On the Delta Project's Web home page, a clock counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to Oct. 1, 1998. When it reaches zero, ORNL and Energy Systems will undergo a sweeping change in how they operate.
For those whose activities at the two Lockheed Martin companies are associated in any way with accounting, money or people—and most things inescapably are—the time before October 1 will be "the way it was." After October 1, SAP will be "the way it is."
SAP/R3, a computerized business system that is the product of Germany-based SAP AG, was selected by ORNL and Energy Systems for a commercial, off-the-shelf business system. A reengineering study recommended such a system in 1996, noting that over the years the business systems for the Oak Ridge facilities had become unwieldy, expensive to maintain and unable to provide timely information to their users.
After SAP was selected, the 35 or so members of the Delta Project team (delta is scientific notation for change) convened in the spartan environs of Building 2001 at ORNL to implement the system. It is no trifling undertaking: All told, ORNL and Energy Systems together will invest about $30 million in the system.
If that seems like a huge sum of money, the anticipated savings in reduced "stealth" costs and increased efficiency make it, as the now-retired reengineering implementation leader Jim Stiegler said, "a decision you can't afford not to make." Those savings will be badly needed in the coming years.
"ORNL and Energy Systems are experiencing unprecedented change as a result of fierce competition for declining federal funds," says Jim Ball, who co-manages the SAP implementation project along with George Dailey. "The transfer of environmental management work has also reduced our funding base. We are under real pressure to streamline and become more efficient," adds Dailey.
So what will SAP replace? It will replace more than 80 total systems. A list of several familiar systems includes the Cost Accounting System, Accelerated Vendor Inventory Delivery System (AVID), Materials Management System, Task Based Management System, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable systems, Training Management System and General Ledger.
Not all business management systems are going away in October. Major systems not being replaced by SAP include Payroll Absentee Labor System (PALS), Property Inventory Management System and Travel.
Foremost on the minds of ORNL and Energy Systems staff is the question, "How is SAP going to save me money?" More importantly, how will SAP make ORNL and Energy Systems more efficient and more competitive in the science and engineering community?
"SAP is merely a tool for helping us change our current environment," says Becky Verastegui, the project's technical director. "The new system will force us to reengineer the way we do business, and that's where the savings will come. Additionally, the annual normal computing operating costs of SAP should be less than half of the costs of the systems being replaced by SAP."
Essentially, SAP/R3 will unify about 80 individual data bases; data entered into the data base will be accessible throughout the system. Delta Project team members say procurement will be much simplified using a Web-based system with reduced approvals. They also say accounts will be more easily opened and closed, data will be more accessible, overhead allocations will be simplified and subcontractor and guest processing will be streamlined.
It boils down to what are termed "best business practices." "SAP/R3 will introduce best business practices and help jump-start our change process," Dailey says. "For example, project managers should be able to plan, execute and monitor projects through SAP as opposed to using a number of unintegrated project management tools."
Who will use SAP? To varying degrees, lots of people. Web access is provided by 5,000 licenses to casual SAP users. Through other license agreements, approximately 350 ORNL and Energy Systems employees will be designated "power users," mainly finance officers, procurement staff and others who will use SAP/R3 daily in their work.
"The introduction of SAP provides us with an opportunity to simplify many of our business processes and provide our project managers with timely and accurate information needed to perform their jobs," says Energy Systems President Bob Van Hook. "As organizations are realigned, procedures are changed, job expectations are modified and SAP is implemented, it is critical that all levels of management in both Energy Systems and ORNL are totally committed to supporting SAP."
Desktop hardware requirements are fairly simple: If you can access the Web, you'll have the capability to access SAP. The desktop systems supported by ORNL and Energy Systems—PC, Mac and workstations—will support SAP, including the graphical user interface for the power users.
In March, more than 250 staff members tried out the system in a demonstration called the conference room pilot.
Training in new business rules and in the actual use of the system will ramp up in July and intensify in September to prepare for the October 1 implementation of new systems for acquisition, controlling, finance, project management, and segments of human resources.
ORNL and Energy Systems will also undergo a culture change owing to the degree of control and accountability SAP places in the hands of its end-users. Whether or not the two companies actually realize the changes—and reap the rewards—depends heavily on how effectively their employees use the new tools at their disposal.
In this year's State of the Lab address, ORNL Director Al Trivelpiece reminded ORNL staff members of the Delta Project's purpose and the responsibility that goes with it.
"ORNL will be the first national laboratory to have put into the hands of its scientists and engineers the kind of financial tools that will permit more effective and efficient management of research and development programs. This should make you more competitive." He added, "It is a good opportunity. Your challenge is to take advantage of it."
More information can be found on the Delta Team's Web page, www-internal.ornl.gov/ORNL/transition/bp.html.—B.C.,
