Men employed regularly in the construction division may be assigned temporarily to the maintenance division when up-keep work is particularly heavy, and vice versa.
PLAN No. 1223. AERIAL LINE AND CABLE SECTIONS—PLANT DEPARTMENT
By the aerial line and aerial cable sections the overhead lines are built and maintained. The work is somewhat similar to that performed by the corresponding division of an electric light and power company. It is necessary to set and guy poles, place cross arms on them, and string wire. In modern city construction, however, few cross arms are required, because cable and twisted pair “block” wire has almost wholly superseded open wire. The handling of telephone cable is an occupation peculiar to telephone work. Where placed overhead, the lead-covered cable is suspended on steel messenger wire supported on poles. Great care must be exercised in installing cable. It is damaged easily and may then be a source of expensive and provoking trouble. Most of the work in the construction department involves considerable physical exertion, but there are often foremanships and inspectorships which men incapable of great physical exertion and indoor work could fill. General working conditions, qualifications, hours, rates of pay, and the like are about the same as those detailed for the distribution department of an electric-power company.
PLAN No. 1224. UNDERGROUND CABLE SECTION—PLANT DEPARTMENT
This section has to do with installing, joining, and connecting telephone cables. Much of the work is splicing. Telephone cable consists of from 100 to 600 or more pairs of copper wire. Each wire is separated from its neighbors with a wrapping of paper or other insulating material. Then the bunch of conductors is covered by a protective sheath, usually of lead. In splicing, the lead sheath is first stripped from the end of the cable. Then the different corresponding pairs in the cables to be connected are joined together. Each joint is insulated with a paper sleeve slipped over it. When all of the pairs have been connected, a lead sleeve is slipped over the splice and “wiped” with hot solder to the lead sheath of the cables which have been joined. This work requires much skill and experience. Not only does the cableman splice the cables, but he must also connect them to the distributing frames in the central office and to the terminal boxes on the poles. A terminal box on the end of a cable is one whereby the aerial circuits are connected to the underground cable conductors. About the only way to become a proficient cable splicer is through experience as a cable splicer’s helper. This vocation should offer opportunities for men who have only minor disablements, and who should work out of doors nearly all of the time. The use of the hands and fingers is necessary. Cable splicers must sometimes climb poles. In very bad weather the cablemen are given indoor tasks. A cable splicer will ordinarily receive from $60 to $110 per month, and a helper from $40 to $85.
PLAN No. 1225. REPAIR SECTION—PLANT DEPARTMENT
This section assembles the frames, racks, cables, and other minor central-office accessories, and clears the troubles in the subscribers’ instruments, private branch exchanges, and the central offices. Workers in this division may be classified into four groups: (1) Equipment installers, (2) line and instrument repairmen, (3) switchboard repairmen, and (4) wire chief and testers.
PLAN No. 1226. EQUIPMENT INSTALLERS—REPAIR SECTION
Equipment installers include the apprentices of the industry. New men are frequently placed in these positions for training. They cut and form switchboard cable, and do other equipment-installation work around the exchange. Practically no experience is required of a beginner. But an equipment-installation foreman should be a well-informed, thoroughly trained man. He usually advances to this position from the ranks. The work on the whole is light and should afford opportunities for men with minor disablements of little technical training who have full use of their hands and fingers.