4 .. - J

Western Elect r ic

i

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3

With a population of1,400, the village has one church, one grade schooland one restaurant that closes at 2 pm

This community center was built in1930. The Police force and Village Clerkhave offices in the rear

Sugar Grove, IllinoisI n s t a l l a t i o nA Sma l l Town Ge ts The La tes t

Sugar Grove, III., site of our latest5ESS* office, is a small village about 50miles due west of the Chicago Loop.State Route 47 used to b isect the

town, but since the by-pass was builtabout 15 years ago. Main Street is asquiet as a suburban cul-de-sac. Totalpopulation according to the sign at thetown limits is an optimistic 1,400.

Prior to World War II, Sugar Grovewas a typical Mid-Western farm center.It hasn't changed a great deal. Themain crops are still corn and soybeans.For a few years following the war,practically all the villagers were retired farmers. Starting in the mid-50s,however, with the construction of theEast-West tollway a few miles north oftown. Sugar Grove became a bedroomcommunity for Aurora and variouso t h e r i n d u s t r i a l c o m m u n i t i e s t o t h eeas t ; A number o f t he res iden ts nowwork at Western Electric in Montgomery, Caterpillar in Aurora and, beforethe strike, at the Federal AeronauticalAdministration Training Center.

Like many of the towns in northwestern Illinois, Sugar Grove is approaching its sesquecentennial. Thefirst set t lers to arr ive in the areacrossed the Fox River at Oswego inthe spring of 1834. There were fiveyoung men in the party. They cameWest from Medina County, Ohio, seeking opportunity and farms of theirown. They came with two wagons andtwo yoke of oxen, four cows, two axesand each man had a flint-lock gun.

Until they could build cabins toh o u s e t h e i r f a m i l i e s w h o h a d r e m a i n e d"back East," the young adventurerst o o k s h e l t e r i n a n a b a n d o n e d I n d i a nshelter. The Indians called it "Sinqua-sip" meaning sugar camp. Apparently itwas located in a grove of sugar maplesalthough none grows in the area now.Main St ree t i s l ined w i th wa lnu t t rees .

The settlers began plowing the fertile, rolling prairie that summer of1834. Even today, the soil is rich andblack. Wives and children began arriving in the summer of 1835. And someof the cu r ren t res iden ts can t race the i rroots to those early arrivals. The landwas not surveyed until 1839 and 1840.The settlers didn't pay for their claimsuntil the great government land sale inChicago in 1842.

Village of Sugar Grove is bisected byState Route 47 and old Chicago,Burlington andQuincy Railroadt r a c k s

Illinois Bell's step-by-step office waslocated in this rented building hidden behind the village general store.

' Tr a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c

Con ten ts Third Quarter35th Year

T h e 5 E S S ™ S w i t c h —A Special Issue A few comments on the 5 from WE President, Donald Procknow

4 A New Era in Switching Why the 5 will make things easier for telephone company planners

8 Why a Local Digital Switch? The rationale behind "going digital"

1 0 C e d a r K n o l l s —A n I n s t a l l e r ' s V i e w What the 5 looks like to the people who install it

1 4 Making It Everything about the 5 is new and different—including the way we make it

1 8 Marketing the 5 The 5 is a "hot" item, but it still takes salesmanship to sell it

2 2 Yo u C a n ' t Te l l i tfrom the Real Thing Simulation is the name of the game in training

Moving Towardsa D i g i m I N e t w o r k T h e a i l - d i g i t a l n e t w o r k d r a w s c l o s e r

28 Combustion is aBurning Problem A new approach to the energy crunch

3 2 WE People—Del Nauman Science and an ancient mystery

O n t h e C o v e rThis imaginative rendering of ournew symbol for the 5ESS™ switcho v e r l o o k s a s e a o f i n f o r m a t i o n -

processing keyboards—themselvessymbolic of the new system's abilityt o s w i t c h v a s t a m o u n t s o f

i n f o r m a t i o n .

W EWE is published for employees ofWestern Electric. President: D.E. Procknow;Secretary; A.M. ZIgler;Tr e a s u r e r : R . E . E k e b l a d .Editorial office: 222 Broadway, NY NY 10038Telephone: (212) 669-2621

Copyright © 1983 by Western Electric Co., Inc.All Rights Reserved.Pr inted In the Uni ted States of America.Title "WE" Is a registered U.S. trademark.

George GrayE d i t o r

Saul FlngermanManagmg Editor

A d e l e D o n o h u e - E v a n sA s s o c i a t e E d i t o r

Steve TomczykDesignL e o n a r d S t e r n

Photography

Thomas J. O'DonoghueP r o d u c t i o n

We s t e r n E l e c t r i c

5

2 W E

The 5ESS SwitchI'm pleased to have the opportunity

to add a few words about the 5ESS*-switch in this special edition of WE.

It's not often that a product comesalong that revolutionizes an entireindustry. Despite all the claims inadvertising and television commercials, most new products are justevolutionary steps in a series.

The 5ESS switch, however, is arevolutionary switching system, themost advanced in a l l t he wor ld andthe one that will change the telecommunications industry for all time. The5 is a wealth of firsts: the first centraloffice switch to use lightguide for itso w n i n t e r n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d

transport; the first to use software thatis growable, shrinkable and upwardlyportable; the first to use the 256KRAM. And we ' re the firs t to mass

produce the 256K itself. There's awhole world of brand-new technologycoming together in the 5ESS switch.

It's our flagship product and trulyrepresents a new era in digital switch

ing. It's an excellent product, so featu re - r i ch tha t i t w i l l be the bench

mark, the one against which all otherswill be measured for years to come.

I'm proud of the 5ESS switch, andI'm proud of the way it's being managed and coming on-stream. OurPitches have always been at the heartof the Bell System and, in many ways,have contributed to America's reapingt h e b e n e fi t s o f t h e fi n e s t t e l e c o mm u n i c a t i o n s n e t w o r k i n t h e w o r l d .The 5ESS swi tch wi l l ensure our success in this part of our business andguarantees that we will remain at theh e a r t o f t h e n a t i o n w i d e s w i t c h e d n e twork and play a major role in theinternational marketplace as well.

The cutover in Sugar Grove, Illinois,is an important milestone in terms ofrealizing at least a portion of the awesome potential of the 5ESS switch.This cutover represents a great coope r a t i v e e f f o r t . W e s t e r n a n d B e l l L a b s

have been working closely and welltogether for years to make the 5ESS

switch a reality. And, within WE itself,we have had exceptional efforts by ourpeople in development, in manufacture, in marketing and sales. And, ofcourse, we've been working veryclosely with our telephone companyc u s t o m e r s t o m a k e s u r e w e a r e m e e t

ing all of their needs. 1 expect thesecooperative efforts to continue andintensify as the 5 approaches its fullpotent ia l .

Western Electric today is in wonderful shape to meet the challenges andopportunities of tomorrow. It's true wem u s t c o n t i n u e o u r w o r k t o r e m a i n a tthe very forefront of technology and,along with Bell Labs, to develop andmanufacture the new products thatwill be wanted and needed. But, today,we have the right people to do thejob. We have the right structure andorganization. We have the world's mostadvanced digital switch and a tremendous product line backing up thatswitch. We're ready for whatever tomorrow brings.

P r e s i d e n t

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3 • T r a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n K l e c t r i c 3

By Kathy Fi tzgerald

"The 5ESS* switch represents muchmore than Western Electric's entryinto the local digital switch market."So says Bob Carlson, General Managerof WE's switching product line. "Thedevelopment of 5 signals the beginning of a whole new era in switching."

A n d i n d e e d i t d o e s . F o r t h e fi r s t

time, the same system can be used toprovide the latest electronic switchingand custom calling features for rural,suburban and metropolitan areas.

"The 5ESS switch is a single-systemsolution to all switching needs," saidJerry Johnson, Product Manager forthe switch. "And even more importantly, from a telephone company'spoint of view, it's the first switch thatgrows easily—^from a few lines to over100,000 lines.

" W e l i k e t o t e l l o u r c u s t o m e r s t h a t

it's a switch that grows, shrinks, ortravels according to their needs," Johnson said. "It's an area planner's dream."

And it's easy to understand whyLet's say a suburban area suddenly getsan influx of new businesses with largec o m m u n i c a t i o n n e e d s . T h e M o r r i s -

town, New Jersey area is a goodexample of exactly that situation—with the Bell System chiefly amongthe large businesses expanding in thearea. With a 5ESS switch, the telephone company can add capacity asit's needed by simply adding interfacemodules. No massive equipment orsoftware changes are required—^whichmeans meaningful savings in engineering and installation time.

If the population of an area gradually decreases, a telephone companyn e e d n ' t s i t a r o u n d w i t h u n u s e d

switching capacity. They can removethe appropriate number of interfacemodules and shrink the system. Andbecause of their common architecture,those modu les can be used e l sewherein their switching system.

And a r emo te sw i t ch modu le o f t he

" T r a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c . 5

On Main St., Ed Natanek, Mike Renzand Ed Radke pose outside the newSugar Grove central office.

5ESS switch can travel up to 100 milesfrom a host switch to economicallybring custom calling features to eventhe smal lest rura l area.

"The beauty of the 5ESS switch is itsincredible flexibility," Product Manager Johnson points out. "Thatflexibility is the result primarily of twomajor breakthroughs in switchingtechnology: distributed architecturea n d m o d u l a r s o f t w a r e c o n t r o l . "

Briefly, distributed architecturemeans that the computer intelligenceis distributed throughout the systeminstead of being concentrated in acentral processor. Therefore, eachinterface module is capable ofperforming functions independently.T h e i n t e r f a c e m o d u l e s b e c o m e t h e

building blocks that allow the systemt o g r o w.

M o d u l a r s o f t w a r e m e a n s t h a t t h e

binary coding that makes up the computer's instructions is produced inrelatively distinct and independentprograms. Thus, to add new featureslike Call Waiting or Conference Calling, you just add a separate softwaremodule. There is no need to repro-gram the entire system.

"The modular design of the hardware and sof tware o f the 5ESS swi tchmakes i t t he wo r l d ' s mos t advanced

digital switching system," said BobCarlson. "It really represents thesecond, or maybe even the thirdgeneration in electronic switchingtechnology."

In addition to its modular design,the 5ESS switch is the first swi tch thatuses totally solid-state devices. Aunique Bell Labs creation, gated-diodecrosspoints, replaces the traditionalelectromechanical switches and relaysthat are the industry norm. The resulti s a m o r e r e l i a b l e s o l i d - s t a t e

c o n n e c t i o n .

"The 5 is truly state-of-the-art," saidCharlie Brown, BTL head of the firstapplication for the 5ESS switchpro jec t .

"Many industry observers felt thatwe were late in developing a localdigital switch," Brown says. "There arethose o f us who wou ld s t i l l deba tet h a t . I n t e r m s o f t h e e c o n o m i c s o f

digital technology, we're right on time.Just as we were right on time indeveloping the 4ESS* switch whenthere were real economics for digitali n t h e t o l l e n v i r o n m e n t . B u t t h a t ' s

water under the bridge."The real point," he continues, "is

that what was originally perceived as adisadvantage has really turned into anadvantage. Our local digital switch isnot just merely digital. It embodiesevery technology of the 80s.

"And perhaps more importantly, allof those technologies are open-ended.They allow this system—this one investment of the telephone company—to grow with the changing technologies; or to grow with the changingtelephone needs. Our system is notjust a lESS* turned digital. It's a majortechnological leap!"

Karl Martersteck, Bell Labs Executive Director responsible for 5ESSswitch development agreed, "The 5ESSswitch is structured in such a way asto make it easy and inexpensive tokeep the system modern, and able todeliver new services to keep the customers ' bus iness v iab le . W i th th i s

system, we expect change. It's designed for it, in both hardware andsoftware. With small changes in thesoftware, or perhaps new circuitpacks, you can simply plug in newcapabilities."

Jack Warner, a BTL supervisor incharge of site testing, had one of theclearest explanations of the architecture of the 5ESS swi tch: "Think of ani n t e r f a c e m o d u l e a s a b o o k c a s e a n d

units with circuit packs as books. Youcan add, remove, mix or change theunits to fit any service that you need.This means you only have to buy theamount you need—then expand later.Also, you can add new equipmenteasily, as it's developed, just like youa d d a b o o k t o a b o o k c a s e . "

The ability to "plug in new capabilities" will become particularlyimportant to telephone companies ina post-divestiture mode. "After January1,1984, the telephone companies aregoing to be even more aggressive inseeking new ways to generate revenue," WE's Jerry Johnson explains.

"They've got to figure out what newbusiness to enter and new serv ices to

provide since basic telephone serviceis almost universal in the U.S.

"The 5ESS switch is designed tosupport new services," Johnson says. "1can't foresee a day when we won'thave a new piece of hardware orsoftware to add to the system."

The Remote Switch Module (RSM)announced this year is a good example. "An RSM is nothing more than aninterface module located away fromthe host switch," he explains.

Able to be located up to 100 milesfrom a host switch, the RSM allowstelephone companies to offer severalwidely separated rural communitiesthe same digital capabilities enjoyedby major communication centers. Theoperating costs of the offering are lowand the potential for the telephonecompany to earn revenue is great.

That the 5ESS switch is an evolvingproduct is readily seen in the systemsgoing into service this year.

Late this summer, the first multi-module office was cut over in SugarGrove, Illinois. "The Sugar Grove cut-over was the key 5ESS switchdevelopment milestone," BTL's CharlieBrown said. " I t was what we were a l l

working towards—the office in whichthe modular software became totallyfunctional. With this office in place,we wi l l be able to add new features in

quick succession."Obviously, that's true. In September,

a 5ESS switch wil l cut over in Port St.

Lucie, Florida, which will have the firstapplication of automatic message teleprocessing, a highly sophisticatedmethod of billing methods for thec u s t o m e r .

In October, the 5ESS switch startsshowing its real versatility with thecutover of the first local/toll digitalswitch in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

And so the process will go on foryears—^with the new applications andfeatures of 5ESS switch only limited bywhat the telephone companies decidethey want to offer their customers.

One of the truly unique offerings ofthe 5ESS switch is cal led Business andRes idence Cus tom Se rv i ces . Th i smeans that a telephone company willb e a b l e t o o f f e r i t s c u s t o m e r s a m e n u

of all the traditional custom callingand centrex features plus an infiniten u m b e r o f v a r i a t i o n s o n t h e m .

For example, a telephone company,if it chose, could allow its customers

6 • T r a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c W E

to use and pay for Call Waiting orThree-Way Calling on a per call basisrather than only by monthly fee. Thiswould allow customers who don'twant the entire custom calling package to use certain services when theyw a n t e d .

"We're going to be talking to ourtelephone company customers to seew h a t B u s i n e s s a n d R e s i d e n c e C u s t o mservices they want to be developed inthe future," Johnson says. "The technology is there. It now becomes amarket research job to see what theconsumer would like to get from histelephone system."

The potential of the 5ESS switch isunlimited. "The 5ESS switch project isone of our top priorities at the Labs,"says Doug Dowden, BTL supervisor incharge of 5ESS Switching System Architecture. "We've got a truly impressive team of very bright, enthusiasticdesigners on the job. With so much ofour resources focused as they are ondigital technology, you're not just buying a switch. You're buying acommitted laboratory. And whenyou're talking about Bell Labs, thatm e a n s a l o t ! "

And of course, when you're talkingabout Bell Labs and Western Electric,you're always talking reliability.

"We've put a lot of effort intodeveloping a maintenance and recovery system," Jerry Johnson emphas i z e s . " O v e r h a l f o f t h e s o f t w a r e f o u n d

in the 5ESS switch enables the systemt o m a i n t a i n i t s e l f . I t h i n k i t w o u l d b e

fair to say it's the most sophisticatedmaintenance system in the industry."

Test after grueling test proved thesystem reliable. It kept processingcalls even after being wrapped in aplastic envelope and cooked for 24hours at 120°. Engineers fed garbleddata to the switch's central processorand calls still went through. Circuitpacks were disconnected and theswitch simply re-routed the callsa r o u n d t h e t r o u b l e .

"The system is designed to self-correct any system features withoutservice disruption," Johnson said. "Andthat's what it does every time."

And that 's Western Elect r ic 's 5ESSswitch. More than a digital switch.Modular architecture, solid-state connections, the latest in microelectronics, software and evenphotonics. The tops in reliability The5ESS sw i t ch—a new e ra i n t e l ecommunicat ion switching.

Princeton Telephone's president,C. Rightly Trippet with a gated-diode circuit board in his central office.

Princeton Telephone CompanyIn May, the Princeton Telephone

Company of Princeton, Indiana became the first independent telephone company to purchase andcut into operation a 5ESS* switch.

The 5ESS switch, located inPrinceton Telephone's Fort Branch,Indiana office, incorporates severalimportant hardware and softwareimprovements over previousswitches while providing a varietyof services to the telephone company's customers.

Princeton Telephone CompanyPresident C. Kightly Trippet explained the company's reasons forchoosing Western Electric's switchover its competitors. "It is the latestgeneration of electronic switchingsystem and represents the mostadvanced technology available,"Trippet said. "We were convincedthat we would receive superiorsupport from Western Electric andBell Labs people before, during, andafter installation." He added, "Thiselectronic switching system hasgreat features that will bring Information Age telecommunicationstechnology to our customers."

Rotelcom, Inc., a subsidiary ofRochester Telephone Corporation,engineered and sold the switchingsystem to Princeton Telephone under a contract agreement with

We s t e r n E l e c t r i c ' s c o m m e r c i a l s a l e s

organization.James C. Henderson, Chairman

a n d C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f fi c e r o fRochester Telephone Corporation,said, "This project represents a perfect application of digital switchingtechnology. Through the use ofremote switehes, it allows the Princeton Telephone Company toexpand and provide new servicesfor years to come, efficiently andeconomieal ly.

"Princeton is the first independent company to install WesternElectric's 5ESS switch, which we atRochester Telephone regard as asuperior system. We are certain thatover the next few years many otherindependents will elect the 5ESSswitch basically for the same reasons as Princeton—performance,reliabUity, and flexibility."

Princeton Telephone's FortBranch office initially has been designed as a single module switchwith the ability to expand to meetthe changing communication needso f a r e a c u s t o m e r s . T h e s w i t c h ' s

design allows it to grow with thecommunities it serves by addingm o d u l e s . I t s f e a t u r e s c a n a l s o b e

expanded to provide services toa r e a s w i t h i n 1 0 0 m i l e s w i t h R e m o t e

Switching Modules.

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3 Tr a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c 7

5

By Don Leonard

Some insights intowhy we'regoing digital

Don Leonard is Vice President, SwitchingSystems at Bell Laboratories.

Why a LocalDigital Switch?

The 5ESS* switchitig system, a second-generation switch, is a productthat uses to the best advantage advances in software, lightwave, microelectronics and digital systems. It wasplanned and developed as part of adigital product evolution in the BellSystem network. Systems engineeringand planning continues to be a majorstrength of Bell Labs, and the 5ESSswitch is a benefactor of this planning.Let's explore how "digital" has beenplanned.

It became apparent with the succ e s s f u l i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t r a n s i s t o r s t ocircuit design by the mid 1950s, thatdigital, pulse-eode-modulation carriersystems could be used for some applications more efficiently and moreeconomically than analog systems.That is, representing voices in theones and zeros of digital pulses—thelanguage of computers—^would "provein" economically

In 1962, Bell Labs and Western engin e e r s i n t r o d u c e d t h e D I c h a n n e lbanks and TI carrier systems to capitalize on digital opportunities. Thesesystems convert telephone conversations into digital form fortransmission between switchings y s t e m s .

Advances in integrated circuits coupled with digital circuit design resulted in more and more use of digitalT c a r r i e r . S o o n i t b e c a m e m o r e e f fi

cient and cost eflfective to digitizeother parts of the network. In theearly 70s digital technologies applied

to switching provided a cost effectiveness which permitted the design of atoll (long distance) digital switch. In1976, our 4ESS* system, known as the"super-switcher," became the first timedivision, digital toll switching system.

As more and more 4ESS swi tcheswere introduced into the network, theeconomies of digital trunks improvedand their number grew. This wasclosely followed by fast-paced developments in the exploitation oflightwave technology, leading to theintroduction of the world's largestlaser-powered digital transmission system—eventually to l ink switchingo f fi c e s b e t w e e n M a s s a c h u s e t t s a n d

Virginia.Just as TI and lightwave systems

digitize communications between central offices switching systems, in thelate-70s, the SLC-96* system broughtdigits to the lines between switchingo f fi c e s a n d b u s i n e s s a n d r e s i d e n c e

s u b s c r i b e r s .

With trunks and loops going digital,the next logical step was the development of a local digital switch for telephone calls and data communications.In the late 1970s, Western Electricannounced the funding of the BellLabs development of just such anoffice, to be known as the 5ESS switch.Today, the first three working switching systems in Seneca, 111., Cedarville,Ohio, and in Cedar Knolls, N.J., arealready setting standards for reliabilityand ease of operation.

These insta l lat ions are the first of a

8 • ' I r a d c m a r k o f W e s t e r n K l c c t r i c W E

second-generation, time-divisionswitch product line where one flexible digital switching system meets allthe switching requirements of an operating company customer.

The key ingredient to 5ESS switchleadership is its modular design. Thesystem can grow smoothly by addingmodules controlled by microproce s s o r s t o s e r v e m o r e c u s t o m e r s . T h i s

system was designed with the uniqueability to serve anywhere from 1,000to 100,000 lines.

The software that operates theswitching system is also modular andflexible, using a high-level language.T h e s e c o d e d i n s t r u c t i o n s a r e o f t w o

k i n d s : i n s t r u c t i o n s t h a t c o n t r o l t h e

switching equipment and instructionsthat provide calling services and newfeatures that can create significantrevenue for operating companies. Because of this, software used to providerevenue-producing features can beadded without affecting the rest of thesystem. The software architecture isgood for fast feature delivery.

T h e m o d u l a r h a r d w a r e a n d s o f t w a r e

design philosophy controls not onlythe overall design of the 5ESS switch,but also the 3B20D processor and itsoperating system, plus an array ofimpressive electronic and lightwavecomponents which make the concepta reality.

The Western Electric 3B20D processor and its operating system controlsa d m i n i s t r a t i v e f u n c t i o n s a n d c o o r d in a t e s a u t o m a t i c m a i n t e n a n c e i n t h e

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3

switching system.Western Electric's 64K dynamic Ran

dom Access Memory (RAM), and laterthis year, the 256K RAM, give the 5ESSswitch the most advanced chips foreconomically storing software ins t r u c t i o n s .

Unlike any other local switchingsystem, the 5ESS system has totallysolid-state transmission paths. New devices that can handle lightning surgesas well as relatively high voltages usedfor ringing and testing replace electromechanical relays still used in othersystems, allowing size reduction, costand maintenance advantages.

Other call processing operations,such as tone generation, detection andsignal filtering are handled by a com-puter-on-a-chip called a Digital SignalP r o c e s s o r w h i c h c a n m a k e a m i l l i o n

c a l c u l a t i o n s a s e c o n d .

Within the 5ESS switching system,lightguide fiber is used for internaldata transmission functions. Lightwaveis not at all affected by electromagnetic interference and is very broadband, that is, it has the capacity totransmit much higher volumes of information than copper links. Also, atCedar Knolls, a lightwave cable directly connects the 5ESS system with a4ESS to l l swi tch.

While technological advances havemade this switching system verypowerful, it has also made it muchmore "friendly." Craftspeople communicate with the switching system byusing an easy-to-read color screen. The

actual language they use to talk to thesystem is a special international standard computer language called MML,developed especially for craftspeoplet o u s e .

The 5ESS switch has been plannedas a broad range digital switchingsystem. It handles a wide range oftraffic without blocking—no trafficjams—as well as all types of traffic:local, local/toll and toll. Area planningtools have been developed which permit the planning of switching officesfor a whole geographic area. Theswitching system's flexibility—itssmooth growth capability as well as itsremote capability, where switchingmodu les can serve as remote ca l l

processing systems, operating up to100 miles from a host processorswitch—^permit the cost efficient replacement of older switches whileproviding advanced features forsmaller communities. In addition, weare planning to introduce operatorservices as well as Integrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN) features. Simultaneous voice and data capabilitieswill make services from shopping tobanking to recreation as easy as usingthe telephone.

As the 5ESS switching system goesinto mass production, it will play avital part in the emerging end-to-enddigital network that will make it possible to provide information ages e r v i c e s t o h o m e s a n d b u s i n e s s e s

throughout the country. It is the keystone of the digital future.

C e d a r K n o l l sAn Installer's View

5

By George Gray

Photos by Joseph Gazdak

Lots of computerjargon to learn,but a self-diagnosingjoy to work ononce ifs up andr u n n i n g

"It's like starting a completely different career. Fascinating. Even thoughof late 1 seem to be spending most ofmy time on the phone trying to getupdated packs." That's how Bill Sumskisummed up his role as supervisor onthe 5ESS* switch at Cedar Knolls, N.J.,a few days before cutover on March 4.

B i l l h a s b e e n a W E i n s t a l l e r f o r 1 8

years, with all of his service in theGarden Sta te . He works ou t o f Mor r i s -

town—only a few miles from wherehe was born and ra ised.

A total of eight WE installersw o r k e d o n C e d a r K n o l l s i n s h i f t s —with no more than five on any one day.Bill Sumski, Frank Regan, Dick Schipperand Mike Drugac were involved primarily with testing; Rich Bonadonnawas the power man; Mike Lyness, RoyKoes and Kevin Svec helped out during the ironwork phase.

"Compared with, say, a No. 5crossbar job, where 1 started," Billsaid, "this job is relatively easy tolearn. Practically everything is self-explanatory. The documentation isvery good. There are a lot of plug-ins.Your biggest problem is learning whatpacks do what."

Frank Regan, who has also been aninstaller for 18 years, mostly in NewJersey, seconded that appraisal. Frankw a s o n e o f t h e fi r s t W E i n s t a l l e r s t otake the 5ESS switching equipmentcourse at Dublin. It was a 12-dayprogram, but proved a little confusings i n c e h a r d w a r e a n d s o f t w a r e w e r e

changing, being updated and improved1 0 • T r a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c

' \ \ \

w

al l the t ime as new features were

developed and tested out."What made this job a little rough,"

Bill said, "was that we were designingit and building it and changing it all atthe same time. Of course, that won'tbe true of any later installations, all ofwh i ch w i l l be a l o t mo re r ou t i ne .

"Very early on," he continued, "1spent three days meeting with thetesters and transportation people atOklalioma City—all the people I'dgotten to know over the telephone.Support from manufacturing is whatmakes something like this go."

Cedar Knolls, like the 5ESS switchinstallations that preceded it last yearin Seneca, Illinois, and Cedarville,Ohio, is a single-module system. Butunlike its predecessors, which willbecome remote switch sites operatingoff a larger 5ESS master switchingoffice. Cedar Knolls will eventuallygrow into a large self-sustaining system. Additional switching capacity isprovided in frames known as IMs(Interface Modules). Up to 29 IMs canbe added later on, enabling the CedarKnolls system to serve as many as100,000 lines. Initially it will serve less

W E

Installer Frank Reagan inserting gated diode circuit board in an Interface Moduleframe, heart of the local digital switch.

Closeup of gated-diode circuit board.Squares contain switching crosspoints

WE Installers Frank Regan and BillSumski at the maintenance console ofCedar Knolls 5ESS* switching center

than 1,500 lines in a nearby industrialpark.

Each of the early 5ESS switch ins ta l l a t i ons con ta ins a number o f " fi rs ts "to be tried out before the productgoes into mass production. CedarKnol ls was the first 5ESS swi tch to

provide service for a new exchangearea. Its predecessors replaced oldere l e c t r o - m e c h a n i c a l s w i t c h e s . C e d a r

Knol ls is also the first 5ESS switch tobe connected directly to a 4ESS tolls w i t c h . T h e c o n n e c t i o n t o t h e t o l loffice in Newark is by lightguide.

Perhaps the most notable enhancement in the Cedar Knolls system is itsuse of the latest processor and operating system. The new processor andoperating system—the 3B20D Model2 and DMERT Generic 2—completelya u t o m a t e m o s t a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d

maintenance jobs in the switchings y s t e m .

Maintenance craftspersons are keptinformed on the status of the systemby a color video monitor that is a kindo f t e c h n i c o l o r w i n d o w i n t o t h e h e a r tof the switch. Color-highlighted diagrams and messages tell craftspeoplethe status of any part of the system at a

glance. "Diagnostics can be done bythe numbers," Bill said. "You just hit acouple of keys. There is very littletyping necessary."

C e d a r K n o l l s w i l l b e u n m a n n e d .

Everything that shows up on monitorsa n d t e r m i n a l s a t m a s t e r c o n t r o l i s

duplicated 20 miles away in a mannedc o n t r o l c e n t e r i n P a s s a i c . S o m e o n e

may have to stop by once a month tochange a pack, but after the initialflurry of activity with Bell Labs tryingout software ideas, things should berelatively quiet. The machine diagnoses itself every midnight, checkingevery piece of equipment. It even hasi t s o w n b u i l t - i n c l o c k . T h e r e i s a l s o a

read-only printer made by Teletypethat reports on status every 15m i n u t e s .

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3 11

"From the point of view of timeelapsed," Bill said, "the biggest part ofthe job was bringing in the power.Even with everything pre-assembledand pre-tested at the factory, you stillhave to put up cable racks and hangrods down from the ceiling. There wasa lot of cable to run to the main dis

tributing frame. It's temporary. They'retalking about replacing it with a Cosmic* main distributing frame. For the

four weeks, from the end of Novemberuntil the first of the year when weturned i t over to Bel l Labs for somesoftware updates," Bill said. "They hadit for the month of January and thengave it back to us for a week of finaltesting. We actually turned it over toNew Jersey Bell for their tests onFebruary 6."

The 5ESS switch at Cedar Knol ls isset up as two rows of equipment bays.

and a fifth containing miscellaneousequipment for alarms, recorded announcements and protection.

One unit of circuit packs in the5ESS switch takes the place of fourprocessor frames in the lESS switch orone frame of equipment in the lA.I n s t a l l a t i o n i s f a s t b e c a u s e a l l c a b l e s

are conneetorized and just have to besnapped in place on site. Much of thework involves checking out circuit

V *

I

time being, the main frame is locatedon this floor but way over on theother side of the building. We workeda month on the cable racks and thenstarted testing after three days."

Unlike Seneca and Cedarville, theNew Jersey office came in pieces. Ithad been fully assembled at the factory and then broken down, becausethe loca t ion a t Cedar Kno l l s i s be low

ground. It could not be slid in as aunit. Pieces had to come in through aloading dock and then down a freighte l e v a t o r .

"We actually had the job only about

Each row is about 18 feet long. The 3BProcessor row contains the main processor in a double bay frame, threememory units known as MHD (Movable Head Disc) bays, and a fifth baycontaining the TMS (Time MultiplexSwitch) and other equipment thatc o n n e c t s w i t h t h e I n t e r f a c e M o d u l e s .

You need the TMS for anything above1,536 lines. It is the key to "grow-ability." Everything fits into time slots.

The other row—referred to by thei n s t a l l e r s a s t h e N o . 5 — a l s o c o n t a i n s

five bays—one for power equipment,three for the IM (Interface Module)

To simplify installation, many wireconnections use snap connectors Thisis at the main distributing frame

packs. For this, installers must standon a special mat and wear a ground-w i r e b r a c e l e t o n t h e i r w r i s t s . T h i s

prevents the components on the circuit packs from receiving a 30,000-volt jolt that can be generated by thestatic electric charge on the body. It's anew precaution that the installers havet o l e a r n .

The memory disks—^which are located inside what look like top-loadwashing machines—also have to be

1 2 • T r a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c W E

UWWmBUHLDuflmi'iiiii

To prevent damage from static electricity, installers must stand on a specialmat and wear a ground-wire bracelet

Memory disk weighs about 20 pounds.

handled with care. They are kept virtually air tight. One speck of dustcould destroy the whole program. In atypical system like Cedar Knolls thereare three memory frames—one is running, a second is a "warm" spare thatcan take over instantaneously, and thethird is backup.

Memory disks come in 10 layerswith a total depth of five inches and acore diameter of 14 inches. However,you never see the core uncovered.Whenever it is outside the cabinet, itis transported inside a screw-on blueplastic dome that looks like the coverfor a layer cake in a diner. "This can'tweigh more than 20 pounds," Bill said,lifting one up. 'Tou should try heftingmemory mods in a No. 1. They weighat least 65 pounds."

Each layer of the memory disk hasinformation on it. In all, it can hold upto 300 megabytes. Only about half thatcapacity is currently used at CedarKnolls. If you lived in the neighborhood, your telephone would have anaddress in there somewhere, alongwith your class of service and whatyour billing rate is.

This makes it very easy to add a newsubscriber to the system. The telephone company people make a con-

Built-in fans air cool circuit packs.

nection of the incoming line at themain frame and assign a number.Then, at what is known as the RecentChange Terminal, a craftsperson typesin the assigned number and class ofservice. The system then takes overand automatically assigns an address inthe memory disk and you're inb u s i n e s s .

"With the 5ESS switch," Bill said,"you can change the entire program in2 0 m i n u t e s . Y o u d o n ' t h a v e t o s h u t

down anything. You just let one diskkeep going while you change the

other. This is a big plus. With theI ESS* switch it took eight hours withfour people working on eight programstores to change a program. With thelA they eut it down to a little over anhour with one person, and now we'red o w n t o 2 0 m i n u t e s . "

If you visited an early lESS switching office prior to cutover, the loadbox was a large equipment case thatlooked l i ke a 21 - inch TV conso le . Th isload box simulated busy-hour traffic ina central office to give the new switcha r e a l i s t i c w o r k o u t b e f o r e i t w a s a c t u

ally cut into service.Just like almost everything else, it

now comes in smaller packages. Theload box for the 5ESS swi tch is aboutthe size of an electric typewriter ands i t s o n t h e c o r n e r o f a d e s k . I t ' s c a l l e d

P r o c a l l a n d i t ' s m a d e a t t h e I l l i n o i sS e r v i c e C e n t e r . I t d o e s a l l — a n d

m o r e — t h a t t h e w h o l e r o o m f u l o f

b o x e s u s e d t o d o .

"It's been an interesting job," Billsaid, "to say the least. And I can tellyou there is not one part of WesternElectric that is not totally committedto making it work."

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3 1 3

Making itBy Judy Seikel

Right. Al Swung T. J. McNeely andBob Green study a Spearhead drawingdetailing the latest factory layout — I

Above. Delbert Rains and Ray Rose atthe soldering machine in OklahomaCity's new "fast line."

A sign of the times:the shipping cartonsfor ESS parts nowc a r r y i n t e r n a t i o n a lsymbols.

W E S T E m t t £ C t i i i c c a , m c .mfcfOayXK CITY. 01̂ TMg I t T f

^ C T N . N ' .

mtemxTH

1 4 W E

5

Almost everybodyat Oklahoma CityW o r k s h a s b e e ncaught up in theexcitement of making our mostimportant product.

It had to be one of the gargantuanjuggling acts of corporate history. The5ESS* switch, a major product thatwould eventually occupy some300,000 square feet of shop floorspace was coming to life. Most of theinitial operations were being movedf r o m I l l i n o i s t o O k l a h o m a . I n

Oklahoma, what had previously occupied those 300,000 square feet, hadto be consolidated, cleared away and,in some cases, transferred out to otherplants. The time frame: a scant twoand a half years.

All through the reorganization, prod u c t i o n h a d t o b e m a i n t a i n e d . T h e r ecould be no gaps simply becauseadditional machines were being installed. At the same time. Bell Labs wasat work redesigning and updating theproducts being transferred. Some circuit boards were subjected to manydesign changes during the transitionperiod, as new features were added or,in some cases, "bugs" were trackedd o w n a n d e l i m i n a t e d .

The cos t o f the move was cons iderable—not only for purchase of newequipment, transportation charges andovertime, but also in training a wholework force for new jobs. Thousands ofpeople at the Oklahoma City Workshave undergone extensive training notonly for the 5, but for support jobs, aswell. As senior people moved into thenew technology, others shifted into

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3

the established products to fill thevacancies. Over the past year, roughlytwo thirds of the people at theOklahoma City Works changed jobs.

P lann ing"Hardly a square foot of the 900,000

square feet in the total factory wasuntouched by the arrival of the 3BProcessor and the 5ESS switch," saysT. J. McNeely department chief. Engineering—Factory and MachineryP r o c u r e m e n t .

A 28-year veteran with WE engineering, McNeely has lived thereorganization night and day for aslong as anyone at Oklahoma City. Itwas his responsibility to get inputfrom the product engineering department and conso l ida te i t s needs in to areasonable working package. Assistedby A1 Swang, senior engineer, and BobGreen, engineering associate, theyproposed plans which were chewedover endlessly. "Since 1 had the wholeplant floor space to worry about,"McNeely says with tongue in cheek, "1was very objective."

The plans, which were formalized ashuge colored drawings, were codenamed Spearhead 1,11, 111 and IVSpearhead 1, which began in October,1980, included everything that had tobe done t o make room fo r t he new

products. "After asking all of the product people what they needed to dothe job, we added it up and found wesimply didn't have enough to goa r o u n d .

"We had to make some very harddecisions about how much floor spacea group could be allocated and we hadto stick by our guns," McNeely said."By the time it's all over, we willliterally have changed every squarefoot of the factory. All of these changesare intertwined and they all impact onone ano ther. There i s a domino e f fec tthat can take place if moves are notprecisely planned. "

How hard is i t to fi l ter out rea lneeds and work them in to a mas te r

plan? "Very hard," says Swang. "It'sdozens of product engineers holdingtheir heads in frustration and trying tosqueeze out a little more space. It'strades working 60 hours a week. Andtha t ' s no t t o men t i on t he admin i s t rat i v e s i d e . "

The cost of moves and rearrangements is staggering, and if that isn'tenough, timing is critical. "One illogical, poorly-timed move could easilycos t thousands o f do l la rs . You can ' tafford to make that kind of mistake,"McNeely says. "Too many changes can' Tr a d e m a r k o f We s t e r n E l e c t r i c .

be demoralizing for everyonei n v o l v e d . "

McNeely, Swang and Green havew o r k e d h a r d t o m i n i m i z e t h e c o s t sand domino effect for the past two anda half years. At meetings every Thursday they come up with a "MostWanted" list, a "Next Most Wanted" listand, finally, a list for routine things thatmust be done. This approach has giventhe trades people some flexibility inmanaging their work load.

The 46 trades employees underDepartment Chief Bud Bricmontworked approximately 100,000 hoursper year during the transition on

Engineer Colin Ell iott checking outligbtguide on the 3B processor.mechanical and labor jobs and about95 percent of it was in connectionwi th 3B and 5ESS sw i t ch i ns ta l l a t i on .

From the onset of Spearhead 1 toSpearhead ly Roy Blasius, section chieffor Trades, Electrical New Construction, and Frank Cory, sectionchief of Trades, Mechanical New Construction, spent many hours ofplanning with McNeely They alsoworked closely with purchasing, operating and the employees in their tradesorganizations who analyzed and wrotethe o rders fo r thousands o f do l la rsa s s o c i a t e d w i t h m a t e r i a l s n e e d e d f o rthe jobs.

Cory says that in his 22-plus years inthe company, all 900,000 square feetof Oklahoma City's manufacturingfloor space were rearranged at leastonce, but nothing in those years presented the kind of challenge broughtby the introduction of 3B and 5ESSswitch facilities. Along with this job,the 128,617 square feet of availablespace in the office building had, orwill have, major rearrangements toaccommodate changing supervisorystructures. In addition, a new switching office for a Dimension® PBXsystem had to be included.

Discussion of capital/plant requirements for producing the 5ESS switchfirst cropped up in long-range planning meetings at the Oklahoma CityWorks early in 1979. Other ESS*

1 5

A typical Oklahoma City employeelast year spent 38 hours in aclassroom. This is a course in Bellpacm o d i fi c a t i o n

Mel Gering andJanet McReynoldstest InterfaceModules for the5ESS sw i tch .

Bi l l Rigsby andLewis McCur leycheck gate arrayc i r c u i t b o a r d s o n

these computeri z e d t e s t s e t s .

"If its blue, it'sn e w . " F o r t w o

y e a r s , c o ns t r u c t i o n w a s t h ename of theg a m e .

1 6

sw i t ches had been a l l oca ted to theWorks on short notice and the hopewas that the new product on thedrawing board—the 5ESS switch—could be assigned early so that everything would not have to be done on anexpensive, rush basis.

However, it was not until Decemberof 1979, that the 5ESS switch wasformally allocated to Oklahoma City.At that time, the switch was still underdevelopment at Bell Labs-Indian Hilland early production prototypes werebeing built at Northern Illinois Works.

I t w a s t h e c h a r t e r o f t h e O k l a h o m a

City Works Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) to utilize the plant'smajor resources—people, floor spaceand capital—to the fullest.

The first meeting of the Works'technical-professional employees soonfollowed in February 1980. TThey began the work of getting the OklahomaCity Works in shape to produce whatwas characterized as "the primarym o d e r n i z a t i o n v e h i c l e o f t h e m i d a n d

la te 1980s . "Sam Kysar, now an assistant manager

in engineering for the 5ESS switch,and Dennis Partlow, a senior engineer,w o r k e d w i t h t h e N o r t h e r n I l l i n o i s

Works engineers on the specificationsfor specific capital appropriations forthe 5ESS switch covering circuit packassembly, circuit pack test, unit assembly and verification, cable assemblyand test, and unit, frame and systemassembly, wire and test.

Kysar, the project coordinator at theOklahoma City Works, had the equipment personnel reporting to himwhile the apparatus personnel reported to Paul Odor, an engineeringdepartment chief. The liaison engineers spent 50 to 100 percent of theirtime in the Lisle area from early in1980 until mid 1981 when they returned to Oklahoma to engineer theintroduction of their specialties intheir factory.

"We worked much more intimatelyw i t h B e l l L a b s a n d L i s l e o n t h e 5 E S S

switch than on any other product inmy memory," says Ed Condron, department chief. Engineering—5ESS switchC i r c u i t P a c k Te s t . " T h e r e h a s b e e n a

lo t o f t rave l back and for th and in tern a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s h a v e b e c o m ecritical. Part of the problem has beenthe short lead time. The other part isthe complexity of the product. Mydepartment works with more than 200codes of circuit packs used in the 5ESSs w i t c h . T h e n u m b e r i s s o m e w h a t

vague because it is still evolving as wecombine and separate functions or add

W E

n e w f e a t u r e s . "

"The 5ESS switch is the system thathas put us squarely in the midst of the'Information Age'," says Kysar. "It nowoccupies about 35 percent of thefactory floor space and that percentage will undoubtedly increase. Thecapital expenditure for new facilities,primarily test sets, will run about $90million by the time we get into fullproduction. It is an extremely high-stakes game.

"The first Oklahoma City-built system was shipped to Cedar Knolls,N.J., in November 1982," says Kysar."About 50 systems are scheduled to beshipped in 1983, and by 1985, product ion shou ld be on the order o f one5ESS switch per work day."

There are countless manufacturinginnovations that will be appearing intrade journals after patent possibilitieshave been fully explored. There arealso some adaptations of good ideasf r o m o t h e r l o c a t i o n s . T h e f a s t - l i n eused a t the Denver Works in the

production of PBXs has been adaptedfor use with circuit packs for the 5ESSs w i t c h .

Tra in ingPreparing people for work on the

5ESS switch has become a majoroperation at Oklahoma City. Technicaltraining classes are conducted on allthree shifts. The 4l people who workin the Managed Education and Training Department, headed by Dr. ClemLepak, conducted 168,207 hours ofclassroom instruction in 1982. That'san average of 38 hours for everyperson on roll. And, the classroomhours represent only a small portionof the training iceberg.

In 1976, before the buildup for the5ESS switch, there were only twopeople on the Works' roster as trainers,but the demands o f the bus iness andthe nature of the product have escala ted the need fo r i ns t ruc t ion o f a l lkinds. "Our charter is to keep theOklahoma City Works at the leadingedge of technology and to preparemanagement for continuing change,"says Dr. Lepak. "Requirements arechanging every day. These courses arejust as alive as if they were living andbreathing.

"A l l o f ou r cou rses a re ben t t oward

troubleshooting," Dr. Lepak said."Troubleshooting is recognizing, locating, analyzing and clearing defects.This same philosophy holds whetherit's a course on 5ESS switching equipment or an established product. Weare interested in applied knowledge.T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3

We are not interested in knowledge forthe sake of knowledge. We teach onlywhat you need to know for the job.

"What we provide," Dr. Lepak said,"is high-tech training that you can'tfi n d i n m o s t t e c h n i c a l s c h o o l s . O u r

employees are getting something hereat company expense that would takethem two years in conventionals c h o o l s — i f t h e s c h o o l s c o u l d a f f o r d t o

get and keep updating the latestequ ipment .

"Our primary emphasis in 1982," Dr.Lepak said, "was on 'tester training'and it is again the priority in 1983 "Last year, a total of 243 testers received 44,000 classroom hours incourses on BELLPAC® power units andsystems for the 5ESS switch and the3B processor family. Through the firstfour months of 1983, 231 testers havereceived 22,000 hours of training.

A component inser t ion machine.

Tester training involves more thanjust the new technology products.Many employees are entering the testranks for the first time to fill jobs onthe new products. In 1982, there were247 moves in the tester universe,which meant that 54 percent of thetesters at the plant shifted to new jobs.

Testers now make up 20.6 percentof the Oklahoma City shop productionw o r k f o r c e . B e f o r e e l e c t r o n i c s w i t c h

ing arrived on the scene in themid-60s, testers represented only 7.3percent of the population. Testing is avery strong indicator of the changingcha rac te r o f t he wo rk a t Wes te rnE l e c t r i c .

Dr. Lepak said testers must havebasic training in digital logic,BELLPAC® circuit pack logic andinstrumentation. The shortest trainingpath for a tester is a little more than200 hours for a sophisticated circuitpack test. The systems and testbedtesters require more than 300 hourstraining, plus a lot of practice on theshop floor.

"Of course, there is a lot of trainingthat goes on outside of this department," he said. "Supervisors, especiallysection chiefs, do the bulk of corporate training and development.Training is and will be a prime man

agement function in the 1980s. Wetrain here in the classroom only whenthe magnitude of training exceeds theability of the functional shop."

Gene Blalock, who teaches the 3Bsystem course in electronics, believesone of the most important things inhis job is to establish credibility withthe students "because you have toteach them so much in so l i t t le t ime.Our objective is to develop a coursethat is straightforward and at the sametime, includes all of the informationnecessary to perform the job. Ourstudents are required to troubleshootdown to the chip level. The technology is such that installation peoplecannot repair them out in the field theway they used to."A G r o w t h P r o c e s s

David Orme, manufacturing manager for 5ESS switches, sees theprocess of getting people trained, getting the right materials ordered andgetting the product into manufacturedespite many design changes as"growing pains."

"The kind of problems we are having are ones that you can anticipatewhen looking at the growth of theprogram, but we can deal with theprocess—and we will," Orme said."We've had a Long-Range PlanningCommittee for quite a while that'salways looking out five years fromnow. We aggressively pursued allocation of the 5ESS switch. We let the

company know that we wanted it andthat we were trying to get ready for it.

"The 5ESS switch is the future of the

Switching Equipment Division," hes a i d . " I t s e r v e s a l l o f o u r c u s t o m e r s

from the small offices to the largeoffices designed for major cities.The re ' s a marke t w indow o f o rde rs f o r

equipment that the telephone companies are going to be buying in anygiven year. The orders are going to befilled by some company, and we wantto be that company. We're trying tohold as large a portion of that businessa s w e c a n . "

Orme, who has worked with the5ESS switch program from the beginning, says he likes these "start-up kindof jobs. I like to think that our systemshave not totally been designed yet,and that there's a high rate of evolution in our product and in ourprocesses," he said. "Training peoplefor new jobs, managing the growth ofthe program and coping with all of thedesign change activity are a part of thestart-up process. That's the challengewe accepted. We can do it."

1 7

Marketing the 5B y A d e l e D o n o h u e - E v a n s W E v i c e p r e s i d e n t s J i m E d w a r d s a n d T o n y I z z o

confer in the hall at Southgate. Edwards is responsible formarketing development, Izzo for market planning.

1 8 W E

The way we sell the5 will be different

from the way wesell any otherW e s t e r n E l e c t r i cp roduc t .

The 5ESS* swi tch is "a rea l winner

by every measure" according to Marketing Development Vice PresidentJim Edwards.

"It's clearly a flagship product," saysEdwards, who joined the company inJanuary and has extensive experiencein marketing and sales in competitive,high-technology companies. "The 5ESSswi tch i s the resu l t o f an enormousinvestment in R and D and capital. It'sthe stuff that makes or breaks a com

pany. And it looks like a success storyis upon us."

Of course, the customer will playthe all-important leading role in thestory of the success of the 5ESSswitch. The prime customers for thesystem are the operating companies,or RBOCs (Regional Bell OperatingCompanies), as they will be knowna f t e r d i v e s t i t u r e .

Market Planning Vice PresidentAnthony Izzo says, "In the future as inthe past, the RBOCs will be ourn u m h e r - o n e c u s t o m e r s . W e w o n ' t

a b a n d o n t h e m . We ' l l c o n t i n u e t o w o r kto increase their ability to enlargetheir revenue streams and developnew and innovat ive features . " Izzo hasa first-hand knowledge of operatingcompany problems and needs havingspent most of his career in the operating company network services areabefore joining Western Electric.

Although the RBOCs are the primetargets for the 5ESS switch as well asWE's traditional customers, selling thes w i t c h t o t h e m w i l l b e d i f f e r e n t f r o m

selling any other WE product.This is true for a variety of reasons;

First is the nature of the product itself.• Tr a d e m a r k o f We s t e r n E l e c t r i c 1 9

The 5ESS switch is a clear technological leader in electronic switchingsystems and marks a new era inswitching. After 1984, it will beWestern Electric's principal switchingproduc t .

Another difference is that the product is being introduced in the midst ofthe divestiture of the operating companies from AT&T. Western Electricwill be entering a new era and so willour customers. In selling the 5ESSe l e c t r o n i c s w i t c h t o t h e R B O C s i n t h e

post-divestiture environment, we willhave to change our customer contactsand the manner in which we approacht h e m . I n t h e a f fi l i a t e d e n v i r o n m e n t o fthe past, our sales representativesdealt mainly with telephone companyplanning and operations people. Now,they must also address the telephonecompanies' marketing concerns.

After divestiture, the RBOCs, anxious to increase their revenues, will belooking for products that not only arecost-effective, but also generate signific a n t a m o u n t s o f r e v e n u e . I n a d d i t i o nto telling the RBOCs what the 5ESSswitch does and how it works, WEsales people will also be telling themhow the sw i t ch ' s f ea tu res t r ans la te i n toc u s t o m e r b e n e fi t s .

Southern New England Telephone'sElliot Wilcox (left) examines fiberoptics for 5ESS at the NetworkSoftware Center. Guiding him wereArt Olsen, Jim Russell and JimV i d e t i c . C u s t o m e r v i s i t s t o t h e C e n t e r

are part of the sales strategy for 5ESS.

The third factor affecting the waythe 5ESS switch is being positioned isthat it is being introduced into amarketplace in which competitive digital switching machines are already inplace. In order for our switch toemerge as the leading product in thefield, WE sales reps must clearly demonstrate its superiority to otherproducts .

Jim Edwards and Tony Izzo agreethat if the 5ESS switch is to be successful, it will require a bold, aggressive marketing strategy.

"The intensity of the competition inthe marketplace for the 5ESS switch isgoing to be much greater than in thepast," explains Edwards. "And our styleof dealing in such an environment willalso be different. A system does notsell itself—even a system as outstanding as the 5ESS switch. We have totranslate the value of the product'ssuperior architecture and manufacturing quality into terms that our cus

t o m e r u n d e r s t a n d s . "

Izzo adds, "The strategy for marketing the 5ESS switch must be different.It's WE's first major product to beintroduced just prior to divestiture. Soin a sense it is our first major productintroduced into the new marketplace.

"With the 5ESS switch, we will befacing competition for similar products—digital switching machines—that are already in the marketplace,"Izzo explains. "This 'incumbency' issomething relatively new to us."

In addition to the RBOCs, the 5ESSswitch is being aggressively marketedto international, independent and gove r n m e n t c u s t o m e r s . " T h e s w i t c h ' s

adaptability to small and large companies makes it a great product forindependents as well as the Bell companies," says Izzo. "Its 100,000-linecapacity coupled with its new technology and flexibility make it competitivefor use by the AT&T interexchangeentity, as well." Izzo also sees plenty ofpotential for application of the electronic switch and its technology ingovernment business.

Western Electric is counting on the5ESS electronic switch to make up anincreasingly larger portion of its salesin the next few years.

"The successful marketing and salesof the 5ESS switch is cr i t ical to thefuture of this company," says Izzo. "It'st h e k i n d o f s w i t c h c u s t o m e r s h a v ebeen asking for. Its modular designm a k e s i t a fl e x i b l e m a c h i n e f r o m t h e

standpoint of application and size."Using a combination of hardware

and software, the customers can mixand match and buy as they want,achieving cost reduction and enhanced revenue streams in manageablepieces. With the full-feature package,t h e 5 E S S e l e c t r o n i c s w i t c h b e c o m e sone of the most versatile products ourc u s t o m e r s e v e r h a d . "

To develop an effective sales strategyand appropriate sales message for the5ESS switch. Corporate Account Management brought together a teamknown as a SalesJ'rogram Development Team (SPOT). The SPOTincluded representatives from WE'sProduct Line Planning and Manage-

2 0 W E

ment, Service Line Planning andManagement, account teams, PublicRelations, Legal, Market Operations,Market Planning and Bell Labs. Theteam worked together to analyze theselling situation for the switch, setprogram goals and objectives, anddevelop sales strategies as well as aplan to communicate these strategiest o o u r c u s t o m e r s .

"It was up to the team to come upwith strategic selling thrusts for the5ESS switch and to decide what to say,to whom, and when," explains RayDeMatteo, Manager, Sales Program Development and Assurance. "The teamhad to address a dynamic buyings i t u a t i o n i n w h i c h t h e c u s t o m e r i schanging. This required a new sellinglanguage that translates product feat u r e s i n t o c u s t o m e r b e n e fi t s . "

Adds Dick Crean, General Manger,Market Operations, "An important selling step we are taking with thisproduct is writing the 'salesware' inthe language of the buyer and not theseller. This is the way we will bemarketing and selling our products int h e f u t u r e . "

The key to the 5ESS switch's marketing strategy is positioning. Thestrategy seeks to position the switch inthe customer's mind in three ways:first, as the premier digital switch inthe Information Age; second, as thestandard of excellence in switching,both in terms of reliability and in easeof operation; and third, as the moste c o n o m i c a l a n d v e r s a t i l e l o c a l / t o l lswitch to meet the Information Ageneeds of the RBOCs. To allay anydoubts about the switch's capabilitiesand availability, the strategies also attempt to build customer confidence inthe stability of the project.

The account management organization will be putting those strategiesinto practice primarily through directselling of the switch by sales repres e n t a t i v e s .

Augmenting the efforts of the salesreps will be sales presentations by theseven regional vice pmsidents toRBOC executives; adWrtising; exhibitsfor use at trade shows; and otherprinted and audiovisual sales aids.T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3

These and other sales aids and toolsare part of a comprehensive communications plan developed by the SPDT tosupport the efforts of our sales representatives. The communications planalso includes a media strategy designed to convey the message to ourcustomers, the general public andemployees through advertising, presscoverage and company publications.

Six dist inct ive ads on the 5ESS

switching system are running in Telephony and Telephone Engineer andManagement magazines—^publicationswhose readership is largely made upof telecomunications company executives. The ads talk about the new erain switching ushered in by the 5ESSswitch and describe a host of opportunities and capabilities that it offersto the industry. Each ad highlights aparticular customer benefit of theswitch, such as its ability to grow,modular software, reliability, remotecapabilities, and revenue-generatingfeatures .

A special training session was heldin May for all the people involved inselling the 5ESS switch. It was particularly geared towards switchingsales representatives, network systemssales managers, and managers of account management. The session wasdesigned to accomplish three objectives: to give our sales people the mostc u r r e n t i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e s w i t c h a n dits capabilities; to unveil specific salesstrategies and tactics developed foruse with customers; and to present aprogram designed to spread enthusi-asum for the sales mission to al l our

employees.Sales representatives were given a

variety of materials prepared to support their efforts and were theni n s t r u c t e d o n h o w a n d w h e n t o u s ethem. For example: when to take ac u s t o m e r o n a t o u r o f t h e N e t w o r k

Software Center or Oklahoma CityWorks to see the 5ESS switch in

production; how most effectively touse the slide-supported sales presentations with a customer; and which ofseveral new eye-catching brochures onthe switch to distribute to a particulartelephone company customer.

Account managers will be workingclosely with market planners to identify rapidly and pass along informationon their customers' problems orn e e d s .

"We see ourselves as problem-solvers for the account managers'customers," explains Izzo, referring tohis Market Planning organization. "It'sour job to respond to a customer'sproblem or need by coming up with aunique application of a standardp roduc t . "

According to Izzo, his organization'stop priority is to honor the commitments tha t have been made tocustomers on delivery of the 5ESSswitch and specific features.

"We have no doubts about the product's performance," Izzo affirms. "Ournumber-one challenge is to make available first in 1983 and then in 1984 the

product and features called for by ourc u s t o m e r . "

Edwards adds, "We'll be shippingtwice as many 5ESS switches in 1983as originally planned.

"Demand for the product is sostrong that our customers want morethan we can make. Right now we aremanufacturing-constrained. Theso lu t ion is to make more o f th is

product. And that's just what we'regoing to do.

"Western is the premier manufacturing company in the world and hasbeen solving manufacturing problemsfor a hundred years. I have no doubtthat we can handle this manufacturingchallenge."

E d w a r d s s e e s t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e

5 E S S s w i t c h a s v i t a l t o W E ' s f u t u r e a n d

t h e f u t u r e o f t h e w h o l e n e t w o r k l i n eo f b u s i n e s s .

"This switch is a winner, but we allhave to get behind it to ensure itsprolonged success," Edwards says. "It'sa big job and represents a tremendouschallenge. It is important that everyo n e i n W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c u n d e r s t a n d s

t h a t w e e a c h h a v e a n e n o r m o u s s t a k e

in the success of this product. We allhave to work together as a team toensure tha t the 5ESS swi tch w i l lc o n t i n u e t o r e c e i v e a w i n n e r ' s

reception in the marketplace."21

Yo u C a n ' tTe l l I tF r o m t h eReal Thing

5

Photos by Joe Gazdak

Some o f t he econom ies assoc ia tedwith 5ESS* switching equipment don'tactually come with the equipment.Take the matter of training for telephone company craftspeople andWes te rn E lec t r i c i ns ta l l e r s . Th i s v i t a lfunction costs a lot less for 5ESS

switching equipment than for anyother electronic switching system.One reason is that i ts advanced tech

nology has simplified maintenance somuch that both doing it and learninghow to do it take a lot less time. Thismeans that courses at Western Elec-tric's Training Center in Dublin, Ohio,are considerably shorter—only 33days for the 5ESS switch maintenancecourse compared to 64 days for lA ESSswitching equipment, for example.

But there's another reason, too, andi t shows how the same k ind o f i nnovative thinking that created the 5ESSs w i t c h e x t e n d s i n t o a l l t h e We s t e r nElectric activities that support it, including training. This second reasongoes by the name of machine simulation, which is a good name, because itmeans exactly what it says. Machinesimulation is a means of simulating thebehavior of real telephone officeswitching machines, including the5ESS switch and the 3B20 processorthat provides most of its intelligence.

With machine simulation, telephonecompany students can complete asignificant portion of their trainingwithout ever leaving their home base.What's more, they can do it at exactlythe same kind of terminal they wouldbe using if they were at an actual 5ESSswitching office. In fact, they can't tellit from the real thing. Even an experienced craftsperson diagnosing anailing 5ESS switching office at a simula tor te rmina l can ' t te l l tha t he is no t

dealing with an actual switching machine. The beauty of this is thatcraftspeople are learning their craft onsomething that costs only a tiny frac

tion of the real thing.What exactly is it that does so much

for so little? Well, on the hardwareside, it consists of a micro-computersystem complete with two disk memories, all neatly packaged in a trimwhite box about the size of an orangecrate. What makes th is box such a

great simulator of real-world systemsis, of course, its software. Developed atthe Dublin Training Center, this ingenious software can mimic just aboutevery kind of problem an electronicswitching office can run into and,Dick Cieklinski looks on as one of hisstudents "talks" to a simulator.

2 2 •Trademark o f Wcsce rn E lec t r i c W E

then, in response to keyboard interrogation from students, communicatet h a t v i t a l i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e m .

This kind of keyboard maintenanceis known as diagnostics. Basically itworks like this; When a craftspersonpunches in the right code on a terminal requesting diagnostics of aparticular unit, the system's softwarebegins comparing that unit's actualbehavior with the way it's supposed tobehave. I t does this on the basis of

point-by-point logic, or voltage checks,f rom one end o f t he c i r cu i t t o t heother. Whenever there is a diJBference,it points it out on the terminal's TVscreen or on a printer. With furtherqueries, the craftsperson can track theproblem down to a particular circuitpack, which is then replaced. Thesimulator models this complex process without actually running thediagnostic tests.

The s imu la to r ' s so f twa re a l so i nco r

porates all the rules and constraintsthat prevent craftspeople from makingthe kind of mistakes that would put areal ESS switching office out of action.For example, in a real 5ESS switchingoffice, every piece of equipment isduplicated so that one unit can remainin action while the other is diagnosed.This kind of redundancy allows craftspeople to take one unit out of operation for diagnostics while substitutingi t s t w i n — a l l w h i l e s e a t e d a t a t e r m i

nal's keyboard. Real ESS systemsoftware won't permit the accidentaluncoupling of both identical units, andn e i t h e r w i l l t h e s i m u l a t o r. I t m i m i c sthe redundancy, and it mimics thesafeguards that prevent maintenancepeople from making costly mistakes. Ite v e n m i m i c s t h e e x a c t i n t e r v a l s a r e a l

5 ESS system takes to do a completediagnostic.

The only things not simulated arethe time and money saved. For example, 18 of the 33 training days neededfor 5ESS system maintenance are devoted to its 3B20 processor. Of those18 days, students have to go to theDublin Training Center for only six.They can complete the first 12 days'work a t a loca l Western E lec t r i c o r

telephone company school. The savings in room and board expenses aresubstantial and effectively reduce thealready low cost of the 5ESS switch.

Department chief Bill Malloch, theproject manager of Dublin's MachineSimulation Group, sees a host of lesstangible, but equally important benefits. "First of all," he says, "thes i m u l a t o r m a k e s c o u r s e s a l o t m o r e

interesting. We keep hearing from the

field how it motivates students, turnsthem on and things like that." Reportsdo, in fact, confirm that students areoften seen still working at their terminals a t lunch t ime and other breaks.

"What's more," adds Malloch, warming to his theme, "the simulatore l i m i n a t e s a l o t o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

problems between trainers and students by replacing words with hands-on training. The students learn a lot bythe i r own d i scove r i es a t t he te rm ina l s .

They can get their own answers to■what if?' type questions that instructors can't always answer, and they canget them fast."

fenders on the car," he says, "and Bill'sgroup put the motor in."

Sticking to that analogy, he couldhave added that his people have sincecome up with a whole new car tocope with the space problem. Calledhands-on enhancement, it is acustomized software package that doubles the training capacity of Dublin's5ESS switching equipment. With theever-increasing popularity of the newdigital switcher, they may have tocome up with software to double eventhat capacity.

T h a n k s t o t h e s i m u l a t o r ' s m u l t i -

terminal capacity, the operating com-

Want to simulate a different machine? Just change the disk.Not surprisingly, the instructors are

learning almost as much as their students. "For many of them," saysMalloch, "the simulator is like goingback to Dublin for a refresher course."

The capabilities of the simulatorbelie its small size. Each unit canhandle several terminals simultaneously, and each terminal canhandle several different kinds ofswitching offices. If a student has tobreak off in the middle of a problem,the simulator will remember where hewas and take i t f rom there when her e t u r n s .

Dublin's George Teasdale (Department Chief 5ESS Technical Training)points out another of the simulator'smany advantages. "A 5ESS switchingoffice is real small," he says. "A complete switcher doesn't even take up asmuch space as a lA processor. Becauseit's so small, our system here at Dublinphysically can't accommodate as manystudents for hands-on training as earlier ESS system gear. The simulator'sability to handle a number of terminals is a big help."

Teasdale's group includes some ofthe course developers who workedwith Malloch's programmers to createthe simulator's software. "We put the

panies don't have any space problemsat their training centers. Every company has bought at least one simulatorso far, and, if enthusiasm is any indication, things look bright for future sales.

Dick Cieklinski, a New Jersey Bellinstructor at the company's CorporateTraining Center in South Plainfield, isan avid supporter of the simulator. "Itpays for itself very quickly," he says." O u r s t u d e n t s u s e d t o h a v e t o u s e

Dublin's simulator over telephonelines. Our dialup costs alone ran toover $1,500 a month. Now, our onlycost is a small yearly maintenancecharge for the software."

T h e r e a r e t h r e e s i m u l a t o r t e r m i n a l sin Cieklinski's classroom, each a hiveof activity between lectures. "Studentsenjoy the course a lot more now," hesays. "Without the simulator, thecourse wouldn't be as interesting, andevery instructor feels the same way. Italso makes it easier for me. My students know they're going to an actualhands-on assignment after each lecture, so they listen better."

Cieklinski's boss. Bill Wymbs,couldn't agree more. "It was a cinch toinstall," he says, "and it has workedexactly the way it's supposed to. Weth ink i t ' s f abu lous . "

Third Quarter 1983 2 3

ADigitalN e t w o r k

1, .4:^■-fe-S>

X -

By Lewis Bayers

Other Corporationsare planning for it.We're building it.

There is a vis ion of the future shared

by most planners in the telecommunications industry today. It is calledISDN, which stands for IntegratedServices Digital Network. ISDN is av i s i o n o f a n e t w o r k t h a t c a n h a n d l e

voice, data, video; a network that canhand le t he needs o f t he I n fo rma t i on

Age. In Geneva, Switzerland, a UnitedNations agency is laboriously workingtowards defining it. Manufacturers andtelephone companies around theworld are studying it. Large corporations everywhere are taking stepstoward planning for it. In the BellSystem, we're already building it. Andthe 5ESS* switch, our newest, is notonly available for today's needs, but isalso another major step toward fulfilling the vision of ISDN.

Why ISDN? Well, today, the Bellne two rk hand les ove r ha l f a b i l l i oncalls each day. These are primarilyvoice calls, that is, people talking topeople. But increasingly, the networkis being asked to do more. The Information Age sees computers callingcomputers, special custom callingservices, video teleconferencing, andm o r e . T h e n e t w o r k n e e d e d t o h a n d l ethis must be a network of sophisticated equipment providing sophist i c a t e d s e r v i c e s . I t m u s t b e a b l e t o

handle voice and data, simultaneously.I t m u s t b e a b l e t o s w i t c h a n d t r a n s

port data, facsimile, video, and specialservices as easily as it handles voice.

• T r a d e m a r k o f W e s t e r n E l e c t r i c 2 5

e

Can today's Bell network handle this?Of course! The vision of the futurecalled ISDN is little more than whatwe in the Bell System have beenbuilding for years—a network ofstored program controlled switches,common channel interoffice signaling(CClS), and digital trunks; a networkbeing built to eventually provide anytype of communications transport andservice. It's been evolving, growing,improving, since the beginning. Now,with new customer needs, and newtechnologies available, it will continueto grow As new products come out ofour shops, and new designs come outof the Labs, the network will increasingly handle even more traffic,provide even more services. And the5ESS switch is a major stepping stonei n t h a t e v o l u t i o n .

The ideal ISDN is made up of threenetwork elements. First of all, theISDN vision calls for an integratedswitch. The bulk of today's traffic isbest handled by the traditional circuitswitching method. Some traffic, however, is most efficiently switched by amethod known as packet switching. Inthe ideal ISDN, we see a single switchthat will incorporate both circuitswitching and packet switching capabilities. A switch that can simultaneously handle voice, data, evenvideo. A switch that will also provideall sorts of special custom features. Aswitch very much like the 5.

The second e lement o f an ISDN isan adaptive link, sometimes called a"digital pipe." These are the digitaltransmission facilities that will carryISDN traffic. Western's T-Carrier, lightwave, and Subscriber Loop Carriersystems will all be key components ofthe evolving ISDN. The 5ESS switch isdesigned with integrated interfaces toall of these systems.

The third ISDN element, in the idealvision of the future, is a standardinterface for all customers. Tbday, thetelephone simply plugs into a walloutlet. Computers need anothermethod to hook into the network. Inthe ultimate ISDN, this will all beintegrated. The customer simply plugsin and starts communicating. The network itself will figure out the best,

2 6

most efficient way to handle the call.Today, Western's Local Area Data Transport (LADT) system is a major step inthat direction, able to handle bothvoice and data with a single interface,and handle both a t the same t ime.

Again, the 5ESS switch and LADT wereplanned together. They will work together, each system building on thestrengths of the other.

The 5ESS switch was designed withevolution in mind. The goal was tobuild a switch versatile enough tofunction in virtually any capacity intoday's network, while still being ableto cope with the inevitable changesthat the network or technology willpresent in the future.

The goal has been achieved. This ispossible, in part, because the 5ESSswitch is designed as an assembly ofsemi-independent modules, with a superior software operating system thata d m i n i s t e r s a n d c o o r d i n a t e s t h e f u n ctions of the modules. Each module hasits own processor and a modular,structured software architecture, giving it independent capacity andcapability, lb create a new service,only a small part of the system needsto be changed, perhaps only the software. "Vbu just modify the moduleresponsible for that service, plug insome new circuit packs if necessary,and that 's i t .

In fact, a lot of ISDN capability isalready "plugged in" in the 5ESSswitch. For example, the 5ESS switchmodules are already interconnectedby fiber optic links, providing fastc o m m u n i c a t i o n o f i n t e r n a l c o n t r o l

messages today, and the promise ofbroadband capability in the future.

The ISDN vision calls for a highspeed, 64 kilobits per second, datacommunications capability—^that's 64thousand bits of information per second. The 5ESS switch has this capability today, built into the trunk circuits.

"The breakthrough technologyhere," says John Leary, Western's Product Manager for Special Networks,"happened with the lA ESS* and 4ESS*switches. Circuit Switched Digital Capability (CSDC) will be availableshortly on those systems. All you needis some add i t i ona l so f twa re and c i r cu i t

• Tr a d e m a r k o f We s t e r n E l e c t r i c

packs. It uses the existing loop. Our5ESS switch was designed and builtwith this experience under our belt,so 64 k i lob i t sw i tched da ta w i l l be a

snap on the 5ESS switch and all threesystems will be compatible."

The ISDN vision also calls for packetswitching capability. Again, Western isin the forefront. The Bell System'sCClS ne two rk has been ca l l ed t he

"largest packet-switched network inthe wor ld . " And our No . 1 Packe t

Switching System (PSS) is the mostpowerful packet switch available today.It is based on the 3B20 processor, thesame processor that is the heart of the5ESS switching system AdministrativeModule. Furthermore, as Karl Mar-tersteck, the Bell Labs executivedirector responsible for the 5ESS system explains, "Conceptually, internally,the 5ESS system is a packet switch."

There's another key reason why the5ESS switch will be our stepping stoneto the future: it has the necessarydepth of development resources andtotal corporate commitment. It hasbeen designed by Bell Labs, the premier laboratory in the world. It's beingbuilt by Western Electric, the premierm a n u f a c t u r e r o f t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

products. And both are committed,fully, to continued evolution. In someways, the 5ESS switch is really morethan just a switch. Working along withour lA ESS and 4ESS switchers, the5ESS switch is the hub of the ISDN.Jerry Johnson, Western's Product Manager for the 5ESS switch describes it as"the most important project in switching. Not just to Western and ourcustomers, but to the public at large.It'll do more than any other switch;provide more reliable service, morecustom services, allow the real benefits of the Information Age to reachmore people. It's not only compatiblewith future visions, but also providesreal expense savings, improved operations, and revenues, today."

In other words, it does more for themoney—^not only for today, but fortomor row as we l l . W i th the 5ESSswitch, we're not just building switching equipment anymore. We'rebuilding the future of the nation'st e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s n e t w o r k .

W E

T h i s m i c r o w a v e r a d i o s t a t i o n a t

Berthoud Pass, Colo., epitomizes thenew digital transmission look.

C o m b u s t i o ni s ABurn ingP r o b l e mBy Saul Fingerman

Photos by Len Stem and Sandia

Twentieth centurym a n i s m o r e

dependent on firet h a n o u r c a v e m a na n c e s t o r s w e r e

A recent movie devoted nearly twohours to t he m isadven tu res o f t h reelikeable, but not particularly bright,cavemen who had been sent on a

"Quest for Fire" by their tribe. Thetribe's own fire had been inadvertentlyquenched, triggering an immediateoutburst of near total panic. Everyoneknew that, without fire, life was goingto be a whole lot more dangerous andu n c o m f o r t a b l e .

"Quest for Fire" was datelined80,000 B.C. We've come a long waysince then, but our need for fire hasn'treally changed that much. We may callit combustion rather than fire, but, inone form or another and by whatevername, we are even more dependent onit than the cavemen were. The fact isthat we provide more than 90 percentof our civilization's energy needs byburning something—oil, gas, coal, kerosene, wood and so on.

If you doubt it, think of autos,truc^, buses, aircraft and rockets.Think of power plants and steel millsand cemen t k i l ns and fac to r i es and

virtually any industrial heat source.And, finally, think of how you heatyour home. At this point, you shouldhave a pretty good idea of how important combustion is to your life, so youwon't be surprised to learn that ourgovernment has instituted a twentieth-century version of the quest for fire.

A computer-enhanced

photo of laser light scattered by ahydrogen flame.

This time, however, the seekers arescientists rather than cavemen, andthey are armed with lasers and computers rather than spears and stoneknives. And, most importantly, they arelooking not simply for fire, but for abetter, more efficient and pollution-f r e e fi r e . T h e i r w o r k i s c a l l e d C o m b u stion Research, and they're doing it in acluster of five closely-spaced buildingsa t t h e S a n d i a N a t i o n a l L a b o r a t o r i e s i n

Livermore, California.Heading this vital project is a slim

and energetic PhD in aerospace engineering named Dan Hartley. Anarticulate and highly enthusiastic advocate of combustion research.

2 8 W E

Dan Hartley and laser at Sandia'sLivermore Laboratory.

Hartley was probably the prime catalyst in the creation of Sandia's newestand most important energy researchfacility. As he tells it, in 1973, President Nixon asked all of the governmen t ' s Na t i ona l Labo ra to r i es f o r i deason solving our nation's energy problems. Hartley, who was using lasers tosolve fluid flow problems, suggestedtackling combustion problems withthe same techniques.

" I was exc i ted abou t i t , " he remembers. "I saw that virtually all combustion equipment existing today is basedon old technology—some of it goingT h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3

back as far as the last century." He alsosaw that, unless America instituted amajor effort, it would never catch upw i t h t h e e x t e n s i v e c o m b u s t i o n r esearch going on in Europe. Marshallinghis considerable expertise on the subject, he wrote a proposal for aN a t i o n a l C e n t e r f o r C o m b u s t i o n

R e s e a r c h .

Washington got the message andfunded the project in 1978. In 1980,Hartley and his group of about 90scientists, technicians and supportpeople moved into their brand newbuildings—one of which was, andprobably remains, unique in all thew o r l d . T h i s i s C o m b u s t i o n R e s e a r c h ' s

laboratory building, and what makes itunique is the economical way it handles lasers. The building was, in fact,designed and built around two high-power lasers, both of which are toolarge and expensive to be cloned ineach of the facility's 14 laboratories.Instead, the output of each laser is"shipped" to any lab experimentthrough a complex system of periscopes and ducts.

Like some latter-day Houdini,Hartley explains that, "It's all donewith mirrors." Actually, the mirrors arecontrolled by computers, and the onlymagic is in the millions of dollarssaved by getting the use of 14 lasers

2 9

The auto industry'slong-cherished viewof hydrocarbone m i s s i o n s w a s

fla t w rongfor the price of one.

The lab building is unusual, too,because it is so vibrationproof, iteffectively serves as one huge, opticalplatform for the laser systems. Researchers are convinced that nothingshort of a major earthquake can interrupt the piped-in laser beams aroundwhich almost all their experiments areb a s e d .

As Hartley's colleague, Dr. PeterMattern, manager of Sandia's Combustion Science Department, explained,the reason laser beams are so important to combustion research is simple.They are the only medium in existence you can use to "probe" a flamewithout disturbing it. If you stick anyother kind of measuring device, suchas a thermocouple, into a combustionsystem, you've changed it so much,the information you're extracting isbound to be misleading. And, combustion is tough enough to understandwithout introducing additional complications. It is not only a turbulentand highly transient process—thingshappen very, very fast—but it alsoi n v o l v e s i n t e r a c t i o n s b e t w e e n t w o s c i

entific disciplines that are difficultenough to master by themselves.These disciplines are chemistry andfl u i d m e c h a n i c s .

Ironically, everyone who has evertaken a course in elementary chemistry thinks he or she knows all there isto know about combustion. It's just ac h e m i c a l r e a c t i o n b e t w e e n f u e l a n d

oxygen that generates a lot of heat andlight—right? Well, not really ....

For one thing, combustion is rarelya single chemical reaction; it is almostalways a host of chemical reactionsoccurring sequentially at dizzyingspeeds. Just the chemistry involved inthe burning of a tiny lump of coalcould fill a thick volume—and probably will before Hartley's researchersare finished. The chemistry of pollutants could easily fill another volume.

We know, for example, that ideally,all of a fuel's hydrogen and carbonmolecules should combine with oxygen to form energy and a harmlessexhaus t o f ca rbon d i ox i de and wa te r.We also know that, like most ideals, itdoesn't happen that way, and we're

pumping a lot of nasty pollutants intoour atmosphere. What we don't fullyunderstand is how this happens. Nordo we understand the instant-by-in-s t a n t m e c h a n i c s o f t h e t u r b u l e n c e t h a tmakes combustion so violent a process. Complex almost beyond anyknown mathematical description, suchturbulence is largely what combustionflu id mechan ics i s a l l abou t . Th is

highly esoteric science is devoted tothe study of gases in motion, and,flames—for all their special characteristics—are made up of moving,ever-changing gases.

It's not too useful for producingenergy, but there is such a thing as an o n - t u r b u l e n t fl a m e . R o m a n t i c s c a l l i t

candlelight; scientists call it laminarflame. What makes i t laminar i s tha tthe fuel (paraffin) mixes with oxygenby diffusion, and does it so slowlythere i s no tu rbu lence . What the re i sinstead is a lot of soot. The truth isthat, although candlelight may be thestuff of intimate evenings and romanticpoetry, it is based on the formation ofsoot. The lambent gleam reflectedacross the dinner table in lovers' eyesactually consists of glowing particlesof the stuff .

Less romantic, but far more usefulare turbulent flames, since they're theonly kinds capable of productivework. Interestingly enough, they aremade up of lots and lots of littlelaminar f lames—^which i s one o f thereasons they are so complex.

Fortunately, lasers are perfect forunraveling the mysteries of turbulenceas well as of the intricate chemistrythat accompanies it. As we alreadynoted, their beams don't perturb thegases under study. What's more, theirlight-speed velocities permit nearlyinstantaneous "snapshots" of the violent events that go on in combustion.These "snapshots" are actually longsequences of data, but to scientiststhey are just as graphic as photos.

Hartley's people have figured out awide variety of ways to use their laserbeams to ext ract a l l k inds of v i ta linformation. In one laboratory experiment, for example, three laser beamsare fired into a one-cylinder gasolineengine. The beams enter throughtransparent portholes of thick artificialsapphire and exit out the other sidethrough a similar porthole. Once out,however, the beams are no longer thesame. In the cylinder's turbulent inferno of burning gases, the beamscomb ine to fo rm a fou r th beam o f adifferent wavelength. This beam isl o a d e d w i t h t h e k i n d o f i n f o r m a t i o n

that warms researchers' hearts—thingslike temperatures, densities and velocities of gases at different points oftime and space.

One of the lab's one-cylinder engines is like no other you've ever seen.In addition to its sapphire portholes, ithas four spark plugs. Why four plugsfor a single cylinder? "So you can tailorthe flame spread to study a variety ofknock and pollution problems," answers Hartley. "Efficiency depends onhow, when and where you ignite the

Three laser beams probe a cone offlame to provide Sandia researcherswi th v i ta l in format ion.

fuel. For example, the current locationof spark plugs may be all wrongbecause the designers didn't knowh o w t o t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t a l l t h e

processes going on. We're trying todescribe these processes well enoughto find the best location for ignition.We don't know these details yet, butw e ' l l fi n d o u t . "

In point of fact. Combustion Research has already found out plenty.For example, Sandia scientists andtheir co-workers have proved that theauto industry's long-cherished view ofhydrocarbon emissions from engineswas flat wrong. "Prior to this work,"

3 0 W E

says Hartley, "they assumed a flamepropagated out to the cylinder wall,where it was quenched because thewall was relatively cold. They weresure this quenching left a thin layer ofunburned fue l tha t was exhaus ted as

pollutants. We proved it doesn't happen that way."

What this team proved was that afuel's hydrocarbons difiuse into theflame (which isn't quenched, after all)and are consumed. That b i t o f hard-e a r n e d i n f o r m a t i o n h a s s e t a u t o i n d u s

try researchers off looking in otherdirections for pollution sources. At themoment, they are fairly convinced theculprit is fuel trapped in piston ringcrevices. And, if they can understandit, they can flx it.

S o m e o f t h e i n f o r m a t i o n C o m b u stion Research regularly feeds to theauto industry has already paid offhandsomely in terms of significantlyimproved gasoline mileage and pollution control—a fact that was graciously acknowledged by GeneralM o t o r s .

"Right now," adds Hartley, "a bigpush in the auto industry is to comeup with computer-controlled engines."TTie missing link is a definition ofcombustion precise enough to tellcomputers what to do to correct

everything from cold start to mountain driving. The microprocessor chipsare smart enough to handle almostanything you can measure—but howdo you know which things you wantmeasured and how you want themcontrolled by the computer unlessyou understand all the interrelationships?

Hartley is convinced that, even ifthe f^th to understanding is stillpretty dimly lit, his group's work willhelp light the way for others. "Ourapproach," he says, "is to not only doresearch, but also to develop thespecial tools you need for that research." By special "tools," he meansmore than laser systems, see-throughengines and other technological eso-terica. Primarily, he means the manycomputer programs and mathematicalmodels his researchers develop forother scientists who share their quest.

And there are many. The auto industry isn't the only beneficiary ofCombustion Research's work. Any industry involved with any kind ofcombustion is privy to their findings.If they want, outside companies cane v e n s e n d t h e i r o w n s c i e n t i s t s t o

Sand ia to do the i r own research . "A l lthe companies have to do is pay theirsalaries and living expenses," saysHartley. "As long as their work isimportant and not proprietary, we'llprovide the facilities. In our two yearsof operation we have had nearly twothousand daily visitors with over threehundred staying for the better part ofa w e e k t o s e v e r a l m o n t h s t o s o l v e a

special problem in combustion. Thesystem works."

I n a d d i t i o n t o s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t l a s e r s

and electronics, those facilities includeaccess to a Cray computer—the fastestand most powerful machine of its kind.I t t a k e s a v o r a c i o u s n u m b e r c r u n c h e r

to cope with the convoluted mathem a t i c s o f c o m b u s t i o n .

Not surprisingly, there are a numberof mathematicians on Hartley's staff.There are, in fact, several disciplinesrepresented at Combustion Research,including physics, chemistry, engineering and mathematics. Hartleyconsiders this interdisciplinary approach vital. 'Ton can't go to collegeand major in combustion," he says byway of explanation.

The synergetics of the interdisciplinary approach are reminiscent ofB e l l L a b o r a t o r i e s . " S a n d i a ' s C o m b u s

tion Research facility," acknowledgesHartley, even has a Bell Labs' scientiston its advisory board." This is onlypartly due to the fact that Western

Electric runs Sandia for the government. " I t 's a lso because we want a l lthe input we can get." says Hartley

Lately, he has been getting morethan just cerebral input. In recognitionof the good things that have alreadycome out of his laboratories, thegovernment has granted Hartley ther e s e a r c h e r ' s u l t i m a t e a c c o l a d e — i ncreased funding. His lab building isbeing expanded; a new high-powerlaser is being installed, and he willlikely receive an additional S21-millionin fiscal 1985 for the expanded labspace and equipment.

That money isn't going to go intonew engines or fuels. "That's not whatwe do," says Hartley. "Ours is the long-term goal of inventing scientific methods for doing combustion research."

Even so, what those methods mayl e a d t o i n t h e h a n d s o f i n d u s t r i a l

researchers makes for exciting specu l a t i o n . A n d t h e e x c i t e m e n t i s

heightened by little tidbits such as therecognition that a mere one percentincrease in auto engine efficiency cansave this country nearly one-billiondollars a year in imported oil.

"In addition," says Hartley, "our research can lead to alternative fuels,s u c h a s c o a l d e r i v a t i v e s . T h i s i s a n a r e a

that has been virtually ignored up tonow" A firm believer in the promise ofcoal. Hartley presented a paper on thesubject in 1982 to the House Subcommittee on Energy Development andApplication. In it, he pointed out that,although America's coal makes upnearly 90 percent of our entire energyreserves, its use accounts for less than20 percent of the energy we consume.

This vast hoard of black gold holdsthe promise not only of easing ourenergy problems, but also of improving our unfavorable balance of paymen ts s i t ua t i on ove rseas . Howeve r,

Hartley made no attempt to minimizethe enormous problems dimmingsome of the luster of that promise."Coal," he admitted, "is a dirty, nasty,inconsistent fuel, and it burns in ahighly polluting, corroding, and unrel i a b l e m a n n e r . "

Can these problems be solved? "Yes,indeed," says Hartley. "If we can unravel the chemical paths in coalcombustion, we may be able to findpractical ways to interrupt them andprevent soot formation and otherkinds of pollution."

With characteristic optimism, henotes that, "We've already had somepromising results from our coal research. We're on our way—^well on ourway! "

T h i r d Q u a r t e r 1 9 8 3 31

Threads of GoldA number of years ago, there was a

great Hollywood epic called "TheCrusades." In the climactic scene, KingRichard the Lionhearted, in the whitearmor, comes face to face with Saladin,t h e a r c h v i l l a i n .

There was a minimum of dialog insuch epics, and so Richard, the strongsilent type, to demonstrate thestrength and technical superiority ofthe Christians, takes his heavy broadsword and comes down w i t h a l l h i s

might on a huge timber. Precut by theprop department, the timber breakson cue. Saladin, in response, tosses asilk scarf in the air, draws his sword,and as the gossamer material floatsacross the curved blade, it is cut inh a l f .

It's questionable that any such aconfrontation took place in real life,b u t t h e d r a m a t i c s c e n e d i d d e m o nstrate effectively that 1,000 years ago,w h e n t h e We s t e r n Wo r l d w a s i n v o l v e dwith wrought iron and cast bronze, inthe desert city of Damascus, alloyswere being made that could take anedge equivalent to our modern razorb l a d e s . T h e s e c r e t o f h o w t h a t m e t a l

was made has been los t fo r centur ies .Another metallurgical mystery that

has intrigued researchers for years arethe so-called "gold threads" in ancienttapestries and ceremonial robes. Although they look to the naked eye likefine gold wires, the threads are actually silk or linen cores spirallywrapped with incredibly thin strips ofgold-coated metal. The mystery is howdid artisans hundreds, perhaps even1,000 years ago, make the paper-thinmetal, cut it into almost invisible stripsand face it with gold.

The answer i s tha t we s t i l l don ' tknow fo r su re . Bu t when a new exh ib i tcalled "Fabrics in Celebration" opensat the Indianapolis Museum of Artafter Labor Day, visitors will be able tos e e t h e r e s u l t s o f o n e o f t h e m o s t

thorough investigations of the subjectever made. About 100 major pieces inthe exhibit, whieh spans the yearsfrom 250 BC to the present, incorporate precious metal threads.

The investigators were LeonStodulski, a professor of chemistry atIndianapolis University/Purdue University in Indianapolis, and Del Nauman, asenior engineer at the IndianapolisW o r k s .

After Prof. Stodulski completed hisemission spectrographic bulk analyses.

Del used sophisticated equipment inthe WE laboratory to cross section thethreads and analyze the metal overlays.This was done using an ultramiero-tome and a scanning electron microscope/energy-dispersive X-ray.

"Hospitals use a microtome," hesaid, "when analyzing biopsy samples.For studying the fibers from the museum, 1 first mounted the thread inepoxy resin and then sectioned it withthe microtome using a diamond knife.The specimen was then placed in thevacuum chamber of the microseopeand scanned w i t h a na r row beam o f

high energy electrons. A series ofphotographs of the thread, at magnifications of up to 10,000 times, andX-ray analyses were obtained for measurement and study."

The electron microscope examinat ion o f the c ross sec t ions showed the

gold to be a very thin layer on theouter surface, so the entire threadappeared gold.

An intriguing part of this work wascomparing the metal wrappings in theancient textiles with the metal deposition on contemporary products.

Del's X-ray investigation of the construction of metal overlays showedthat the gold layer thickness averagedonly about 8 millionths of an inch.

"It is remarkable to me," he continued, "to see how thin ancientartisans could make the gold. At Western Electric, we cannot use theteehniques demonstrated in these fabrics. To get gold as thin. WesternElectric turns to expensive equipment.

A supplier uses a rolled method tol a m i n a t e a b o u t 2 0 0 m i l l i o n t h s o f a n

inch of gold on the frequency springsfor the Touch-Tone* telephone dial.Even though it's 25 times as thick as inthe threads, we have had troublegetting the gold overlay that thin onthese parts."

T h e m u s e u m i s e x e i t e d a b o u t t h e

team work that brought industry andeducation together in this project.

This is the first time an analysis hasb e e n d o n e o n t h e f a b r i e s i n t h e

Museum's eollection. The staff says itwas only possible at this time becauseof the generosity of Western Electricin lending its resources under Del'sguidance.

The Western Electric Fund has previously supported the IndianapolisMuseum of Art through PerformingArts grants. ,

• T r a d e m a r k o f A T & T W E

^ 5

^ « & < s s » ^% • • * * * ^ " « .

m ■ • » ' " • • . ^ •■- U ^ - r " ' - - ^ . .

Del Nauman, Prof. Stodulski and the museum's Harold Mailand.

%

I lArs^

D o n P r o c k n o w

in Oklalioma City test area with Mel Ciering.

See page 14.

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