[Escoordminutes] ES Division Coord. Mtg. Minutes-June

[Lew Serna]

Minutes for the ES Division Coordination Meeting held on Tuesday, May 
24, 2005, at 10 am, in the LL CB conference room.  Attending were Eric 
Carlowe, Lew Serna, Guy Stanzione, Bob Broilo, Jim Ruff, Tom Frost, 
Brent Avery, Gene Cole, Steve Aragon, Selfa Lucero and Charley Chavez.

BUDGET   Serna— Supervisors are urged to continue to be frugal while 
spending and watch their budgets carefully to avoid overspending. Less 
than $8K remains in the travel budget as of May 31.  Budget projections 
show that all groups in the ES Div will spend down their budgets without 
money left over. Four vacant positions exist; Machinist(EVLA), 
Electrician (EVLA), Servo Tech (Ops) and Track Crewman (Ops).  The EVLA 
positions have been approved so far.  As mentioned at the last meeting 
an additional $5K has been transferred to ES Division for work done at 
the ALMA site.  This money can be tagged toward funding special projects 
Fire Station or CB Stairways.

VLBA Trips for 2005 — MK maintenance visit will occur in year 2006; The 
HN visit scheduled for FY 2005 is canceled due to the expense of the 
long SC trip.  The latest scheduled LA visit to occur from July 27 to 
Aug. 3.   Because of antenna structural troubles, another trip to SC 
will likely be scheduled annually for the next several years.  A meeting 
to discuss a plan for future VLBA trips to VLBA Sites should be called 
since the current cycle is almost complete.  Eric Carlowe called for the 
VLBA special meeting to follow the division meeting.   A desired 
schedule for VLBA TT visits in FY 2006 is to complete NL, MK and HN next 
year with a special 14 day mechanical visit to SC in the spring.

AZ Bearings. Antenna 18’s bearing change was completed on Thursday May, 
26.  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 2 spare bearings 
on hand. One spare bearing should be maintained at all times. Antenna 
14, 16 & 18’s bearing will be shipped to Rotek for possible 
refurbishment, at the rate of one per year, when the budget permits. 
Antennas 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 20 bearing replacement will be 
targeted for September. Preparation for the bearing change should be 
made.  Antenna 20 Bearing Change Supervisor is Bob Broilo.


NEW PROJECTS:

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 ongoing. 
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.  The landing concrete is poured and 
rails have been fabricated. Painting and step installation still needs 
to be done and should be completed in 2 more weeks.  Other stairway 
repairs will be made at a later date.


LWDA (Long Wave Development Array)— The University of New Mexico and the 
Naval Research Laboratory are leading a research project called the Long 
Wavelength Demonstrator Array, which is to be installed at the VLA site. 
  It is possible that installation will begin within the next month. ES 
Division will level the site and provide access to the site. 
Additionally a fiber optic cable will be provided to connect to VLA’s 
west arm trunk. No other work by ES Division is expected at this time. 
The installation of the LWDA is on hold pending budget resolution.


Fire Station-   The Fire Chief, Tom Olney, Has acquired a newer Fire 
Truck for the Fire Brigade.  The truck will not fit inside the existing 
fire truck bay.  The fire truck should be kept indoors to prevent the 
freezing of pumps.  A request for a larger bay is being made by the Fire 
Chief.  It is estimated that modifications to the existing building to 
accommodate the fire truck would cost around $10K.

GREASE SAMPLING—Grease tests on all VLA antennas need to be made prior 
to September in order to determine what other antennas require a bearing 
change.  Pointing residuals may also be analyzed if necessary.


EVLA STATUS

Correlator Room.
Some field work by Universal Shielding is underway.  The floor that the 
shielded room will sit on in the Control Building will need to be 
leveled by us.  Some wet grinding will be necessary to level the floor. 
Installation of the shielded room is scheduled to begin around September 
1.  The shielded room takes about 6 weeks to manufacture and about 5 
weeks to install.

EVLA Antennas:
The Vertex Room winch Safety modification is ready for installation. 
The L Band will be ready by next week and will likely be installed 
around mid July.  So far the plan is to do and EVLA overhaul to antenna 20.

SAFETY REPORT...  James Sullivan
Safety officer not available.

OTHER:
On Line Requisitions— The Deadline to go totally on the on line 
requisitioning system is July 15.  It is recommended that requisitioners 
begin using the online system before the deadline date in order to 
familiarize themselves with the system.


ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PEP’s

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.

VLBA Site Tech Workshops---- There VLBA Site Tech Workshops are 
scheduled for September 10-16.  Paul Rhodes and Co. will be contacting 
those shops that will participate with the training.