Project Management in History Series:

THE FIRST JEEP

A Case Study in Leadership

Presented by

PAUL R. BRUNO, PMP, PgMP

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PAUL R. BRUNO, PMP, PgMP

Background & C.V.

26 years in state and local government information technology, 13 years as a project manager

4 college degrees: MBA, Masters in History, BS Computer Software, BS Management

Holds 2 certificates and an advanced certificate in IT project management

Graduate of PMI Leadership Institute Masters Class and Class Advisor

Volunteer with PMI at both Global and Local level

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OVERVIEW Show How A Structured Project Management Process

Was Used to Create The First Jeep

Process included the following phases:

Project genesis

General requirements

Project kickoff

Specific requirements

Bid, contract

Build

Testing/Acceptance

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THE SITUATION

German victories September 1939—June 1940

Poland

Denmark/Norway

The Low Countries

France

Japan on the march in Asia

Great Britain stands alone against Nazi’s

German Blitzkrieg tactics demonstrate use of combined arms (Army/Air Force), use of tanks in massed formations and advances in hitherto unseen ranges of mobility

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Army saw that German Blitzkrieg tactics clearly underscored need for

increased mobility

United States Army without a vehicle between the ½-ton truck and

motorcycle with sidecar and no plans to procure one in May 1940

Using mule to transport troops and light payloads

Need for this vehicle ran across many using branches of the Army

including Infantry, Cavalry, Ordnance and Field Artillery

Numerous stakeholders and competing requirements

U.S. Army procurement process in state of flux in 1940 adding

complexity

KEY STAKEHOLDER: THE UNITED STATES ARMY

KEY STAKEHOLDER: THE AMERICAN BANTAM CAR

COMPANY Founded in 1929 as American Austin Car Company

Sir Herbert Austin brings Austin vehicles from Great Britain

Austin 7 a very popular vehicle in Europe

Located in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA (30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh)

American Austin bankrupt—1933

American Austin assets bought in 1935 by Roy Evans and renamed the American Bantam Car Company

Premier, and only, builder of small vehicles in United States

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KEY STAKEHOLDER: THE AMERICAN BANTAM CAR

COMPANY

American Bantam Car Company bankrupt in 1940

Key company players, Evans, Francis H. Fenn, President, Harold Crist, Plant Manager

Fenn assigns Charles “Harry” Payne to Washington D.C., in February 1940 to procure military business

If military business not obtained American Bantam Car Company disappears

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THE FIRST JEEP’S LINEAGE

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GREAT GRANDFATHER

THE FIRST JEEP’S LINEAGE

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GREAT GRANDFATHER

GRANDFATHER

THE FIRST JEEP’S LINEAGE

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GREAT GRANDFATHER

GRANDFATHER

FATHER

THE FIRST JEEP’S LINEAGE

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GREAT GRANDFATHER

GRANDFATHER

FATHER

BUT WAIT! DON’T FORGET ABOUT ME…

THE FIRST JEEP’S LINEAGE

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1926 AUSTIN 7

1931 AUSTIN ROADSTER

1939 BANTAM ROADSTER

PROJECT GENESIS

Extensive Research Conducted During the 1930s

by Key Stakeholders

Cavalry

Light Command and Reconnaissance Car

Infantry—mobile weapons carrier

Howie machine gun carrier

Tested numerous vehicles for this purpose in late 1930s

o Marmon-Herrington ½-ton 4x4 best fit

The various using arms knew what they needed, but were not working together in a coordinated manner

Quartermaster Corp bungles procurement of Marmon-Herrington for Infantry in 1939—issue in 1940

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GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Developed in Late May—Early June 1940

Charles Payne able to connect with Infantry branch

Infantry branch rejects American Bantam vehicles as unsuited for military purposes

Infantry branch has a vehicle in mind and willing to develop a set of general requirements that American Bantam and other manufacturers can consider

General requirements developed in two weeks by the Infantry branch and encapsulated in a memo dated June 6, 1940

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GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Requirements included: minimum height 36 inches; maximum weight 750–1,000 pounds; adequate cross-country ability; carry .30-caliber machine gun; crew capacity of two men; armored face shield for driver; low ground clearance; 4-Wheel Drive

Armored face shield for driver added to keep procurement from being spearheaded by Quartermaster Corp, but by the Ordnance using arm due to bungled Marmon-Harrington 1939 procurement

No individual requirement new, but the sum never combined into one vehicle

Concept vehicle named “the truck 4x4 light”

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PROJECT KICKOFF

June 19–20, 1940—Butler, Pennsylvania, USA

Initial support for project obtained from Cavalry and Ordnance—June 8, 1940-June 15, 1940

On June 15, 1940, influenced by Charles Payne's meeting with Sec. of War Stimson, Ordnance requests a visit to Bantam to further develop vehicle requirements

Visit takes place June 19-20, 1940, at Butler, PA, Factory

Fleshed out general requirements into a concept for a vehicle that could be then refined into specific requirements

Key project risks Identified—weight and front axles

Developed initial concept drawing for vehicle

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CONCEPT DRAWING FOR TRUCK 4 x 4 LIGHT

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SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Concept and General Requirements Evolved into Detailed Requirements to Which a Manufacturer Could Bid

Developed over 3-week period—June 21, 1940–July 10, 1940

Procurement shifted from Ordnance to Quartermaster Corps

o QMC: Using arm that procures for the Army

o Driver’s armored face shield removed as a requirement

o Removal of shield requirement re-classified vehicle as general purpose, thus shifting responsibility for procuring the vehicle from Ordnance

o Procurement would be centered at Army Vehicle Center, Camp Holabird, outside of Baltimore, Maryland, USA

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SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

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American Bantam Subject Matter Experts Assisted

Quartermaster consulted closely with the key using arms—Infantry and Cavalry—bringing specifications to life

Chalk outline on floor

Full “cardboard” mockup

Wooden mockup actually test-driven

Two deliverables: specification ES-475 (18-pages) and Quartermaster Drawing QM-08370-Z

QUARTERMASTER DRAWING QM-08370-Z

(Unedited – 34”w x 17”h)

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QUARTERMASTER DRAWING QM-08370-Z (Extracted Details)

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BID—CONTRACT

Negotiated Contract Versus Competitive Bid

American Bantam Expected Negotiated Contract

Quartermaster Decided to Put Vehicle out to Competitive Bid

Specification ES-475 and drawing QM-08370-Z sent to 135 companies

Key requirement – build a prototype in 49 days

Manufacturers given 10 days to prepare bids (July 11, 1940 -July 22, 1940)

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BID—CONTRACT

American Bantam Unprepared for Bid

Had no engineering staff to develop proposal due to being bankrupt

Detroit Engineer Karl K. Probst hired

o Probst initially resisted going to Butler

o Probst pressured by officials at the highest levels to assist

Probst arrives in Butler by July 18, 1940

Probst and Fenn complete bid specification and drawing in two days—July 18, 1940–July 20, 1940

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BID—CONTRACT

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Key Issue: Weight Requirement—1,300 pounds

Fenn and Probst list weight on first cut of bid forms at 1,800 pounds

10 hours before presentation to QMC, midnight July 21-22, 1940, bid

forms reviewed in Baltimore hotel room

Charles Payne “schools” Probst and Fenn that they can not bid weight at

1,800 pounds or will be rejected

Forms retyped through predawn hours to change the weight: listed as

1,273 pounds

BID—CONTRACT

Bid Awarded

Bids received and processed July 22, 1940

4 proposers, only American Bantam had completed bid package

o Two proposers refused to bid stating building a prototype in 49 day was impossible

Willys-Overland Motors, Inc. initially awarded bid, but was rejected

because they could not deliver the prototype in 49 days. They bid 75

days.

Having agreed to deliver prototype in 49 days, American Bantam

awarded contract

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BID—CONTRACT Project Charter and Contract Terms

After award project reviewed at highest levels of the Army

Chief of Staff—George C. Marshall signs off on project

For remainder of the project his memo acts as charter and outline for contract terms

Contract Terms

Build Prototype in 49 days

If late, financial penalty that could result in lost award

Start date: August 6, 1940—End date: September 23, 1940—5:00 PM

If prototype accepted, order for 69 more vehicles

Contract amount—$175,000

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BUILD

Challenge—Build Revolutionary New Vehicle in 49 days to Exacting Standards for a Client Who Will Test the Vehicle under the Harshest

Conditions

Prototype was one of a kind original—never built before

Established a small high performance team

Fenn, Probst, Crist

To complete core team, hired two hands-on subject matter experts, Chester Hempfling and Ralph Turner

Had other staff available as needed

Odds of their success by Detroit experts placed at 5-to-1

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BUILD

Challenge—Build Revolutionary New Vehicle in 49 days to Exacting Standards for a Client Who Will Test the Vehicle under the Harshest

Conditions Strategy—inside-out engineering

Build parts, then blueprint Use off-the-shelf parts whenever possible

Handmade any part that could not be found off-the-shelf

Key Risks

Weight—chose to ignore Front Axle—Spicer Manufacturing o Only axle manufacturer who could produce the 4 wheel drive

axle—

o American Bantam had been in discussions with Spicer about the front axle since project kickoff

o Could they develop this axle in less than 49 days and deliver to American Bantam?

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BLUEPRINT FOR CLUTCH SHAFT LEVER

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This—and others

which were

found—

supposedly no

longer existed.

BUILD

Challenge—Build Revolutionary New Vehicle in 49 days to Exacting Standards for a Client Who Will Test the Vehicle under the Harshest

Conditions

Front axle delivered on September 19, 1940s

Decided on risky adaptation of a Studebaker axle

4 days to prototype delivery date

Vehicle completed in 47 days by September 21, 1940

Vehicle christened Bantam Reconnaissance Car (BRC)

One day to test and outfit vehicle—September 22, 1940

Vehicle delivered on 49th day with only a ½-hour to spare at 4:30 PM

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THE FIRST JEEP—SEPTEMBER 21, 1940

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TEST

Goal of Army Vehicle Testers was

to Break Any Vehicle They were Given

Vehicle tested in any and all manner of operation

Mud Hole—only vehicles to make it through before prototype were large 6-wheeled trucks

Total miles driven during tests—3,410

Ralph Turner on-site mechanic

Vehicle did not break during testing

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ACCEPTANCE

BRC Accepted with Conditions

3 final test reports submitted

Numerous changes and adjustments suggested

Overall BRC vastly exceeded client expectations

BRC accepted on October 18, 1940 and order placed for balance of 69 vehicles

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TRIPLE CONSTRAINT FOR

THE FIRST JEEP PROTOTYPE PROJECT

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CONCLUSIONS

Structured Project Management Used

Identifiable Phases

Identifiable Deliverables for Each Phase

High Performance Project Team

Both for the Army and American Bantam

Despite the odds, project was On-Time, Within Budget, and Met Scope at a High Quality Level

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Thank You for Attending!

for More Information Visit: thefirstjeep.com

Project Management in History: THE FIRST JEEP

available at Amazon.com (paperback/Kindle) and Barnesandnoble.com (paperback/Nook)

Footnote: All facts and information in this presentation came from material researched at the United States National Archives, College Park Maryland or used with

permission.

Jeep is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group, LLC, Auburn Hills, MI.

Neither the presenter nor any contributors to this work have any affiliation with Chrysler Group LLC. If you have any questions on source material contact Paul Bruno at paulrbruno@cs.com

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