Engineering Encyclopedia

Saudi Aramco DeskTop Standards

Telephone Support Services

Note: The source of the technical material in this volume is the Professional
Engineering Development Program (PEDP) of Engineering Services.
Warning: The material contained in this document was developed for Saudi
Aramco and is intended for the exclusive use of Saudi Aramco’s employees.
Any material contained in this document which is not already in the public
domain may not be copied, reproduced, sold, given, or disclosed to third
parties, or otherwise used in whole, or in part, without the written
permission of the Vice President, Engineering Services, Saudi Aramco.

Chapter : Communications For additional information on this subject, contact

File Reference: CTE10108 J.S. Phillips on 873-0228
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Telephone Support Services

CONTENTS PAGES

DIRECTORY AND CALL ASSISTANCE........................................................................... 1

Operator Services...................................................................................................... 1
Call Distribution............................................................................................. 1
Information Retrieval ..................................................................................... 1
Call Transfer.................................................................................................. 3
BILLING AND CALL TRACE ............................................................................................ 4
Billing ....................................................................................................................... 4
Call Recording: LAMA.................................................................................. 4
Call Recording: CAMA.................................................................................. 4
Call Recording: SMDR and CDR................................................................... 4
Call Reconstruction........................................................................................ 5
Call Sorting and Billing .................................................................................. 5
Call Trace.................................................................................................................. 6
SERVICE ORDER PROCESSING, REPAIR, AND NETWORK CONTROL ..................... 7
Service Order Processing........................................................................................... 7
Communications Management Information System (COMIS) .................................... 7
Repair Service Bureau............................................................................................... 8
Preventative Testing ...................................................................................... 9
Diagnostic Testing ......................................................................................... 9
Network Monitoring ................................................................................................10

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DIRECTORY AND CALL ASSISTANCE

Operator Services

Operator services are primarily associated with directory assistance and operator assistance for
long-distance calls (booking operators) and hard-to-reach locations. In all of these services, four
functions must be supported: call distribution to operators (including queueing), information
retrieval, call completion or transfer, and call detail recording.

Call Distribution

Call distribution is concerned with the handling of incoming calls in such a way as to (1) provide
service to customers on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) sequence; (2) equalize the number of calls
handled by each operator; and (3) provide a service observing capability for the monitoring of
operator performance by a supervisory staff. Automatic Call Distributors (ACDs), which perform
these functions, usually have special software that will generate statistics for each work station, as
well as overall traffic statistics (number of calls, average delay, etc.) An ACD may be a stand-
alone switch, or may be integrated into another switch, such as a PABX. Within Saudi Aramco,
Call distribution is performed by an SL-1 PABX, although a more sophisticated Operator Position
System (OPS) will eventually be utilized. OPS is an integrated switch and data base system
involving sophisticated central office functions, including call distribution, accounting, and
transfer.

Information Retrieval

The information required by Directory Assistance (DA) operators is associated with the customer
request for a subscriber telephone number. Saudi Aramco maintains a directory of all business and
residential users on its network, as well as a small number of local (Saudi Telecom) numbers of
general interest, such as airlines, travel agencies, and major commercial or government offices.
Information is arranged alphabetically and (in the case of business) by organization. Retrieval
software allows matches to "near spellings" for those cases where the calling party is unsure of the
correct spelling of the subscriber whose telephone number is being sought. Information for the
Saudi Aramco DA operators is stored and processed through a DEC VAX minicomputer. The
directory data base is updated regularly via data link to the IBM administrative mainframe, where
new information (additions, changes, and deletions) are stored based on service order activities.
These links and processes are shown in Figure 1. In the case of booking operators, information
retrieval involves call authorization, caller verification, or billing information.

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Booking
Operators COMIS
Data
Base
PABX
Automatic
Call Distributor

Data Transfer for

Directory Update
Directory
Assistance Local
Operators Data
Base

VAX Minicomputer

FIGURE 1

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Call Transfer

In the case of DA operators, there is a simple disconnect following call completion. In the case of
booking operators, a bidirectional link between the ACD and telephone network is temporarily
activated while caller identification and calling number information is collected and verified. Once
the information has been recorded, the ACD signals the telephone switch to release the bi-link
connection, and the telephone conversation proceeds as a regular trunk connection. The operation
is similar with OPS, except that the OPS functions as a sophisticated switch, with trunk signaling
and local billing.

Booking Operator Function Via ACD

Long-Distance
Telephone Network

Telephone
Switch
2+ dialling

Bi-Link Booking
Billing Operator
Data
ACD/PABX
Dashed lines indicate temporary connections.

Booking Operator Function Via OPS

Long-Distance
Telephone Network

Telephone
Switch OPS Switch
2+ dialling
OPS Trunk

Booking
Billing Operator
Data

Dashed lines indicate temporary connections.

FIGURE 2

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BILLING AND CALL TRACE

Billing

Billing is the procedure by which Saudi Aramco is reimbursed for all cost-reimbursable
communications services provided by the company. Billing can be reduced to four major steps:

1. Call recording, i.e., calling number, called number, type of event, and time of occurrence
2. Call reconstruction (event correlation)
3. Call sorting and billing
4. Payment collection

The first of these steps is performed by the telephone switch, with call information stored on
magnetic tape. The last three steps are performed by a separate general-purpose computer in a
batch environment.

Call Recording: LAMA

Local Automatic Message Accounting (LAMA) is the most common form of call recording,
performed on the originating (local) switch. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that tapes
must be collected from each switch each month for billing purposes. Tape transfer is not difficult,
but the loss or damage of a tape could have major financial repercussions.

Call Recording: CAMA

Centralized Automatic Message Accounting (CAMA) is a billing method in which calling

information is transmitted by assigning a signalling link to a central telephone switch (Dhahran)
where all billing information is recorded. This is the arrangement used by Saudi Aramco for all
switching offices supporting MFC-R2 or C7 signalling. The arrangement is particularly simple, as
all long-distance calls must pass through the Dhahran telephone switches.

Call Recording: SMDR and CDR

Station Message Detail Recording (SMDR) and Call Detail Recording (CDR) are two forms of
local call data recording used on PABXs and Key Systems. Data format and recording medium
vary from vendor to vendor, but usually involve a magnetic tape or disk recorder. SMDR and
CDR data is used for call trace recordings, but not for toll billing.

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Interoffice Trunk
Central (MFC-R2) Central
Office or Office
Interoffice
Signaling Link
(CCITT No.7)

Centralized Automatic Local Automatic

Message Accounting Message Accounting
(CAMA) (LAMA)

PABX
Key Remote
System Collection
Station Message Call Detail
Detail Recording Recording
(SMDR) (CDR)

FIGURE 3

Call Reconstruction

The "events" recorded in billing records include call connect and call disconnect as separate
records. Charging information requires length of call, so it is necessary to match these records.
This is done in the Automated Telephone Billing System (ATBS) software system, a mainframe
computer program run in batch mode.

Call Sorting and Billing

ATBS contains a data base that includes every telephone number working in the Saudi Aramco
network, each telephone location, the name of the assigned user, the assigned telephone
equipment and services, and a billing reference. The billing reference indicates where to send
charges for service. All toll calls for a given billing period are sorted and grouped by the
originating telephone number, and are listed with called telephone number, date and time of call,
conversation time and call cost. For personal calls, an interface between ATBS and the Payroll
System has been created, which allows automatic deduction of telephone charges from the
individual employee payroll.

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Call Trace

Call Trace is the process by which the originator of a malicious, obscene or nuisance call is
identified. In order of severity, these types of calls are defined as follows:

• A malicious call contains a physical threat against persons or property.

• An obscene call contains a message that is disgusting or against morality and virtue.
• A nuisance call is an unwanted call intended to annoy.

All three forms of calls are forbidden and an attempt is made to identify and discipline the maker
of such calls in every reported instance. Customers encountering such calls are encouraged to
report the incident immediately, either to Security (malicious calls) or to the Communications
Operations shift supervisor (obscene or nuisance calls).

Within Saudi Aramco, every call that is made is recorded (i.e. billing information, not
conversation) as if it were a toll call in a process called "100% call recording". All non-toll calls
are separated during the call sorting process of ATBS, for the purpose of billing, but there
remains a permanent record of all calls originating within Saudi Aramco. This allows
Communications Operations personnel, with appropriate approvals, to identify the station from
which an inappropriate call has been made. Unfortunately, this process requires that a billing tape
be removed and taken to the computer center for processing, an action that might take hours or
days to complete. Alternatively, it is possible to assign special recording registers to individual
telephone lines, which print out the originating telephone number of each incoming call to that
line. This is standard procedure for executive telephone numbers, and is commonly done for
telephone numbers having a recurring problem with inappropriate incoming calls. Only a limited
number of calls can be monitored in this way, due to the volume of records that are produced.

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SERVICE ORDER PROCESSING, REPAIR, AND NETWORK CONTROL

Service Order Processing

Service Orders are required for all new telephone connections, as well as for all transfers,
changes, and disconnects. A service order provides seven separate functions:

1. Assures that all service requests have complete information and are properly approved
according to company procedure.
2. Provides a uniform method of identifying and specifying all work to be done.
3. Identifies all facilities and equipment involved in providing the requested service.
4. Provides an assignment record for facility use and subsequent maintenance.
5. Schedules and coordinates work and provides a record of work completion.
6. Provides a record for updating the directory data base.
7. Establishes work load statistics for management reporting and expense forecasting.

Although one or more of these functions might be handled on a manual basis, the current size of
the Saudi Aramco telephone network and work volume requires an automated system.

Communications Management Information System (COMIS)

The system currently in use is the COmmunications Management Information System (COMIS).
COMIS is a mainframe-based, transaction-oriented computer program containing two modules:
Service Order Processing (SOP) and Facility Assignment (FA).

The SOP module is initiated by the Communications Operations Department, Customer Services
Unit, and performs function one, two, five, six, and seven. The FA module performs functions 3
and 4.

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The Facility Assignment function of COMIS was described in the preceding paragraph. The
importance of proper facility assignment (record keeping) cannot be overemphasized. A facility
that is busy, according to the records, will not be used for any service; and a facility that is idle,
according to the records, is considered useable. Thus, any error in the records will result in
wasted facilities or service conflicts taking large amounts of manpower, time, and inconvenience
to correct. Record verification, in which assignment records are corrected to reflect actual
utilization, is a very expensive activity that often leads to service problems during the verification
process.

Service requests are initiated by the completion of Form 6934 (see Appendix). This form is
delivered by the user to his area communications customer services representative. This
representative assigns a control number to the request and reviews the work involved. If special
engineering assistance is required, as in the case of service to new buildings, an Engineering
Study/Services Request, Form 7688, is prepared and forwarded to Area Operations Engineering
(see work aids). The assigned engineer will assemble an engineering job package containing all
information and an equipment list for completing the service order. In all cases, Forms 7262 and
7586 (see Appendix), showing relevant equipment and design information, are prepared and used
during installation, follow-on reporting, and record keeping activities.

Repair Service Bureau

The Repair Service Bureau (RSB) functions are similar to those identified above for service order
processing:

•. Identifies service problems, including contact information for the user.

• Provides an assignment record for testing.
• Provides a uniform method of documenting testing and testing results.
• Schedules and coordinates work and records work completion.
• Establishes work load statistics for management reporting and expense forecasting.

Saudi Aramco currently uses the LCR-2000 mini-computer system as a trouble-ticket procedure.
The Repair Service Bureau is accessed by calling 904 from within the Saudi Aramco network, or
by dialing 875-6116 from the Saudi Telecom network.

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Testing within a network can be divided into two categories: preventative and diagnostic. Each
category of testing can be done locally by personnel at the switch site, or remotely from a central
location.

Preventative Testing

Preventative testing is performed automatically by modern telephone switches as part of their

normal operating routines, and are subject to local control as a series of software options. Each
switch has its own capability, but generally can perform the following:

• Self-tests during the handling of each call or switching operation, including timing,
foreign voltage, software faults, and routing errors.

• Programmed testing of lines and trunks during non-busy periods (e.g., late night) for
routine maintenance. The type of tests performed in this manner generally apply to
transmission parameters, such as continuity, resistance, capacitance, and false
potential.

Diagnostic Testing

Diagnostic testing is performed locally or remotely by personnel in response to an identified

problem. Tests include all of the electrical attributes of a loop or trunk, including resistance
(opens, shorts, high-resistance, grounds), capacitance, foreign voltage, and frequency response
(DTMF and DP recognition).

In the case of digital switches, there is no physical circuit for a call through a switch. Instead, a
particular conversation path is digitized and multiplexed through the switch's internal digital
matrix. From a testing standpoint, there is no electrical path that would permit an "end-to-end"
test of a conversation path, or testing from a remote location through dial-up procedures. This
limitation is overcome in some switches (e.g. Fetex 150s) by placing a separate test connector on
the line side of the switch, so that the loop can be accessed electrically from a remote location.
Other switches, such as an SL-1 digital PABX, lack this feature and loops can only be tested by a
manual connection to the loop from the MDF.

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Testing on the Fetex 150 is handled through the Centralized Maintenance and Operations Center
(CMOC), a stand-alone processor dedicated to maintenance. Another system, the Remote
Maintenance and Control System (RMCS) performs a similar function for GTE switches.

Network Monitoring

The central point for network operations is the Network Operations Control Center (NOCC)
located in Building 840 in Dhahran. Equipment in the NOCC concentrates all of the alarms for all
communications systems, and serves as a central point of control and reporting. Telephone
switching alarms are, in part, integrated into a larger alarms system that monitors each
communication site and major inter-area transmission systems (i.e., radio, microwave, and fiber
optics). As mentioned previously in this course, communications systems are very much
interrelated, and the failure of one system can have a dramatic effect on others. As an example,
loss of a microwave or fiber optics link has immediate impact on data circuits, telephone trunking,
and trunked radio systems. Loss of a telephone switch could impact mobile telephone, alerting,
conferencing, and some data circuits. Alarm and failure statistics are consolidated at the NOCC
and transmitted to supervisory and management personnel for subsequent analysis and reporting.
In the case of disaster recovery, the NOCC functions as a central point of control and
coordination while restoration activities are conducted.

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