Secure Database
The data base in your estimating program is an investment. You and others have spent hundreds of hours putting in additional items and assemblies as well as have "your" labor units and "your" prices in the program. It is a unique and critical part of your business.
About once a month, we get a telephone call from an employer who indicates that one of his estimators has left and it is believed that he took the data base with him. If he took the base on a diskette, all he has to do, in most instances, is to simply install that base into someone else's McCormick product and he is instantly up and running using the questionable data for himself or another contractor.
There is a way to protect this from happening, however, it has to be before the loss, not afterwards. We have set up our security key so that it not only identifies which McCormick product it will allow to run, but we have also set it up so that a unique data base can be locked to a unique set of protection devices. What this really means is that your data base will only run on your computers. Take your data base to another machine that is not one of yours and the base will not run. If this is something that you want to explore a little further, call the Arizona office. We will be glad to walk you through the process as well as the costs involved.

Delegating More Authority
Over the past period of time, both Todd and Erik McCormick are taking on more responsibility at McCormick Systems. In addition to marketing McCormick products on the West coast, Erik has basically taken over the advertising part of the company. This includes supervising the advertising people, looking at what we are doing now, and looking at other opportunities for promoting McCormick products.
Todd has headed up sales for the past period of years. Recently his responsibilities have expanded to include the management of both research & development as well as support.
Just so I don’t get in trouble by leaving her out, Kim Parsons (my oldest daughter) heads up our accounting group.
McCormick presently employees about 25 persons in its Arizona office as well as several persons working out of state. Our plans are to continue to expand to about 30 persons, all working on marketing, and supporting McCormick products.

WIN V5.0 Final Beta
Version 5.0 of McCormick’s ESI 3000, 6000, and 8000 for Windows is in its final testing state. Introduced at this years Conference ’98, it includes many asked for features. These include graphs, time scheduling, proposal forms, and job document/photo organizer. In addition, it also gives you the ability to use a parallel key for product security instead of the serial key that we now use.
We anticipate this final stage of testing to be complete within the next 30 days with final version release in the middle of October.

DOS ESI V9.0 Complete
DOS Version 9.0 of McCormick ESI 3000, 6000, and 8000 is all but wrapped up. This update has brought in total mouse functions on every screen. With 9.0 all but complete, we are looking at the total package and asking for suggestions for additional changes and or enhancements. Please think through the product and if there is something that you feel would make the program better for the user, please fax us your suggestions.

Scheduling
One feature that is getting a lot of attention in the ESI 6/8000 for Win is the labor scheduling feature that is a part of the V5.0 upgrade.
In its implementation, we have added another spec. line to our item specifications called "Schedule code". We have then went through and put all tasks normally done as one in the same code. The schedule module will then put together all related tasks into the schedule graph. With this is place, you can start moving your tasks around.
When imported, the labor code is linked together so that one task must be done before another however, in managing these tasks, you "un-link" this control and open up or tighten up the man days, move the start, stop dates, etc.
People that have reviewed and used this enhancement indicate that this is one of the easiest and friendliest scheduling program they have seen.

Added Staff
McCormick has added three more persons to its professional staff within the past several months.
Coming back after leaving McCormick 18 months ago is Tracy Kazaka. Tracy is working special projects. (Special projects are defined as something no one else wants to do) Tracy joins the elite group of people that we have nicknamed "Road Warriors" that include Terry Gehrke and Lou LaForteza.
New to McCormick are Marco Cecala and John DePace who both take rolls as regional sales managers.
Marco comes to McCormick with full knowledge of the construction industry. His professional history includes estimating as well as project management.
John has been involved in electrical contracting most of his adult life. Starting out as an apprentice, over a period of years, John worked up to the Director of Project Managers at a major Phoenix Electrical Contractor prior to coming to McCormick.

Team McCormick
Todd McCormick, driving his 1990 ZR1 Corvette along with navigator Mike McKittrick, placed second in Nevada’s Silver State Road Classic. Not called a race but an event, (for obvious reasons) this is their fourth running. They must be doing something right as they were first in their class the first time, second in their class the second time, (beaten by a girl) was disqualified in race three for both going to slow and then too fast (something about Hard Copy) and then coming in second the final run. The event was covered by ESPN and we understand that Todd’s car will be featured as it comes through the finish line. (helps when you have an ESPN camera man in your aircraft as to who they "shoot". Looks like we might be down in Mexico this summer for the Ensenada to San Felipe event. We will keep you posted.

Change Order Management for Windows
McCormick is just completing the development and testing of a new product called Change Order Management for Windows.
Understanding the need for some way to control change orders on the construction job, McCormick has taken the initiative to create a program that allows you to set up and follow a change order all the way through the cycle from start to end. In addition, it shows you at a glance, the status of every change order as well as gives you a total dollar value of the job with approved change orders. Also included is the ability to see what the potential change order values are as well as other critical information. Included are user definable screens, reports, graphs, and document and photo retrieval. Look for more information in the near future on this new and exciting product.

Trade Service
McCormick Systems and Trade Service recently announced a new relationship whereby McCormick will be marketing several of Trade Service’s products directly to McCormick customers. In addition, Trade Service will be providing current UPC codes to McCormick’s standard data bases. McCormick is in the process of improving the "links" between Trade and it’s products to make data transfer much simpler and easier. For more information on this relationship, call the McCormick office.

Transmission and Distribution
McCormick Systems, in connection with Primary Data Corporation, recently announced the delivery of a special data base for use in estimating Transmission and Distribution systems. Primary has major experience in this unique field which covers underground as well as overhead work. Developed from a combination of staking plans, the data base includes poles, cross-arms, holes, trenching, cable, and more.
For additional information, contact the Arizona office.

Sales Regions
In order to handle sales more effectively as well as respond more effectively, McCormick has set up ten US territories and is in the process of assigning five sales persons to two territories each.
At the present time, we have eight of these territories filled and anticipate filling the other two within the next six months. The present regions are set up as follows:

Mike McKittrick
Illinois
Missouri
Kansas
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Alabama
Georgia
South Carolina
Florida

Marco Cecala
New Mexico
Texas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Tennessee
Kentucky
West Virginia
Virginia
North Carolina
Maryland
Delaware

John DePace
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
New York
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Road Island
New Jersey
Pennsylvania

Erik McCormick
Washington
Montana
Oregon
Idaho
Wyoming
California
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Arizona
Alaska
Hawaii

The rest of the states are all being supported by Management at this time. Back up has been set up so that you are never without a representative so....give us a call, we will be happy to work with you.

Meling Ranch
Seems that Jack McCormick, President of McCormick Systems, seems to be getting down to Mexico more and more. On his most recent trip, he and about twenty other persons all flew down to Meling Ranch, an 8,000 acre working cattle ranch which also has about ten or twelve rooms for guests.
The ranch is located in the foothills of the Sierra Madra Mountains and is only accessible by driving about three hours on dirt roads or landing at the ranch’s dirt runway.
In a somewhat unusual situation, Jack gave the commander of the military garrison along with his sergeant a ride through the canyons in the airplane and in exchange, did some target practicing with one of the soldier’s NATO issued rifle. He indicates that we are in trouble if he is the sole protector as after emptying the clip, both in single shot and automatic, the can was still on the runway.

Recent study
According to a recent study, men and women are a little different when it comes to being impressed. According to the study: