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Everything needs to be in working order when the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) deploys in the not-so-distant future. The chiefs and officers from the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) will confirm that.
As INSURV approaches, newly-formed tiger teams aboard Ike have taken on the responsibility of ensuring the ship’s material readiness. During INSURV, the inspectors will evaluate the ship’s Material Maintenance Management Program (3M), which includes technical documentation, procedures and processes for damage control maintenance and the material condition of the ship.
“Maintaining equipment as intended by the Planned Maintenance System (PMS) is important to keep Ike ready to sustain the crew’s functions and respond to any situation that may arise at sea,” said Master Chief Damage Controlman Horace Johnson, engineering department’s leading chief petty officer.
Made up of four teams of temporarily assigned Sailors from around the ship and organized into categories, the tiger teams identify discrepancies and perform corrective maintenance on fan coil units, deck drain valves, fire stations and water tight doors.
“We started with nearly 12 pages of listed discrepancies for the fan coil units and now we’re down to four pages,” said Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Suzanna Espinoza, a group leader for the fan coil unit assembly team.
The fan coil unit assembly team is responsible for assessing and fixing all the fan coil units on Ike. They are organized into groups of three to four Sailors and each group is assigned to a zone.
“Every team member is vital to our readiness for INSURV because they are ensuring the equipment works the way it’s designed,” said Johnson. “When it doesn’t they determine if it requires preservation, clean-up or replacement of parts.”
The teams coordinate with supply department to acquire parts and tools, and the workcenters who own the equipment for further assistance correcting discrepancies.
Senior Chief Logistics Specialist Antoinette Druce is a work center supervisor from S-13, supply department’s maintenance division, who coordinates with the tiger teams to get them the parts and materials they need.
“They are very responsive to transferring parts and materials to the ship’s store for them to be disseminated,” said Druce.
All of Ike’s departments are involved in preparing for INSURV, both by correcting their own deficiencies when possible and by supporting the tiger team, ensuring they are manned and ready.
“Although INSURV adds pressure to the departments due to manning shortages, the size of the ship and time constraints, Tiger Teams are the best method to prepare,” said Johnson. “Overall, they are vital to Ike’s success during INSURV.”
The INSURV process has changed. This time Ike will be evaluated with as little as a month’s notice.
“It may have been a rough start but we’ve been receiving constant guidance from management assessment visits and have been constantly improving,” said Johnson. “Come INSURV, we will pass.”
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2019 16:20 |
| Story ID: | 327054 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 66 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Tiger Teams Prepare Ike for INSURV, by SN Ashley Lowe, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
