding to the school board management. The facility leaders fear that the severity
regarding the lack of productivity may cause a complete shutdown of the Maintenance Facility
department and cause all jobs to be contracted out.
If implemented this approach would be useful in roughly all areas of our building
maintenance facility. I feel that this paticular decision would be able to bring all Maintenance
departments together and work on the same schedule. Currently the CIP and On-site Building
Maintenance facility are practically separate entities. An estimator determines which department
to send the work order/job to and no collaborating occurs between the two. Having our
departments working closely together could promote better scheduling and help further improve
the productivity model.
Using this decision model for all jobs could have down falls when involving all
departments. Our facility could lose insight of the goal objective and try to concentrate more on
model upkeep rather than actually completing building repairs. Currently our schedule plays fast
DECISION FRAMING 7
and lose regarding timing and estimations. This model helps create a consistently tight schedule
for all jobs which may lead in an off balance of real world expectations vs. calculated estimates.
It is difficult to imply practical and logical decision based solutions to problems that do
not seem to exist. Cleary defining the decision of outsource building maintenance will have a
positive impact on the Prince Georges Public School Maintenance Facility by framing the
problem and defining all elements within. Providing easy decision making tools will help set the
maintenance facility in a forward thinking mind frame. Promoting the use of analytical
approaches to problems and deciding how to use them in the future. This solution will have a
positive key performance indicator throughout for the maintenance employees, the Maintenance
Facility and the entire School System.
References
DECISION FRAMING 8
Davenport, T. H. (n.d.). Keeping up with the quants: Your guide to understanding and using
analytics.
Appendix A
DECISION FRAMING 9
Outsourcing Building Maintenance to Contractors Decision DiagramDecision Requirements Diagram
Decision Framing to outsource
Source: University of Maryland University College and DecisionsFirst
Modeler
Reference: Taylor, J. (2015) Framing Analytical Requirements,
DECISION FRAMING 10
http://www.decisionmanagementsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Framing-Analytics-Requirements-v5.13.pdf
Nodes Description
Decision Outsourcing Building Maintenance to Contractors
Due to the overwhelming amount of building repairs in the Maintenance Facility a decision needs to be made whether each job should be outsourced to a third party contractor or our current maintenance staff is capable of job completion.
Decision Scheduling The decision on when to schedule the repair Job within the building
Decision Man Hours The amount of man hours need to complete the job are determined based on the analytical Job Scope and Size model.
DECISION FRAMING 11
Nodes Description
Decision Repair Or Replace In certain situations, it is more effective to replace damage completely rather than repair it. Maintenance Records and inspections determine the severity and history of the building repair in question
Decision Contractor Determination Deciding which contractor to use on the particular job. What determining factors should be included when selecting. Depending on the contractor and other factors, the determination on outsourcing will be effected with this matters in consideration.
Decision Hiring More Maintenance Workers Deciding if our facility should hire more maintenance workers based on the Productivity model and annual budget. With more employees available, the jobs should not be contracted.
Decision Job Estimate Assessment This decision determines how to Assess the job to get a rough estimate of the scope and price required for repair. These estimates will be used to compare Bids and employee cost.
DECISION FRAMING 12
Nodes Description
Decision Completion Time The amount of time need to complete the job are determined based on the analytical Job Scope and Size model.
Decision Asbestos Abatement Asbestos is in most of the buildings the repair job needs to be determined if an abatement is necessary. Abatements are performed by licensed professionals and need to be contracted out in this case.
Decision Availability Of Workers Decision to determine the current status of the facility maintenance employees and if they are available. If not enough employees are available at the time of scheduling, then the job will have to be contracted.
Data Source Contract Bids Each contractor submits a bid for each job defining their scope of work, time allotted, and price.
Data Source Inspections Data Collected from the maintenance inspector that is sent to record the severity of the problem.
DECISION FRAMING 13
Nodes Description
Data Source Maintenance Records All records of previous maintenance that has been performed. Including both the in house maintenance staff and the Capital improvement contractors.
Data Source Job Assignments Scheduling Database that determines if the employee has been assigned to job at a specific time.
Data Source Employee Leave Database of when an employee is taking leave and will not be available for work.
Data Source Building Availability The schedule database of events determines when will the building or area be available
Data Source Annual Budget Annual Budget allotted to the Building Maintenance department.
Data Source Material Price The prices of the materials needed for each job are available from suppliers the facility already uses.
DECISION FRAMING 14
Nodes Description
Data Source Availability Contractor Availability and Scheduling database provides when the contractor will be able to perform the work
Data Source Existing Material Tests All buildings have been tested for harsh building material such as Asbestos for the safety of staff members. These records determine the amount of harsh materials contained within certain parts of the building.
Data Source Contractor Terms and Conditions All contractors that work within our facilities must comply with the set policies and agree to the terms and conditions
Know How Job Scope and Scale Model This analytical model is created to determine the scope and scale of each individual job that is being evaluated. This model uses databases that include previous estimates and actual work completed: Man hours, Material Price and Job Size.
DECISION FRAMING 15
Nodes Description
Know How Building Staff The occupants/employees of the building provide insight to the schedule of usage and when certain areas are occupied and if/when maintenance work can be performed. This includes if the area can be shut down completely and if they have room within the building to move staff members during this time.
Know How Productivity Model The analytical model developed to calculate the level of productivity of the in-house maintenance employees. Past and Future productivity is calculated with the data from the work order database including previously completed jobs and current work that needs to be completed.
Know How Capital Improvement Capital Improvement is a sub-department of the maintenance facility that interacts with contractors and over sees their job productivity. Using their insight and information to assist with the determination of using contractors instead of our in-house maintenance employees
DECISION FRAMING 16
Nodes Description
Know How In-House Maintenance Department Full time employees of the Building Maintenance department that include trades workers, facility coordinators. These staff members work within these buildings and provide insight to the building conditions.
Know How Loyalty/ Quality Of Work Most of the contractors our department associates with have performed worked in our facilities before. This knowledge source stems from past experiences with them such as how easy they were to work with, the quality and timing of past projects and payments etc.
Outsourcing Building Maintenance to ContractorsStrategic Decision
Due to the overwhelming amount of building repairs in the Maintenance Facility a decision needs to be made whether each job should be outsourced to a third party contractor or our current maintenance staff is capable of job completion.
Question: Should this building maintenance repair job be contracted out to a third party company instead of the in-house maintenance employee staff?Answer Type Yes / No
Answers
Default Answer: No
Supporting Information:
DECISION FRAMING 17
PropertiesName Value Description
Variability Medium
Complexity High
Volume High
Measurability Medium
Repeatability High
Time to outcome Medium
Decision Value Decay
OrganizationsOwned by
Maintenance Facility
Made By
Maintenance Facility
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Work Order Portal
Contractor Portal
SchedulingOperational Decision
The decision on when to schedule the repair Job within the building
Question: Can this Work be performed and When?Answer Type Yes / No
Answers
Default Answer: Yes
DECISION FRAMING 18
Supporting Information:
PropertiesName Value Description
Volume Low
Variability Medium
Complexity Low
Measurability Medium
Repeatability High
Time to outcome Short
Decision Value Decay
OrganizationsOwned by
Capital Improvement Department
Made By
Capital Improvement Department
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Employee Portal
Work Order Portal
Man HoursStrategic Decision
The amount of man hours need to complete the job are determined based on the analytical Job Scope and Size model.
Question: How much man power/hours does this job require for completion?Answer Type Number in range
DECISION FRAMING 19
Answers
Default Answer:
Supporting Information:
PropertiesName Value Description
Complexity Low
Volume Low
Variability Low
Repeatability Low
Time to outcome Short
Measurability Low
Decision Value Decay
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Work Order Portal
Repair or ReplaceOperational Decision
In certain situations, it is more effective to replace damage completely rather than repair it. Maintenance Records and inspections determine the severity and history of the building repair in question
Question: Should this building restoration be a repair or a total replacement?Answer Type Value from explicit list
Answers Repair, Replace
Default Answer:
Supporting Information:
DECISION FRAMING 20
Requirements NetworkRequires Description
Input Data Inspections Data Collected from the maintenance inspector that is sent to record the severity of the problem.
Input Data Maintenance Records All records of previous maintenance that has been performed. Including both the in house maintenance staff and the Capital improvement contractors.
PropertiesName Value Description
Complexity Medium
Variability Medium
Volume High
Time to outcome Short
Repeatability High
Measurability High
Decision Value Decay
OrganizationsOwned by
On-Site Maintenance
Made By
On-Site Maintenance
DECISION FRAMING 21
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Work Order Portal
Contractor DeterminationStrategic Decision
Deciding which contractor to use on the particular job. What determining factors should be included when selecting. Depending on the contractor and other factors, the determination on outsourcing will be effected with this matters in consideration.
Question: Should we hire this contractor for this repair job?Answer Type Yes / No
Answers
Default Answer: Yes
Supporting Information:
Requirements NetworkRequires Description
Input Data Contract Bids Each contractor submits a bid for each job defining their scope of work, time allotted, and price.
PropertiesName Value Description
Complexity Low
Volume High
Variability Medium
Repeatability High
Measurability Medium
Time to outcome Medium
DECISION FRAMING 22
Name Value Description
Decision Value Decay
OrganizationsOwned by
Capital Improvement Department
Made By
Capital Improvement Department
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Contractor Portal
Hiring More Maintenance WorkersStrategic Decision
Deciding if our facility should hire more maintenance workers based on the Productivity model and annual budget. With more employees available, the jobs should not be contracted.
Question: Should the Maintenance Facility Department Hire More Employees?Answer Type Number in range
Answers
Default Answer:
Supporting Information:
DECISION FRAMING 23
Requirements NetworkRequires Description
Knowledge Source
Productivity Model The analytical model developed to calculate the level of productivity of the in-house maintenance employees. Past and Future productivity is calculated with the data from the work order database including previously completed jobs and current work that needs to be completed.
Input Data Annual Budget Annual Budget allotted to the Building Maintenance department.
PropertiesName Value Description
Complexity High
Variability Medium
Volume Medium
Repeatability High
Measurability Medium
Time to outcome Medium
Decision Value Decay
OrganizationsOwned by
On-Site Maintenance
Made By
DECISION FRAMING 24
On-Site Maintenance
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Work Order Portal
Employee Portal
Job Estimate Assessment Decision
This decision determines how to Assess the job to get a rough estimate of the scope and price required for repair. These estimates will be used to compare Bids and employee cost.
Question: What is the repair Job Going to Cost?Answer Type Number in range
Answers
Default Answer:
Supporting Information:
Requirements NetworkRequires Description
Decision Man Hours The amount of man hours need to complete the job are determined based on the analytical Job Scope and Size model.
Input Data Material Price The prices of the materials needed for each job are available from suppliers the facility already uses.
DECISION FRAMING 25
Requires Description
Decision Completion Time The amount of time need to complete the job are determined based on the analytical Job Scope and Size model.
Required by Description
Decision Outsourcing Building Maintenance to Contractors
Due to the overwhelming amount of building repairs in the Maintenance Facility a decision needs to be made whether each job should be outsourced to a third party contractor or our current maintenance staff is capable of job completion.
PropertiesName Value Description
Volume High
Variability Medium
Complexity High
Repeatability High
Time to outcome Medium
Measurability High
Decision Value Decay
OrganizationsOwned by
On-Site Maintenance
DECISION FRAMING 26
Made By
On-Site Maintenance
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Contractor Portal
Work Order Portal
Completion TimeStrategic Decision
The amount of time need to complete the job are determined based on the analytical Job Scope and Size model.
Question: How long will it take to complete the repair job?Answer Type Number in range
Answers
Default Answer:
Supporting Information:
Requirements NetworkRequires Description
Knowledge Source
Job Scope and Scale Model This analytical model is created to determine the scope and scale of each individual job that is being evaluated. This model uses databases that include previous estimates and actual work completed: Man hours, Material Price and Job Size.
DECISION FRAMING 27
Required by Description
Decision Job Estimate Assessment This decision determines how to Assess the job to get a rough estimate of the scope and price required for repair. These estimates will be used to compare Bids and employee cost.
PropertiesName Value Description
Volume High
Complexity High
Variability High
Repeatability High
Time to outcome Medium
Measurability High
Decision Value Decay
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Work Order Portal
Asbestos AbatementOperational Decision
Asbestos is in most of the buildings the repair job needs to be determined if an abatement is necessary. Abatements are performed by licensed professionals and need to be contracted out in this case.
Question: Does the Job Require and Abatement?Answer Type Yes / No
Answers
DECISION FRAMING 28
Default Answer: No
Supporting Information:
Requirements NetworkRequires Description
Input Data Maintenance Records All records of previous maintenance that has been performed. Including both the in house maintenance staff and the Capital improvement contractors.
Input Data Existing Material Tests All buildings have been tested for harsh building material such as Asbestos for the safety of staff members. These records determine the amount of harsh materials contained within certain parts of the building.
Required by Description
Decision Outsourcing Building Maintenance to Contractors
Due to the overwhelming amount of building repairs in the Maintenance Facility a decision needs to be made whether each job should be outsourced to a third party contractor or our current maintenance staff is capable of job completion.
PropertiesName Value Description
Complexity Low
DECISION FRAMING 29
Name Value Description
Variability Low
Volume High
Repeatability High
Measurability Low
Time to outcome Short
Decision Value Decay
OrganizationsOwned by
Capital Improvement Department
Made By
Capital Improvement Department
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Work Order Portal
Availability of WorkersOperational Decision
Decision to determine the current status of the facility maintenance employees and if they are available. If not enough employees are available at the time of scheduling, then the job will have to be contracted.
Question: Are the Facility Maintenance employees available for this job?Answer Type Yes / No
Answers
Default Answer: Yes
Supporting Information:
DECISION FRAMING 30
Requirements NetworkRequires Description
Input Data Job Assignments Scheduling Database that determines if the employee has been assigned to job at a specific time.
Input Data Employee Leave Database of when an employee is taking leave and will not be available for work.
Required by Description
Decision Outsourcing Building Maintenance to Contractors
Due to the overwhelming amount of building repairs in the Maintenance Facility a decision needs to be made whether each job should be outsourced to a third party contractor or our current maintenance staff is capable of job completion.
PropertiesName Value Description
Volume Medium
Variability Medium
Complexity Low
Repeatability High
Measurability High
Time to outcome Short
Decision Value Decay
DECISION FRAMING 31
OrganizationsOwned by
On-Site Maintenance
Made By
On-Site Maintenance
RelationshipsImplemented in Systems
Work Order Portal
Employee Portal
Contract BidsExternal, Semi-structured Input Data
Each contractor submits a bid for each job defining their scope of work, time allotted, and price.
InspectionsInternal, Structured Input Data
Data Collected from the maintenance inspector that is sent to record the severity of the problem.
Maintenance Records Pooled, Semi-structured Input Data
All records of previous maintenance that has been performed. Including both the in house maintenance staff and the Capital improvement contractors.
Job AssignmentsInternal, Structured Input Data
Scheduling Database that determines if the employee has been assigned to job at a specific time.
Employee LeaveInternal, Structured Input Data
Database of when an employee is taking leave and will not be available for work.
Building AvailabilityInternal, Structured Input Data
The schedule database of events determines when will the building or area be available
DECISION FRAMING 32
Annual BudgetInternal, Structured Input Data
Annual Budget allotted to the Building Maintenance department.
Material PriceExternal, Structured Input Data
The prices of the materials needed for each job are available from suppliers the facility already uses.
Availability Input Data
Contractor Availability and Scheduling database provides when the contractor will be able to perform the work
Existing Material TestsInternal, Structured Input Data
All buildings have been tested for harsh building material such as Asbestos for the safety of staff members. These records determine the amount of harsh materials contained within certain parts of the building.
Contractor Terms and ConditionsInternal, Structured Input Data
All contractors that work within our facilities must comply with the set policies and agree to the terms and conditions
Job Scope and Scale ModelKnow how– Analytic Insight
This analytical model is created to determine the scope and scale of each individual job that is being evaluated. This model uses databases that include previous estimates and actual work completed: Man hours, Material Price and Job Size.
Requirements NetworkRequired by Description
Decision Man Hours The amount of man hours need to complete the job are determined based on the analytical Job Scope and Size model.
DECISION FRAMING 33
Building StaffKnow how– Best Practice
The occupants/employees of the building provide insight to the schedule of usage and when certain areas are occupied and if/when maintenance work can be performed. This includes if the area can be shut down completely and if they have room within the building to move staff members during this time.
Productivity ModelKnow how– Analytic Insight
The analytical model developed to calculate the level of productivity of the in-house maintenance employees. Past and Future productivity is calculated with the data from the work order database including previously completed jobs and current work that needs to be completed.
Capital ImprovementKnow how– Expertise
Capital Improvement is a sub-department of the maintenance facility that interacts with contractors and over sees their job productivity. Using their insight and information to assist with the determination of using contractors instead of our in-house maintenance employees
In-House Maintenance DepartmentKnow how– Expertise
Full time employees of the Building Maintenance department that include trades workers, facility coordinators. These staff members work within these buildings and provide insight to the building conditions.
Loyalty/ Quality of WorkKnow how– Best Practice
Most of the contractors our department associates with have performed worked in our facilities before. This knowledge source stems from past experiences with them such as how easy they were to work with, the quality and timing of past projects and payments etc.
DECISION FRAMING 34