NOTES FROM A DIFFERENT TRENCH - V2/#2
by Linda Olmstead
Requisitions, Inventory, Budgets, Oh my! Life in Telecom is far more complex than I could have imagined when I worked in a Comm Center. “Push to talk” dispatchers have always surprised me – you know, those folks who have no clue how something works (radios, for example) and just want the officers to hear them when they push the XMIT button. Never mind the distance or geographical barriers, much less the mechanics and electronics and science behind the whole wireless process of radio transmissions. “I pushed the button and they didn’t hear me!” Could it be a bit of lunch in the mouthpiece? A broken switch? A short in the headset quick-connect junction or at the jack? A repeater down?
I’ve always enjoyed the troubleshooting process for just about anything I used in our line of work. Even with an understanding of radio propagation, line of sight, how “repeaters” work, frequency bands, modulation, etc., I have to admit Radio Stuff is far simpler than the process to replace the telephone system for a small field office.
Just 35 phones or so. No 9-1-1 equipment – that’s in the Comm Centers. Your basic phone system with voice mail accounts to handle a small, permanent field command.
What equipment is needed to replace the antiquated system currently in use? What features should it offer? Who gets voice mail? What sort of paging function is necessary? Inside ceiling speakers, plus outside horns, plus “intercom” on each phone instrument? How many cable runs for new extensions? Is the ceiling a “drop” acoustic tile jobbie, or is it solid with lousy overhead access, so everything will have to be pulled through floor conduit?
How many virtual voice mail boxes will be needed for those employees who don’t actually have a desk and phone at which to work? (Officers in the field – will they check and purge their voice mail boxes?)
Even with a single brand – for standardization across the state – one still needs to get quotes from at least two, if not three, different vendors so you know how much to ask to spend.
Then, tackle the Purchase Requisition. Oh my goodness. As a Comm Sup, I’d completed bids for a few things and handled one or two requisitions, but the huge majority of that work was handled by Telecom Section. Okay, so now that’s where I work. And we don’t even process the actual requisitions – that major step is handled by Purchasing. We just forward the paperwork and wait, and wait, and wait until it’s awarded and we’re notified with the arrival of a Purchase Order. Oh, so THAT’S the vendor with whom I’ll be working.
The change from dispatcher to supervisor involves a major mind set alteration: The Bigger Picture requires more considerations, a decision process far longer than nano-seconds or minutes, articulated and documented justification, and then the end result much further out on the calendar than one would like. Sometimes the project involves the development of funding solutions.
Dispatchers gather information, correlate it, prioritize it, and take action rapidly. Supervisors must also gather information, correlate it, thoroughly investigate it, sometimes review facts with others, and then make recommendations for action to be taken, all while juggling differing priorities associated with other projects. Far fewer responses are immediate. And stuff is often carried over from one day, week, or month to another. No walking out the door at the end of one’s shift and coming back to a whole new slate the following day.
I still want to do things RIGHT NOW. I was a “hoverer” as a supervisor (unfortunately true) and there’s no place for me to hover whilst paperwork gets processed once it leaves my hands. Luckily, my responsibilities include a sufficient number of quick tasks to keep my psyche from starving. I still jump on things to initiate action, so at least what *I* control is handled rapidly. Many are no different from the Comm Center environment: I get to troubleshoot things “that don’t work,” call the phone company to check circuit function, and carefully – with sensitivity – instruct users in the correct method to operate their instruments. [ahem]
I am frequently amazed at the number of people who forget their voice mail passwords. Maybe they went on vacation and the memory slipped away from disuse; that’s the only explanation I can figger. Here at Telecom, we can remotely dial into our different departmental phone systems all over the state and reset stuff like that. That’s pretty cool, I think. It is one of the little tasks which give me pleasure to handle, because it IS simple and the recipient is so grateful.
Compared to “splitting” an operational radio channel to reduce frequency saturation, which is a project that takes YEARS from “we think we need this” to actual completion (unfortunately), the minor irritation – coupled with amusement - at being asked to reset some Lieutenant’s voice mail password is a blessing. I have two major radio splits assigned to me, which will result in the addition of three new channels.
Suss out possible repeater sites. Work with engineers to run propagation and coverage areas. Identify every piece of mobile equipment – enforcement and non-enforcement vehicles – which will need to have its radios reprogrammed. Oh, and the adjacent field units, as well, in case they need to pop onto the new channels for assistance. Those are just the major bullet points in such a project. Radio coverage surveys are fun field trips. Checking out remote repeater sites is also interesting. Some of them require access via Sno-Cat, any time from November through April. THAT is way cool! Literally.
I love it. This is good, useful work. The Big Stuff doesn’t get handled quickly, but it’s really interesting to endure. I mean, ummm… experience. [dimpling] My Comm Center history allows me to talk to field folks with terms they understand; I am still in a liaison position, it’s just a different environment.
Oh, and when a field command has modular furniture installed, we get involved to ensure voice and data circuits are effectively re-routed instead of lost behind cubicle walls.
Speaking of cubicles, I work in one now. I can perform “prairie dogging” pop-ups with the rest of my adjacent cubicle mates during visits by this or that chief or other Important Persons. Sometimes it’s like Old Home Week when someone from a Comm Center drops by, for whatever reason. I am still peripherally connected to folks from my previous incarnation.
And a greater variety of people in different roles have been introduced to my personal motto: Happy to be here, proud to serve.
Because I am.