From lserna at aoc.nrao.edu Mon Jun 5 13:07:58 2006 From: lserna at aoc.nrao.edu (Lew Serna) Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2006 11:07:58 -0600 Subject: [Escoordminutes] ES Div Coordination Minutes-- May Message-ID: <448464EE.5070909@aoc.nrao.edu> Minutes for the ES Division Coordination Meeting held on Tuesday, June 1, 2006, at 10:30 am, in the LL CB conference room. Attending were Lew Serna, Ramon Gutierrez, Selfa Lucero, Bob Broilo, Jon Thunborg, Gene Cole, and Charley Chavez. BUDGET ?Three Az bearings have been sent for repair pending an inspection to determine if they can or cannot be repaired. $50K will be allotted to Facilities Infrastructure Account # 53362 to replace two HVAC units for the AOC correlator. $25K has already been allocated to the Facilities Infrastructure Account #53362 to upgrade the VLA lift station. Any savings realized from these two projects will be used to fund other projects needed at the VLA such as sandblasting area, AAB office remodel, VLBA SC tool container or TS break room improvements. 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 should be replaced since it may not be acceptable for shipping much longer. A new sea worthy container should be purchased soon to make the trips from here on out. Shipping costs for the container round trip is around $12K. Ramon estimates the cost for tools and a container is around $22K. The tool cost may be reduced by shipping some of the necessary tools in a box each visit instead of purchasing these tools and keeping them at St. Criox. Ordering of containers and tools may occur towards the end of the fiscal year (September). The 2006 VLBA KP visit is complete; the MK visit is scheduled for July 19-26; and the visit for HN tentatively scheduled for September 20-27. 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 possible refurbishment this year. There is an 8-9 week lead time for delivery on a refurbished bearing. Antenna 26?s bearing was changed in May 2006. 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 next(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. If possible bearing replacement will occur at a rate of one per year in order to maintain the EVLA outfitting schedule. NEW PROJECTS: Control building Stairways? The Control Building Stairways will be replaced due to repeated unsuccessful attempts to prevent their rusting. The stairways will be replaced with an improved design conforming to ADA. Materials have been ordered and drawings are being 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 work scheduled for the Welding and Carpentry shops further work on this project will be delayed until such time that these groups can get caught up. 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. Fiber terminations at CW7 are complete and terminations at the Control Building and at the LWDA site will be made by the fiber group. ES Division has been asked to trench the fiber about 20 feet further to the junction box and to install a ground grid. This work should be finished by Wednesday 6/7/06. Transporter Axles ? The transporter axles are exhibiting several cracks which are being rubbed out to prevent their propagation. 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 two inspections of ?repaired? axles (in service for about 2 years) revealed no cracks. This project is on hold pending further monitoring. VLBA Gearbox and Wheel Assy. One Wheel assembly is built, parts are available for a second. The second will be built as time permits. Also there should be enough spares to repair the spare VLBA Gearbox that has been cannibalized. If the parts have been expensed the gearbox should be restored. Steve Aragon will check on spare parts to make sure that they have been expensed and withdraw the necessary parts to restore the VLBA Gearbox. SEWAGE LIFT STATION? The VLA sewage lift station is in need of an upgrade. The upgrade will bring all pumps and controls above ground eliminating the confined space entry for almost all required maintenance. Only a couple of check valves will remain below the surface. This upgrade is funded in Account #53362 and work is in progress. Any savings realized from this project will be used for other ES projects such as sandblasting area, AAB remodel, VLBA container etc.. VLBA CORRELATOR HVAC?The VLBA correlator HVAC System at the AOC is very old and in need of replacing. The funds for this project which will be included our Facilities Infrastructure Budget Account #53362. Any savings realized from this project will be used for other ES projects such as sandblasting area, AAB remodel, VLBA container etc.. TS BREAK AREA?the Tech Services break area has been in operation since the building was built in the ?70?s and is in poor condition. Contribution from ES and Electronics Division has made a renovation possible. Work in progress. SANDBLASTING AREA? There is a need for a sheltered sandblasting area at the paint booth. With the sandblasting area we can recover and reuse the sandblasting media and organize Paint Booth work more effectively. It is possible that this project may be funded through savings from the VLBA correlator and Sewage Liftstation projects. AAB OFFICE/BREAK REMODEL-- A plan to remodel the AAB office space and break area is being devised. Work on this project is pending savings from the VLBA correlator HVAC project. It is possible that this project may be funded through savings from the VLBA correlator and Sewage Liftstation projects during the last quarter. EVLA STATUS ; EVLA COLD STORAGE FENCE. In order to alleviate the storage of EVLA materials, a 40? X 50? X 6? high fence will be erected just outside the EVLA Cold Storage Warehouse. Outdoor equipment and material will be stored there making room inside the warehouse for equipment needing sheltering. The fence material should arrive next Tuesday (6/6/06) and erection should begin shortly thereafter. Correlator Room-- work remaining includes Electrical Lighting and HVAC work. 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: Antenna 24 is due to vacate the Master Pad in about 2 weeks (mid month June). Antenna 26 mechanical overhaul is slightly behind schedule but is expected to move to the Master Pad by the end of June. The current overall plan for EVLA outfitting is to do 5 antennas per year. SAFETY REPORT Safety officer not present. OTHER TEMPORARY HELP?Due to several employees on limited duty status or out for of medical reasons and all the summer work planned in the Site & Wye and Antenna Mechanical groups it is desirable to hire two Temporary employees for 6 months. One temp is required for the Track Crew and one for the Antenna Mechanic Crew. Lew Serna will make a request for the additional personnel. BUS REPAIRS-- With the acquisition of the MC5 bus, an option of using it for a backup and running the Blue and Yellow MC9s everyday is possible. In this case the rental of the white GSA bus is no longer necessary. In order to bring the newly acquisitioned bus online a few minor repairs and upholstery work would be necessary. The auto shop will get estimates together to see what the cost will be. Every effort will be made to make the bus repairs and implement the above plan. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Supervisors should send all PEP reviews to Jon Thunborg by Wednesday morning (6/7/06). The Division Head will review and approve them by the Friday (6/9/06). Supervisors can then schedule and conduct their evaluation meetings with employees. 2005 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESS TIME LINE 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.