E-Div’s MAV Prep Powers Ike

ATLANTIC OCEAN

07.11.2019

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ashley Estrella 

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)   

As the temperature and scrutiny rises this summer for the upcoming Material Assist Visit (MAV) aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), Ike’s electrical division (E-Div) is keeping the ship clean, cool and properly powered.
E-Div controls the flow of power on Ike, by maintaining electrical usage and ventilation for heating and air conditioning. Sailors are working on two teams in 12-hour shifts to sustain a 24-hour MAV crew. The main objectives are cleaning, planned maintenance system (PMS) checks and spot checks to confirm all equipment, load centers, power panels and distribution centers are effectively regulating the control of power throughout the ship.
“Doing trouble-call tickets and regular maintenance is a simple way to prepare for MAV,” said Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Zirui Lin. “We make sure our equipment is good to go and that the ship environment is safe and cool, especially in the summer. If we didn’t do our jobs, there would be no electricity and no air conditioning. It would be dark, hot and impossible to move about the ship.”
Controlling the flow of power on Ike allows the ship to travel around the world as a self-sustaining city. All power panels and distribution boxes are checked for discrepancies and water-tight integrity to eliminate any potential fire hazards.
“You have to make sure all of the areas where electricity flows throughout ship are clean and the fuses that make connections happen have the right amps and voltage,” said Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Angelique Santos.
“We walk through the entire ship with inspectors and check every distribution box and power panel,” said Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Alejandro Guerrero. “We also have MAV inspection preparation for degaussing: Ike’s magnetic silencing for the whole ship. Since an aircraft carrier is a giant piece of metal, degaussing silences the magnetic field so the ship cannot be detected. We prepare for MAV by checking the degaussing system, performing operational tests, insulation resistance tests and a check on all of the boxes related to degaussing on Ike.”
E-Div works around the clock to complete all of the requirements for MAV preparation. Even while in port, one team works on regular operations while the other team works on MAV.
“The people who are working MAV have been through it before on deployment,” said Santos. “They have the most knowledge and the most experience.”
The two teams are split into day and night shifts. The day crew works to make sure the night crew is administratively ready with work authorization forms (WAF) and tag-outs, the process to safely account for which power panels are switched on or off throughout the ship for proper maintenance procedures.
Santos said electricity is known as the death ghost. If you don’t have a clean distribution box, there’s live power with active fuses looking for the path of least resistance. Any major discrepancies with a distribution box can cause an arc: the equivalent of a lightning bolt.
“Every day we risk our lives,” said Guerrero. “It may not seem like a big deal, but electricity is dangerous because you can’t see it. We have to be extra safe about it.”
E-Div’s MAV crew observes all safety precautions to work through the requirements for a successful inspection. These simple protocols for cleaning and PMS checks keep Ike secure, cool and powered up this summer.

• Date Taken: 07.11.2019
• Date Posted: 07.16.2019 09:27
• Story ID: 331518
• Location: ATLANTIC OCEAN