[Escoordminutes] ES Div. Coordination Minutes.. April

[Lew Serna]

Minutes for the ES Division Coordination Meeting held on Tuesday, April 
26, 2005, at 10 am, in the LL CB conference room.  Attending were 
Melcolm Peralta, Lew Serna, Pat Lewis, Mark McKinnon, Guy Stanzione, Bob 
Broilo, James Sullivan, Jim Ruff, Tom Frost, Brent Avery, Gene Cole and 
Jon Thunborg.

BUDGET   Serna— Efforts to compensate for a flat budget and eliminate 
the need for involuntary layoffs have been successful. No budget numbers 
yet, but will arrive by next week.  New budget numbers will be issued to 
Supervisors via the next monthly budget report

VLBA Trips for 2005(targeted) — The SC trip is complete; MK maintenance 
visit will occur in year 2006; The HN visit scheduled for FY 2005 may be 
canceled due to the expense of a long SC trip.  The LA visit should 
occur in the latter two weeks of July.  It is unclear how the LA visit 
for the different groups will occur.

AZ Bearings. Parts from the bearings removed from antennas are needed 
for measuring and fitting of new parts and should be stored until they 
are scheduled to be shipped to Rotek for repair. There are 3 spare 
bearings on hand. One spare bearing should be maintained at all times. 
Antenna 14’s, & 16’s bearing will be shipped to Rotek for possible 
refurbishment, at the rate of one per year, when the budget permits. 
Antennas 18, 20 and 26 have bad bearings that will eventually need to be 
replaced.  An estimated three weeks in the AAB are required before a 
bearing change can occur. Antenna 18 will enter the AAB on April 28 for 
EVLA outfitting and bearing change. Priority work on the antenna is 
given to the bearing change so it can occur on schedule (week of May 
23). It may be possible to change the bearing sooner but no changes in 
plans will be made until we can be sure. A future date for a meeting to 
make this decision will be announced when necessary.  Antenna 20 bearing 
replacement will be scheduled for later in the summer this year, 
possibly September.

NEW PROJECTS:
  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.   This project is complete.  The cut is much 
cleaner and we will test the mill on antenna 28 if it’s bearing pocket 
is out of spec or marginal.

ACU Modification. A new ACU that replaces the ACU in its entirety is 
desirable.  The new ACU would hopefully improve the position loop 
response, improve reliability and replace the obsolete components.  A 
PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) based upgrade would cost around $3K 
per antenna.  EVLA has funded the prototype and design work is in 
progress. No funding commitments are made for retrofitting.

Control Building Stairways. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to stop 
the corrosion on the Control Building Stairways we are forced to replace 
the stairways with an improved design conforming to ADA. Estimated cost 
to do this for both stairways is $12K.  A kick plate on the northwest 
staircase has fallen off due to corrosion and the stairway has been 
closed to the public.  In order to open the stairway to the public, 
modification to the stairways, to conform to ADA (American Disabilities 
Act) standards will be necessary.  Repairs to the damaged stairway are 
being made and estimated time of repair is 4-5 weeks. Remaining stairway 
repairs will be made at a later date.

EVLA STATUS
AAB ANTENNA POWER Source –EVLA antenna loads have exceeded the 
Transformer circuit and wiring capacity.  Work to increase the size of 
the Circuit breaker and associated wiring is in progress.  Relocation of 
the transformer will be necessary to reduce cost and ease of installation.

Correlator Room .. Floor has been removed. And the room is being 
prepared.  Correlator power requirements will allow us to tap off of the 
existing 1200A buss at 480V and no additional transformer will be 
required. Carpenters are wrapping up miscellaneous work.  RFI Chamber 
bid has been awarded to Universal Shielding.

EVLA Antennas:
Antenna 16 is being moved to E14 on the east arm. Antenna 18 will arrive 
in the AAB on April 28.  Antenna 18 will receive a bearing change and a 
complete EVLA upgrade.

SAFETY REPORT...  James Sullivan
Accident/Incidents Report:

     One (1) new accident to report this month. There have been a total 
of six (6) Accidents/Incidents reported this year. There have been three 
(3) accident/incidents attributed to the ES Division.

The following is a breakdown by division:

Electronics --3,    ES -- 3,

Monthly All Hands Safety Meeting:
     Last meeting was held on Feb-17-2005. There were a total of 27 
employees in attendance.  Defensive Driving was the topic.

Next Monthly All Hands Safety Meeting:  The next all hands safety 
meeting will be held on April 28, 2005 @ 3:30pm in the VLA Cafe. Aerial 
platform operator training will be the topic. All employees that use an 
aerial platform or manlift should attend this meeting.

On May 19 the all hands safety meeting will be a split topic, for both 
work and home. The topic will be a Stroke presentation by Greg Hendley. 
Greg is an EMT-I and a stroke education trainer.

Up coming training:  Forklift refresher training is due for most 
employees on site. I will start setting up the training be group as was 
done in 2003, I was able to conduct the training in 2003 by group and 
was able to complete it within a short time frame.

  EPA: Employees still drop items off at the haz-waste area with out 
notifying the safety officer of what it is and where it came from. James 
needs this information so he can determine what should be done with the 
material. Supervisors need to inform employees that James must be 
notified when anything goes to the Haz-waste area. Notification can be 
via e-mail or a phone call.

OTHER:
On Line Requisition Training—The on line requisition system will go-live 
in Socorro on 5/16 which coincides with the Charlottesville and Green 
Bank.  Key points regarding the go-live you should be aware of are:
•        Users will not be allowed onto the production environment 
starting 5/16 until they have taken (and passed) Web Based Training or 
taken the assigned classroom training based upon their role (Power User 
Training or Approver Training).  Please be aware that training manuals 
are also available and are an essential supplement to Web Based 
Training.   They provided detailed step by step instructions for key 
processes.  We are in the process of incorporating access to those 
manuals on the NRAO intranet.  Until then, you may request copies of the 
manuals from your site coordinator.
•        Realizing the busy schedule you have, we have incorporated a 
“grace period” until July 15 to allow requisitioners to take the Web 
Based Training and transition onto the Web Based Procurement 
application.  After July 15, paper requisitions should no longer be used.
•        This grace period will smooth the transitions for individuals 
using the new application as well as allow the NRAO implementation team 
to handle the support from 05/15 – 07/15.
  VLA Site On Line Requisition Training Coordinators are Selfa Lucero, 
Pat Lewis & Lewis Serna. Manuals can be issued by Selfa.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE;   An informal poll shows that only 3 persons are 
interested in working 8 hr days during Holiday weeks at the VLA.  All 
other persons prefer to work the 10/2v schedule and the 10/4v schedule. 
A proposal has been submitted to management for approval.

In order to accommodate the new schedule, the buses arrive at the VLA at 
6:30 a.m. and leave at 4:30 p.m.  The scheduled hours of work for 
employees NOT working the new schedule will be from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 
p.m.   Since the bus would be supporting a 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
schedule, employees not scheduled to work this schedule will have to 
make arrangements for other transportation.  Employees scheduled to 
arrive at the VLA at 8:30 a.m. will make arrangements to ride on the 
7:30 a.m. shuttle.

Shops responsible for responding to problems affecting data and groups 
that directly support these shops are required to maintain coverage on 
all normal scheduled workdays during the holiday week.  In ES division, 
shops requiring complete coverage are: Electricians, HVAC, Servo, 
Antenna Mechanics, Auto Shop, Machine Shop, Division Head and 
Administration.  If personnel from these shops work the 10 hr Holiday 
Schedule, they must coordinate their schedules so at least two employees 
are available during the normal work period wherever possible. 
Supervisors should not allow LWOP instead of vacation.

1. The10 hour/day work schedule for a single day holiday week is three 
10 hour days and 2 hours of vacation for the week.

2. The10 hour/day work schedule for a double day holiday week is two 10 
hour days and 4 hours vacation.

3. Employees not scheduled for the 10 hour work schedule will work 8 
hour days, from 0830 to 1630.

3. An employee must choose which holiday schedule he prefers and must 
adhere to this schedule unless approved otherwise.  Approval of work 
schedules is contingent upon the needs of the Observatory.


ANNOUNCEMENTS:

PEP’s
May 1- Due date for employees to return the self appraisal forms to 
supervisors.
June 1- Supervisor reviews completed performance appraisal forms with 
division head and receives approval. Supervisor begins scheduling and 
holding evaluation meetings with employees.
June 30- Due date for all evaluation meetings to be concluded and 
appraisal forms signed by the employee.
July 5— All of the original completed and signed appraisal forms must be 
forwarded to the appropriate HR office with a copy to employee.

CHANGE IN AOC-VLA SHUTTLE SCHEDULE- Monday through Friday, AOC 
mid-morning shuttle would leave at 0930 instead of 0900. This shuttle 
will depart from VLA at noon (no change).

Monday through Friday, AOC early morning shuttle would leave at 0730 (no 
change). This shuttle vehicle is available for mid-afternoon returns 
from VLA at 1430 (self-driven). Morning riders departing VLA at 1630 
ride the bus back.

Beginning May 9, the 1430 shuttle vehicle is unavailable as it is needed 
to provide transportation for Prescilla, Monday-Thursday, who works 
until 1830 those days. This schedule ends on August 11, and the vehicle 
will then be available for the 1430 shuttle.

Skip would like to implement these schedule changes to encourage riders 
from Electronics & other divisions to pool rides using the shuttle 
schedule and provide them a way back during mid afternoon.

Occasionally, when Clifford does not drive the shuttle, and the van does 
not make it out to the VLA because no one will volunteer to drive it, we 
invoke the 0730 shuttle vehicle to return passengers to Magdalena & 
Socorro. This makes it unavailable for a 1430 VLA to AOC shuttle.

SERVICE AWARDS: CONGRATULATIONS!
2005 NRAONM Service awards;
- 10-Year Recipients -
Thomas Briscoe, Bryan Butler, Garry Morris, Richard Murillo, Betty 
Ragan, Kevin Ryan, Stephan Witz

- 20-Year Recipients -
Kelly Gatlin, Stella Gutierrez, Theresa McBride, Robert Peralta, Robert 
Smith, Mack Stephenson

- 30-Year Recipients - Skip Lagoyda, Patrick Lewis

- 40-Year Recipients - Barry Clark