Mgmt 3830 (A)
Midterm Exam
Oct. 25, 1999
Chinook Elevators is in the business of servicing elevators, both the ordinary passenger elevators
found in most buildings (including at the University) and specialized freight elevators. The
elevator servicing business can be quite lucrative and CE is planning an aggressive marketing
approach. Their competition is not generally using computers, so CE hopes to obtain an
advantage by doing so. They have asked your software firm to build this system.
You have been assigned as the lead analyst and your first task is to prepare a rough data model
based on the simplified description of their business provided below. Be sure your database
includes all entities described and appropriate attributes to capture all critical data. All entities
must be properly identified, so be sure to create one even if the case does not state what it is. You
should consider including attributes that are clearly implied by the case but not explicitly stated.
If there is some information you need to complete the model, state what question you would ask
and then state some reasonable answer. You have 75 minutes to prepare for your first meeting
with the clients - do the best you can to provide a reasonable data model.
When elevators are first installed, they come with a manufacturer's warranty. This covers all
regular servicing and repairs for the first few years (depending on make, model, and options
chosen). After that, an elevator service contract is usually arranged for a specific period of time
(two years is common). Any qualified firm can bid on these contracts and that's where Chinook
Elevators gets its business. These contracts are essentially extended warranties. They provide
complete elevator servicing for a fixed fee (usually paid monthly) for a fixed period of time.
CE is already well connected in Southern Alberta and plans to begin its database by recording all
the buildings, elevators, and existing elevator service contracts in the region. The area includes
southeastern British Columbia. The database must record the current owner of each building, the
property management firm that runs it, and the name of the building manager. Some owners have
many buildings and some buildings are co-owned. Determining the exact share of ownership
each has is not always easy, but a reasonable guess can always made. CE would like to keep a
complete history of who has owned and managed which properties in the past.
Most buildings are managed by property management firms. These firms often manage many
buildings, but each building has only one management firm at a time. (Sometimes the owner is
also the property management firm.) The building manager is the most critical, but also the most
difficult, person to identify. They frequently change, are hard to find, and are often very busy.
Sometimes, no name is available. However, CE will try to find one good contact for every
building, someone who knows about each elevator’s repair record, usage patterns, and other key
factors. This data is used to determine whether and how much to bid for a particular contract.
Building managers are employed by the property management firms. They typically manage only
one building at a time, but occasionally have two or more smaller buildings if they are close
together. When a building is sold, the existing property management firm may continue to look
after it, or the new owners may select a new firm. Similarly, building managers often remain with
the building, even when after a new owner buys it or a new property management firm gets the
contract.
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Mgmt 3830 (A)
Midterm Exam
Oct. 25, 1999
CE wants to keep a good history of property managers to help it build good relationships with
them. Each meeting is recorded and the database should allow for general notes and other
comments, some about specific elevators and some that are more general.
Most buildings have elevators, often several. While it is possible to move an elevator from one
building to another, this is extremely rare and the database can ignore this possibility. But the
database should allow for elevator replacement. Each elevator has a manufacturer (e.g., Otis), a
model number, serial number, and installation date.
The critical part of the database is the record of every elevator servicing contract in their region,
past and present. (CE plans to go back a few years if possible, and then maintain historical data
into the future.) This includes the warranty contracts on new elevators. Each contract is for one
elevator at a time, even in buildings with a bank of apparently identical elevators. However, all
elevators of the same type in the same building are usually serviced by the same firm. Thus, it is
important to focus marketing at the building level. When a building has contracts with more than
one service firm, it is usually because there are separate contracts on freight and passenger
elevators.
The database should record the elevator service firm (either CE or a competitor) and the contract
start and expiry dates. Some limited data is kept about competitors, such as their address,
estimated number of employees, and startup date. When the cost of the contract is known, it is
recorded as well.
When Chinook Elevators gets a contract, it must make both regularly scheduled and emergency
service calls. Teams of two people go to every call, a senior technician and a helper.
Occasionally, two technicians work as a team but one is always designated as responsible for the
job. CE wants to know the date and time of each call, how long it took, and the cost of any new
parts required. (You do not need to record the parts.) For emergency calls, the main office
records when they were informed so that the response time can be tracked. Emergency calls
receive very high priority, particularly if people are stuck in an elevator.
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