[Escoordminutes] ES Division Coordination Meeting Minutes - Jan. 06

[Lew Serna]

Minutes for the ES Division Coordination Meeting held on Tuesday, Jan. 
31, 2006, at 10:30 am, in the LL CB conference room.  Attending were Lew 
Serna, Guy Stanzione, Ramon Gutierrez, Bob Broilo, Steve Aragon, James 
Sullivan, Gene Cole, Brent Avery, Mark McKinnon, and Charley Chavez.

BUDGET — Still no real numbers but idea for a rate of spending is 
forthcoming.  Meanwhile supervisors are cautioned to only make essential 
purchases until the "real" budget is known in a few weeks.   Hold all 
“new” projects until further notice.  The EVLA is budgeted and work 
should continue as scheduled.

VLBA TT Trips— since shipping the container to St Croix is extremely 
expensive, 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 should be replaced 
since it may not be acceptable for shipping much longer. We would only 
need to ship small boxes of tools and necessary parts for subsequent 
visits.  The cost estimate for doing this is around $10K.  Shipping 
costs for the container round trip is around $12K. Ramon will get cost 
estimates for tools needed and purchasing a better container.

J. Thunborg is making an inspection trip to The St Croix this week in 
order to evaluate the antenna in preparation for future maintenance.

A desired schedule for VLBA TT visits in FY 2006 is to complete KP, MK 
and HN, with a possible visit to SC in the spring. Eric Carlowe 
recommends that Tiger Team Visits to HN and MK be extended to 8 days. 
The tentative VLBA schedule is to visit KP in early June, MK in late 
July and HN in late Sept.

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 2 good 
Azimuth bearings on hand. One spare bearing should be maintained at all 
times. Antenna 14, 16 & 18’s bearings will be shipped to Rotek for 
possible refurbishment, at the rate of one per year, or as the budget 
permits. If possible we should ship all bearings to Rotek to save on 
shipping.  There is an 8-9 week lead time for delivery on a refurbished 
bearing.

Antenna 26’s bearing will be changed next and is scheduled to occur in 
summer of FY2006 (possibly as early as May).  An estimated three weeks 
in the AAB are required before a bearing change can occur.  Grease 
samples show that antennas 26, 10, 20, are good candidates for the next 
bearing changes.

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 in the 
current ACU.  A PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) based upgrade would 
cost around $3K per antenna.  EVLA has funded the prototype and design 
work is ongoing. This remains a low priority project but if funding 
becomes possible the priority may be elevated.  No funding commitments 
funding commitments have been made for retrofitting of antennas.

Control building Stairways—The Control Building Stairways will be 
replace due to repeated unsuccessful attempts to prevent their rusting. 
  The stairways will be replaced with an improved design conforming to 
ADA. Estimated cost to do this for both stairways is $12K.  The EPO 
Division contributed $6K towards this project while ES division will 
carry the remaining cost.  Materials have been ordered and drawings are 
being sent to the Machine Shop and the Weld shop for fabrication of 
parts.  The stairs are due to be shipped next week.  A new concrete 
landing will have to be poured at the base of the eastern stairway.

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 will be  installed within the VLA 
site central square mile.  ES Division has provided access to the site 
and installed a fiber optic cable that will be connected to VLA’s west 
arm trunk at CW7.  No further work by the ES Division is planned at this 
time. Fiber terminations at CW7 should be completed by the end of 
February by the fiber group.

Fire Station- The new Fire truck will not fit inside the existing fire 
truck bay.  The fire truck should be kept indoors to prevent the 
freezing of pumps.  Construction of a new bay is in progress and should 
be completed soon.  The ambulance is now housed in the old fire truck bay.

190 MHz Receiver System—The maximum support available from E/S Division 
for cherry picker support is 8 hrs per week. An NRAO employee who is 
knowledgeable in cherry picker operations or receiver installation must 
be present at the antenna at the appropriate times for the installation 
of the 190 MHz receiver. Support for this project continues.

Transporter Axles – The transporter axles are exhibiting several cracks 
which are being rubbed out to prevent propagation of the cracks.  This 
is a temporary fix as more cracks will eventually reappear. These axles 
should be replaced in the next 10 years with axles made of a different 
material and design to increase their life.  They are currently lasting 
about 12-14 years and were last replaced in 1992.  There are 12 axles 
per transporter and each axle will cost around $3K to replace. There is 
one spare axle of the existing design available. A plan to purchase 3 
newly designed axles per year to replace all transporter axles in 8 
years time is being proposed.  It is worthwhile to investigate the cost 
of having these built up at one time by an outside shop.

The last inspection of a “repaired” axle, in service for about 2 years, 
revealed no cracks.

VLBA FRM Drives— The VLBA is running out of spare FRM motors due to 
obsolescence.  The current drive system utilizes three motors.  Field 
Techs are changing to a two motor drive system which should free up 
motors for spares.  Jim Ruff has proposed a new drive system for the 
VLBA FRM’s.  It is believed that the drive amplifiers proposed for the 
new VLBA system will work with the VLA stepper motors.  This project is 
on hold until all budgetary numbers in (about a months time).  The cost 
to build a prototype is around $15K.  The cost to retrofit all VLBA 
sites is around $300K.

VLBA Watch Spring Cable Wraps— The VLBA Pie Town watch spring cable wrap 
has been replaced with an EVLA type watch spring wrap at a cost of 
around $300.  It is an improvement over the current VLBA watch spring 
wraps. The cable wrap has undergone a successful evaluation period and 
will be installed at all VLBA Sites.

VLA Counterweights--  The VLA Antennas are Dish Heavy by about 7,000 
foot pounds.  An EVLA antenna needs to be counterweight tested with all 
EVLA equipment installed to make sure of the actual amount of dish 
counterbalance we need.  Someday Green Bank may surplus the GBT steel 
rail.  At that time they have agreed to give us their surplus steel for 
use as counterweight on VLA antennas.

VLBA Gearbox and Wheel Assy.  Two Wheel assemblies are built for FY2006. 
  Also there should be enough spares to repair the spare VLBA Gearbox 
that has been cannibalized.  Brent Avery  will check to see if the parts 
have been expensed. If the parts have been expensed the gearbox should 
be restored.  If the parts have not been expensed we will wait a couple 
of weeks to see what our budget is before we proceed.  Brent Avery will 
check the status of the parts in the warehouse.

Smoke Detectors:  A Control Building “addressable smoke detector” audit 
and replacement has been made in order to maximize savings on 
programming costs. Glen and Bob have conducted a survey and detectors 
have been ordered.  Installation is in progress. Programming of the Fire 
system to accommodate the detectors will take place when the Shielded 
Room Fire protection is added.

Ballast Cars— Two ballast cars have been purchased through a special 
fund at a cost of $16.8k each.  The purchase of the ballast cars will 
eliminate the need to run the high maintenance and costly dump trucks 
for track work. The mechanical repairs to the two ballast cars have been 
made and the cars are ready for a test drive.  A test for proper braking 
and a test of the capacity of ballast that can be hauled will occur this 
week.

EVLA STATUS
Peter Napier took on a job with ALMA and A search committee is charged 
with finding a replacement for Peter Napier.  The process will take 
several months. A replacement may be named by June. Mark McKinnon is the 
interim EVLA Project leader.

Correlator Room-- Stanzione— Water Supply Plumbing work is in progress 
at this time by a contractor.  HVAC will finish the sprinkler plumbing 
when the contractor leaves. Other work remaining is flooring, Electrical 
wiring and Lighting.  A modification of the Shielded room doors is being 
designed to prevent accidental injury to personnel during the automatic 
closure of the doors.

EVLA Antennas: E Cole-- Antenna 24 has entered the AAB for overhaul. If 
ant 24 is finished by mid April Antenna 26 will be brought in for a 
bearing change/EVLA outfit. EVLA Antenna 24 will have to be completely 
outfitted with working electronics, before the next antenna can come 
into the AAB.

Feed Tower-- Gutierrez-- There is a problem with fitting all the feeds 
in the feed circle of the tower due to the size of the new X-band feed. 
  A feed tower was built and adjustments were made to resolve fitment 
problems.  Antennas with the old X-band feeds (first 4 EVLA antennas) 
will be retrofitted at the end of the EVLA outfitting cycle.  There are 
only 2 prototype X-band feeds available at this time but all future feed 
towers will be constructed to accommodate the new feeds.

SCHEDULING CALENDAR ON LINE— E. Cole-- Procedures to improve antenna 
accessibility and to avoid accidental antenna movement are in effect. 
EVLA Antennas that have been outfitted in the AAB and are being 
“delivered” for electronic outfitting can be remotely controlled.  In 
order to prevent accidental antenna movement, antennas will be locked 
out until such time that movement is authorized.  Rudy Latasa (Cryo 
Group) will be responsible for the Lockout.
Antennas that have been deemed electronically outfitted will go into a 
“Test Phase”.  In the Test Phase the antenna is not locked out and can 
be remotely controlled.   Employees are reminded to use caution and to 
exercise proper Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) procedures when visiting 
antennas.  Employees should always contact Operations prior to visiting 
any EVLA antennas that are in Electronic outfitting or the Test Phase.

A calendar to reserve your time to work on these antennas can be found 
at the following link;
http://webtest.aoc.nrao.edu./antres/
Employees are encouraged to use this calendar as a communication tool 
for scheduling work on these antennas.  You may view any of the 
calendars without a username or password.  If you would like a username 
so that you may schedule events, please call Pat Van Buskirk. 
Instructions for adding an event are included on the login page. 
Remember to always call Operations prior to visiting these antennas.


SAFETY REPORT...  James Sullivan
Twelve Accidents occurred in 2005. No new accidents and one new incident 
reported so far this year.  A Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) safety training 
session was held at the VLA on Jan. 26.  The next training session 
occurs on Feb. 23. There will be CPR training for the Electricians and 
the PT crew. The CPR training will be administered by R Murillo, P 
Madigan and J Sullivan.   Much of the hazardous waste has been removed 
and the remainder will be removed soon.  A report from the EPA 
inspection indicates several problems with our hazardous material 
disposal site which need to be addressed.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PEPS – Begin April 1

2005 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESS TIME LINE

April 1 Supervisors begin soliciting information about employee work 
performance from other supervisors and coworkers. Supervisors will 
conduct brief individual or group meetings with employees to discuss the 
upcoming process and to distribute copies of the appropriate performance 
appraisal forms including a list of goals that were set last year. 
Exempt employees are required to complete a self-appraisal. Although 
nonexempt
employees are not required to complete a self-appraisal, they should be 
given a copy of the non-exempt appraisal form and encouraged to complete 
it.

Exempt employees begin completing the appraisal form by identifying any 
changes in their key responsibilities and reporting on their progress 
toward achieving the goals set last year. Any other significant 
accomplishments they may have had during the year should also be 
identified. Finally employees should identify goals for next year.

May 1  Due date for employees to return the self-appraisal forms to 
their supervisors with the appropriate sections completed. Supervisors 
begin writing employee evaluations based on their observations, coworker 
feedback, and the self-appraisal completed by the employee. Supervisor 
reviews the draft goals for the coming year and modifies as appropriate.

June 1 Supervisor reviews completed performance appraisal forms with 
division
head and receives approval. Supervisor begins scheduling and holding 
evaluation meetings with employees.

June 31  Due date for all evaluation meetings to be concluded and 
appraisal forms signed by the employee. Employees should be given 
sufficient time (at least 24 hours) to review and comment on the 
evaluation. Based on information provided by the employee, Supervisors 
should make corrections and changes as appropriate.

July 5 All of the original completed and signed appraisal forms must be 
forwarded to the appropriate Human Resources Office. A copy of the 
signed appraisal should be provided to the employee.