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Volume 7, #4___________________________________________________________________ June, 1988

 

Protecting The Environment By Reducing Use Of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

 

Software Licensing Policies - Serving Customers And Keeping Pace With Technology by Dave Chase, Business Manager, Systems Software Group

 

Digital’s Financial Architecture - Providing Managers With Timely And Accurate Information by Dave Spratt, Assistant Corporate Controller

 

Hudson Health Study Prompts Further Research

 

Eight Managers Promoted To Vice President

 

Changes In The U.S. Field Finance Organization

 

Update On Company Identity Standards

 

Area Code Change Will Affect Digital’s Headquarters

 

Digital Opens Subsidiary In Philippines

 

Ken Olsen Honored By King Of Sweden And American Society Of Swedish Engineers

 

Digital Ranks 38 On Fortune 500 List

 

General Doriot Videotape Available

Protecting The Environment By Reducing Use Of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

 

Digital is taking steps to reduce immediately and, where possible, to eliminate its use of chlorofluorocarbon products. This is in response to recent evidence that these materials react in the upper atmosphere to destroy the earth’s protective layer of ozone.

 

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are synthetic chemicals consisting of chlorine, fluorine and carbon. They are sometimes referred to by trade names such as Freon (Dupont) or Genesolve (Allied) They are widely used as the cooling source in refrigerators and air conditioning units. They are also used in the production of foam products such as furniture padding, thermal insulation and disposable cups and plates. And they are extensively used as industrial solvents to clean products such as electronic components.

 

As other companies have done, Digital began using expensive CFC solvents because they are non-flammable and non-toxic and were considered environmentally safe. With regard to their direct effects on humans, they are among the safest group of industrial chemicals. Unfortunately, they present an unexpected environmental hazard. "The problem isn’t in using CFCs; it’s emitting them," explains Jim Rogers, manager, Corporate Energy and Envir­onmental Affairs Group. "If there were ways to use them without them getting released into the atmosphere and eventually into the stratosphere, there wouldn’t be a problem."

 

It is now generally acknowledged that the world must dramatically reduce its emissions of CFCs. Already, 24 countries have agreed to reduce CFC production by 50% by the year 1999 and governments are currently considering whether additional reductions will be required.

 

Although conclusive evidence has been established only over the last year, the CFC problem has been suspected for some time. For several years, Digital has been seeking and evalu­ating alternatives to the use of CFCs. The latest data increases the urgency of this effort.

 

Ozone (a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms) is important since it absorbs much of the ultra-violet energy from the sun. Some ozone is always being produced in the stratos­phere, about 20 miles above the earth, where oxygen is bombarded with intense radiation from the sun. But CFCs are reacting with ozone molecules, upsetting the natural equili­brium and reducing the protective ozone layer. As a result, more ultraviolet light may reach the earth and could eventually result in an increased incidence of skin cancer among humans.

 

"CFCs are extremely stable," explains Jim. "Almost all other air contaminants react with other gases and precipitate or wash out of the atmosphere. But CFCs don't react with other gases, and eventually rise to the stratosphere.

 

"When they reach the stratosphere, they are subjected to intense sunlight and begin to break down and react with the stratospheric ozone in a chain reaction. When a CFC mole­cule breaks down, it forms chlorine, which reacts with ozone molecules. Then another reaction takes place in which the ozone becomes oxygen and chlorine is again produced. That chlorine is then free to react with another ozone molecule. One free chlorine mole­cule in the stratosphere can destroy thousands of ozone molecules — that’s what makes CFCs environmentally dangerous.

 

"Also, because CFCs are so stable, what has been emitted up to this point will not go away for decades. CFCs that are in the lower atmosphere now will slowly migrate up to the stratosphere over the next several years. And, once there, they will continue to react with ozone for another 70 years or more. Even if the world totally stopped emitting CFCs today, depletion of the ozone layer would still continue for some time."

 

Digital is committed to reducing its use and release of CFCs. CFCs are now used in the manufacture of some surface mount modules, semiconductor products, circuit boards, storage systems, thin film products and miscellaneous other products. Design engineers are being asked to select components and sub-assemblies that are compatible with non-CFC cleaning and service methods. Process engineers are responsible for finding alternatives and substitutes for solvents and other materials containing CFCs. Where this is not possible, controls must be included in the process for complete recovery/reuse of CFCs. In addition, equipment purchased by facilities must include features and accessories for reducing CFC losses and emissions. Field Service is also being asked to reduce the use of CFCs in serving customers. Cleaners and other servicing materials containing CFCs must be elimi­nated from use and product inventory as soon as possible. Thereafter, only non-CFC clean­ers and other servicing materials will be used.

 

Software Licensing Policies - Serving Customers And Keeping Pace With Technology by Dave Chase, Business Manager, Systems Software Group

 

Digital's software products play up and down our whole range of VAX hardware. This com­patibility is a value no other company in the industry can offer. That means our software is much more valuable to customers than our competitors’ products. Our cluster- ing and networking give our software even greater value. We want to make sure that our software licensing policies enable customers to take full advantage of these capabilities.

 

The software budget of our customers is increasing as a percentage of total budget. While hardware price/performance has been improving at a 20-50% rate due to advances in techno­logy, software costs, which depend on the productivity of people, have not been able to improve at that pace. So customers realize that even if their total computing expenses don’t increase, over time they will be spending relatively more for software. In addi­tion, the software environment has grown increasingly complex — with servers, communica­tions, networks and clusters. Customers need better tools to help them monitor and manage their software usage and costs.

 

At the time software licensing began, a customer had one copy of each software product on each machine, and we provided one software license per processor per product. But as net­working and clustering capabilities became available and grew, users at many different processors could have access to the same software, and it became increasingly difficult and cumbersome to keep track of licenses and usage.

 

Along with the introduction of Version 5.0 of the VMS operating system, Digital announced simplification of its software licensing policies. These licensing changes were the result of recommendations of an internal task force made up of Sales, Marketing, Services and Engineering people, responding to the needs and suggestions of customers.

 

Customers want to be able to move licenses about and reconfigure their systems as their needs change. They don't want their software to be restricted to the originally licensed system or go through the Digital approval process to redesignate a license. And for clusters, they’d like a method to simply license fewer systems than the whole cluster when clusterwide availability is not needed. And they would like an option that charges for software based on usage versus the higher cost licensing options based on availability of the product on large VAX and VAXcIuster systems. In addition, they would like to be able to have quick and easy access to software and documentation, rather than having to go through the usual extensive ordering and delivery cycle.

 

In reevaluating our software licensing policies, our goals were to ensure; o fair prices for customers and for Digital, o support for our advancing technologies, o clarity, so the policies could be easily understood by our sales force and customers, and o preservation of customers’ software investments.

 

Our policies have to be appropriate for our various kinds of software and easy to admin­ister. They must also be usable by independent software vendors, whose success is impor­tant for Digital’s success.

 

A new License Management Facility (LMF), included in VMS Version 5.0, provides a greatly simplified way of keeping track of software use in order that managers can determine changing software needs for a facility. Current and historical licensing data of software can be displayed, and accessibility of software can be controlled on individual nodes of a VAXcIuster system.

 

The LMF (which is an integral part of VMS Version 5.0, not an option) is an enabling technology that will give Digital the flexibility to pursue new licensing alternatives and t           software distribution and documentation methods.

 

For instance, a ClusterWide license option allows the user to purchase a single license for any VAXcIuster system with price savings for larger VAXcIuster systems ranging as high as 60 to 70%. The price reduction results from treating the capacity of a cluster as though it were a single system. Digital charges less proportionally for capacity on large standalone systems than small systems. The pricing benefits of the standalone "pricing curve" is now granted to cluster customers. Users may further benefit from lower cluster prices due to the introduction of LAVC VAXcIuster Phase II functionality as part of VMS Version 5.0. They may now expand cluster sizes and include both low-end and high perfor­ming VAX systems in the same cluster. The new ClusterWide license enables a user to obtain a single "system" license for an entire VAXcIuster system. Currently licensed users may migrate their traditional licenses to ClusterWide licenses as well as economi­cally upgrade their new licenses as the VAXcIuster system grows.

 

Another new software licensing option is for limited software use of selected software products. This User/Activity license option provides a cost-effective alternative for software that is used on a limited scale. It is most cost-effective on VAXcIuster systems and large VAX computers.

 

Digital also has announced the availability of VMS Version 5.0 operating system software on a compact disk and plans for future distribution of VMS documentation on compact disk. Similar to audio compact disks used for music at home, these laser-read disks, which work with Digital's RD50 CD Reader, are less than 5 inches in diameter and can contain up to 600 Mbytes of data. With that capacity, a single disk can store the entire VMS operating system software and the equivalent of 22,000 pages of software documentation, with storage space to spare. Not only is this an efficient and economical means of software distribu­tion, but also optical disks are unaffected by magnetic fields, require no air condition­ing and can’t be automatically erased.

 

Eventually, it will be possible to distribute many separate software products on a single CD. The customer would then purchase a license for those items on the disk that he or she wants to use and we would provide the software keys necessary to access those items. The LMF software uses those codes to unlock the software the customer has the right to use. This technology allows us to offer software demonstration licenses, so customers can read documentation and sample software on a trial basis.

 

Instead of trying to control the physical code itself, we now allow code distribute to clustered and networked systems without the copy protection barriers that often complicate systems management. Software control is now easily managed by keys that may be assigned to those systems requiring access to the software. The products will be available at the customer site, but we will be paid for their usage. This new approach is made possible by the License Management Facility.

 

Digital’s Financial Architecture - Providing Managers With Timely And Accurate Information by Dave Spratt, Assistant Corporate Controller

 

Financial information is an important company resource. To capitalize on this resource we have to ensure that it is based on consistent definitions across all functions and geogra­phies. When financial information from different parts of the company is combined, we want to know it’s providing an accurate picture of the overall business, and can be used reliably in comparing one program, product or operation with another. This information then becomes an efficient tool helping managers to recognize and respond quickly to chan­ges in their business.

 

Digital’s Financial Architecture is a long-range strategy for ensuring that we have time­ly, consistent and accurate financial information worldwide. It includes standardizing

 

our definitions of accounts, integrating our programs with other information architectures (such as the Materials Architecture and the Order Transaction Processing Architecture), using common hardware and applications, and using Digital’s internal network to move information. One of the goals is to define all of the information that is going to be required by people in Finance and by operating managers, and to move information to those who need it when they need it, in the form they need it. Data will be entered only once, and then utilized as many times as necessary without being re-entered.

 

Before the Architecture program started, all financial and related management information went to Corporate Accounting for processing prior to being disseminated to operating managers. This is how. the system evolved during the early years of rapid growth. When we became a multi-national and multi-dimensional company, change was essential in the way we handled worldwide financial data and information.

 

Under the Architecture, we started by clearly defining the information Corporate required for its own purposes, and found that it only needed summary data for fiscal reporting and high-level management reporting. We significantly increased the flexibility and respon­siveness of all financial information systems by subsequently reducing the amount of data flowing to Corporate. This led to significant improvements in the speed with which we can process fiscal data.

 

In the past, 96 different sites submitted fiscal and management information directly to the Corporate Reporting Group in Acton, Massachusetts. Today that information goes to 8 geographic Financial Centers (six domestic and two international), which consolidate the fiscal information before sending it to Acton. At the same time, the Financial Centers send the detailed management information straight to the operating units, where it can be reviewed, analyzed, and used quickly for decision-making and control of the business.

 

The subsidiaries no longer have to send data directly to Acton for consolidation. Now, for example, the data for all the subsidiaries and manufacturing sites in Europe is con­solidated monthly by the Europe Consolidation Center in Geneva, Switzerland. From there, fiscal data for Corporate needs is transmitted to Acton, while operating data is sent to Stow, Massachusetts. The GIA Consolidation Center in Acton also performs this function for its worldwide subsidiaries.

 

As a result of these changes, we’ve accelerated both the closing process and the analysis of operations. Today it takes less than one hour of computer time to consolidate the company’s financial information for external reporting purposes. We announce our quar­terly results one week earlier than we did in the past. Last year we went to press with our Annual Report a month earlier than at any time ever in the history of the company. Thanks to such advances, Digital has earned a reputation on Wall Street for providing complete and accurate information, and we’re known as a financially disciplined company.

 

Over the last three years we’ve made presentations on our long-range plan for the Finan­cial Architecture to customers and potential customers from more than three hundred comp­anies. Today many of these companies are facing the same challenges we’ve already met. They look at our internal financial strategy for solutions and possible implementation in their businesses. Consequently, our internal success with the Financial Architecture is now supporting the sales effort.

 

We use Digital’s distributed processing approach and rely heavily on the company’s inter­nal worldwide network. Our six domestic Financial Management Centers (FMCs) provide data and decision support tools to managers in their geographies and local area. Each center provides a wide variety of accounting and reporting services to its cross-functional client base. For example, the Northern New England FMC in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and the Eastern Massachusetts FMC in Maynard both support manufacturing plants, engineering, marketing, sales, service and administrative business units.

 

These Centers provide managers with high quality, consistent financial information for use in their analysis of business performance. It is combined with other information to help them determine, for example, if they are selling the same product mix for which they’ve budgeted. Thus, it helps us measure progress and make necessary corrections.

 

A new project under way will give managers on-line access to their expense information through a network of financial data warehouses. It will give them the ability to view their information by cost center, function, business organization, and geography. The information will be stored at appropriate financial data warehouses, and eventually all managers with appropriate security will be able to utilize this service. Over time, we will expand the financial information available to include balance sheet, profit and loss, and other pertinent elements and statistics.

 

These are a few of the benefits we’re realizing already from the Financial Architecture programs, and we’re looking forward to similar benefits continuing for several years in many other areas. Providing better financial information throughout the company will continue to be one of our most urgent objectives.

 

Hudson Health Study Prompts Further Research

 

Months after Digital reported the results of its pioneering health study in Semiconductor Fabrication at Hudson, Massachusetts, the questions raised have led to a major industry -wide health study as well as several related studies within Digital.

 

The original study, prompted by employee questions and conducted for Digital by the Uni­versity of Massachusetts’ School of Public Health, found that pregnant wafer-manufacturing employees were about two times more likely to have a miscarriage than pregnant employees who did not work in wafer manufacturing. Although this was the first study of its kind and the sample of pregnant wafer manufacturing workers was small, the results were statis­tically significant. Further research, with larger numbers of wafer manufacturing workers than those available at Digital, is needed to evaluate these results; and, if confirmed, to find an explanation for the increased incidence of miscarriage.

 

Digital shared these results with other companies in the semiconductor industry and en­couraged them to conduct similar studies. As a result, the Semiconductor Industry Asso­ciation (SIA) is now launching a $4.3 million industry-wide study which will involve tens of thousands of workers. Overseen by an independent advisory panel of health experts, this study will be conducted by a major university. The university will be selected this summer, with the research to begin in the fall. Digital will support the SI A study. Also, IBM is beginning its own separate study of reproductive health at its semiconductor facilities, using Johns Hopkins University as its contractor. IBM is cooperating with the SIA to ensure that the results of the different studies are compatible.

 

Meanwhile, the researchers from the University of Massachusetts’ School of Public Health, who conducted the Digital study, have prepared an article detailing their results. The article has passed through scientific peer review and will be published this summer in The Journal of Occupational Medicine.

 

"Until results of industry-wide studies are reported, Digital strongly encourages that pregnant women do not work in the wafer fabrication areas in Digital semiconductor manu­facturing for the duration of their pregnancy," says Dick Porter, M.D., Corporate Medical Director. "Digital finds alternate work for them while they are pregnant, after which they may return, if they wish. Women of childbearing age also have the opportunity to leave the area and work elsewhere in the company, with no effect on their employment status and career opportunities within the company."

 

Following up on questions raised by this study, Digital has started three additional research efforts to better understand workplace factors that could affect employee health. These studies, which will be conducted at facilities in Hudson, Andover and Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, as well as Cupertino, California, relate to peak exposures to chemicals, on-the-job physical stress and general health surveillance. These facilities have wafer fabrication or similar operations.

 

"The first of these studies, conducted for Digital by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, is basic research that has never been done before," explains Jim Stewart, manager, Corporate Industrial Hygiene, Safety and Toxicology. "Researchers are now study­

 

ing the workplace, considering all of the chemicals in use and the likelihood that an employee might ever be exposed to them. Their next step will be to check thoroughly the existing literature regarding the toxicology, previous history of exposure in other indus­tries and the analytical chemistry of the substances in question, to determine how and at what levels they can be measured. Once they have selected the targeted substances, they will return to make workplace measurements.

 

"Today, industrial hygienists take samples of the air in the 'breathing zone’ of employees while they work, to determine the exposures that employees actually experience in the workplace. This sampling, typically through hoses, is a normal part of the work environ­ment in semiconductor manufacturing. Thousands of samples a year are taken. But the measurements are of average exposure levels. They do not give indications of transitory peaks, of exposure levels that may occur for just a minute or less. This basic research — measuring peak exposure levels — is an important first step in being able to better understand the workplace environment to make it as safe as possible for employees."

 

Another study is assessing ergonomic stresses on the job at these same sites. "Research­ers from the University of Michigan will develop a ’tool’ (a questionnaire or check list) to allow Digital to assess on-the-job physical stress in these manufacturing environments," says Jim. "They will be considering such factors as prolonged standing and sitting, twisting and lifting and repetitive motion. They will talk to employees and follow them around on the job, watching what they do and how they do it. Based on these observations, they will develop the questionnaire. Then they will verify its accuracy with other jobs."

 

Digital is also going to begin long-term, detailed health surveillance of all employees who work in manufacturing areas at the same four sites (Hudson, Shrewsbury, Andover and Cupertino). This will involve collecting information on the work that individuals have done and the materials to which they might have been exposed. It may also involve medical examinations and questionnaires. Collecting this kind of data for a large population over a long period of time will make it possible to detect detrimental effects as early as possible. All information will be kept confidential and will be reported back to the individuals.

 

Eight Managers Promoted To Vice President

 

In recognition of the significance of their contributions to Digital, eight senior mana­gers have been promoted to vice president: Dick Esten, Dick Farrahar, Dick Fishbum, Lou Gaviglia, Frank McCabe, Ron Payne, Greg Plakias and Dick Walsh.

 

Dick Esten has been manager of European Manufacturing for the last year. He joined Digi­tal in 1969 and has served in a variety of management positions in Manufacturing, inclu­ding San German plant manager, Puerto Rico general manager, Albuquerque plant manager, Terminals Manufacturing manager, Low-End Manufacturing manager and Manufacturing Resource manager.

 

Dick Farrahar manages Personnel for the Manufacturing, Engineering and Product Marketing organizations. He came to Digital in 1970 and has served as a senior group Personnel manager and a member of the Personnel Management Committee since 1982.

 

Dick Fishburn has been Finance manager for Sales, Services, Marketing and International since he came to Digital in 1985. He was previously senior vice president of Administra­tion at ANR Freight and held a variety of financial management positions at Ford Motor Company.

 

Lou Gaviglia has served as group manager for Computer Systems Manufacturing since 1983. He joined Digital in 1967 and has held a succession of management positions in Manufac­turing, including plant manager, Salem, N.H., and manager, Commercial Group Manufactur­ing.

 

Frank McCabe has been manager of Corporate Quality since 1984. He joined Digital in 1980 as European Volume Manufacturing manager. He later served as manager of the Systems Technology Group in Computer Systems Manufacturing.

 

Ron Payne has been manager of Corporate Purchasing since 1983. He joined Digital in 1977 at the Springfield, Mass., plant, where he held a succession of posts such as purchasing manager, materials manager and plant manager.

 

Greg Plakias has served as manager of Storage Manufacturing since 1981. He joined Digital in 1977 as manager of Materials and Planning for Storage Manufacturing, and later served as manager of Human Resources in Corporate Manufacturing.

 

Dick Walsh manages Personnel for the Sales, Services, Marketing and International organi­zations. He came to Digital in 1974 and has served as a senior group Personnel manager and a member of the Personnel Management Committee since 1982.

 

Changes In The U.S. Field Finance Organization

 

To meet the changing needs of Digital’s business, U.S. Field Finance has reorganized, creating a number of new functions. "As we prepare for FY89, we face economic uncertain­ty, an industry in transition; increased competition and a diverse, changing market that requires managing to several different business models simultaneously," explains Tom Colatosti, manager, U.S. Field Finance. "The need to understand the business, control cost and improve productivity is greater than ever. To meet these challenges, we need to be able to collect, summarize and analyze information that not only gives us an in-depth understanding of where we have been but helps us anticipate the future and respond to changes and trends."

 

A new U.S. Business Analysis group, managed by John Traynor, will be responsible for ensuring integration of financial planning and analysis, at the U.S. level, across all our business dimensions.

 

Measurement and Reporting, a new function reporting to Andy D’Agostino, U.S. Controller, will focus on defining data and information needs. The function will be responsible for ensuring fiscal reporting is effectively translated into business and management terms and is easily and consistently available and accessible.

 

Bill Gervais will integrate a number of activities that will help more effectively manage Government and Commercial Program business. Bill will be responsible for Government Compliance; Controls and Systems for Program Business; and Financial Analysis and Track­ing.

 

A new position, U.S. Finance Information Systems, is being created, and will be managed by Ron Calabria, who reports to Tom Colatosti and Pat Gillogly, U.S. DIS Manager. Ron will be responsible for all U.S. Finance transactional, reporting and operational systems.

 

A new systems and information focus is also being created, under the sponsorship of Mike Kalagher, manager of U.S. Administration, and Tom, to more effectively manage the multiple "data warehouses" and "information centers."

 

In addition U.S. Areas will create a new position, Business Analysis, to drive cross­functional responsibilities similar to those of the U.S. Business Analysis and Program Business functions. A new position, called Systems Finance, will be created in each Area to be responsible for supporting the Area Sales and the Area Business Management func­tions. Area Controllers will continue to be responsible for accounting, controls, repor­ting and financial support to Administration.

 

Managers should allow extra time to take care of the additional paperwork and procedures that may be necessary for their employees to obtain passports, visas and other travel documentation. For instance, U.S. citizens going to France for DECWORLD 88 will have to obtain visas from a French consulate prior to their trip.

 

In particular, employees in the U.S. who are citizens of other countries may need extra time to obtain travel documents to enter France and other countries and then return to the U.S. This time can vary from one to three months so it is important to plan now. They should check with the consultate of the country they plan to visit to determine the exact documentation needed to enter that country. They also need to be aware of their home country's guidelines regarding travel documents. If they return to their home country, failure to notify their home country government of their residency status in the U.S. may delay their departure.

 

Some countries require that permanent foreign residents of the U.S. ("green card holders") obtain a U.S. Re-entry Permit before issuing them a visa for entry. It takes about three months to obtain a Re-entry Permit from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

 

Employees who are in the U.S. on temporary non-immigrant visas, have changed their status within the U.S. (for instance from student visa) and wish to travel outside the U.S., must obtain a stamp on their passports from a U.S. Consulate in a foreign country prior to their return to the U.S.

 

Also, employees in the U.S. on temporary non-immigrant visas must have an intention of returning to their home country. When applying for a temporary non-immigrant stamp to be placed in their passports, they must convince the U.S. Consular Officer in the U.S. Con­sul ate/Embassy of their intent to return home. If the Consular Officer decides there is no intent to return to the home coutnry, he/she can refuse to enter the stamp in their passports, thereby prohibiting their return to the U.S.

 

Digital’s Corporate Immigration Department recommends that employees from other countries who are being sponsored by Digital for permanent residency in the U.S. ("green card pro­cess") not travel abroad until the "green card" is issued.

 

The best source of information in these matters is the consulate of the country in ques­tion. Digital’s Corporate Immigration Department, DTN 251-1286 or (617) 264-1287, can also help.

Update On Company Identity Standards

 

Work of the Company Identity Committee is affecting the company’s visual image and iden­tity worldwide. The program, which has been in effect in the U.S. for the last year, had its formal kickoff in Europe in March, and will formally start in GIA in June. The new standards — which cover such matters as the proper use of the company logo, typography, stationery, promotional literature, signage, site newsletters, use of trademarks and the naming of products - have been been published in an Identity Manual distributed to over 4000 people. The workgroups, which include representatives from all parts of the company, all over the world, continue to develop additional standards. The first update to the Manual will be issued in Q4.

 

"We’re beginning to see results," notes Peter Phillips, manager, Corporate Identity and Design Group. "We’re seeing far more consistency from one function to another and from one country to another in the way the company presents itself visually. Digital is be­ginning to look like as well as operate like ’one company.’"

 

The Committee recently decided that it is inappropriate to use just one color to represent the corporation, since such an approach would be restrictive, inflexible and costly. The use of color within Digital must satisfy a broad variety of needs and applications from promotional literature for customers to functional uses on products. Complex color rela­tionships occur when our products and services come together, and the use of color must be considered in this context. However, the use of color is limited in order to provide an integrated yet flexible system. The Manual indicates the color standards for each of the identity elements. For example, the Digital logo is limited to blue for the stationery system; black, white or blue for literature; and neutral colors for products.

 

Due to the upcoming change in telephone area codes in Massachusetts, many employees will soon be ordering new business cards. (See related article in this issue). The Identity Committee emphasizes that business cards are intended for external use and that, there­fore, it is inappropriate to include DTN phone numbers or electronic mail addresses that include internal node names. A public electronic mail address should only be included if it serves a business purpose, as attested to by a cost center manager’s signature. "A business card should not be cluttered. It should only have the information that is essen­tial for external people to contact the employee," notes Peter.

 

To request the manual and future updates (at no charge) or followup education and consul­tation on how to implement the Company Identity Standards, contact; Judy Steul, DTN 251-1490, (617) 264-1490, ALL-IN-1 Mail @CFO, CFO1-1/M37.

 

Area Code Change Will Affect Digital’s Headquarters

 

On July 16, the telephone area code for many Digital facilities in Massachusetts will change from 617 to 508. Some facilities, such as Bedford, Burlington, Waltham and Boston will remain in the 617 area code, but 190 towns with nearly 30,000 Digital employees will change to area code 508. The current Digital Telephone Directory includes an insert that indicates the territory that is changing.

 

While the area code changes, the other seven digits of phone numbers and DTN phone numbers will remain the same.

 

The transition is expected to happen smoothly and automatically. For a three-month grace period, both area codes will be in effect; so anyone who calls either 617 or 508 will be connected to the right party. Then for a year (until October 1989), anyone who mistakenly dials the 617 area code will hear a recorded message saying that the area code has changed to 508.

 

Corporate Personnel Administration has a list of the towns and exchanges affected and will automatically convert all home phones and emergency contact phones on the Employee Master File. This mass change to the file will take place on the weekend of July 16.

 

Employees ordering new business cards with the new area code can expect that delivery will be slow. All businesses in this area are going through the same change and vendors have large backlogs. But thanks to the buffer period provided by the phone company, there is no urgency.

 

At the same time the area code changes, Digital's main phone number in Maynard, Massachu­setts, will change from (617)897-5111 to (508)493-5111. For years the dial-in exchange for Digital offices in the Maynard area has been 493, and only the main number (used primarily by first-time callers who do not have the name of an individual) was 897. This change is intended to eliminate the confusion that difference has caused. As in the case of the area code, there will be a three month grace period during which both the old and new numbers will work, followed by a year or more during which a recording will alert callers of the new number.

 

People with questions regarding these changes should contact their local Telecommunica­tions group or Digital Voice Communications at DTN 273-3121 or (617)264-3121.

 

Digital Opens Subsidiary In Philippines

 

Digital continues to pursue its expansion in the Far East with the startup of a subsidiary in the Philippines, Digital Equipment Filipinas, Inc. Coupled with the recent establish­ment of the Thailand subsidiary, there are now seven direct sales offices and three manu­facturing plants in the Far East Region.

 

According to Bobby Choonavala, vice president, Far East Region, "Digital’s presence in the Philippines, a move undertaken after a year of extensive market and business analysis, underscores our confidence in the economic recovery of the Philippines and the exciting prospects for servicing the computing needs of growing local and multinational business­es." He adds that Digital’s strengths in networking are ideal for an island environment such as the Philippines.

 

Ken Olsen Honored By King Of Sweden And American Society Of Swedish Engineers

 

Ken Olsen, president, was awarded the John Ericsson Medal for outstanding achievement in technology. The medal was presented to him by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on April 15 at a ceremony in New York City. This medal is given once every two years by the American Society of Swedish Engineers to an individual born in Sweden or of Swedish descent. Ken’s mother’s family originally came from Sweden.

 

Digital Ranks 38 On Fortune 500 List

 

Digital has moved up from number 44 to number 38 on the Fortune Magazine listing of the largest U.S. industrial corporations. This ranking is based on total revenues of $9,389.4 million for fiscal year 1987, which ended last June. In profits, Digital was number 17, with $1,137.4 million.

 

General Doriot Videotape Available

 

"The Man with a Vision", a videotape highlighting the business philosophies of the late General Georges Doriot will be available after June 15 for viewing by all managers and employees. As president of the venture capital firm American Research and Development, General Doriot provided the $70,000 to start Digital in 1957. He was a member of Digi­tal’s board of directors from its founding, and had a strong, though indirect influence on the company’s management style and values.

 



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