Table of Contents
Brian Feldman - Helping
You Get Things Done Faster And Better With
Computer Programming
|
I can save you money and time by automating things you do every day
Like any normal person, one of my goals in life is to get as much work done with as little effort as possible. That's why I honed my skills to develop macros in Excel and Access. I prefer to automate repetitive tasks by developing software to do them for me so I can spend more time doing things I enjoy like driving my minivan and drinking beer (not both at the same time though). Perhaps you have a repetitive or time consuming task that is costing you or someone else a great deal of time or money. Many times I can develop an application to automate the process, making your life much easier. Computer programs can have a very quick return on investment based on the amount of time saved alone - even before benefits such as a reduction in errors and availability of more data are accounted for. Oftentimes there is a task performed where much of the analysis is done in the same way but the data changes slightly and we want to be able to perform the analysis very quickly.
Some examples of tasks that automation works very well for include
In every single office or business I've ever set foot in, I have found a way to improve their productivity by writing macros and developing databases - just look at my resume! I'm a degreed mechanical engineer, but everywhere I go, I end up doing programming. If you think about it, I'm sure there's something that you could be getting done faster or more efficiently by having a program developed to handle it. Every business has data that needs to be analyzed and recorded!
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it expensive to have macros and databases custom developed? No job is too small - some things are simple and take only a few hours to program and can cost under a hundred dollars, whereas really large projects may take a few weeks and cost several thousand dollars. Look at a program from a return on investment perspective. If a program costs $1000 and saves an employee a mere hour a week, that's 50 hours in a year. That program would pay for itself in about a year. Many times the return on investment is even greater. Where else can you get a guaranteed 100% or greater annual return on your investment?
We're in penny-pinching mode right now and can't afford to spend any money. The way I look at it, it's more expensive to not have something developed. With a piece of software, you pay for it once, and you can inexpensively maintain and add functionality as you desire. If you have a repetitive task done manually, you have to train someone to do it, and keep paying them more and more money to do it over and over again. Plus, they're bound to make errors that need to be caught and corrected if they're doing something repetitive. Why not put them to more productive use? No business that I know of has a shortage of things that need to be done! Look at software from a return on investment perspective, and almost every time, it will end up being cheaper to invest the money in the software. Being in penny-pinching mode is the perfect reason to invest in software!
Is it tough for people to learn to use custom-built software? One of the things I take great pride in is usability because I know from personal experience that people don't like to read instructions. I design just about everything (except maybe the applications I make specifically for myself) so that users can easily figure out what needs to go where and how to run the application. If you need more than a paragraph of instructions to successfully run something simple, the interface is too complex and should be fixed. Many of the programs I write just need a few inputs and the click of a button to run. Auto companies build complex vehicles with thousands of parts, yet most people who know how to turn a key, steering wheel, and operate the gas and brake pedals can successfully drive one.
Is it tough to change custom-built software in the future? Minor changes can be made very quickly and software is very easy to modify.
What language is most of your software written in? Most of the software I write is in Visual Basic for Applications, which is supported by Microsoft Excel and Access - the same software most businesses already use for data analysis. If you have data in Access or Excel, or even text files, Visual Basic for Applications will work beautifully with it. The actual programs are integrated into Excel spreadsheets or Access databases, which are familiar to most users.
But nobody at my office knows how to use Access! Most people who drive a car don't know how to build an engine, either. All they need to know is how to get in, turn the key, and put gas in it. To use a well-designed piece of software minimal knowledge about Access is really necessary. All that a standard user would need to know is how to open up a few forms and click a few buttons to get the software to do its job. The user doesn't need to be an expert in designing tables, SQL queries, or forms - that part is already done for them - like the building of the car!
I already have a spreadsheet designed in Excel (and it works just fine) That's a perfect starting point. Often the existing spreadsheet in Excel can be used with some additional Visual Basic code for automation. Many times though designing a database in Access is a more appropriate solution, even if Excel appears to be working at the moment. If you're constantly having to modify things in Excel or spending lots of time transferring data around, it's probably a good sign that you would benefit from some programming.
Am I better off with Excel or Access? Many programs could be written in either Excel or Access and work just fine. However, Access is generally better if the program you need will involve storing data, grouping data, selecting certain pieces of data, or you are using a lot of repeated formulas in Excel to achieve your desired result. Excel is generally better for quick and simple calculations or when dealing with very small amounts of data.
I am planning to upgrade to a new version of Excel or Access sometime in the near future Yes, your custom-built software will work in the newer version. New versions of Access and Excel will support Visual Basic for Applications, which means that you won't need to do anything special to get your software to work - just open it up in the new version and it'll be all set!
I'm worried that the people I work with will be resistant to something new They won't resist it if it takes work off their plates and makes their lives easier, especially if they're overworked, and especially once they see how much nicer it is to have things automated. Unless of course the automation project is so successful that it completely eliminates their workload, in which case you'll have to find some other use for their talents. Many people fear the unknown and are uncomfortable with new things, which is why change needs to be forced upon them by someone with the power to implement it to show them how much better the new method can be. Better yet, sometimes people come up with ideas on their own for things that could be automated, but you haven't found the resources yet to accomplish it - until now!
If you think you have something that would be better off programmed or automated, just send me an email! No cost, no obligation, and we'll figure out how to solve your problems! Make your life easier!
Here's a sampling of applications I have developed
Ingredient Filling Scheduling Program (for an unnamed beverage manufacturer, not mentioned anywhere else on this website) I developed a database at the request of one of my good friends to save him about 7 hours worth of work every week matching up production requirements to filling schedules. The database has functionality above and beyond the Excel spreadsheets that had previously been in use, such as a new schedule-leveling algorithm to ensure that the requested levels of production are physically possible.
Compressor Performance Spreadsheet (for an unnamed conglomerate*) This spreadsheet was developed because an old DOS program was used to generate compressor performance maps, and unfortunately there was no suitable method for creating compressor performance graphs to use in reports and manuals for the customer. The spreadsheet parses text files generated by the old program to enable instant plotting of performance curves in Excel, along with the ability to easily convert between English and Metric units.
Off-the-Road Tire Database (for an unnamed tire manufacturer*) The Off-the-Road Tire Database provides cradle-to-grave analysis of large tires. It allows for the collection and automated compilation of data because each account has its own small database. Tires can be analyzed for wear rates, lifespan, removal reason, and compared with tires from other accounts to determine and resolve performance issues. Previous to this, no real conclusive data on tire removal issues, lifespans, or comparisons was available, so no method existed to find what the largest issues really were or determine how well the tires were really performing. The benefits here are that now the engineers can concentrate on finding and solving the real problems instead of shooting in the wind to solve an issue of an unknown magnitude that may or may not really be a problem with the tire.
Automated Loss and Premium Data Ordering (for an unnamed insurance company*) I took the initiative to develop this one on my own when I was trained to order data through an archaic mainframe interface. The process took about half an hour each time, and of course after I had just finished ordering data and things didn't check out, my manager walked by and told me a small change was recently made, which would require me to spend another half hour reordering all the data, and she laughed as she walked away and told me it would be good practice. I quickly determined that ordering data 17 times for each project was going to get old rather quickly, so I developed this nice little job to instantly write a script to order my data for me. Here's a case where we had just a few small inputs that needed to be changed but the majority of the process was the same. Data ordering time was reduced from half an hour and much agony to 10 seconds and the click of a button!
Automated Loss and Premium Data Importation (for an unnamed insurance company*) After the data was ordered, it needed to be imported into special spreadsheets for analysis, along with data from many other sources. Instead of a long arduous process of manually opening about 20 files and copying things from here to there and jumping around all over the place to put certain values in certain cells, I decided I'd rather tell a program what files I wanted to pull data from and then click a button to do the work for me. This program reduced what was normally several hours of work down to about 30 seconds.
Daily Report Preparation (also for an unnamed insurance company*) One department was tasked with generating a daily report to gauge participation in an experimental program. I received a complaint that the Excel spreadsheet they were using took an hour to recalculate and repopulate all the necessary graphs, and that the formulas constantly needed to be fixed. It turned out that every single point on every single graph was determined from its own huge formula. This was a data analysis problem better suited for Access than Excel. I developed an Access database to analyze the data and prepare the reports. This eliminated the need to ever update formulas and worry about cell references, and it reduced the time necessary to prepare the report from several hours per day to about two minutes.
Engine Software Calibration Maintenance (for an unnamed engine manufacturer*) One of the more interesting problems I've worked on lately is that an engine manufacturer needs to periodically update its software calibrations. This involves not only changing certain parts of each calibration, but also keeping track of the changes that have been made and having the ability to print out a current matrix giving details for each calibration. The Access program I'm developing automatically determines what files need to be updated (based on a request created by someone else), writes the necessary scripts to automatically update and verify the software calibrations, and logs the changes. Automating this process saves several days of work each time a major calibration change is needed and it eliminates any errors or oversights that could cause inaccuracies in the detail lists for the current calibrations.
Engine Test Performance Chart Preparation (for an unnamed engine manufacturer*) Often an engine test will be run and engineers will like to see a whole bunch of different graphs in Excel to measure the performance of an engine. Sometimes tests will be run on a bunch of engines or calibrations and you're faced with the prospect of creating 500 different graphs to display every performance characteristic for every run. Since the data comes in the same format each time, this was a perfect candidate for automation. It took less time to automate this task than to do it by hand once. Now the engineers can just choose what charts they want for a given test, run the macro, and all the graphs are created instantly, saving hours of time and drudgery on data analysis.
Heat Balance Program for Kilns When designing a kiln it is necessary to perform many complex calculations to ensure that the kiln can perform as designed and determine how much energy the kiln will need. This program was designed in Excel so that it was easy for the computer to perform all these complex calculations over and over again with minor changes in the kiln's design desired by the engineers and customers.
Bill of Materials and Quoting System for Kilns One of the biggest problems custom-manufacturing companies face is preparing quotes for customers and then ordering those parts when the quote becomes a firm order. This system was developed in Excel so that it was easy to rapidly determine the exact cost to build a kiln down to the last screw based on the type of kiln needed and subassemblies required. After the quote was prepared, the data could be recalled so that purchase orders could be made instantly for each supplier and imported into QuickBooks for accounting purposes. This not only saves a lot of data entry everywhere, but it ensures that all the necessary parts to complete a job have been ordered so that one missing piece doesn't hold up the job.
Gasoline Usage Database - downloadable! Gas Log - with this Access Database you can track all kinds of trends in fuel prices, gas mileage, miles per tank, calculate total fuel consumed over the life of the vehicle, and make many pretty graphs and plots of this data! Just put your data in the "gas" table and you can run all the reports and queries. I provided some sample data that you'll want to clear out before you use it, unless you're particularly interested in my driving habits. This was developed by me as Freeware for the common good of society.
Vehicle Cost of Operation Database - downloadable! Vehicle Cost Log - This Access Database helps you keep track of your total operating cost per mile and calculate future expenses. Just fill in the Depreciation, Maintenance, Per Mile Costs, Per Year Costs, and Vehicles tables (all other tables are automatically updated by the program), fill out the "Info" form, and then open up an "Operating Cost Report." Again I've provided some sample data. No, I do not own a fleet of three yet. I only own one! This was developed by me as Freeware for the common good of society.
CD/DVD Collection Database I developed a CD/DVD collection database in Access to help me keep track of my enormous collection. With this database I can quickly determine what movies, games, and programs I have, where they're stored, and what movies and software I'd like to have. Another nice feature is that I can quickly determine which movies I have already seen and instantly generate a list of the ones I have yet to watch.
*For legal reasons I am refraining from listing the clients who may or may not be benefiting from my programming services. Some of the programs, like the tire database, may or may not give a company a competitive advantage. Others might not be fully utilized because people at certain companies prefer doing things the time consuming and boring way. Yet others are for companies you've probably never heard of. And the rest were written for personal use. Excel and Access are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
What are you waiting for? Do you like doing things the hard, time consuming way? I didn't think so! Just send me an email! No cost, no obligation, and we'll figure out how to solve your problems!
Make your life easier!
|
