Mr. Johnson’s Landscaping Network Analysis Request for Proposal

Executive Summary

The goal of this proposal is to fulfill and provide all the needs and requirements, various applications, and data rate to support Mr. Johnson’s landscaping business needs.  Mr. Johnson’s landscaping business needs are 5 desktop PCs that run on Windows Operating System with Microsoft Office. These PCs will all be connected to the laser printer and AT&T U-Verse modem. Also the PCs will also have various applications needed to help with other business needs of Mr. Johnson’s business.

With all of Mr. Johnson’s landscaping business needs kept into consideration I have put together a business plan. The business plan has all the software and hardware needed to run Mr. Johnson’s landscaping business. A logical network diagram will be shown to see how Mr. Johnson’s business network will work. The technology design is all the specific detail of each recommended hardware and software that will fulfill your business needs done under research of your business needs. Also taken into consideration of future growth of your business.

The last section of the report will have a cost assessment of all the recommended hardware and software cost. It will also have the variable cost and labor cost that is all invested into Mr. Johnson’s landscaping business.

After doing extensive research of your business needs I believe I have the solution of fulfilling all of Mr. Johnson’s business needs.

Network Analysis

Needs Analysis

Needs and Requirements

1. Johnson’s specific need to stay with AT&T Business DSL for his office Internet connection. The best package I would recommend is U-verse 45Mbps “Power” Package. (U-verse High, 2014) This would be good enough to handle 5 PCs.
2. New office needs four desktop PCs for the employees, one desktop PC for Mr. Johnson, and one networked laser printer. All these devices need to be networked. The PCs that would be purchase are from “HP Pavilion 23-g040xt All-in-One Desktop PC” for your business needs. It also comes with the necessary accessory to operate the PC; monitor, keyboard, and mouse. As for laser printer we will be using a “HP LaserJet Pro 400 color Printer M451nw” to provide the needs of your business.
3. The employees access a scheduling system over the Web.
4. The employees access their emails over the Web (through a business email provider).
5. Johnson does NOT want a wireless network. Seeing that you do not want a wireless network we can just wire the networks with Coboc CY-CAT6-25-WH 25ft. 24AWG Snagless Cat 6 White Color 550MHz UTP Ethernet Stranded Copper Patch cord /Molded Network lan Cables to the whole business structure.

Various Applications Necessary to Support Those Needs

1. Applications needed to run the PCs are Windows OS and Microsoft Office. This can be already achieved with the purchase of HP Pavilion 23-g040xt All-in-One Desktop PC due to the fact that it comes with Windows OS 8.1 Pro and Microsoft Office 2013 built in.
2. All the PCs for the employees need a Web browser application to access scheduling system over the Web. With a simple free web browser this can be attained and my recommendation would be installing Chrome application for the web for free and very fast compare to other web browsers.
3. Email application provider to provide a business email over the Web. The best provider for emails over the Web would be Google. Google offers a low rate for an email account with the domain name of the business so that it would look professional.
4. PC’s need laser printer application so that it will allow users to print which will come with the purchase of the laser printer.

Data Rate Needed to Support Those Applications

• The data rate used by a printer can range from any size, but printing a standard page of file can go up to 1mb.

Using the Web to access scheduling would use 0.5mb.

• Browsing the Web for other job aspects could use anywhere from 0.5mb to 5mb depending on the usage.

Logical Network Diagram

A logical network diagram of the network based on the network requirements and the functionality of the Physical topology of the office set up of the network creating a Local Area Network (LAN).

• First part is connecting the cat6 cable wire that will be connected to the modem.
• Second part is the modem will be connected to the router which lets all the employees connect to the internet
• The last part is the router is connected to the switch which allows all the employees access to the laser printer and the internet.

Technology Design

Hardware and Software Specifics

Netgear DSL Modem Model 7550

• This would be ideal modem for just 5 people in the office its Ethernet is 10/100Base-T. This modem is ideal for business use and offers secure connection.

Cisco Small Business RV110W-A-NA-K9 Wireless-N VPN Firewall 5000 Simultaneous Sessions 90 Mbps

• This has a solid review on Newegg of 4 stars which can control Firewall Access and content filtering if needed for the business and denial of service prevention from an outside source.

Coboc CY-CAT6-25-WH 25ft. 24AWG Snagless Cat 6 White Color 550MHz UTP Ethernet Stranded Copper Patch cord /Molded Network LAN Cable

• We will need about 15 cat6 cables for each individual, these cables are good enough without spending the extra money for fiber optics. The great thing about these Cat6 cable is that it is made of copper.

CISCO SYSTEMS SG100D-08-NA 8 Port Gigabit Switch

• This has a solid 5 egg reviews from Newegg which has easy to use and set up which a great thing with little maintenance.

HP Pavilion 23-g040xt All-in-One Desktop PC

• HP Pavilion Comes with Windows 8.1 64 Pro which is the latest operating software that would help your business perform everyday business functions, i5 processor dual-core is a pretty high standard product from intel and very fast for your business with 4gb DDR3 is good enough to run the basic programs of Microsoft Office, and comes with 1 TB of data which is more than plenty for each user to have in their own PC. (HP Pavilion…, n.d.)
• It also comes with a 23 inch monitor so that we do not need to purchase monitor individually for this set up, with 1 year warranty on hardware just in case issues occur with the hardware, and it comes with a HP keyboard and optical mouse to use this PC saving hassle of purchasing these products separately.
• The other thing this PC has is the Microsoft Office 2013 which fulfills one of your needs without buying these separately which would cost more in this bundle. The reviews for this product are almost 5 stars from HP customers from all sorts of ages. Also HP has been around a long time which we can also expect reliability.

HP LaserJet Pro 400 color Printer M451nw

• This laser printer can print up to 21 sheets a minute holding up to 300 pieces of paper which is more than enough for 5 users and enough for a little bit of growth if that was to happen in the future. It also prints both black and color which is another great incentive to purchase this laser printer.

Now that every hardware specific is described from above in detail. The technology design Mr. Johnson’s business will consist of AT&T U-verse internet of 54Mbps. The AT&T U-verse intent will be connected Netgear DSL modem Model 7550 sold by AT&T. The Netgear DSL modem Model 7550 will be connected to the Cisco RV110W-A-NA-K9 Small Business RV110W Wireless N VPN Firewall Router. The Cisco RV110W-A-NA-K9 Small Business RV110W Wireless N VPN Firewall Router will be connected to CISCO SYSTEMS SG100D-08-NA 8 Port Gigabit Switch.

The cables of Coboc CY-CAT6-25-WH 25ft. 24AWG Snagless Cat 6 White Color 550MHz UTP Ethernet Stranded Copper Patch cord /Molded Network lan Cable will be connected to the five HP Pavilion 23-g040xt All-in-One Desktop PC. All the 5 HP Pavilion 23-g040xt All-in-One Desktop PC will be connected to the HP LaserJet Pro 400 color Printer M451nw.

As you can see this would be the structure of Mr. Johnson’s business. All the hardware design and how all the hardware architecture structure of Mr. Johnson’s business with detail hardware specs for each component.

Cost Assessment

Fixed Cost

Tax and shipping cost are not included in these tables.

Brand	Description	Cost	Quantity	Total
HP	HP Pavilion 23 g040xt	799.99	5	3999.95
HP	LaserJet 400 M451nw	399	1	399
Netgear	Model 7550 Modem	100	1	100
Cisco	Business 100 Series SG100D-08 Switch	54.99	1	54.99
Cisco	RV100W-A-NA-K9 Router	69.99	1	69.99
Coboc	Cat6 25-WH	4.42	1	53.04
Total				4676.97

 Variable Cost

The variable cost of quantity are calculated on a per month basis. This cost will extend over the period of 36 months or unless a cancellation is made for some reason.

Brand	Description	Cost	Quantity	Total
AT&T	U-verse 45 Mbps	64.95	36	2338.20
Google	Email provider 5 users	25	36	900
Total				3238.20

Labor Cost

Labor cost is an estimate and can subject to change depending on the situation.

Labor	Description	Rate Cost			Hours	Total
Network	Network Set up		250	8		2000
Computer	PC Set up		250	3		750
Maintenance	Upkeep 2014		250	3		750
Maintenance	Upkeep 2015		250	3		750
Maintenance	Upkeep 2016		250	3		750
Total						5000

These are all the cost that will fulfill Mr. Johnson’s business needs and requirements as of 7/13/16. A lot of time and preparation of choosing the best and affordable product for Mr. Johnson’s business needs. With all the business needs, technology design, and logical network set up can be executed.

Wilco Construction System Development Life Cycle

Background

Most projects proceed in the following manner. Every month, the State publishes “the book,” which highlights the projects to be let that month. The company requests plans for jobs for which they may bid. Jack, Bob and Frank review the plans and at least one of them makes a site visit. The bids are then completed and submitted to the state. During the bid writing process, suppliers for various line items (concrete, steel, paving material, paint, etc.) are contacted for their prices. Since the suppliers are qualified by the state as well, this is a simple matter of calling up and asking for the unit price for the material. In fact, since the suppliers are privy to the same information as the contractors (as well as who has requested plans), they will often call up Wilco, with the total cost (unit cost and amount already calculated) for a line item on a particular job.

If Wilco is “low-bid” on a project, they assign a supervisor, who is responsible for the site administration. The supervisor (Jack, Bob, or Frank) takes a crew to a job site, and accomplishes the various tasks needed to complete the job over the few months that the project will run. The job site supervisor is the final authority on the administration of his particular job. The client will also assign an inspector (usually an administrator and/or an engineer) to the job site as well. Equipment and trucks are owned by the company, which can be moved to the various job sites by tractor and trailer. In some cases the job site supervisor needs a piece of equipment that is too specialized for the company to need on every job, hence equipment is sometimes rented.

Wilco Construction is an open shop, that is, employees may or may not belong to a craft or trade union. Jack and Bob believe that the decision to join a union should be up to the employee. The bulk of Wilco’s employees are not union, however, simply because there usually is not enough specialized work within one trade to keep any worker busy all of the time. The State mandates that all workers be paid a union scale per hour rate based on the skill classification for the job that they are doing at any given time. Consequently, there is no financial advantage to joining a union. The varying pay scales make for a complex payroll calculation. For instance, if a worker spends 2 hours as general labor ($11 per hour), 3 hours as a carpenter ($12 per hour), 1 hour in masonry work ($13 per hour), and 2 hours as a heavy equipment operator ($15 per hour) in a given day at a given job site, then their wage would be calculated by taking the amount they earned in each classification and summing those totals. In this instance the worker would gross $101 dollars for that day. Additionally, the wage scales can change from job to job (based on distance from the nearest union hall). For example, on a job 10 miles from a union hall, the union scale for an iron worker would be $14 per hour, while for a job 50 miles away from a union hall, the scale for an iron worker would be $15 per hour. The scale for each job is supplied by the state with the construction plans. Employees working on non-state projects (or at the shop) receive $10 per hour, regardless of job classification.

Wilco’s workers are extremely flexible, and move from skill to skill and job site to job site on a daily, even hourly basis. The only constant at a given job is the job site supervisor. For example, last week when Frank’s crew was getting ready for a big bridge deck pour, Jack spared a few of his workers to help out, as his project was temporarily delayed (heavy rain had flooded a footer hole, which had to be pumped out before work could proceed). Consequently, a worker may have worked at multiple sites, in up to 5 skill classifications (general labor, carpentry, masonry, ironwork, and equipment operation), in any given week. All of this has to be taken into account to generate a payroll statement. The job site supervisor is responsible for keeping track of most of the movement of employees from job to job and site to site, however, trusted employees who have been with Wilco for several years keep their own time cards. At any rate, all information relevant to payroll eventually gets turned into Mary.

Recently, employment equity legislation has also become an issue in the construction industry. Currently, legislation dictates that employers use certain percentages of visible minorities and women for each job skill classification on each job. A report stating how many hours (on each job, in each skill classification) were worked by women and visible minorities has to be sent to the Ohio Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) every two weeks to demonstrate compliance. Currently, 10 per cent of all hours in each skill classification at each job (although the wages are not consistent across jobs, the skill classifications are) have to be worked by a woman or visible minority to be in compliance with the regulation. Failure to comply could mean that Wilco would be stripped of its qualification, making it ineligible to bid on state contracts. In addition, as governments change, the legislation changes, and hence the reporting requirements change as well.

Project

As a group we gathered the project requirements:

• Meeting requirements for state of Ohio Hwy Division
• User friendly interface
• Availability of time care on construction site
• Quick log for employees and job functions
• Real time alerts of EEOC compliance
• Time to finish was 3 months

First we need to make a Data Flow Diagram to help give us an understanding of how data is used for Wilco Construction. I used Microsoft Visio to create this diagram.

The next process we needed to make a database using Microsoft Access and created a Entity Relationship Diagram. As you can see the many connections through the 15 tables we have created.

 

After that we created a form for the “Employee Entry Form”

By this time we were already almost finished with our project. We created a Work Flow Diagram to show the procedure how the time card would work on this remote check in.

This is our prototype of Wilco time card entry which is also simple and user friendly interface. We used Microsoft Visual programming C# to create this time entry system.

If for some reason a worker has forgotten his card he can ask the manager to help sign them in. It will also let the users switch to different jobs that they are capable of doing for a different wage.