[Escoordminutes] ES Div. Coordination Minutes-- July

[Lew Serna]

Minutes for the ES Division Coordination Meeting held on Tuesday, July 
27, 2004, at 10 am, in the LL CB conference room.  Attending were Bob 
Broilo, Lew Serna, James Sullivan, Charley Chavez, Guy Stanzione,  Brent 
Avery, Gene Cole, Patty Lindsey, Mark McKinnon, and Jon Thunborg.

BUDGET   Serna.
All but two accounts seem to be in fair shape thus far.  All PO’s of 
$500 or more should be approved by L Serna until October 1.  Budget 
allocation adjustments will appear on the next ES budget report. 
Usually the books for current year spending are closed around mid 
September. We need to be prepared to purchase some badly needed rail 
equipment like ballast cars and a locomotive in case there is enough 
money left over at the end of FY 2004 in the NRAONM budget for this.

AZ Bearings.
Antenna #16 will be scheduled for bearing replacement around mid 
October.  Parts from the bearings removed from antennas should be stored 
until they are scheduled to be shipped to Rotek for repair. These parts 
are needed for measuring and fitting of new parts.  Antenna #14’s 
bearing will be shipped to Rotek for possible refurbishment in FY 2005. 
Bearings will be refurbished as they are removed from the Antennas 
(approximately 1 per year).  Antennas 18, 20 and 26 have bad bearings 
that will eventually need to be replaced.  A spare bearing should be 
maintained at all times. An estimated three weeks in the AAB are 
required before a bearing change can occur.  Antenna #16 should enter 
the AAB around September 27.  Try to prepare as far in advance as 
possible.  Guy Stanzione will be the Bearing Change Supervisor on 
Antenna #16.

NEW PROJECTS:

SAFETY HANDRAILS AT AAB- A safety rail is required around the perimeter 
of the roofs of several AAB shops since they are being used for storage 
of materials.  This job is complete.

AZ BEARING Pocket Mill- the AZ Bearing Pocket Mill is used to machine 
the antenna azimuth bearing pocket.  At best the mill will currently 
achieve an accuracy of around .008 inches or .009 inches of tolerance. 
The spec calls for less than a .012 inch tolerance.  The use of a 
different bearing on the mill would achieve a higher degree of accuracy 
for milling the pocket.  If the new mill bearing can be purchased with 
our current budget we will replace it before the next bearing change. 
Early cost estimate is about $3K.  A requisition should be prepared in 
case there is money available.

Auto Shop Concrete slab- The badly deteriorated slab in front of the 
Auto Shop needs to be replaced.  Approximate cost is around $4K for 37 
yards of concrete and other materials.  This project is pending FY 2005 
budget funds.

EVLA Status
Cold Storage (Shop Space) The foundation for A 5,000 sq. ft. metal 
building is being installed NE of the Generator Building. Building 
material should arrive on the first week of August.  The stem wall will 
be placed next week and the floor should be finished by mid to late 
August.  Building erection will likely occur during the first part of 
September with a target completion date of mid September.  Just in time 
for the arrival of bulk material that has been ordered.  Several persons 
from the construction crew will have to be trained and certified to 
operate the manlift.  Dean will do the digging for the foundation work. 
The sprinkler system will be installed at a later date.  Personnel from 
other ES groups may be enlisted to help with the erection of the 
building. Once EVLA storage requirements are ended, this building may be 
used for shop space.

The outfitting of EVLA antennas will likely be accelerated due to 
accelerated EVLA budgets.  A six antennas per year schedule is expected 
if the accelerated monies become available. The accelerated schedule 
could start by FY 2006.  Completion target date with the accelerated 
schedule is in year 2009.  Increased manpower levels will be required to 
maintain the accelerated schedules.

A meeting to discuss the schedule for moving the ModComps and other 
control building remodeling will be held in Socorro today (1/27/04) at 
1:30pm.

Quarterly Report Update      P. Lindsey
  It is requested that The fabrication of Timbers be added to the 
Quarterly Report.  Please update & return to Patty.

SAFETY REPORT ...James Sullivan
Accident Report:  No new accidents to report. There have been a total of 
twelve (12) Accident/Incidents reported this year. 9 accidents 
attributed to the ES Division.

Monthly All Hands Safety Meeting:
Last meeting was held on June 24, 2004. There were a total of 37 
employees in attendance.  Portable Fire Extinguishers was the topic.

Next Monthly All Hands Safety Meeting:
The next all hands safety meeting will be held on July 29, 2004 @ 3:00pm 
in the VLA Café.

Up coming Training:
On August 11th several of the new lead-men will be attending a Workplace 
Safety & OSHA Compliance seminar in Albuquerque, NM. These new lead-men 
are Jaime Montero, Shane Baca, Paul Savedra and Richard Murillo.

EMS Training:
10 employees from the EMS group attended the helicopter training on 
7/22/2004 in Datil, NM.

OTHER Discussion (Other)
Updating prints.
It is important that we make a concerted effort to update drawings to 
all modifications made to any equipment including Buildings, Antennas, 
transporters, generators, HVAC, etc.. If any drawings have not been 
updated please make sure that Emma has all information to update drawings.

St Croix Painting-
A plan for painting the SC antenna, using a crew from the VLA is being 
considered.  A visit to VLBA SC for painting the antenna will be 
investigated for FY 2005.  ES Division will contact Pete at SC and 
discuss possibilities.

Announcements:

Monthly Directors/Division Head Meetings; A meeting which includes all 
of NRAO Directors and Division Heads and chaired by Fred Lo will be held 
monthly as a means to improve communications throughout the 
organization.  Each Assistant Director or his designee will give a 
monthly updated report on matters concerning their sites and their 
projects. The minutes of the meeting will be disseminated to all NRAO 
employees through email.

Updated Travel Manual.  An updated travel policy which will show new per 
diem rates based upon location (city) is expected soon.  Other changes 
include advance airline tickets must be purchase at least 14 days 
(instead of 7 days) in advance to take advantage of savings.  Also, for 
a “smoother” service, travelers to Chile should contact Chilean NRAO 
personnel for making their lodging and car rental arrangements.   The 
target date for final approval and effective date is September 1, 2004. 
The new manual will be available on the web as soon as it is approved by 
AUI.

MK-5 Recorders- KP, LA and PT will receive MK-5A recorders by the end of 
September.  These recorders will be used to record monitor data from the 
European Huygens probe which will make a parachute landing on the 
surface of the moon Titan.  The data will be sent to Europe.  Other VLBA 
stations will be outfitted with MK-5 recorders for the NASA satellite 
tracking pilot project sometime next year.

LWA (Long Wavelength Array (old LOFAR))- A test patch of Low Frequency 
antennas will likely be located at or near the VLA Site sometime in the 
near future.  A LWA group will be visiting the VLA on August 10 for a tour.

Scientific Staff Reorganization –Scientists are being appointed to 
various projects and are to be the single point of contact for that 
particular project.   Currently Greg Taylor is appointed to VLBA 
projects, Fraser Owen is appointed to VLA projects. Craig Walker will 
stand in for Greg on a temporary basis until Greg returns from 
sabbatical.  Input and direction from these scientists will insure that 
the scientific goals and objectives for projects are being met.   They 
are a single point contact for scientific related issues.
Transporter Generators.  It is desirable to order the new Transporter 
generators in FY 2004.  Original estimates were based on early Antenna 
loads and replacement of the onan generator.  After discussion and input 
from various groups it is believed that it is better to upgrade the 
aging Detroit Generators that currently supply power only to the 
transporter.  A larger Detroit generator would power both the antenna 
and the Transporter and the existing onan generator would only be used 
for “limp in” mode only. This would simplify operations and replace 
troublesome aging generators along with other benefits.

Warehouse Inventory – There will be a warehouse inventory held around 
mid September.  The date is to be announced.  The warehouse will be 
closed for 3 days to conduct the annual inventory.  Please make only 
urgent requests during this time.

Kudos- Mark McKinnon thanks Glen Mauger for responding on the Fire Alarm 
problem during the weekend.  Mark thanks all employees who respond to 
callouts in a prompt and professional manner regularly, and credits them 
for helping to achieve the AD’s goal of making the VLA and VLBA the 
outstanding, productive instruments that they are.