Photo By Seaman Curtis Burdick | U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Harley Ambrowsky, from Hopson,...... read more read more
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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Innovative Sailors are using cutting-edge technology from the private sector, and it’s leading to huge savings in both time and money for the Navy and positive impacts for the environment. While Sailors coming up with new ideas to create positive changes is a consistent theme in the Navy, this particular change comes electrically charged.
In Hampton, Virginia, there’s a warehouse packed to the brim with plasma cutters, sewing machines, metal fabricators, and equipment to produce practically any tool or product imaginable. This is the Light Industrial Facility (LIFAC), and it is just one place where Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), are finding astute improvements to processes that will help the ship get back in the fight.
The Stennis is currently going through its mid-life maintenance cycle, known as Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH), in Newport News Shipyard. During this time, the crew is a part of production and maintenance teams, both on and off the ship, including LIFAC.
“One of our concerns after we took over LIFAC was when we observed the process of conventional painting on non-watertight doors,” said Cmdr. Jericho Timog, from Quezon City, Philippines, the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department Officer. “Previously, it took 30 days for the paint to fully dry and cure. We believed that there are better techniques and products available that could improve our RCOH efforts.”
Electrically-charged dry powder is the product that Sailors in the non-tight door refurbishment team researched and found within the industry, and now utilize to significantly improve the production and restoration time of refurbishing non-watertight doors.
During this process, the doors are negatively charged and when the paint is sprayed it comes out positively charged, sticking immediately to the door. This new process means fewer man-hours for Sailors, the paint lasts longer and is safer for the environment.
“With the new method, there is no post-cure time. LIFAC can now paint 16 doors a day and those doors could be sent back to ship’s force the same day for re-installation,” said Lt. Kristopfer Riel, from St. Cloud, Florida, the AIRSpeed Officer, who identifies constraints and measures improvements for programs on the ship. “These shorter turn-around times have led to a 47% reduction in man-hours spent on painting, thousands of dollars in savings just for the remaining doors, and an over 56,000% reduction in cycle time.”
The powder coating is also being adapted for use on porthole covers, chock covers, and ready-room chairs. The versatile material can be used practically anywhere the old method of painting was done.
Additionally, according to the manufacturer of the product, it is free from hazardous air pollutants, volatile organic compounds, emits almost no air pollution and the overspray is reusable in a way that reduces material waste.
By using this powder-coating technology, the ship is realizing competitive advantages on costs, schedule, and performance, with the added benefit of taking care of the environment.
“We are the first aircraft carrier to utilize powder-coating technology for our non-tight doors during RCOH," said Timog. Initiatives such as this will allow Stennis to continue to break barriers in production and efficiencies, which will contribute to our already outstanding reputation in the fleet. At this phase of RCOH, we continue to exceed expectations of meeting our production goals.”
The Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) initiatives are intended to make the ship even better and equate to the responsible use of resources.
Sailors at LIFAC come from a range of different rates in the Navy that are all combining their experiences to create safer and more efficient methods to complete their tasks.
“Whatever the ship can dream of, we can try to make it here in our shop,” said Chief Petty Officer Aviation Machinist’s Mate Shannon Friesz, from Independence, Missouri, project lead for the non-tight door refurbishment team.
At LIFAC, Sailors manufacture tools and products that are used in nearly every space on the ship.
“These guys are hustling every single day,” said Friesz. “They’re 22% ahead of the ship’s force tasks, and I credit it to their camaraderie. They’re happy to come to work and are just killing it every single day.”
The LIFAC crew is working with civilians from Newport News Shipbuilding, and command leadership aboard the aircraft carriers USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and USS George Washington (CVN 73), to integrate the innovations from LIFAC into the fleet.
“We have a lot of adaptive thinking where folks are trying to find new ways to resolve problems that are well outside of the job that they thought they trained to come into the Navy for,” said Senior Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Jared Alford, from Independence, Kansas, LIFAC’s Leading Chief Petty Officer. “It’s a great example of how the Navy keeps you on your feet and forces you to grow.”
The John C. Stennis is in Newport News Shipyard working alongside NNS, NAVSEA, and contractors conducting Refueling and Complex Overhaul as part of the mission to deliver the warship back in the fight, on time and budget, to resume its duty of defending the United States.
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2022 12:31 |
| Story ID: | 416740 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | INDEPENDENCE, KS, US |
| Hometown: | INDEPENDENCE, MO, US |
| Hometown: | ST. CLOUD, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 515 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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