Excavation work in Zermatt –
a week on site as a task specialist

Air Zermatt’s dispatchers get a chance to try out the role of task specialist for a week with a view to helping both sides understand each other’s work, strengthening team spirit and making sure planning and execution are as smooth as possible. Below is an account of just such a situation.

Like every other morning, the kitchen fills up at 6.45 a.m. during the month of excavation work, and the task specialists, dispatchers and pilots await the upcoming briefing. A total of around 10 task specialists are divided into groups of two or three between three helicopters, and sent to the various construction sites. Materials were supplied to around 60 construction sites in total last May. These sites are spread all over Zermatt, and to keep flights over densely populated areas to a minimum, Air Zermatt’s dispatchers try to organize local pick-up and drop-off points whenever possible. For example, wooden slats are flown straight onto the roof from an electric vehicle next to the building to avoid unnecessary reloading or long flights. For the task specialists, this means little time for moving between the various construction sites. During the two months available for excavation work, vehicles with four axles travel through Zermatt, which is actually car-free, making it a lot more difficult for the task specialists to get around. Moving just a few hundred meters can easily take a considerable amount of time. Some task specialists travel from site to site by bike, while others drive around in an electric vehicle or a van to set up an additional helicopter refueling point at the other end of the village if needed.

And this is where the dispatch team comes into play. The locations of the various construction sites must be organized and, above all, coordinated as well as possible as soon as the jobs come in. Short distances are essential when it comes to meeting all customer requests during this short period of just one month. As soon as a construction site has been prepared by the task specialists, the dispatchers are notified and the red and white machines can finally take off.

After a morning of hard work comes a well-earned lunch, with a short break before the second half of the day. But first the schedule for the afternoon is discussed one more time, as there are usually a few changes to be made. The groups are reshuffled, assigned and instructed, and then it’s back to work.

Several construction sites and plenty of welding and precision work later, everyone heads back to base together. Getting together for an after-work beer is a must – time to both look back at the day and talk about construction sites and challenges to come. These one-month windows for excavation work are intense, but as a dispatcher it’s fascinating to gain an insight into the everyday life of a task specialist. This exchange is valuable for supporting cooperation in day-to-day flight operations and gives everyone plenty to talk about, both in and out of the working environment.

And at Air Zermatt, the excavation work month is traditionally rounded off with a barbecue for the crew.