Photo By Greg L. Davis | Red-painted fire-suppression pipes are shown near an opened vertical roll-up door in...... read more read more
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Winter is upon us and now is the time to prepare for freezing temperatures not just at home, but in the facility where you work.
Marc Owen, infrastructure planning chief, 76th Maintenance Support Group, said, “Failure or loss of even part of a facility can have a significant impact to the delivery of engines, airplanes and commodities, plus impact our ability to deliver combat power.”
Advanced preparation and extra vigilance on the part of facility managers could save the Air Force thousands of dollars, Owen said. All the responsibility can’t rest on the shoulders of the few. “With hundreds of buildings on Tinker AFB, we need the occupants to treat them as they would their own home. We ask that during these colder months, everyone be extra diligent and proactive, close doors, ensure heat is working and call in work orders.”
He also noted there were many issues last winter season which affected facilities across the base. Some caused minor damage due to pipes freezing, while others resulted in major damage to infrastructure, equipment and had secondary costs to the government through lost productivity, overtime and temporary relocation expenses. “When pipes freeze, they burst, damage occurs and it ranges from inconvenience to loss of ability to perform our mission,” he said. One incident in Dec. 2016 where a pipe burst cost Tinker close to $1 million dollars. “The damage is still being repaired almost one year later.”
If you walk in to a building or section, particularly low-traffic storage areas, and feel cold enough to shiver, then it’s time to take immediate action to prevent pipes from freezing.
Besides the shiver-test, the 72nd Civil Engineering Directorate suggests protecting your facility by:
• Performing a function check of all heaters
• Ensuring vents are open and unobstructed so air can circulate through the area
• Checking facility integrity and make sure insulation is installed properly
• Outside faucets are wrapped and covered
• Conduct a facility ‘walk-through’ every few hours to ensure thermostats and heaters are working properly
• Checking for leaks and ice build-up which are indicators of frozen/burst pipes
If problems are found then immediately call in a work-order with 72nd Civil Engineering Directorate Help Desk, 734-3117.
Owens emphasizes that this is a combined effort across the base and organizations to ensure, “our critical facilities stay warm and operational,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 11.28.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.28.2017 09:38 |
| Story ID: | 256625 |
| Location: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Vigilance Important as Winter Arrives, by Greg L. Davis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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