Company Operations

Administrative records provide a routine picture of a small engineering firm that grew quickly during the 1990s and relied heavily on contract work.

Employment

Engineering and field services represented approximately two-thirds of staff. Other departments included technical publications, purchasing, accounting, human resources, facilities, and client training. Most employees worked at Bellweather or Calder.

Office schedule and policies

Standard office hours were 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Engineering teams used flexible start times with supervisor approval. Calder maintained an evening equipment-test shift during large integration projects.

The 1997 handbook provided ten paid holidays, fifteen days of annual leave after the first year, tuition reimbursement for approved technical courses, mileage reimbursement at 31.5 cents per mile, and a business-casual dress policy except at client facilities.

Purchasing and suppliers

Routine purchases included desktop computers, tape drives, drafting supplies, rack hardware, telephone equipment, test instruments, printer consumables, and safety equipment. Orders above $5,000 required a department manager and the controller. Capital equipment above $25,000 also required presidential approval.

Client work

Morrowline's annual summaries group clients by sector rather than name. The 1997 mix was approximately 31 percent electric and water utilities, 24 percent manufacturing, 18 percent distribution and warehousing, 14 percent public agencies, and 13 percent other commercial work.

Training and professional activity

Employees delivered client workshops on equipment documentation, change control, backup rotation, and emergency communications. The company reimbursed professional-society dues and maintained a shared technical library of roughly 2,400 books, standards, manuals, and periodicals.

Travel

Field engineers typically traveled two to six days per month. The preferred hotel ceiling was $92 per night in 1997, and airfare was booked through Bellweather Corporate Travel. International work required written approval from Client Services and Corporate Operations.