December 5 2008 Stanford University CEE 215 Future State Narrative Final Project ConXtech 10x10x10 Luis Ignacio Galdo Daniel Payne Carlos Izquierdo Future Narrative Introduction ConXtech manufactures and sells a modular steel construction system similar to the child s toy that their name references Unlike traditional steel they modify all structural pieces in a central factory and machine their connections to a very high tolerance The columns and beams are then connected in the field without many of the complex activities typically associated with steel erection To complement the system ConXtech sells other modular building components such as fa ade panels bathrooms and kitchens The company s overall vision is to revolutionize the mid rise building market by being able to build a product they call 10x10x10 Ten stories ten units per story in ten months Currently it a mid rise building would take more than a year and a half to complete start to finish and ConXtech thinks that they can do it in ten months While they haven t finished the 10x10x10 concept yet they are building with the system in the San Francisco bay area The system has proven successful and clients support the company s claims in terms of how much value it adds to projects Operationally the company spends most of its design time doing custom work which does not leverage the system s potential for mass production If a client were to ask ConXtech to use their system but also requested features requiring custom work rather than refuse the company performs additional engineering work to meet the clients wishes Imagine if we did this for cars Right now when a customer wants a particular make and model they are presented with a limited number of options they re allowed to change the color of the upholstery or type of transmission for example Customization outside of a range of options is not offered The customer cannot request that a car be longer or taller for example they just buy a different car In the same way for ConXtech to mass produce it s 10x10x10 concept they need to identify which parameters are feasible to modify in which situations To accomplish this we suggest ConXtech adopt the following strategy They should modify their operational process to adopt an iterative learning process in which they use a quantitative decision making tool when implementing each project and then archive the relevant attributes and designs in a database Specifically we suggest using Multi Attribute MACDADI Each 10x10x10 building then will offer better and better perspective on how the company should change the product which they offer to respond to specific demands Inputs for this database will come from each project as it is completed in the field the processes for database use and updating are described below A Narrative of proposed ConXtech models is shown Error Reference source not found Stratifying the company s activities for the sake of discussion we will refer to the highest view level of ConXtech s operations as Company Level 1 the individual projects as the Project Level and the proposed level in between the two as the Statistics Acquisition and Compilation SAC Level At the Company Level we show ConXtech as moving linearly from project to project with the implicit understanding that this is a simplification of actual business operations 1 Figure 1 Future State Narrative The image shown is a specific project we modeled in Caracas Venezuela but it is shown only as an example The specific narratives at the Project Level will be different for each project and since ConXtech is only partially involved this one instance is not the focus of our work The relevant difference between that narrative and the current state narrative is that the project design is done using a MACDADI process in which the goals stakeholders stakeholder preferences design options and resultant values for each project are identified The narrative of the SAC level shows how a project will develop as far as ConXtech is concerned Here the client is modeled as a generic actor desiring to build a 10x10x10 project As the company and the client begin to work on the project ConXtech delivers their standard 10x10x10 product which is shaped and modified as possible through a MACDADI process When the design is finalized the results of the MACDADI including location project number stakeholders goals preferences options analyses and option value are stored in the database We believe that as ConXtech contributes to hundreds or thousands of similar 10x10x10 buildings the quantifiable records will enable them to periodically review and enhance the product itself and do so in and do consciously With this process ConXtech will be able to understand mid rise residential buildings their performance and the degree of appropriate customization the same way that Honda can do the same with 20 000 Accords Thus ConXtech leverages the production line strengths of their product process complementing the strengths of their product Teams Model The Visual representation displays an example of a team model in a residential building in Venezuela As explained before this model describes the team selected at the Project Level With the introduction of our innovation it is possible to capture teams model from past projects in the particular geographical location The MACDADI decision tool will serve as an input to a database As explained earlier the database will contain all teams models of each project Conxtech was involved in Every project that Conxtech executes eventually leads to a post mortem analysis of the team model In our case we decided to display a typical teams model for a residential project where Conxtech forms part of the design team and consequently the structural system of the building For the particular case in Venezuela the teams as shown in the representation were broken up in Stakeholders and Gatekeepers For building this team all potential stakeholders that the building would potentially influence have been identified As for the gatekeepers we defined the typical actors who regulate residential construction in this geographical location Through the database it is possible to obtain templates for teams model respective to each geographical location Every team member that has historically relevant to the final decision will be considered by the SAAC level narrative and MACDADI Goals Model As mentioned before the visual representation is an example of a goals model in a
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