It started with a foreign concept . . .


Compete using free software 
There were some very clear rules when we started at G&T Conveyor, but the most important one was this: do it smarter, and always cheaper. Every dollar we put into someone else's pocket is a dollar out of ours. So we introduced some (then) radical ideas. We committed to a single programming language, a single type of application, and single database. They're all free (PHP, web, MySQL), and they have allowed us to create new applications at a heart-racing pace: we average a new software product for our company's employees every 4 weeks.

 A magic combination 
The secret is the combination of two elements never used at G&T; open-source applications, and interns.  Starting with both mature and immature software from websites like Sourceforge, we applied interns to the problems of stabilizing and improving these products. By sticking to our PHP/Apache/MySQL combination, we have achieved a production schedule that defies traditional metrics for investment and duration.

And traditional programmers need not apply.  

The philosophy of our team is Better, Cheaper, Faster, More. So we always to try to start with some sort of framework or beta product, and improve it, instead of reinventing the wheel. At G&T, the IT employees are business people first, geeks second. That means the false pride of 'creating' has been replaced with the real achievement of unbelievably efficient 'assembling'.  

 

It also calls for people who have traded hubris for insight, arrogance for brilliance.

Challenge/Response
The key to achieving our hard-to-believe productivity  has been the people who have stayed and adapted to the new regime. From programmers accustomed to traditionally slow-paced development, to the Operations (network) heroes who build systems and fight decline every day.

 

Their names, and stories, are told here for the first time.


Quick Background Info
G&T Conveyor, our employer, is the largest privately-held manufacturer of turnket baggage handling systems in the USA. We are the IT department, divided into three groups: Operations (networking), Special Projects (onsite network support), and Software Development. The Managers are Marty Wells, Keith Wallace, and Dean Waye, respectively. 

 

This website is owned and maintained by Dean Waye and employees of the G&T IT department, but the views expressed here belong to the individuals involved, and may not reflect, nor be shared by, G&T Conveyor Company, Inc.