Once upon a time...

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 300, 18 August 1989, Page 13

Once upon a time...

Jim Reed, Keith McKenzie, John Funnell and all the other helicopter pilots round here took a holidav at once?

No, this is 80 Pakistanis doing them out of a contract, hauling a one-and-a-half tonne bull wheel and other chairlift components up a 10,000 ft mountain. Where were the fellows who monitor unfair labour practices? Are all these chaps covered by ACC? Where are the efficiency experts? Who's doing the time/motion studies? When Doppelmayr set about installing a new chairlift and T-bar on Malam Jabba, about 200 miles north of the country's capital of Islambad, it was a matter of using medieval construction and transportation systems for building a 1980's state-of-the-art double chairlift. The surprising result of this merging of

ancient and modern technologies was a heightened respect for the other's way of doing things. For the poor farmers who were recruited, the project represented a welcome opportunity to bring in some extra cash. For the Doppelmayr team of assembly engineer it was a learning experience of awesome dimensions, not only in communication, but also in innovative and on-the-spot problem solving. Picks and shovels - not bulldozers and blasting caps - were the tools for laying foundations. Backs and shoulders replaced machines and helicopters in carrying and rolling towers, yokes, sheave assemblies over the of-

ten steep and rough terrain. Even the gathering of the gravel was carried out manually. Donkeys with carriers strapped to their sides were led up to their bellies in the water while the work-

ers, also standing in the water, shoveled gravel. The most iriteresting part of the project was the development of deep mutual respect between the Doppelmayr team and the workers. The Pakistani foreman was dismayed by the fraternization between the Doppelmayr team and the labourers on the work crew. He was even more amazed and dismayed when Doppelmayr's top engineer insisted he get his hands dirty by

actually participating in the labour - unheard of for a foreman. The job was completed on schedule despite these unusual and unforeseeable problems, and the project ream departed, full of admiration for the humour, loyalty and pride of their Pakistani friends. In the meantime, lift suppliers are busy recalculating their proposals using work crews of university dropouts and redundant state servants instead of choppers and diggers.