WE JULY-AUGUST 1981 What's New
what's new are the circular elec Assembly Operator Dorothy Weeks displays the circular electronically tronically switched dials being switched dial in the clean room where the switch pad is assembled. made at the Shreveport Works for the Candlesticks and the Ce as well as an audible, click. The port, employees like assembly lebrity® telephones. They have b u t t o n s o n t h e f a c e o f t h e d i a l operators Dorothy Weeks and a distinctive new look and feel, rest on concave disks inside the Mary Jackson arrange 12 disks and even part of the process for dial. Pressing down on one of of gold-plated stainless steel in the buttons temporarily flattens a circle on the contact points of making them is completely new. The unusual dial was designed o n e o f t h e c o n c a v e d i s k s l i k e a the base of the switch pad. A for customers who want the con child's metal cricket, and a click layer of yellow polyester film is venience of Touch-Tone® dialing ing noise is produced when the placed over the disks and the in Design Line* decorator metal disk snaps back. base. The film holds everything in place and at the same time phones that require a round dial. The heart of the new dial's Instead of the half centimeter m e c h a n i s m i s t h e c o n t a c t b e seals the switch pad and the con of movement needed to activate tween the click-disk and the base tact points. the current Touch-Tone* tele of the switch pad. The switch The sealed switch pad can phone dials, buttons on the new pad is assembled in a superclean t h e n b e t a k e n f r o m t h e c l e a n dials produce a positive tactile, e n v i r o n m e n t s o t h a t i t i s e f f e c room to the production line where it is incorporated in the JtRegistered Trademark of American tively sealed from future con Telecommunications Corporation tamination. d i a l a n d t e s t e d f o r e l e c t r o n i c * T r a d e m a r k o f A T & T I n t h e c l e a n r o o m a t S h r e v e accuracy. 4th Issue 33rd Year
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The New Kearny How the Kearny Works is being modernized
The Winners Top choices in a poster contest 8 Equal Opportunity Page 14 A n i n t e r v i e w w i t h o u r H u m a n Resources VP. on Equal Opportunity 12 Where Are WE? F a m o u s l a n d m a r k s i n W B c i t i e s 14 Burlington An update on one of our lesser known locations 18 Page 24 Tuning In on the Space Shuttle The system that monitored the Columbia's flight 20 Switching Primer What switching equipment does 24 Why Digital? An explanation of digital switching 26 Page 28 Spotlight on People Two good citizens— big city and small town 28 War Room Strategy One of the "Ds" in DOS should s t a n d f o r d e a d l i n e 32 B l u e J e a n s a n d C o v e r a l l s A Pioneer story
George Gray P e t e r L e w i s ON THE COVER; Work goes on Editor Design below even as construction Western Electric Saul Fingerman Leonard Stern continues on the mezzanine Managing Editor Photography above at Kearny Works. Frank Elizabeth Perlman Thomas J. O'Donoghue Ferrando of Plant Engineering m Is published for employees of Associate Editor Prodtiction holds blueprints. Our cover Western Electric. President: D.E.Procknow; story begins on page 2. Photo Secretary: R.F.Ehinger; Copyright © 1981 by Western Electric Co., Inc. Treasurer: R.L.McLaughlin. All Rights Reserved. by Joseph Gazdak. Editorial office: 222 Broadway, NV, NY 10038 P r i n t e d i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o f A m e r i c a . Telephone: (212 ) 669-2621 Title "WE" is a registered U.S. trademark. By Saul Fingerman Kearny as efficient and modern in field, "a very large mother ship for its operation as any of its post satellite ships all over the place. In Photos by Joseph Gazdak World War II siblings. fact, Kearny was so large, I kept "Our modernization program," meeting 40-year veterans at our he says, "is probably the most am service anniversary luncheons who bitious ever undertaken at a West had never before met each other." e r n E l e c t r i c l o c a t i o n i n s o s h o r t a In its time, Kearny has built just period of time. We don't have a ma about every part of the telephone jor building here that isn't under plant. It has made switchboards, going some kind of major change." crossbar, carrier, wire, cable and B u t t e r fi e l d ' s e n t h u s i a s m i s e l e c thousands of items long since out tric and, as most of Kearny's em of production. ployees will attest, infectious. As electronic switching systems "What we're doing," he says, sweep came into being, the manufacture ing the air with both hands to en- of most such newly designed prod Keamy What they're doing at Kearny is nothing short of recycling a whole factory
Nightclub singer Sophie Tucker compass all of Kearny, "is recy used to open her shows by saying, cling a whole factory. When we're "I don't get older, I get better"— through, we'll be as effective as and a lot of the singer's fans agreed. plants built within the last 10 to 20 If the Kearny Works had a voice, years." it would probably say the same The massive "recycling" is neces thing, and a lot of people would sary because Kearny has been grad agree with that, too. For the 56- ually losing its competitive position year-old New Jersey plant is under in a competitive world. Age, size going a remarkable transformation and changing times have all worked in the process of being modernized. against our second oldest and sec Actually, Kearny does have a ond largest plant. voice, and an articulate one at that. Opened for operation in 1925, It is the voice of Ron Butterfield, its Kearny is a sprawling complex of ucts was assigned to other, newer general manager and the driving more than 30 buildings scattered factories. Kearny was left with a force behind Kearny's dramatic over 150 acres on the east bank of lot of scattered "light density" modernization program. the Passaic River. Because the land work in its shops and a number of Butterfield came to Kearny in was marshy, the entire tract is built aging, multi-story buildings that October 1979 after seven years as on pilings. At its peak, it had just don't lend themselves to mod general manager of the Shreveport 3.6 million square feet of floor ern manufacturing techniques. Works. He's an electrical engineer, space plus a number of satellite Two buildings in particular typi a S l o a n F e l l o w a n d a m a n w i t h a shops, of which only the Clark shop fied Kearny's hardening of the m i s s i o n . T h a t m i s s i o n i s t o m a k e remains. "We were," says Butter arteries. Both are enormous, and both are clearly from another age. subdivided structure made for million dollar project. One of these is the "TA" building a lot of what Butterfield calls "non- Very little of this transforma —for Telephone Apparatus. base" labor, which translates into tion is cosmetic. The changes are From the outside, the TA build expensive movement of materials keyed to Kearny's output and its ing looks like a single structure, from shop to shop, through pas future. Even some processes and but it is actually a collection of 11 sageways and up and down products are new. For example, different buildings, all of which elevators. Kearny's paint shops, which are w e r e a d d e d a s n e e d e d o v e r t h e All of this belongs in the past, vital to its metals operations, have years. The other is the Ford build and that is where Kearny's mod new automatic equipment for both ing—so called, because it was pur ernization program is putting it. wet and powder painting, and 55 c h a s e d f r o m t h e F o r d M o t o r C o m When the modernization program new products were added to the pany in 1931. It was old even then, is completed, the ancient TA and plant's produet line in 1980. having been built during World Ford buildings will be gone. Attitudes are changing, too. But Wa r I f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f s u b Kearny's new size will be a sleek terfield expects a scaled-down, chasers for the U.S. Navy. It is a 1.3 million square feet in seven streamlined Kearny will signifi cantly alter a lot of people's per ception of the place and their re lationship to it. "The old Kearny was so big," he says, "it was diffi cult for employees to identify with i t . W e w a n t t h e m t o t h i n k o f Kearny as 'my Kearny.' I want everyone to take pride in this place. "The key word for the future," he says, "is consolidation, at Kearny and elsewhere in Western Electric. It eliminates redundancy of engi neering and of other precious manufacturing resources." He is referring to consolidation of prod uct lines. "We have identified three busi nesses here at Kearny," he says. "The first is energy systems, which is 60 percent of our total activity. The second is apparatus, which is 28 percent and includes things like connectors, plugs, jacks and mini- relays. And the third is our metals business, which is 12 percent of our activity. "Prior to becoming a three-busi ness operation, Kearny was a con glomeration of shops. Now, we have a sharper focus as to what we have to do to make and keep Kearny healthy. It allows us to Fittingly enough, the new Kearny Works is making a host of new products. make critical analyses. It tells us, Here, General Manager Ron Butterfield animatedly describes one of them for example, that we have an to visitors as Stanley Stafa concentrates on his testing operations. under-utilized metalworking busi ness, so we can do metalwork for curiously antique building — a major buildings, including a waste o t h e r W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c l o c a t i o n s . faded crystal palace with walls of treatment plant. Virtually every Most of all, it lets us concentrate steel and time-darkened glass. Like office and shop will have been on those three businesses and slim the TA building, its age and its ar moved. More than 100 employees down accordingly. As I like to put rangements of operations bred in and 200 outside construction work it, under our modernization pro efficiency. Its multiple stories and ers are working on this multi- gram, Kearny went into 'drydock' a s a n o b s o l e t e W o r l d Wa r I I b a t While Kearny's modernization When Butterfield came to Kear tleship and is coming out as a mis went upward for space on the mez ny, the Administration Complex's sile-firing light cruiser." zanines in the Energy Systems lower level was being used only to T h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n f r o m o l d Complex, it went downward for house old files and other dust col battlewagon to sleek cruiser re space in the lower level of the Ad lectors. Now, it is well on its way quired some very creative think ministration Complex. This is a to becoming an ultramodern office ing on the part of Butterfield's staff, low-profile office building put up and computer systems complex Kearny's several engineering i n t h e s i x t i e s o v e r w h a t w a s o n c e that will house Kearny's Power groups and a number of Plant De a goldfish pond. The pond and its PECC organization as well as infor sign and Construction people. They finny residents are a story unto mation systems, and other engi had to vacate some large buildings themselves. In brief, what hap neering and administrative people. and yet, somehow, create more pened is that the original founda The Administration Complex space for the operations coming out of those buildings. What's more, they had to do it without erecting new buildings, and they had to do it without interrupting operations. Kearny is a feeder plant for many Western Electric locations; interrupting its output could have played havoc through out the company. It was done by some innovative use of available floor space. Build ings, Butterfield reasoned, have height as well as horizontal area. In short, they have a third dimen sion. "Using the cube more effec tively," Butterfield calls it. In prac tice, it meant using the vertical dimension of existing buildings by constructing mezzanines (going up) and by refitting a previously unused basement (going down). T h e m e z z a n i n e s w e r e b u i l t i n t o a former merchandising warehouse that had been erected in the six ties. Eighty feet wide and sup tion was installed during the mid- will also house a Forum Room, ported by 12-foot high steel col 1920's to support an eight-story which will serve double duty. "It's umns, the mezzanines overhang building. Then, the high-rise struc an excellent facility for organiza shop areas like an enormous con ture was delayed and ultimately tional meetings, and, as Kearny has crete ribbon running along all of cancelled while still on the drawing its own Product Line Planning and one wall and most of another. They board because it was becoming Management group, they will need add a precious 90,000 square feet clear even then that multistory a place to take their customers," that will be used for office space buildings don't lend themselves to says Butterfield. "That place will a n d a c a f e t e r i a . T h a t f o r m e r m e r efficient manufacture. b e t h e F o r u m R o o m . " T h e f u r n i s h chandising warehouse is now the The foundation slowly filled with ings came from the Denver Forum Energy Systems Manufacturing water and then the fish were added — flooring, audio/visual gear, Complex, and the mezzanine offices to protect it from deterioration. chairs and all. "We bought the will be occupied by engineers and The fish became famous in 1961 whole shooting match," says But other management personnel di when the Administration Complex terfield, "everything but the walls." rectly associated with the energy was about to go up and Kearny's All in all, it's been quite a job. systems product shops. These people had to find homes for thou According to Pete Wolchok and shops manufacture a wide range sands of very large goldfish. Thanks Jack Syms of PD&C, much of the of vital power units that provide to a lot of media coverage, homes m o d e r n i z a t i o n w o r k h a s b e e n r o u electrical energy to drive virtually were found for the fish, which were tine, but some has been anything every kind of Western Electric shipped all over the country in but. For example, using a giant communications system. water-filled bags. crane to swing 20-ton structural their jobs without halting produc gone up, he said, "Absolutely!" tion was akin to playing musical A1 Cerino, president of the IBEW chairs with 5,000 people. It was local union, shares Piraneo's en done largely by putting people in thusiasm. "I feel wonderful about temporary "holding" quarters and modernization," he says. "I worked by piecemeal moves. Herman Pir- 25 years in a building which is now aneo, in charge of expense control, called the Energy Systems Com says he never saw anything like it plex, and, when I go through it now, in his 32 years at Kearny. "We I can't believe it. Modernization is moved 10 people at a time," he says. a godsend to us, and we encourage "We moved their work at night, our people to help all they can." and, when they started the next Community reaction has been morning, it was like they never equally positive. One local TV sta moved." tion made a one-hour videotape Piraneo is happy about the about the changes at Kearny and changes. "It's fantastic! Now, we aired it four times. Butterfield says have nice accommodations, nice the station was so impressed be lighting and air conditioning. And cause Kearny hadn't shut down and the new shop arrangement makes moved out of the state like some for a good even flow of work." other industries. He says, "The Asked if production efficiency had thing that excites people is that our modernization can be the begin Above—Hagar Harris keeps working ning of a rebirth for the entire in while Albert Matto paints the dustrial area surrounding the equipment. Left—This happy bunch of paraders smiles for the camera. works. Our efforts say, 'This is a The slogan on the drum says it all. business that has decided to stay Right—Part of Kearny's modernization and not go elsewhere.' " included new transporters. Here, dis But, for all the community ex patcher George Annette checks records. citement, the real impact of modernization has been internal. steel beams through the narrow There's a new spirit at Kearny and windows of the Apparatus Complex it was vividly expressed last July to support air conditioning units in an outburst of pride and enthus wasn't routine by anybody's stand iasm that would have delighted ards. "And neither was putting Knute Rockne. To show how they up mezzanines over functioning felt about the way things were shops," adds Frank Ferrando of going, thousands of employees Kearny's Plant Engineering De decked themselves out in home partment. made costumes and held a lunch- Wolchok and Syms have been time parade to honor the passing coordinating the work of outside of the old and the coming of the contractors since the moderniza new. It was an afternoon of hot tion program began. "We make dogs, music, cheering and pride in sure it's being done on time and a reborn Kearny Works. |WE| according to specs—which isn't easy considering that we're work ing on six buildings at the same time, and they're all occupied.'" Ferrando is quick to agree. "Co ordinating all this work without ever shutting down operations any where is a tremendous accomplish ment," he says. "We didn't lose a single day—all the potentially dis ruptive work was done on week ends, holidays, during plant-shut downs and at night." Moving Kearny's employees and ADULT CATEGORY
1 s t P l a c e P e t e r L e w i s P u b l i c R e l a t i o n s Warners Corporate Headquarters
when the Energy Management Department at Headquarters decided to have a poster idea contest a few months ago, they didn't realize the hardest part would be the judging. An impressive 140 posters came in from 28 WE locations, and all of them were good. The judges. Sue Fleming Jederlinic, Arthur F. Winstanley and Dewey A. Heggie knew they were licked before they started. Most of the posters looked like winners, and they could pick only six. It took them hours and hours, but they finally agreed to agree on the winners. Here they are—six of the best.
GAS SCARCE!! ENDANGERED SPECIES
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2nd Place Kenneth Quire 3 r d P l a c e J i m M a h l e r Reading Works Engineering Research Center
KADUHBW
•3Aa(RI«m"-Sr/«l5"W«TE5 GAS!
3rd Place Robert Topolewski, Age 15 2nd Place Pamela Garden, Age 16 (Parent: T .H .T opolewski) P h o e n i x W o r k s (Parent: Karen Garden) PPI—Los Angeles
C H I L D R E N ' S C A T E G O R Y 1st Place Jackie Topolewski, Age 17 (Parent:T.H.Topolewski) P h o e n i x W o r k s Equal Opportunity A n i n t e r v i e w w i t h D a v e H i l d e r o n w h a t has happened in the 20 years since the Plan for Progress was signed
Twenty years ago this summer, H. I. national origin. The statement was Hilder: The basic concept of equi Romnes, then president of Western known as the Plan for Progress. t a b l e t r e a t m e n t h a s r e m a i n e d t h e Electric, signed a statement along same. But, in 1973, we stopped re with Lyndon B. Johnson, at that time On the anniversary of that historic ferring to "equal employment op Vice President of the United States, signing, Kathy Fitzgerald, depart portunity" and starting talking which set forth Western Electric's ment chief in headquarters public re about "equal opportunity." A lot of commitment "to move forward lations, interviewed Dave Hilder, Vice people seem to have the impression through affirmative action" to ensure President, Human Resources, about that equal employment opportu that all employees are treated equally equal opportunity. They talked about a n d t h a t n o d i s t i n c t i o n s a r e m a d e i n how far Western has come along the nity applied only to hiring. The fact rates of pay, opportunities for ad sometimes rocky road toward the of the matter is that it applies to vancement, including upgrading, pro goal of equal opportunity for all em many areas, including promotions, motion and transfer because of the ployees and how attitudes have laterals, transfers, upgrades, train employee's color, religious belief or changed over the years. ing and pay treatment.
WE: When Western signed the Plan for Progress in 1961, would you say this put us in the forefront of industry in addressing the issue of equal employment opportunity? Hilder: I certainly would. We were among the very first companies to publicly declare, by signing the Plan, that we would take affirm ative action to guarantee equality in employment opportunity. A year later, the total number of compa n i e s w h o h a d c o m e o n b o a r d w a s still only about 85—in the whole country. WE: Looking at the 1961 Plan for Progress, it talks about eliminating discrimination based on race, col or, creed and national origin. There i s n o m e n t i o n o f s e x d i s c r i m i n a tion. When was that first recog nized as a factor?
H i l d e r : S e x d i s c r i m i n a t i o n w a s d e ness of women's rights, that it WE President H. I. Romnes signing clared illegal by Title VII of the wasn't included from the start. But, Plan for Progress in Washington in Civil Rights Act of 1964. Then, in in 1961, the government was focus 1961. Looking on are U.S. Vice 1967, President Johnson signed an President Lyndon B. Johnson and ing on racial and religious discrimi Labor Secretary Arthur Goldberg. E x e c u t i v e O r d e r w h i c h a d d e d s e x nation, and that's how the original a s a f a c t o r i n t h e e l i m i n a t i o n o f agreements were framed. d i s c r i m i n a t i o n f o r f e d e r a l c o n t r a c tors and subcontractors, of which WE: Has the concept of equal em WE: How did we define "affirma Western is one. It's hard to believe ployment opportunity changed tive action" in 1961 ? Has the defini today, with our heightened aware much since 1961? tion changed over the years? Hilder: The definition of "affirma dians, or Alaskan Natives, Hispan- mer internship programs for mi tive action" is the same today as it ics, and Asian or Pacific Islanders nority and female youths that was in 1961:—seek out the certain —all people regardless of age, reli hopefully will result in their pursu segments of the population that gion, sex, or national origin. How ing science and other professional have heen systematically excluded ever, if a specific group is consid careers. from a fair chance and full partici ered to be underutilized then spe T h e W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c F u n d h a s pation in our society; encourage cific good faith efforts, in terms of assisted a number of black engi t h e m a n d a s s i s t t h e m t o a t t a i n a goals and timetables, will be taken neering colleges to gain profession position where they can have an for that group to ensure represen al accreditation, which has helped equal opportunity. In other words, tation consistent with availability. increase the number of qualified special efforts must be undertaken WE: Nationwide, there is a short minority engineering students t o s e e t h a t m i n o r i t i e s a n d w o m e n available for employment. Our col are employed and advanced in em age of female and minority engi neers and scientists. What have we lege recruiters schedule recruiting visits at all of the accredited minor ployment so as to overcome effects done to combat this problem? of past societal discrimination. In ity engineering colleges. And we ad recent years, affirmative action has vertise heavily in minority and been expanded to include handi women student publications. capped persons, the disabled and We have developed and use dis V i e t n a m v e t e r a n s . plays and exhibits especially de signed to attract minority and fe W E : D o e s W e s t e r n h a v e t o m e e t male engineering students. We sup any numerical quotas—such as pro port minority engineering colleges mote 50 women to section chiefs in through participation in the Na 1 9 8 1 — t o f u l f i l l o u r a f f i r m a t i v e a c tional Alliance of Business "Clus tion requirements? ter" program, and we have partici Hilder: No. We are not required to pated in minority job fairs and use numerical quotas in fulfilling other special functions such as the our affirmative action require Society of Women Engineers An ments. Quotas in employment situ nual Awards Banquet. ations are ordered by the courts. As a company, we have participa Goals are voluntary. At Western, ted in other programs designed to we do have certain affirmative ac promote engineering education for tion goals. Under current proce minorities such as the Minority In troduction to Technical Education dures, each Company location is re (MITE) Program and the Graduate quired to prepare an annual Affirm "We stopped referring to 'equal ative Action Compliance Program Engineering for Minorities (GEM) that includes goals in each job cate employment opportunity' and started Program. talking about 'equal opportunity' " In house, we've developed film- gory where the percentage of mi norities or women is not equal to Hilder: We've recognized for some strips and motion pictures de their availability. The goals that signed to interest greater numbers years that our efforts to hire more of minority and female students are established must be reasonable blacks and females for higher level in technical education. and attainable, and the expectation technical and professional jobs is that through a "good faith effort" have been hampered by the dispro WE: As a company, where do we these goals will be achieved. portionately low number of black s t a n d i n r e l a t i o n t o o u r a f fi r m a t i v e and female engineers and scien WE: What groups at Western fall action goals? tists. into the equal opportunity area? To help the situation, WE sup Hilder: Each location, in its an Hilder: Equal opportunity covers ports scholarship programs, con nual Affirmative Action Compliance all groups of people — males, fe t r i b u t e s t o t h e U n i t e d N e g r o Plan, determines the number of op males, blacks, whites, American In College Fund, and sponsors sum portunities that will occur during "...statistics show that we have made progress since 1961 in providing equal opportunity"
the year and then sets goals for Hilder: I think publicity is partly ing to ensure equal opportunity and each underutilized subcategory. to blame. As our goals are achieved, gain acceptance for it. Most locations have good success m i n o r i t i e s a n d w o m e n w h o e n t e r WE: The issue of sexual harass in achieving or surpassing their our work force become highly visi ment is very much in the news to goals because of the good faith ef ble. In addition, government agen forts put forth in recruiting and cies, newspapers, the courts, as day. In fact, you sent a letter to all advertising. well as minority and feminist employees expressly forbidding ac tion that could be construed as sex We continue to make progress groups have all emphasized the ur ual harassment. What prompted toward eliminating underutiliza- gency to achieve racial and sexual tion. As a matter of fact in the area equality in employment, as well as you to write that letter? of minority supervisors through in all other segments of society, Hilder: Preventive medicine. The manager level and professionals such as housing, etc. Equal Employment Opportunity for the total Company, we have met To the white male, this may ap Commission issued its final guide our current goals in all areas but pear to be at least a threat and pos- lines regarding sexual harassment, the manager level. Significant and we wanted to reaffirm the Com strides have also been made regard pany's policy on this issue. We felt ing utilization of female super it was our obligation to go on rec visors and professionals. In 1961, ord to inform all our employees of we had fewer than 2 percent wom the details of our policy prohibit en in the supervisory and profes ing sexual harassment. sional ranks. At the start of 1981, that number had risen to slightly WE: Describe some actions that could be construed as sexual har higher than 121/2 percent. assment? WE: Is it possible that our affirma Hilder: As stated in my letter last tive action programs have led to August, these include but are not reverse discrimination vis-a-vis limited to — repeated, offensive white males? sexual flirtations, advances, and/or Hllder: No. In fact, if you look at propositions; continual or repeat ed verbal abuse of a sexual nature; the data, in 1980, two out of every three promotions to supervision graphic verbal commentaries about an individual's body; sexually de went to white males. The Company is careful to assure that its affirma grading words used to describe an individual; and the display in the t i v e a c t i o n d o e s n o t r e s u l t i n u n "Most locations have good success in work place of sexually suggestive lawful discrimination against any achieving or surpassing their goals objects or pictures. group. As you may know, there has because of the good faith efforts put been considerable litigation involv forth in recruiting and advertising " WE: In 1961, when we first signed ing "reverse discrimination." The the Plan for Progress, the issue of Supreme Court has defined the how we treated maternity cases sihly reverse discrimination. It appropriate scope of affirmative ac wasn't considered an equal oportu- does, at the very least, increase tion for private employers, and the nity matter. Now, it is. How has the competition for promotions. Company's affirmative action pro B u t I m u s t s a y I t h i n k m o r e Company changed its policies to deal with this? gram complies with the Supreme white males have come to accept C o u r t ' s s t a n d a r d s . the value—or at least the reality— Hilder: The President of the United WE: In view of the fact that two of equal opportunity regulations. States signed the Pregnancy Disa out of three supervisory promo And as time goes by, EO will simply bility Amendment, creating a new tions went to white males, why do be a fact of life. But when the Plan law effective April 29,1979. The law you think so many men feel there is for Progress was signed in 1961, we amended Title VII of the Civil reverse discrimination? knew it would be a long undertak Rights Act of 1964 to include in its definition of sex discrimination any uously by government agencies, their performance appraisals. This employment decision based solely like the Equal Opportunity Com is not only a Company require on pregnancy. The law requires em m i s s i o n o r t h e O f fi c e o f F e d e r a l ment, it is also mandated by the ployers to treat pregnant females, Contract Compliance, who further implementing rules and regula nonpregnant females, and males interpret the laws. tions published by the Department the same for all disability benefits, of Labor. WE: How important is the super Each year all supervisors are fur fringe programs and other employ visor's role in assuring that the ment-related purposes. nished a copy of their location's af Company's EO policies are carried The Company's Maternity Pay firmative action compliance pro out? ment Plan was in effect before the gram and are required to document time Title VII was amended. The Hilder: The role of the supervisor that they have read and understand Anticipated Disability Program was is very important. It's the key ele the program. You can have the introduced on April 29, 1979, not ment in an effective equal oppor best, most consistent policies in the only in Western Electric, but at all tunity program. There is a para- world, but if all your supervisors Bell System companies in keeping don't understand them, you've got a with the amendment to the law. problem. The program was designed to en WE: Could you contrast the work sure equal treatment for all em force of 1961, when we hrst signed ployees in cases of disability, in the Plan for Progress, with the cluding pregnancy, childbirth and work force of 1981? child care. Hilder: The statistics show that we WE: How would you contrast the have made progress since 1961 in laws governing EO in 1961 with providing equal opportunity. In today? 1961, less than 1 percent of our Hilder: In 1961, the only laws which supervisors were minorities and might govern EO were the Civil only 2 percent of our supervisors Rights Acts of 1866, 1870, and 1871. were women compared to 8 percent Their application to employment and 10 percent respectively in 1981. was vague and had not been defined In the professional ranks, only 1 by the courts. In fact, none of these percent were either women or mi laws was applied to the private norities compared to today when employment sector until after the 9 percent are minority and 14 per passage of Title VII of the Civil cent are female. "You can have the best, most con Rights Acts of 1964. In addition We've come a long way, but we've sistent policies in the world, but if all to these laws, there was an Ex still got a way to go, particularly in ecutive Order signed in 1953 by your supervisors don't understand the area of female supervisors. them, you've got a problem" President Eisenhower, but it had WE: As a business, have we found no enforcement power. equal opportunity beneficial? After Title VII was passed, laws graph in Mr. Procknow's annual governing age discrimination in the statement on equal opportunity Hilder: Absolutely. Women and work place and equal opportunity and affirmative action that empha luinorities made vital contributions for handicaped persons were sizes this point. All supervisors are to our business long before EO, but passed, as well as the Equal Pay required to become familiar with there is no question that their con Act which forbids an employer to the AACP at their location and take tributions have increased as oppor pay a woman less than a man for an active role in suporting its poli tunities for advancement have in equal work. cies and practices. creased. As people utilize their So, as you can see the laws in The effectiveness of supervisors skills and talents more fully, the 1981 are much more specific. And in furthering these policies and Company is bound to benefit more they are administered more stren practices is one of the factors in fully. ® 11
•s5[joyw uMojuajiv S)|JBLU xaimijM ujBg (j • S 3 I J O M i i o B u i u a a j v 3 U i o i | s . s J a A a u i n B j q ■s}(joiW-OAuaa J3)B3i|)mdiuv s>|3og pam ^ ■s^iJOAV SHodeueipuj >|JB(J ABpi|OH |/\| •S3IJOAV BUiioaBo qjjojv IU3|BS PIO 1 •sqaoyw BqBuio UMOisAog X ■uoiSdH 3ype By George Gray Photos by Buddy Spoon After a long period of near dormancy, Burlington is coming back to life "The report of my death is an ex aggeration," Mark Twain cabled a New York newspaper that had printed his obituary. The American writer had been traveling abroad and had picked up a bug of some kind that laid him low for a while. But it was hardly fatal. The same thing might be said for the Burlington Shops. In the mid-70s this rather unique facility took a one-two punch that might have doomed a less resilient opera tion. First, the Safeguard Program, which then made up about 80 per cent of its work, was cancelled abruptly. Then the recession hit some of the replacement jobs and r e m a i n i n g g o v e r n m e n t w o r k t o cause more cutbacks. Employment fell to about one tenth of what it had been at the peak. Now, Burlington is bustling again. Government contracts, which are its bread and butter, are coming back to life. Areas of the plant that were closed off several years back are being reopened. In short, the reports of Burlington's demise were an exaggeration. The fourth oldest of our major manufacturing facilities, Burling ton has seldom appeared in the pages of this magazine. The reason is that for most of its 35-year his tory the products produced there have been electronic gear for the armed forces. Certain pieces of equipment and sometimes entire 14 projects were classified as defense aissance in government work is the The new solid-state equipment secrets. same thing that has caused so much takes up less space so there is more O t h e r W E l o c a t i o n s h a v e m a n u change in our traditional Bell lines: closet room inside. After testing, factured defense items (and other solid-state electronics. The missile the vans and antennas will go back employees have needed security guidance systems and underwater to Germany or Korea for perhaps clearance), but none so consistently d e t e c t i o n d e v i c e s t h a t w e m a d e i n another 25 years. as Burlington. The news is not that the 50s were like telephone devices Practically every device made at those days are past, but rather that of that era—analog systems with Burlington has a pedigree. That is, they are coming back. On February vacuum tube amplifiers and sol there is a record of who made it, 1, Burlington was transferred back dered-wire circuits. when, who tested it, what batch it to Government and Commercial The life expectancy of the sys came from, etc. Western has al sales after five years in Manufac tems at the time they went in was ways been known for the quality turing. Greensboro Shops, a sister set by military experts at "maybe of its Bell products, but applying plant in the heyday of our defense five years." Technology was chang t h e s e t r i e d - a n d - t r u e s t a n d a r d s t o business, had closed in 1976 when ing rapidly and new cold-war strat "expendable" military equipment all remaining North Carolina gov egies seemed to be surfacing every is extremely unusual. The military e r n m e n t w o r k w a s c o n s o l i d a t e d a t day. Everything seemed to be is not used to having equipment Left—Ed Dillberger (dark suit). General Manager, Government and Com mercial Sales, chats in the parking lot with Herb Block, Manager Burlington Shops (right) and Ron Eastman, assistant manager. Landmark tower in background is used as a radar target. Right- Atop Nike Test Building engineer Max Ward con fers with Millie Faucette, government services coordinator. Burlington and Bell business at transitory. It's a good thing that last for 20 years—like satellite W i n s t o n - S a l e m . B u t n o w a f t e r a Western people at Burlington did guidance packages, undersea hy long period of near dormancy, not pay too much attention to those drophones, gun directors and track Burlington is hiring again. self-proclaimed experts. ing radar for Nike missiles. Atten "We're building up gradually," Twenty and thirty years later, tion to quality pays off as the says plant manager Herb Block. "I the equipment they built is still a record testifies; 297 consecutive might even say we're running prime factor in the nation's de satellite launchings for the U.S. Air short-handed — by design. The fense. Highly touted replacement Force without a guidance equip worst possible thing would be to systems have not been forthcom ment failure; 3-billion component get everybody's hopes up — and ing. What's happening now is that hours on the Caesar project with then have the balloon burst again. this equipment which has been on out a component failure. We've been there before. This time the alert in Europe and Africa and It's not unusual for an employee we're moving cautiously — but the Far East is coming home to to be assigned to refurbish an item we're moving. Reopening Building Burlington to be updated from that he or she made 20 years ago. 16 is an important milestone. I vacuum-tube circuitry to modern The pedigree, which is nowadays c a n ' t e v e r r e m e m b e r We s t e r n s h u t digital solid-state versions. more often on tape in a computer, ting down a facility and then open Soldiers' grafitti in many lan than on a card, tells "who done it." ing it up again. But that's exactly guages get scraped off the khaki- T h e w o r k f o r c e a t B u r l i n g t o n what we're doing right now." colored vans. Inside and out, every which peaked at 4,279 in June 1960 What has brought about the ren thing gets a complete refurbishing. and bottomed out at 441 in Novem- 15 ber 1979 is now a little over 600. The present work force averages Above—Odessa McDonald inspects shields on hydrophone an extremely long service history. towed array to prevent shark Five out of six have service dates damage. Right—Onia Loy, in before 1956. About 35 percent have spector in the Caesar clean room. 30 years or more service, which means that they predate the first sound motion pictures. The credit defense buildup—for Ajax. They go line "Sound by Western Electric" back to the real old days. still shows up on old movies from Western first moved into the that era. plant on Graham-Hopedale Road Burlington phased out studio on the northeast side of Burlington equipment for radio broadcasting, in March 1946, and a sister plant as well as theater sound systems in opened a month later in Winston- the early 50s. This was just about Salem. These North Carolina mills the time the company was casting were part of Western's Radio Shops about for a place to build guidance Division, headquartered in those equipment for Nike Ajax — the na days at 120 Broadway in New York tion's main defense system against City. Radio Shops had been during enemy aircraft. Nike sites appeared the war years virtually synony almost overnight around major mous with our supersecret defense U.S. cities. Less than a decade later, work. Western produced more than a more sophisticated system, Her half of all radar used by the Allies cules, superseded Ajax. Still later, during the war, as well as all sorts we embarked on a third phase — of military field communications Nike Zeus or Safeguard — a much equipment. larger system that detected enemy Before the war, we had been the missiles as well as airplanes. major supplier of sound equipment Burlington had built up its work for radio broadcasting studios and force for Safeguard production and Left—In a Nike Hercules van returned for updating, Charley Pugh and engineer Len Dvoracek examine an IF amplifier. Above—Vernon Jones looks over a sonar data recorder, in for modification, that he built 20 years ago at the old Greensboro location. when the program was cut in 1972, been in all aspects of that job. His a lot of jobs became surplus. Some last year before moving to Burling government work, particularly un ton was spent as Director of Pro derwater sound detection systems posal Development for Western for the U.S. Navy, continued. Some About 35 Electric International. telephone jobs were moved in, but Herb is an outgoing type who percent of they were not jobs requiring the spends a lot of time in the shops. our people high skills of the remaining people He knows the great majority of his have 30 years at Burlington. It was a little like 608 people by name. He's usually using brain surgeons to remove got a smile on his face and he likes o r m o r e splinters — very expensive. The to rib fellow golfers, the Pioneers service e c o n o m i c d o w n t u r n i n 1 9 7 4 - 7 5 and native Tarheels. And it's con seemed to be the final blow. But tagious. The people at Burlington the plant managed to keep going. after some shaky years are begin On February 1, 1981 Burlington ning to regain their confidence and transferred out of manufacturing they look happier too. Another in and into Government and Commer dicator: last year Burlington had c i a l S a l e s — t h e d i v i s i o n t h a t i n 52 percent perfect attendance — o t h e r t i m e s h a d b e e n k n o w n a s possibly a company record. Radio Shops or Defense Activities. It's the same old building, but General Manager Ed Dillberger, s o m e h o w i t l o o k s c l e a n e r a n d whose headquarters is Guilford shinier than it has for 10 years. Center, is himself an old Burlington Everywhere you turn, there's con hand. He worked there as an assist struction activity. Jobs are being ant manager and later manager on moved to larger quarters, engineer the Safeguard project in the mid- ing is expanding, the "new" test 60s. building, closed down in 1972, is Herb Block, the manager of Burl being reopened, the personnel de ington Shops since June 1979, has partment is interviewing again. had a wide variety of assignments So to paraphrase Mark Twain: in his 24 years with the company. Burlington is still a vital part of A New Yorker by birth, he started our business. The report of its de in equipment engineering and has mise was premature. WE 17 Tuning In on the Dozens of ground stations were in touch with the Columbia. With this system, you could monitor any of them T h e v o i c e s fl a s h e d b a c k a n d f o r t h The system involved nine 30- for last minute preparation. The button Call Director® telephones astronauts were ready, all systems which allowed Mission Control were go. After months of planning, specialists to listen to operational the moment had finally arrived. dialogue from any of the 30 stations From Kennedy Space Center, the in direct communication with the space shuttle Columbia blasted off shuttle. for its first orbital test flight on "Previously you were limited to April 12. one monitoring key and one con At the Johnson Space Center in versation," explains Thibodeaux. Houston, communication from There was a lot of switching back ground to air was buzzing. At some and forth on channels to keep up 30 stations, technicians meticulous dated. With this system, it was pos ly monitored the space shuttle's sible to listen to several stations at progress, digesting a flood of elec once or for several stations to hear tronic data. These conversations, in one message simultaneously. turn, were instantly available to Three additional six-button sets Houston Mission Control and offered such unique features as a Above—(left to right) George Ben spacecraft specialists keeping " n e w s m e d i a " b u t t o n w i t h w h i c h r e son, Kevin Wynn and Olin Thibodeaux track of each station's operational of the Southwestern Region go over porters could punch up a recording their final plans for the monitoring interchange through equipment en that gave the status of the flight. installation. Left—A towering Colum gineered and produced by the While the system included a few b i a a w a i t s b l a s t o ff f o r i t s fi r s t Southwestern Region. two-way circuits for conversation, orbital test flight at the Kennedy W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c ' s i n v o l v e m e n t it was designed primarily to tie all Space Center. with the space shuttle's internal the stations together for overall monitoring system began last De surveillance. c e m b e r w h e n S o u t h w e s t e r n B e l l "It was an expansion of commu approached the St. Louis Service nications capability between the Center with basic sketches of what command post and the space shut was needed by the National Aero tle. Anybody, such as a high official, nautics and Space Administration. for example, who needed access to " T h i s w a s n o t t h a t u n u s u a l , " the information, could tap into it," notes Olin Thibodeaux, shop sec T h i b o d e a u x a d d s . tion chief. "We do special assembly Designing the actual arrange jobs for the telephone company ment of circuits in two relay racks f r o m t i m e t o t i m e . " of equipment. Special Services En Regional Special Engineering gineering put together the wiring Services then came aboard to engi diagrams, picked out power sup neer the project. Together, the shop plies, and determined voltage re and the engineering group devel quirements, among other tasks. ipace oped a system that would connect Thibodeaux's group, in turn, met all of Mission Control's monitoring the challenge working double shifts stations as they tracked the space to complete work by the January- shuttle from take off to landing. end deadline. "The project didn't involve any "We were often only one day radical designs or new equipment," ahead of the shop in designing this Mesays George Benson, systems equip system," Benson remembers, not ment engineer who coordinated the ing that the entire project was fin ished in one month. Thanks to close By Kit Jenkins unique project. "What we did was take existing stock and modify it to teamwork. Western delivered the do things never done before. We monitoring system to Southwest couldn't just send out for this one." ern Bell on February 6. Telephoning initially was all private line A Switching Primer Telephone switching systems— how they evolved and what they do 20 Going all the way back to the begin nal and the equipment for computing ning, Alexander Graham Bell, work billing charges. ing in his Boston boarding house, T h e e a r l i e s t s w i t c h e s u s e d i n t e l e spilled acid on his pants and shouted: phony were adapted from those used "Mr. Watson, come here. I need you." in the telegraph business. The board, There was no switching needed then. a panel of wood about four feet long Thomas Watson, with his head buried and two feet high, was covered with in the equipment in another room at shiny brass strips that looked from the other end of the hall, heard the a distance like a display of door message that had traveled directly hinges. The earliest models could in over what would now be called a pri terconnect eight or ten subscribers. vate line. Charley Scribner, a teenager work Telephones for the first year or so ing for Western Electric in Chicago, were all like that—a single private line came up with a much better method hooked up permanently between two of switching soon after we entered transmitter/receivers. It was not un the business in the fall of 1878. In like the arrangement we all tried as stead of the crude latch switches, con youngsters with soup cans and a taut sisting of screws and a strip of brass, string running to a friend's house. he designed a system of sockets, or Incidentally, the sound reproduction jacks, with plugs on flexible cords was not much better on Bell's original for simple interconnection of up to phone than on a soup-can telephone. 50 subscribers by an operator. Later, Bell's experiment has been recreated he expanded the system with multi in a number of museums and only ple boards, and his models served as serves to point up how far we have the world standard for 50 years. Some advanced in 105 years. manual private branch exchanges Very early in the game, switching (PBXs) still use the system today. became a necessity. Subscribers Automatic switching came along w a n t e d t o t a l k w i t h o t h e r s b e s i d e s before the turn of the century. A the "help" in the kitchen or the sta Kansas City mortician named Almon b l e s . I t w a s t h i s d e s i r e t o c o m m u n i B. Strowger alleged that many calls cate widely—on business as well as on to him from relatives of the recently social levels—that led to the establish deceased were being diverted to a ment of the central office and the competitor—and he may have been employment first of young boys—who right. The telephone operator in the often turned out to be rude and im center of the controversy was the wife pertinent—and then of refined young of said competitor. Strowger, a forth l a d i e s w i t h v o i c e s t h a t h a d s m i l e s i n right man of action, set out to invent them. a d e v i c e t h a t w o u l d e l i m i n a t e t h e h u At this point, confusion arises. It is man element and any potential hanky- very easy to lump together all of the panky from switching. He received a central office paraphernalia that patent on his invention in 1891 and makes completion of a call commer t h e fi r s t c o m m e r c i a l m o d e l w a s i n cially feasible and label it switching stalled in LaPorte, Ind., the following equipment. It is the crosspoint that is year. Step-by-step systems employing the heart of the matter—that point Strowger switches are still in use in w h e r e t h e l i n e f r o m t h e c a l l e r m e e t s many central offices all around the the line going to the person called. A step-by-step switch world. Everything else is peripheral—the In the first step-by-step system, a ringing to attract attention, the buzz c u s t o m e r c o u l d c o n n e c t h i s l i n e t o ing to indicate a busy receiving termi- any of 99 other customers by first pushing a button that electromagneti- ing group size and by removing the c a l l y c o n t r o l l e d t h e v e r t i c a l m o v e restrictions imposed by dial control ment of the contact arm of a stepping of the stepping switch. In 1905, E. C. s w i t c h a n d t h e n a n o t h e r b u t t o n t h a t Molina of AT&T proposed that the controlled the horizontal rotation of switches be controlled by equipment the arm. A third button restored the at the central office, rather than by switch to its starting point. the telephone dial at the subscriber's O n c e t h e n u m b e r o f c u s t o m e r s home. This control equipment would served by a step-by-step system ex be shared by a number of switches ceeded 100, a mechanical means of and, thus, would be common to them. connecting central offices was re The first system to provide such quired. This major step in the evolu common controls was the rotary sys tion of switching was accomplished tem, which never became very popu by allowing the system to participate lar in this country. Close behind it in selecting the route of the call. Each came panel, which was the first of customer was connected to a step the Bell System's machine switchers. ping switch known as a selector. The In 1915, there were two semi-mechani selector would move vertically in re cal offices cut into service in Newark, sponse to the pulses of the first digits N.J. The telephone user gave the num dialed (the dial had replaced the push ber to the operator who then com b u t t o n b y t h e n ) a n d w o u l d t h e n pleted the call through the switching " h u n t " i n t h e h o r i z o n t a l d i r e c t i o n f o r machine. The first panel-type full-ma- an idle circuit called a trunk. chine switching office was cut into Once an idle trunk was found, the service at Omaha, Nebraska in De c u s t o m e r h a d a d i r e c t l i n e t o t h e cember 1921. There is still one panel group of stepping switches that office in service, but it will be re served the 100-customer group con placed in 1982. The system, compared taining the party he or she wished to with more modern ones, is slow and call. Further dialing then controlled In an ESS office, requires constant maintenance. Dust this group to provide the proper you no longer and dirt accumulate on moving parts connection. and cause electrical noise. Also the After purchasing such systems for near the clicking moving parts wear out. a number of years, the Bell System sounds that are A crossbar switch was proposed in m a n u f a c t u r e d i t s fi r s t s t e p - b y - s t e p so distinctive 1913 by John N. Reynolds of Western system in 1925. It was cut over into Electric. It contained a grid of 10 service at Springfield, Mass. in 1927. in a crossbar h o r i z o n t a l r o d s a n d 2 0 s e t s o f v e r t i c a l Although service to 10,000 customers office ones. There are movable metal con is feasible, step-by-step systems are tacts at each crosspoint. Electromag t o d a y u s e d p r i m a r i l y i n s m a l l e r nets control the operating and hold offices. ing of as many as ten of the movable Actually, we're getting a little ahead c o n t a c t s e t s a t o n e t i m e t o c o n n e c t of our story. There is a good deal of t e n o f t h e v e r t i c a l s e t s t o t e n h o r i overlapping between switching sys zontal sets. tems, and while improvements were The #1 Crossbar system was de being made in step-by-step systems, signed to be introduced in areas hav other systems were being introduced. ing panel systems without changes in One of the most important new either the existing offices or in exist concepts was common control. Stud ing telephone instruments. It was a ies made by the Bell System soon t r e m e n d o u s a d v a n c e i n e l e c t r o m e after the turn of the century indicated chanical switching design. Its major that money could be saved by increas- advantages are the freeing of the con- 22 t r o l c i r c u i t a f t e r e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e cut over at Succasunna, N.J. in 1965, connection, the alternate routing of the #2 ESS was introduced in 1970 a call if its primary route is busy and for use in suburban offices and #3 the automatic detection and report ESS came along in 1976 for use in ing of system failures. The system rural exchanges. was the workhorse of the switching When ESS appeared in the mid- network in metropolitan areas for a 1960's, the cross connection to com number of years after its introduc plete a talking path took place inside tion in 1938 and still is in some areas. a sealed glass tube—but there was still The #4 Toll crossbar system came physical movement as the ferreeds along in 1943 to enable automatic a n d l a t e r t h e r e m r e e d s i n t h e s e t u b e s switching of toll connections in and came together or separated. In an out of metropolitan areas. Then, in ESS office, you no longer heard all the 1948, the #5 Crossbar system was de clicking sounds that were so distinc signed to meet the switching needs of tive in a crossbar office and you really c e n t r a l o f fi c e s l o c a t e d o n t h e o u t couldn't see the flexing of the tiny Master control, #1 ESS skirts of metropolitan cities and of reeds; they were nestled inside a coil medium-to-large-sized offices in other and hidden away with hundreds of areas. The first office of this type o t h e r s i n t h e i n n e r m o s t r e a c h e s o f a was installed in Media, Pa. frame. All you could see from the In that same year, 1948, the tran aisle was a face plate on the narrow sistor was invented, which opened the edge of a plug-in module. door for electronic switching. It was #4 ESS, designed for toll call predicted that transistorized elec switching, made its national debut in tronic logic circuits would some day Chicago in January 1976. At the heart provide faster and more flexible of the #4 system is the lA Processor, switching with the additional advan a stored-program control unit with A ferreed switch module tages of reduced size and cost. advanced integrated circuitry and an Work began on such a system in improved magnetic-core memory sys 1954 and led to a field trial at Morris, tem. It can execute call processing 111., in 1960. The Morris central office instructions four to eight times faster basically consisted of a switching net t h a n e a r l i e r E S S c o n t r o l u n i t s . work and stored-program-control. # 4 E S S i s t h e fi r s t t o u s e t i m e - The control circuitry was essentially division switching techniques instead a special-purpose computer with both of the traditional space-division tech a semipermanent and a short-term nique. Words and data are trans memory. The semipermanent mem mitted in digital pulses, which travel ory contained the basic processing in a common switching path, sepa routines for routing calls through the rated by millionths of a second. o f fi c e , a n d t h e s h o r t - t e r m m e m o r y Switching is accomplished by shifting was used to store temporary informa a call's time position on the path. tion used in the processing of a call, The system can switch digital signals such as the digits of the number being directly without prior conversion to dialed. the traditional analog form. As a result of the Morris trial, the W i t h t h e a d v e n t o f # 5 E S S a n d #1 Electronic Switching System something called the gated diode (ESS) was developed for commercial crosspoint (GDX), switching takes use. It functioned in basically the place inside a solid state device (see same manner as the Morris system; A gated diode array page 24) as was predicted a genera however, the components were drasti tion ago. There are no moving parts cally different. The first #1 ESS was inside a GDX. In any discussion of switching to Left—Gated diodes are small. Eight of them day, the first thing to make clear are mounted on the ceramic substrate. Right- is that there is a difference between Senior Engineer Joe Schwermann compares a a digital switch and the switching gated diode array with a fereed module. of digital information. We have been able for years to switch, with some conversion, a stream of pulses that forms a digi tal message in transmission. T-car- rier transmission systems, which are digital, were introduced by the Bell System in 1962 and in recent Why Digital? years have handled most of the growth in urban interoffice trunks. Digital switching is clearly the wave of the future Digital carrier systems are being used increasingly in rural sub scriber loops. And digital radio sys tems are beginning to appear in the w interstate toll plant. Lightwave communications systems are digi tal and they too are beginning to appear all around the country. The information carried by all of these media are successfully switched by present analog facilities, with some conversion going in and coming out. Why then do we want to get into the other aspect—a digital switch? The main advantage is that we can eliminate some conversion of signals from digital form to analog form. Such conversion is expensive, and as we continue to increase our digital transmission facilities in the Bell System network, more and more digital signals would have to be converted to pass through ana log switching machines. We also are getting into digital switching because solid state tech nology has progressed fast enough and far enough to make such a switch economically justifiable. Technological advances such as VLSI (very large scale integration), Evvi Ross of the Reading Works displays a "planet" of 21 gated diode wafers which enables us to put large before loading into a machine that deposits a thin aluminum film on them. 24 the new #5 ESS will be the gated diode crosspoint (GDX)—a solid state device. The crosspoints are the spots where all the lines in volved in a telephone call are ac tually connected. In an analog switching system, a physical me tallic path is established by closing switch contacts. In a digital system, the path is "gated" electronically. The GDX has been designed to withstand surges of up to 500 volts —something that had previously b e e n u n h e a r d o f f o r s e m i - c o n d u c tors. Relatively high voltages are needed in a local office for signaling and ringing, whereas the trunk cir cuits switched by #4 ESS do not require any of these high energy signals. These signals are instead sent over separate paths called CCIS (Common Channel Interface System). The GDX chip is fabricated at amounts of circuitry on tiny silicon path within the switcher. Thus, Reading Works and is among the chips, are helping to bring down each path through #4 ESS carries most complex integrated circuits costs. the pulse groups of many calls, we have ever attempted. Making it However, it is important to real separated only by time. Switching requires such "high-tech" processes ize that it is the computer-like is accomplished by timing the re as plasma etching and ion imple "stored-program-control" (SPC) of lease of pulse groups so that they mentation, and about 200 separate switching machines that makes it reach the proper outgoing channels process steps are involved. possible to introduce new features —somewhat like passengers on a The new crosspoints are assem —and it was the Bell System that train getting off at just the moment b l e d o n a c e r a m i c s u b s t r a t e a t introduced SPC when it developed when the train is stopped at their Hawthorne and then shipped to electronic switching systems in the stations. In this way the pulse N o r t h e r n I l l i n o i s a n d O k l a h o m a early 60s. groups of each particular call are City Works for insertion in a plug- The Bell System's first digital toll directed to the proper outgoing in unit. The GDX array is electrostati switch was the #4 ESS—intro channel, where the original signal duced in Chicago in 1976 and rapid representing each conversation is cally sensitive. This means that the reconstructed. Calls are then trans static charge created merely by ly becoming the workhorse at m i t t e d t o t h e i r d e s t i n a t i o n s . AT&T's Long Lines Department. running your fingers through your This complex manipulation of hair or brushing some lint off your The #4 was the first to use time- electrical signals is accomplished sweater with your hand is enough division switching—a very fast ef to destroy the device. Special as ficient switching technique, which by a highly accurate electronic clock combined with very fast elec we more familiarly refer to as digi sembly and handling facilities must tronic memories that are integral be provided to prevent this prob tal. parts of the switching system—all lem. These items consist of ionizing In time-division switching, the controlled by a stored program work stations, grounding straps for electrical signal that represents a processor. Everything happens in operators, and antistatic trays and phone conversation is first sampled side solid state devices so that there product packaging. 8,000 times a second. Then the value are no moving parts. At Oklahoma City, manufactur of each sample is encoded as a Some of the technology that went ing facilities are being installed group of "on-off" electrical pulses. into the #4 ESS is being adapted and special electrostatic discharge Each group of eight pulses is less for use in local switching systems. (ESD) awareness programs will be than a millionth of a second long. The system to be called #5 ESS conducted for all employees who The brief pulse groups of several will debut toward the end of this will come in contact with static- different calls are then positioned year. sensitive components and circuit in time slots along a single physical The basic switching element of packs. IMl spotlight People "Mankind was never so happily in spired as when it made a cathe dral," said Robert Louis Steven son, and Dr. Robert Vadheim of the Headquarters medical depart ment in New York agrees. In fact, he does more than agree—he works hard at keeping one of those inspirations alive. His unusual pa tient is the 136-year-old Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn, N.Y., and this magnifi cent old structure is in desperate need of help. Its roof leaks, its brownstone exterior is dangerous ly deteriorated and its once breath- takingly beautiful stained-glass windows are buckling and falling to pieces. The only medicine that can save St. Ann and the Holy Trinity is a massive infusion of money—an es timated $1.5 million. Dr. Vadheim devotes much of his spare time to raising that money while serving on the Benefit Committee of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a private organization dedicated to the preservation of historically, ar chitecturally and culturally signifi cant buildings. "I've always been interested in old buildings," he says. "Architec turally, we have so little history h e r e i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d w e of articles in support of the resto Canada. keep destroying what we have." ration campaign have appeared in Perhaps even more important His special affinity for old build the local press, and the New York historically than the structure it ings began 17 years ago when he State Legislature has even issued self are Holy Trinity's 60 stained- bought an old brownstone house in a r e s o l u t i o n t o c o m m e m o r a t e t h e glass windows. Created by William Brooklyn Heights within walking e ff o r t s o n t h e c h u r c h ' s b e h a l f . Jay Bolton, they are the first com distance of St. Ann and the Holy None of this is surprising con plex of stained-glass windows made Trinity. He has been working at sidering that Holy Trinity, as it is in this country, and each is a work restoring the building ever since, affectionately called, is one of the o f a r t . T h e w i n d o w s i n t h e c l e r e s usually under the careful supervi most distinguished examples of the tory depict scenes from the Old sion of his cat Charlie. Gothic Revival style in the entire Testament, while those in the gal D r. Va d h e i m h a s l o t s o f c o h o r t s country. Sometimes referred to as l e r i e s a r e s c e n e s f r o m t h e N e w in his battle to restore St. Ann and "America's Canterbury," it was de Testament. Additional windows the Holy Trinity. Saving the old signed in 1847 by Minard Lefever, along the side aisles portray the c h u r c h h a s b e c o m e a l o c a l c a u s e a highly popular architect who tree of Jesse. Dr. Vadheim says that celebre, joined by such notables as built many public and private even in their present deteriorated N e w Yo r k e r t h e a t r e - c r i t i c B r e n d a n buildings throughout New York, condition, they tend to leave visi Gill and Mrs. Vincent Astor. Dozens New Jersey, New England and t o r s a w e s t r u c k . For himself, he tends to be a lit E l e c t r i c . H i s fi r s t s e r v i c e t o t h e the board began to look at other tle awestruck by another of the old community was as a member of the ways to bring Staley into the 20th church's attractions. An organist in town board of commissioners, century. The board met 30 times his youth, he thinks Holy Trinity's which he now heads. over the past year, while in previ 54-year-old, five-manual Skinner A f t e r t w o t e r m s o n t h e t o w n ous years it had met only twice. organ is one of the finest ever made. hoard, Williams left the political Of the board's accomplishments, "It would," he notes, "cost a half- life for a while, only to return years if saving the town's charter was its million dollars to build it today." later to seek the mayor's seat. greatest, then the next one was to The organ is sometimes used for It was during his campaign for open Staley's first town hall. "It m o r e t h a n s e r v i c e s . F o r s e v e r a l mayor that Williams first began to was the first time the town bought years. Holy Trinity has served a attack the town's apathy. One of property," Williams says, "and it dual function; its superb interior the major goals of his three-month wasn't easy." The building was i s o f t e n u s e d a s a c u l t u r a l c e n t e r candidacy was to get a large voter owned by a retired barber who had for theatre, dance, music and opera. The center's programs are known collectively as "The Arts at St. Ann's," and Dr. Vadheim sup ports them by printing tickets and cocktail napkins on a 50-year-old hand press he received for his 12th birthday. A quiet, self-effacing man, he isn't given to lengthy explanations o f h i s e f f o r t s . H e ' d r a t h e r t a l k about the church than about why he's trying to save it. When pressed, he simply shrugs and says, "It's just the right thing to do." L e f t — D r . R o b e r t Va d h e i m i n f r o n t of one of the stained-glass windows he is working to save. Right—Mayor Tommy Williams and his town hall. Until recently, like many towns its size, Staley was dying—mostly of apathy. "We were on the verge of losing the town," says Mayor Tom my Williams. "We almost lost our charter," he adds grimly. Staley, population 250, is sand wiched between Liberty and Ram- s e u r, a b o u t 2 5 m i l e s s o u t h o f turnout on the day of elections. used it for his shop. Greensboro, on U.S. 421 in North Many telephone calls and face-to- Under the careful eye of Robert Carolina. It's a quiet town. face contacts with potential voters Hicks, a member of the board of Williams, who works in Purchas did the job. Of Staley's 120 regis commissioners, the new town hall ing at the Guilford Center, was tered voters, 85 percent went to the was born. Many of the commis elected mayor of Staley in 1979. polls. "It was like starting a new sioners pitched in to help. At a to Since then, he has worked tireless town," says Williams. tal cost of about $14,000, Staley ly, with the town's board of com As Staley's mayor, Williams has n o w o w n s a t o w n h a l l . missioners, to save his birthplace. no vote in the town council, so he W i l l i a m s a n d t h e t o w n c o m m i s "It was a tremendous job to get feels his role is to "keep folks sioners are not paid for their work. people involved in saving the working together." He is also quick "It's all voluntary," says Williams, town," says Williams. "But we did to give credit to the four men and "and in a small town that can be it. Now people are again proud to o n e w o m a n o n t h e t o w n ' s b o a r d . tough, especially with the amount live in Staley." "Together we've accomplished a of criticism you have to take." Wil Williams has spent all of his life lot," he says. liams feels that satisfaction comes in Staley, and as a youngster "right After hiring the town's first law in service to the community and in out of high school" he traveled to yer to get the books straight and to getting things done. "That's our re Burlington to find work at Western keep them in order, Williams and w a r d , " h e s a y s . I M l 27 W a r R o o m Strategy "The war room in Piscataway worked during 1980 By Elizabeth M. Perlman —and its counterpart is working here at Morris- t o w n i n 1 9 8 1 . " T h a t ' s t h e c o n fi d e n t s t a t e m e n t o f The "war" in these war rooms Art Collins, senior specialist in the material plan is a battle against time ning and management group for transmission equipment at Southgate in Morristown, N.J. The war rooms Collins refers to are project man agement centers from which Western's material planning and management group has been direct ing the vital effort to increase the number of inter city Digital Data System (DDS) network facilities called DiGroups for AT&T Long Lines department. A DiGroup can be defined as a digital transmission capability between two points, e.g.. New York to Chicago. In 1980, the DDS project was adminis tered by Western and Long Lines from Long Lines' In the DDS war room at Southgate, Bill Zazula consults the computer while Betty Shipman up d a t e s i n f o r m a t i o n a t t h e t e r m i n a l . other machines over private-line circuits. During the five-year period prior to 1980, 140 of these Di Groups had been installed around the country. By the end of 1980, Western was enlarging or install ing an additional 206 DDS DiGroups that were needed by Long Lines to meet the heavy demand for this service. At present, the largest customers for the Digital Data Service are computer-service companies, fi nancial houses, insurance companies, and airlines. As the service grows in scope and size, so too will the number and range of industries. At the end of 1983, the DDS network will be seven times as large as it was in 1979. This network has the potential of becoming as vital as the long distance telephone voice network. Installing so many DDS facilities in one year m e a n t t h a t W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c w a s f a c e d w i t h a mammoth job across the board. Detailed regional engineering of DiGroups, factory production of the accompanying equipment, and installation for cutover by Long Lines, all had to be done in a frac tion of the normal time frame. Thus, the over whelming need for a war room from which to headquarters in Piscataway. The "base of opera manage the resources needed for the project. tions" has since been relocated to Southgate, The DDS project is coordinated at Southgate by where the Western Digital Project team continues Jack Bishop, assistant manager in material and to direct the construction of this network for busi account management. He explained that the DDS ness-machine communication. project began in Bell Sales but its rolling impact The war room at Southgate, like its predeces was felt company-wide. Bishop explains, "We real sor, is festooned with charts that list the names of ized right away that to manage a project of this every intercity DDS DiGroup with space for the scope meant total cooperation from all phases of addition of engineering status, shipping dates, in the WE operation. We had to manage every facet stallation dates, cutover dates, and priority-num and have things going at top speed to meet dead bered service dates. There are computer printouts lines." from which the boards are updated with brightly Collins added, "We started out using index cards colored felt-tip pens. to schedule events. It was awkward, but we lived The DDS DiGroups being constructed are part with it for a short time. Bill Zazula was added to of a growing digital network that makes it possi our staff late in 1979, and one of his interests was b l e f o r b u s i n e s s m a c h i n e s t o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h computers. His knowledge made it possible to use 29 Getting the job done is really what the war room is all about Left—Jack Bishop (left) confers with Jerry Surette (right) and A r t C o l l i n s a b o u t t h e s c h e d u l e s for constructing the DiGroups. Right—Maxine Altman works with Mike Roscigno to keep the charts up to date with information from the computer printouts. programs to compile information in such a way Electric and Long Lines met formally once a week that all phases of the project could be monitored to conduct a total review. All phases of the project and analyzed. Communications with Long Lines were scrutinized to spot problem areas. The team were completely open. The manufacturing, the re o f t e n c a l l e d f o r a s s i s t a n c e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m gional scheduling people, and all of us had access systems equipment engineers; engineers, and to the same information. When things weren't go supervisors from Merrimack Valley, North Caro ing according to plan, any member of the team lina Works, Kearny, and Kansas City; installation could take action to correct it. The team now in supervisors from all seven regions; regional cus cludes John Lanari, Maxine Altman, Betty Ship- tomer service staff members; network operations man, and Mike Roscigno. John handles the toll staff members; the Product Line Planning and terminal equipment, Maxine and Mike are work Management Group; and from Purchasing. Long ing with the regions and Betty keeps our data base Lines' representatives included facility and equip up to date." ment engineers, and marketing people. While at Piscataway the joint team of Western Every member of the team had access to up-to- date schedules of the equipment as it was being hard for this project too. They responded to the manufactured, as it was being shipped, and as it short interval between shipping dates and cutover was being installed. dates and they got the job done." The primary locations for manufacturing DDS Getting the job done is really what the war room equipment have been Merrimack Valley, North is about. As Director of Material Planning and Carolina, and Kearny. According to Bishop, "Mer Management for Transmission, Switching, and rimack Valley, North Carolina, and Kearny Purchased Products, Jerry Surette, puts it, "We pumped out the products we needed when we formed a team to oversee the project from net needed them. They started from a standstill and work planning to service cutover and monitored they really started running. They were already the progress of each DiGroup in each phase of busy with high frequency line equipment, but they activity. The team took the project responsibility were able to get the digital bays and panels on line and customers' needs very seriously. The project and out the door in record time. managment team approach worked in 1980 and is "The installers from the regions were working w o r k i n g a g a i n i n 1 9 8 1 . " ® Each Saturday morning a recondi t i o n e d c h u r c h b u s l u m b e r s i n t o a parking lot in Lexington, North Carolina. Its passengers, dressed in blue jeans and coveralls, pour across the lot carrying lunch bas k e t s a n d w o r k t o o l s . The passengers are Pioneers. They belong to The Old North State L e f t — W i t h t o o l s i n b o t h Chapter 79, representing company hands, hard-working Ruth locations in Burlington, Greens Hamilton salvages some boro and Winston-Salem. Their lumber. Below—Pioneers destination is a dormitory at the arrive bright and early for Junior Order Children's Home, an their Saturday work session at the Pennsylvania House orphanage housing more than 60 a t t h e J u n i o r O r d e r W o r k youngsters. They are renovating Home in Lexington, N.C. the dorm as their major commu nity service project for the year. T h e J u n i o r O r d e r C h i l d r e n ' s Home was founded in 1927 by a fraternal organization, the Junior O r d e r o f U n i t e d A m e r i c a n M e c h a n i c s . A n d t h e d o r m i t o r i e s t h e r e a r e well over 50 years old. Financial support for the orphanage comes from founders, county and state government, Home alumni, and civic organizations. But yearly in come barely covers operating ex penses, leaving little for upkeep or improvement of the living quar ters. To ease the situation, two of the three dormitories in use at the orphanage were renovated in recent years by area business and civic or ganizations. But a third and the largest of the dormitories, the Pennsylvania House, remained in poor condition. M u c h o f t h e c r e d i t f o r P i o n e e r involvement in renovating the Renovating an Pennsylvania House goes to Life orphanage takes M e m b e r s L o u i e a n d D o r i s M c - Bluejeans Gowan of Winston-Salem. Through time, money, volunteer work at the Home, they and muscle— had a first-hand look at housing and heart c o n d i t i o n s a n d t u r n e d t o t h e P i o neers for help. Coveralls By Linda Edgerton Chapter 79 gave the project its enthusiastic support, and Presi vania House has two wings, and reported. "First, there are repairs dent Edith Brann tapped Life t h a t t h e P i o n e e r s h a v e b e e n w o r k to be made—doors off their hinges, Member Henry Wesley for project ing since early February on the east rotting window frames, bad plumb manager. portion of the building. Renova ing, inadequate wiring and the like. "Have you ever tried to say 'no' tions on the west wing will be car Secondly, there are modifications. to Edith Brann?" Wesley quipped. r i e d o v e r i n t o t h e n e x t P i o n e e r We're remodeling the kitchens at "Seriously, I was delighted to take project year, which begins July 1. Pennsylvania House, and we're on the project." "There are three basic things tearing out old walls and adding Wesley explained that Pennsyl- we're doing to the facility," Wesley new ones to convert six, single-bed rooms into two, three-bed rooms. The directors of the Home feel sharing a room gives a child a greater sense of belonging, and we were happy to oblige by making the structural changes. And finally, there are the cosmetic things, like painting and sprucing up. All this translates into a lot of scraping, patch work, carpentry, painting, plumbing and rewiring." To accomplish the renovations, Wesley named Len Schaffer as as sistant project manager, and the two pulled together a coordinating committee of more than 30 Pio Above—Scott Graves sandpapers off the liigh spots on replastered ceiling, Left—Taking care not to drip, A1 Freund t r i e s h i s h a n d w i t h a b r u s h . project superintendent, and John Teen Challenge, and the young men Barnette, our project engineer," housed there decided to pay the Wesley explained. "As our workers Pioneers back for our help," Wesley arrive, Ted makes assignments. said. "One Saturday alone we had And he always makes sure our eight of them helping us. They 'weekend' carpenters are super come whenever transportation is vised by an experienced carpenter. available. And their work is truly The same goes for plumbing, wir f r o m t h e i r h e a r t s . " ing and other areas requiring ex T h e c h i l d r e n f r o m t h e J u n i o r acting work. As project engineer, Order Home also lend a helping John determines what needs to be hand. "The children are very done and how to do it. And he friendly, and many of them join works closely with the group's pur us in our Saturday work," Wesley chasing agent. Gene Lankford, to said. "We've encouraged those who make sure the proper tools and ma want to help to do so. I think it t e r i a l s a r e a v a i l a b l e . " makes them feel more a part of the "Even the best of carpenters will project and helps them have more neers. The committee includes occasionally get a splinter, cut or pride in the finished product." c h a i r m e n f o r f u n d r a i s i n g , i n bruise, and with that in mind, we Edith Brann, chapter president, terior design, material purchases, have a WE nurse on duty each said she hoped the renovations weekend too." transportation, engineering, skilled would mean a safer and more com trades, first aid, and a host of other Wesley estimated half the 400 fortable environment for the chil areas of responsibility. Pioneers involved in the project dren and would contribute to the The chapter's four councils al are from the Chapter's three Life "home-like atmosphere" housepar- ternate responsibility for staffing Member clubs, with generous as ents try to establish. at the site. Workers are picked up sistance from Future Pioneers, too. by the Home's bus at 8:30 on Sat And volunteers from Teen Chal "It's easy to see each of the urday mornings, and they usually lenge, a drug rehabilitation center, youths receives a great deal of arrive in Lexington by 9:30 a.m. are also helping with the project. love and attention from the staff," "Key to our organization at the "In 1978 the Old North State she said, "and we hope our work work site are Ted Getchell, our Chapter renovated a dormitory at strengthens that relationship." [Ml 'JWXRMMT-STiKTS'MSTES GAS I A winning idea. For others, turn to page 6. To change address below, please notify your supervisor; retirees, your benefit branch office. B U L K R A T E U. S. POSTAGE PAID WASHINGTON, D. C. Permit No. 44361 WESTERN ELECTRIC 222 Broadway New York, N.Y. 10038