4
Piedmont
we’re
doing it
at
piedmont
More than 800 agents will begin
greeting Piedmont customers in
new customer service uniforms
this month and 800 agents work
ing in the ramp and operations
area now have several new uniform
options.
The uniform committee began
meeting over a year ago to decide
what changes needed to be made.
The last uniform change was made
over five years ago.
“The seven committee members
met on their own time to help us
select new uniforms and options,”
Allen Perry, Customer Services,
INT, said.
“We’re really grateful for their
time and effort. It’s just another
example of the caring attitude of
our employees."
Committee members are
Jeanette Brinson, ISO; Karen Pav-
lis, ORD: Eldean Keen, ROA;
Charles Hope, ATL; Ronnie Beeson,
GSO; Grant Rodgers, ILM; and
Mike Marino, CHS. Not only did
they choose new uniforms, they
also served as models for the pho
tographs used in the new uniform
manuals distributed to all station
personnel.
Several items have been added to
the basic navy blue customer serv
ice uniform. For men, grey vests,
button-down Oxford cloth shirts,
and a choice of three ties are new
options. Women have a choice of
grey vests, slacks and skirts, a navy
blue dress and jumper, and two
additional blouses. Also, for the
first time, a maternity dress has
been added to the uniform options.
Supervisors will be distin
guished by the color of their blaz
ers. A new Piedmont blue blazer
will be a basic part of each super
visor’s uniform. It can be worn
with a white shirt/blouse. The new
sky cap uniforms are navy blue
with Piedmont blue trim.
The ramp uniforms will remain
the same with the following op
tions: a navy blue turtleneck dickle
and sweater, a Piedmont blue pull-
Going Up . • • Piedmont's new
55,000 square foot training center
is scheduled for completion late
this summer. Located on the west
side of the Aerospace Center and
across the street from Winston-Sa
lem's Smith Reynolds Airport, it
will have office space for Flight
Operations and Inflight Services.
There will also be training areas
for mechanics, avionics techni
cians, station agents, flight attend
ants, pilots, and dispatchers. The
building will house 17 classrooms,
an audio-visual studio for produc
ing training films, a test kitchen,
and office space for approximately
80 people. It will also have three
simulator bays — one for the 737
simulator Piedmont presently has,
one for the new 737 simulator to
be delivered in June 1982, and a
third for future expansion. The
building will be shared with con
tract training personnel from
around the world. The space being
vacated in the Institute's present
building will be utilized by Pied
mont Aerospace for its airframe
and powerplant school.
over golf-type shirt, and a short
sleeve thermal vest.
“Employees can begin wearing
the new uniforms as soon as they
receive them,'' Periy said. “The new
look will be required of all em
ployees by next January."
P0
ability prog
It took two weeks and 900
gallons of paint to give the inside
of the hangars at the General
Offices their new look. Painting
was done by contractors who
worked with two spray guns using
a hlgh-lift device to cover the
45-foot high hangars with a fresh
coat of white paint. Bright red
paint covers the caution areas and
the windows are trimmed in blue.
New overhead lights are also being
added to the hangars. The high-
pressure sodium lights require
half as many bulbs as mercuiy
vapor lights, give off 73 percent
more light, and use half the
energy of the old bulbs.
Thanks to Robert Healy, first
officer, INT, the pilot briefing room
at each Piedmont base may soon
be getting a weather display board
for pilots to easily review charts
before flying.
“Because of Piedmont’s expan
sion in the last couple of years,"
Healy said, “our pilots, especially
those flying great distances, need
a big weather picture. We can get
the information from Dispatch,
but It's difficult to have an over
view. With the help of the display
board, I think pilots can make
more Intelligent decisions when
considering flight pattern changes
or just better understand why
Dispatch suggests a particular
flight pattern."
The idea for the display board
came to Healy when he took a
special course on flying In high
altitudes. It took him two months
to design and construct the board,
which he did on his own time and
at his own expense.
“There are a multitude of charts
available. So I reviewed charts
used by other airlines and also
consulted the National Weather
Bureau to see how they displayed
charts and which ones they con
sidered more important," Healy
said.
Healy tied his display board in
with the new FAX system being
Installed at Piedmont’s stations. At
set intervals, the system puts out
computer printouts of weather
information. These charts are
then displayed on the weather
board. Healy’s board will soon be
tested in Greensboro to see if any
changes need to be made before
it’s installed in other stations with
FAX systems.
“I’m hoping this is a template
for a weather display board at all
our bases and that it will become
routine for reviewing charts," he
said. “I definitely think this dis
play board is one of the best in
the country."