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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Minutes
for the ES Division Coordination Meeting
held on Tuesday, January 26, 2010, at 10:30 am, in the LL CB conference
room.
Attending were Lew Serna, Ramon Gutierrez, Jim Ruff, Guy Stanzione, E
Cole,
James Sullivan, Charley Chavez, Jon Thunborg, and Bob Broilo. <br>
<br>
BUDGET —Budget allocations are as distributed in Division reports.
There has
been a reduction in our operations travel budget so travel is limited
to
essential travel only.<span style=""> </span>RFQ’s for AZ bearings,
track, VSQ repairs, VLBA track work and bus acquisition were let in
January
2010. The $10K FY2010 annual budget for Antenna oil has been spent.<span
style=""> </span>Monies for VLBA foundations, SC painting and
the MK el bearings is still being sought but are expected to become
available
soon.<br>
<br>
Surplus Tires—the pile of bad tires is growing. Business division is
looking
for a place to take them to because the Socorro dump does not want to
accept
them. The cost for disposal of bad tires rests with the Auto Shop. No
action
until further notice. <br>
<br>
VLBA –MK Elevation bearing grease samples for the “EL synchro side”
bearing still
shows metal particles. A trip to replace the el bearing needs to be
scheduled. <span style=""> </span>No change in the size of metal
flakes showing
in the monthly samples taken thus far.<br>
<br>
The Brewster and North Liberty (and Hancock?) foundations continue to
degrade
and will require urgent repairs in the near future at an approximate
cost of
$15K each. Foundation work is expected to be funded in FY2010. Work is
preferred in the fall or spring not in the winter since it requires too
much
time to cure. <br>
<br>
HN suffered a catastrophic azimuth wheel axle failure.<span style=""> </span>The
TT trip scheduled for this year will be
combined with the repair. We will continue in FY2010 with Maintenance
visits to
FD and BR. A follow up meeting will be called after repairs to HN to
plan
further VLBA visits.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">KP
will require one each wheel assembly to be
replaced. A short shaft should be used on the spare wheel since it will
fit
assemblies at all sites. <br>
<br>
Repair of the subreflector brought back from St. Croix can continue now
that
Randy is respirator trained and fitted. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MK
dish panels that were damaged will need to be
repaired for spares. <br>
<br>
Eric reports that passports will not be required in future visits to
St. Croix.
<br>
<br>
Guy has ordered new materials (more affordable for making spare
dichroic
panels. Two will be fabricated for testing. Testing will occur at the
VLA for a
comparison between the old and new materials soon. <br>
<br>
AZ BEARINGS – The purchase of 6 new bearings has been submitted for
funding
with stimulus money. Installation bolts should be ordered along with
the
purchase of the Bearings. We have two spare bearings, one bearing
usable as an
emergency spare only and has been labeled “emergency spare only”. Older
grease
samples show that antennas 25, 10 and 20, are candidates for scheduled
bearing
changes. Antenna 25 is an EVLA antenna and it has the worst sample, but
the
Gearbox on antenna #6 needs to be changed so its bearing will changed
next
congruent with the gearbox repair. 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 for repair. 13 bearings
have been
replaced to date. <br>
<br>
Ka Band -- outfitting will require some manpower from Antenna
Mechanical group.
The outfitting must be completed in 24 months time. Antenna Mechanics
will be
required to support this effort during Tiger Team visits. <span
style=""> </span>Funding for this project is tentative.<br>
<br>
PROJECTS: <br>
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. The western stairway is complete. A
new
concrete landing will have to be poured at the base of the eastern
stairway and
the steps replaced. The eastern stairway barricaded to prevent its use.
There
is no urgency for this project since safety has declared that there is
no need
for this stairway as a means of emergency egress. Work on the eastern
stairway
will continue as the workload permits. The concrete landing on the
north
stairway is deteriorating to the point that closure to visitor traffic
is necessary.
<span style=""> </span>Repairs should be made soon.<span style=""> </span>The
stairway is usable for emergency egress
if necessary.<br>
<br>
ST Croix PAINT MAINTENANCE VISIT— It is desirable to send a crew to St.
Croix
to continue with brush painting the areas where bleed through is
evident. A follow
up painting program at SC will cost around $17K per visit.<span style="">
</span>Funds are available for making purchases and planning
a trip early this year.<span style=""> </span>Additionally the
site techs could do some painting possibly with hired help sometime in
the future.
Jon will recommend that Site Techs do spot repairs until enough yearly
funds
are made available for regular follow up painting trips. <br>
<br>
<br>
VLA ANTENNA FOUNDATION MOVEMENT— A problem with north arm antenna
foundation
movement needs to be addressed. It appears that the two rearward
station
pillars have been slowly separating over the years at CN5, CN6, CN7 and
BN5
with BN5 being the worst. They have separated far enough in about 33
years that
1 bolt (one on a reward pad) can no longer be used to secure the
antenna pad to
the foundation pillar. Modification of the CN5, CN6 and BN5 plates are
complete
and the plates are reinstalled. The plates on CN7 will be modified as
soon the
pad is vacant. This will solve the immediate problem of setting down
antennas
on these foundations. <br>
<br>
Markers have been set for taking measurements to try and see which
pillars are
actually moving and at what rate. No change has been observed between
loaded
and unloaded measurements thus far however better; finer measurements
need to
be taken throughout the year. Recent Measurements taken continue to
show no
movement. <br>
<br>
If the pillars are moving apart it is felt that there may be no
practical way
of preventing the movement. It is believed that if this is the case it
would be
more desirable/practical to build an additional foundation next to the
bad
ones. Another option is that if the pillar movement is very slow it may
be
adequate to modify/redesign the mounting plates in order to make up and
correct
for the movement. In any case it would be desirable to get inspection
of the
foundations and a recommendation for action. A cost estimate for an
inspection
has been requested to an outside firm. <br>
<br>
GENERATOR REPAIRS— Minor leaks were noticed at the engine rear seals
and it is
desirable to install a better fuel filtering system. A bearing on the
generator
unit also should be replacement as a PM. This work would cost around
$15K and
has been put on the funding wish list. <br>
<br>
HOT WATER LOOP. A project is submitted to install a hot water loop
using
Correlator waste heat: The difference between the summer load and
winter load
is mostly due to heating (at least 300kW). However, even during the
coldest
mornings the cooling tower is ventilating correlator waste heat into
the
atmosphere. We already use some of the heat in the Control Building,
but by
extending the hot water loop to other buildings, we may be able to
reduce our
power demand. The WIDAR correlator will have an even higher heat output
to work
with. <br>
<br>
This project mainly consists of burying a hot water loop and using heat
exchangers
similar to what many complexes of buildings use. Payback on this
project could
be as quick as 1 year. Bob Broilo will investigate and provide further
information. This project has the potential to save $250K/year on our
power
bill. <br>
<br>
VLA AZ GEARBOX’s (Antenna 5 etc..)- In addition to antenna 5’s
catastrophic
gearbox failure, gearbox inspections reveal bad AZ #2 gearboxes in
antennas 6
and 7. A plan to replace these gearboxes this summer is being
developed. VLA
Gearboxes are due for oil changes. A plan to change around 10 antennas
per year
is underway beginning with remaining 6 VLA antennas and then continuing
with
all EVLA antennas @ approx. 10/ year. <br>
<br>
BALLAST DOORS—This project converts manual opening of ballast car doors
to
hydraulic controlled opening of the doors for dispensing ballast from
the cars.
Much dust is created and the operator is too close to the doors to be
able to
observe the dispensing properly and safely. This Project’s is underway.
Cost
estimate is around $8K. <br>
<br>
VSQ’s- A decision to raze VSQ buildings is being considered to reduce
maintenance and upkeep of buildings. It would cost around $60K make
repairs to
sprinklers and to bring the VSQ’s to a reasonable state of operation.
VSQ’s are
no longer being used like they once were. The site director has not
made the
decision to demolish them or retain one or more of the structures for
storage
of items that are rodent resistant. We do know we won't use them as
"people" space any more. A request for approval was sent to NSF today
to re-scope the ARRA funds allocated to the VSQs from sprinkler repair
to
retiring them. <span style=""> </span>Turning off utilities and
beginning of demolition is on hold until we have further guidance from
Bob
Dickman. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br>
Diesel Tank - The diesel tank containment needs upgrading and will not
meet
state regulations after 2011. A double-walled tank is the logical
choice to
replace the dike that is currently in place. Funds are being sought.
This
action will need to take place before 2011. Guy is working on RFQ for
this
including pressurized fuel dispenser and Gasoline Dike repairs.<span
style=""> </span>A proposal has been submitted estimated costs
are $75K.<br>
<br>
OPERATIONS ROOM REMODEL—New carpet is installed. <span style=""> </span>Modcomp
room remains uncarpeted until sometime
this summer when the modcomps will be removed.<br>
<br>
Water Tank—Water Tank inspection for corrosion and possible repainting
will
occur this year and should be scheduled soon. Cathodic protection
system
maintenance is transferred from the Grounds group to the Electrical
group. <br>
<br>
EVLA; <br>
Civil— VLA site Utility Transformer and Generator Transformers will be
marginal
once the EVLA full load is on line.<span style=""> </span>Funds
are available with a target date of June 1, 2010 for acquiring the
larger, 3MW Transformers.
<span style=""> </span>B. Broilo will coordinate with Skip and
SEC on acquiring the utility transformer and establishing a timeframe
for its
replacement.<br>
<br>
EVLA Antennas— The Final Four S-band (2-4 GHz) feed horns will
completed by
April. <br>
<br>
Antennas will remain in the D array until 5/24/2010. <br>
<br>
SAFETY REPORT: <span style=""> </span>13 accidents at NRAO
NM.<span style=""> </span>Record is improvement over last
year. A summary report will be issued soon.<span style="">
</span>Safety mtg. Scheduled for January 28 (canceled due to snow day).<span
style=""> </span>New fire extinguishers are being installed
in antennas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><br>
ANNOUNCEMENTS: <br>
<u>VLA - Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 </u>TIAA-CREF Talk 9:00 am - 10:00 am,
VLA
Cafeteria Conference Rm.<span style=""> </span>Individual
sessions 10:15 am – 3:00 pm, Control Bldg Conf Rm 122, By appointment
only
Contact Theresa McBride.----<u> </u>CANCELLED<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span
style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A
nurse from the Socorro Public
Health Office will conduct a Flu Shot Clinic at the AOC this week.
She will offer the seasonal vaccine as a nasal mist and will offer the
H1N1
vaccine as a shot. VLA employees should contact Theresa McBride if
interested
in either or both of the flu vaccines. Arrangements will be made for a
nurse to come to the VLA, <span style="color: black;">date and time
will be
announced at a later date.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span
style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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