2022 in Review: Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC) Det Rota

SPAIN

12.15.2022

Courtesy Story

Naval Station Rota, Spain

There were many wins for Forward Deployed Regional Maintenance Center (FDRMC) Det Rota this year, but perhaps the biggest was the FY22 Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) of guided missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke’s (DDG 51).

This was accomplished by the hard work and dedication of FDRMC’s ship building specialists (SBS), intermediate level maintenance team, safety officer, quality assurance specialist, maintenance director, planners, integrated test engineer, RMMCO team, assessment director and assessors, and project support engineer. The team worked closely with FDRMC matrixed personnel such as Arleigh Burke port engineer and combat systems port engineer, program management representatives, alteration installation team, multi-function towed array technicians, and U.S. Navy divers. Outside the command, key commands included Fleet Logistic Center (FLC) Rota contracting officers and logisticians; the personnel and sub-contractors of the Spanish company Navantia, Navantia’s project manager Francisco Martinez, Navantia’s scheduler Tania Moreno; Arleigh Burke chain of command and ship’s force, and Naval Station (NAVSTA) port operations team.

Now moving on to the event; it was the ship’s first forward-deployed Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) SRA and the largest and most technically ambitious SRA ever executed at FDRMC Det Rota. This availability included a precedent setting scope of hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) repairs as well as first time in Rota critical path ship alteration installations AN/SQQ-89 (S/A 61580) and Ti-12 (S/A 94624). The availability was awarded at $23,044,635. The project team completed the repairs while incorporating and integrating $276,536 worth of new work and another $1,474,857 worth of growth work for a total of just under $25M.

With keen foresight and initiative, the team anticipated the challenge of the scope and complexity of work. They engaged and collaborated at the outset with the In Service Engineering Agents (ISEAs) to identify and implement a strategy that would reduce installation and testing timelines for the SQQ-89 and Ti-12 work. During the advance-planning phase, the team established a weekly drumbeat with the ISEAs to keep milestones on track. The end saw the project team reduce the testing portion of the Ti-12 installation from 55 days to 35 days, setting a Navy-wide completion record. Among many other HM&E work items, the project team efficiently planned and executed the AUX 1 Bilge repairs and preservation, that the contractor completed the work item in only 77 days, a task that usually exceeds well over 100 days in the U.S.! As a result, of their prior planning and despite the NAVSEA availability-planning tool’s estimation that the SRA would take 150 days, FDRMC Det Rota certified the availability technically complete on time in 109 days, 41 days ahead of projections, and in 27% less time than anticipated.

Additionally, FDRMC Det Rota closed 64 fleet technical assistance requests, including 16 casualty reports (CASREP); accepted, completed and technically certified 115 intermediate level maintenance actions; and completed 110 assessments, 60 departure from specifications (DFS) extensions based on satisfactory inspections and cleared 58 DFSs during the SRA. The lead maintenance activity completed 27,246 man-days of work in 109 days, a work density not previously seen at FDRMC Det Rota. The quantifiable results of the team's efforts is that Arleigh Burke – the oldest destroyer in the fleet – scored the 'fleet average' on her post SRA unscheduled INSURV.

In order for all this to happen, the team had to look for opportunities to improve any existing process and grow each other’s technical capabilities. To do so, they had to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It helped that most of the team had worked together considerably over the past few years. To make good decisions and integrate them into the scope of work, they spent considerable time discussing key player’s thoughts and ideas. As an example of planning for efficiency in execution, the team discussed and coordinated the ability to work in all engineering spaces simultaneously. They facilitated working in the engineering spaces simultaneously by providing a pier-side temporary generator. As simple a solution as it might seem, a temporary generator pier-side required the study and approval of four different commands; the ship, FDRMC, NAVFAC, and NAVSTA Rota.

The team at FDRMC said that they “succeeded because they always nourished their intellect through openly sharing their knowledge, experiences and ideas, and then making informed decisions to choose the right and best option.”

This allowed everyone to stand up to the challenge with the best attitude; It was not an easy task to achieve but it seemed effortless due to the excellent personnel at FDRMC Det Rota and the greater Rota community.

• Date Taken: 12.15.2022
• Date Posted: 12.22.2022 10:32
• Story ID: 435744
• Location: ES