WHAT IS SPARCS?
SPARC's, or "Spreadsheet for Preparation and Administration of Road Contracts", is a Microsoft Excel - 2000 spreadsheet application designed for tracking USDA - Forest Service public works and timber sale road contracts. The Clackamas River Ranger District, Mt Hood National Forest, created SPARC's in the winter of 1999 as a replacement for a few of the previous Data General (DG) contracting documents and processes. SPARC's can generate:
1. Estimate of Quantities
2. Engineer's Estimate
3. Schedule of Items
4. Payments for road projects
It is set up for both english and metric measurement systems for Public Works and Timber Sale contracts. The spreadsheet application also comes with an Instruction manual. Automated data entry and calculations make SPARC's a fast and effective tool for preparing and administering USDA - Forest Service road contracts.
FEATURES OF SPARC's
Features of SPARC's that increase efficiency of the contract preparation and administration include:
1. Automatic Calculations
2. Automated Data Entry
3. Creation of Estimate of Quantities, Engineer's Estimate, Schedule of Items, and Payments in one file
4. Sorting of Pay Items (double or single spaced)
5. Accommodation of 100 Pay Items, 18 roads, and an unlimited number of Payments
6. Metric or English Pay Item List
7. Public Works or Timber Sale Contract formats
8. Utilizes Davis-Bacon Labor Factors
9. Custom Toobar and Dialog Boxes
**NOTE** All version 1.0 ("old SPARCS") files should be open while holding the shift key down.
INSTALLING SPARC's (version 1.1)
**NOTE** You do not need version 1.0 installed to download and install version 1.1
SPARC's can be installed directly on the computer's hard drive after the sparcs.exe file is saved to your hard drive
To install SPARC's use the following steps: **Please Note**If you have previously installed SPARC's refer to the new enclosed manual for instructions. To obtain this information click on the button labeled manual. This manual is in pdf format.
1. Download the sparcs file (sparc's.exe) to a temporary directory on your hard drive
2. After downloading the file, Double Click on sparcs.exe
3. Click "unzip" (be sure to "unzip" files to C:\ to insure that the application will install correctly)
4. Click OK
5. Click Close
6. In the C:\sparcs folder, double click "InstallSPARC's.xls"
7. When it asks to enable macros, select YES (do this for all SPARC's related files to enable the SPARC's toolbar
8. Click on New Project in the SPARC's toolbar to start a new project
9. If you already have the file downloaded, it is possible to copy the sparc's folder onto another computer and then double click on "InstallSPARC's.xls" in the sparc's folder to install SPARC's onto a different computer
10.For detailed information and technical contacts view the instructions located in the manual.
NOTE** The location or names of files and folders in the SPARC's folder SHOULD NOT BE ALTERED, including the folder titled SPARC's. Changing these settings will disable many features in the SPARC's toolbar. Documents created by using SPARC's can be saved to any location under any name acceptable to the computer's operating system
To view Sparcs_Manual, left click and the document will open in Adobe Acrobat. To save Sparcs_Manual, right click on your mouse and select SAVE TARGET AS...
(Note: New file added 1/19/00
Cheryl Clark - (503) 808-2409
Click Here to Download SPARC's Spreadsheet version 1.1 for Preparation and Administration of Road Contracts
Click Here to Download Sparcs_Manual version 1.1 for Preparation and Administration of Road Contracts
This Web page maintained by:
Engineering Development Group Leader
Region 6, USDA Forest Service
333 SW 1st Avenue, Portland, OR 97208
EMAIL: clclark@fs.fed.us
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Date last modified: 05/01/2002
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