[Escoordminutes] ES Division coordination meeting minutes--December 5

[Lew Serna]

Minutes for the ES Division Coordination Meeting held on Tuesday, 
December 5, 2006, at 10:30 am, in the LL CB conference room.  Attending 
were Lew Serna, Ramon Gutierrez, Charley Chavez, Jim Ruff, Bob Broilo, 
James Sullivan, Guy Stanzione, Jon Thunborg, and Brent Avery.

BUDGET — The ES budget allocations for 2007 have been released.  These 
are the final numbers for 2007. The Site & Wye allocation includes money 
for RR materials.  This year the Site & Wye allocation will likely be 
spent on ballast and timbers, since last years purchase was for ties.

VLBA TT Trips-- Shipping the container to St Croix is extremely 
expensive, so we propose to ship a container one way with all the parts 
needed to repair the antenna and with tools needed for future tiger team 
visits.  The existing container is fairly beat up and will be replaced 
since it may not be acceptable for shipping much longer. This container 
will be outfitted with tools and shipped to SC to be left there.  A new 
sea worthy container has been purchased to make the trips from here on 
out. A similar situation exists with the MK and HN site where shipping 
costs are about $12K minimum.  A permanent container may be desirable 
for these sites as well.

Tentative Tiger Team Trips in 2007 are scheduled for FD (April), BR 
(July) and OV (Sept.).  HN needs foundation repairs and their 
subreflector is deteriorating.  Several MK dish panels on the down side 
are damaged.  SC has corrosion damage on the roof of the building (this 
work will likely be done by local contractors).


AZ Bearings – An estimated three weeks in the AAB are required before a 
bearing change can occur.  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. Antenna 14, 
16 & 18’s bearings have been shipped to Rotek for refurbishment.  There 
is a 12-14 week lead time for delivery on a refurbished bearing. 
Delivery of these bearings would be around September – October of 2007.

Grease samples show that antennas 28, 10, 20, are good candidates for 
the next bearing changes. Large metal pieces were recently found on 
Antenna 28’s AZ bearing grease.  This bearing will likely be replaced in 
FY2007. There is one good Azimuth bearing on hand. One spare bearing 
should be maintained at all times in the event a catastrophic failure 
occurs however, it may be acceptable to use this bearing in early summer 
if we are assured of getting the other three bearings in late summer. If 
possible bearing replacement will occur at a rate of one per year in 
order to maintain the EVLA outfitting schedule.  We should try to  avoid 
scheduling conflicts between bearing changes, Tiger Team trips and 
reconfigurations.

NEW PROJECTS:
Control building Stairways— The Control Building Stairways are being 
replaced due to their rapid deterioration.  The stairways will be 
replaced with an improved design conforming to ADA. Materials have been 
ordered and drawings have been sent to the Machine Shop and the Weld 
shop for fabrication of parts.   A new concrete landing will have to be 
poured at the base of the eastern stairway. The stairs will be repaired 
one flight at a time so the work can be fit in along with EVLA work. The 
eastern stairway is now deemed unsafe due to trip hazards.  A barricade 
preventing the use of the eastern stairway will be installed. The 
western stairway is usable.  Due to the amount of EVLA work scheduled 
for the Welding and Carpentry shops the project has been delayed until 
such time that these groups can get caught up.  Work has resumed on the 
West end and should be complete by the end of December.

Transporter Axles –This project is ON HOLD pending further monitoring.

SEWAGE LIFT STATION— The VLA sewage lift station upgrade is complete. 
The upgrade will bring all pumps and controls above ground eliminating 
the confined space entry for almost all required maintenance.

AAB OFFICE/BREAK REMODEL— Work is in progress.

BUS REPAIRS—  Final components arrived and repairs should be complete by 
mid December. Once this bus is placed in service we can return the White 
Bus to GSA.  The MC5 bus will become a backup bus in the event the Blue 
or Yellow MC9’s break down.

Waste Oil Storage Tank— The two old storage tanks behind the Generator 
building will be replaced with a one double wall storage tank bringing 
us into HAZMAT compliance.  Concrete bases will be necessary to set the 
tank down and plumbing will be required. This is a safety originated 
project.  Estimated cost $3.5K.

HANCOCK SUBREFLECTOR—The subreflector at Hancock is deteriorating and 
will need to be replaced sometime in the near future. Estimated cost of 
replacement $10K.

HANCOCK ANTENNA FOUNDATION—HN’s antenna foundation is crumbling in 
several places underneath the rail and will need to be repaired. 
Estimated cost of repairs $30K.

VLA WAREHOUSE Railing.—Railing is required on top of the rooms in the 
warehouse where  parts are being stored.  Welders will be required to 
install the railing which should be provided by the Warehouse account.

SC CONTROL BLDG ROOF.—The roof on the SC building is corroded badly and 
needs replacing.  A local contractor should be contacted to do the work. 
  Estimated cost $3K.


EVLA STATUS ;
Risk Identification Workshop is scheduled for Tuesday December 12, 2006, 
at the AOC.  The purpose of the workshop is to identify the risks facing 
the project so that we can assign our limited resources to the highest 
priority risks.

Correlator Room— the DC power plant for the Correlator will be installed 
by ES Division personnel Electrical group.  Battery handling equipment 
will need to be acquired.    Some final programming work and training on 
the HVAC units is still pending.  Floor work will resume on the week 
beginning 12/18/06 and completed by the end of that week.

EVLA Antennas—  EVLA Overhauls are progressing.  The moves have been 
delayed about a week.
Ant# 23 from MP to E6 - 12/12/06
Ant# 17 from AAB to MP - 12/12/06
Ant# 21 from W10 to AAB - 12/13/06

SAFETY REPORT
Accident Report:
There have been a total of 14 Accidents reported this year. There have 
been 8 accidents attributed to the ES Division.

2006-001 ES Div. Carpentry Shop Employee injured while replacing floor 
tiles.
2006-002 ES Div. Servo Shop Employee injured back while moving shop around.
2006-003 ES Div. Secretary Employee injured head while getting into a 
vehicle.
2006-004 ES Div. Track Crew Employee damaged to prosthetic leg.
2006-005 Business Div HR Employee has possible carpel tunnel in right 
wrist.
2006-006 ALMA PSI Group    Employee received an electrical shock from a 
400 VAC
2006-007 ES Div. Carpentry Shop Employee injured hand with pneumatic 
nail gun.
2006-008 Computing DIV. CID Employee tripped over raised edge of floor tile
2006-009 ES Div. AAB/TS Employee injured while attaching new feed cone 
in Ant 26
2006-010 Ops     Employee strained mid left back, re-injury from 2003
2006-011 ES Div. Track Crew Employee received flash burns to both eyes
2006-012 ES Div. Ant Barn Employee received lacerations to left wrist
2006-013 ALMA Employee involved in auto accident
2006-014 EL Div. Cryo Group Employee slipped on ice and strained right 
knee

Incident Report:
There have been a total of 7 Incidents reported this year. There have 
been 3 incidents attributed to the ES Division.

Next Monthly All Hands Safety Meeting:
The November site safety meeting was canceled.

Arc Flash Program:
The program is still on hold, awaiting Jaime.

Emergency Services:
     EMS:
There was a training class for new 1st responders on October 23rd – 30th 
in the VLA café. There were eight VLA employees present for this 
training. All employees passed and will receive their State License cards.
The new members are; Jon Thunborg , Selfa Lucero, Ben Ramer, Joshua 
Mitchell,
Dominic Zamora, Carl Cano, Matt Metevier and Elias Jojola.

   Rope Rescue:
     Joshua Mitchell the VLA Rope Rescue Team Leader attended the NM 
State Firefights Training Academy and received a certificate for Rope 
Rescue Technician Level.

Safety Programs:
     The prescription safety eyewear program has gone thru a change. On 
October 12, 2006 the reimbursement amount was revised to the following;

Up to $180.00 for single vision safety lenses with safety frames.
Up to $195.00 for bifocal/no-line progressive bi-focal safety lenses 
with safety frames.
Up to $210.00 for trifocal/no-line progressive tri-focal safety lenses 
with safety frames.

OTHER:

COVERALLS-
The warehouse is having trouble stocking coveralls.  ES Employees who 
cannot wait for the new stock to arrive can purchase their own coveralls 
and will be reimbursed the following with proof of purchase. Winter 
coveralls- $55,  Summer - $27, Summer long sleeve - $35.

HAZARDOUS WASTE- Employees are reminded to dispose waste oil into the 
tanks located behind the Generator Building. Do not take waste oil into 
the boneyard.
All waste grease must be disposed in 55 gallon drums only. Disposal of 
grease in smaller containers is not allowed.

WAREHOUSE DISPOSAL.—Items in the warehouse that have been tagged as 
obsolete are being disposed of without notification.  Many items that 
are being disposed of are not necessarily obsolete just because they 
have never been used to date or not been used recently.  Many items are 
hard to come by or expensive items that are still good spares and could 
someday be needed.  At the very least, a list of items tagged for 
disposal should be sent to group leaders and supervisors so they can go 
over the list and identify good parts before they are disposed of. 
Supervisors and leadmen can then retrieve the item before it is gone.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Reminder to check your vacation times.  Cutback dates are January 19, 
for non exempt bi weekly employees and January 20, for exempt employees. 
  You cannot carry over more than 304 hours beyond these dates (or 288 
hrs beyond December 31).  Accrued vacation time beyond 304 by the 
January dates will be lost so be sure to schedule your vacation time 
before you lose it.