About FASTT

19 - Miscellaneous

Batteries-Management

Lithium batteries are brought back from missions without knowing if they have been fully expended. Procurement of a lithium battery load tester, model no. TS4403, will enable testing of these batteries to determine if they are still charged and able to be reused. FASTT will provide information on the lithium battery tester.

Best Management Practices

Current phone service is operated and maintained by the BOSC contract, and owned by the activity. CNO has directed transfer of all Base Communications Offices to the NAVCOMTELCOM claimancy. The activity has declined transfer since doing so would increase the rate per phone line by a factor of three. By maintaining status quo, the activity will avoid additional costs of $2,305,000.

FASTT Team recommends that DOD activities on Okinawa establish an environmental working group to share successes and obstacles to success among Navy, Marine Corp, Army and Air Force activities. Focus could be common problems with Hazardous Materials usage and storage, generation and disposal and common problems with the DRMO.

There is not an established line of communication between SIMA personnel and the environmental division. Both groups feel a lack of support from the other. This is due to high turnover at the activity. FASTT Team recommends a regular meeting between different levels of the command to discuss environmental goals and objectives.

Digital Data Control (DD)

The Naval Station was built with various monitoring systems that allow central computer monitoring by Public Works. This system is wired into most buildings that have parameters that require monitoring. FASTT team discussed possibility of connecting the HEPA filters in the firing range to the monitoring system. Benefits would have to be determined after critical components are identified and connected.

Electric Floor Scrubber

Shops cleaning oil residue waste with mops which are classified as hazardous waste after use. An electric floor scrubber would reduce man-hours spent on the task and eliminate several mops now being classified as hazardous materials.

Equipment Repair or Modification/BMP

The activity plans to replace a continually operating chiller unit that generates excessive noise, which increases when it reverberates between two structures. It is recommended that the new unit design incorporate sound proofing measures to eliminate the excessive noise.

Filter Systems/BMP

Previous visit identified gun range filter system changeout process and made recommendations. The range now uses 18 HEPA filters and 54 ceiling grill pre-filters. Both systems are changes by contract arrangement. There is an electronic connection installed in the gun range that could potentially be monitored. Public works recommends attaching a porous tube along side the HEPA filters and attached to the instrumentation. FASTT recommends the contract be revised to replace filters as needed instead of only consulting the calendar. Filters may last well beyond the typical 6 month replacement period.

Lettering Machine

Ground Support Equipment shop paints identification numbers/letters using stencils and spray paint (one can per piece of equipment). Spray paint creates hazardous waste, releases air emissions, and the cans must be disposed of as HW. An adhesive tape lettering machine would completely eliminate spray can paint waste and associated air emissions. FASTT provided information.

Naviflash Point Meter

The fuels training laboratory currently uses Pensky flash point testing equipment that generates 300 ML of waste fuel per analysis. The Pensky flashpoint machine is powered by propane and takes 20 minutes to run one test. The laboratory has 10 Pensky units that should be replaced with the new Naviflash fuel tester which is safer, faster, and uses less sample per test.

Notable

FASTT Team notes the accomplishments of the SIMA 11-A ACCOM division in its development of a series of watertight hatch mock-ups utilized in training ship personnel. FASTT Team encourages distribution of this training aid to other SIMA commands. SAND-11003

Process Change/BMP

Shop repairs F-14 canopies utilizing a jig that can handle only the aft or forward canopy, not both. The recently BRAC'd NADEP Norfolk has a jig that could be made useful. FASTT recommends taking possession of the idle F-14 canopy jig.

Workcenter test runs various jet engines. They use a manual pump to replenish the 1010 oil from a 55-gallon barrel to a fixed oil preservation tank. The operation takes five people rotating in shifts of one hour each. Throughput is 10-12 engines per week. FASTT recommends an electric pump to save man-hours on four out of five people currently involved with task.

Workcenter configures and maintains 150 weapons trailers and 1500 IMRL items. All trailers are on a 13-week PM cycle for the wheel bearings, regardless of whether or not they've been used. FASTT will work to help determine feasibility of extending the wheel bearing requirement to a 52-week cycle as was done at MCAS Yuma.

Shore commands such as Fleet Imaging and Surface Operations are required to perform shipboard PMS checks. Both commands were found to have MIP 3000/001-95, which requires quarterly resistance checks on electrical tools/devices with two or three pronged plugs. The shoreside MIP only requires annual checks. FASTT recommends following the shoreside MIP and reducing the check maintenance burden by 75%. FASTT passed this recommendation to NAVSEA Cumbersome Work Group Practices Working Group for Navy-wide change.

Rough-terrain weapons trailer A/M 32K-4A contains an air filter for the brakes. MRC deck requires change of filter every 13 weeks. Maintenance personnel feel this is excessive. Extension of changeout period would save time and reduce waste generation.

Structure Repair or Modification/BMP

Workcenter maintains ordnance trailers which are stored outside and exposed to sand, wind, and extreme temperatures. The weather causes exposed painted surfaces to erode. Personnel are unable to perform corrosion treatment due to possible lead exposure from sanding the paint. FASTT recommends a semi-permanent shelter be erected in order to store support equipment away from the elements.

Rainwater running into the HAZMINCEN building, and a rain gutter discharge near the outside materials (paint) storage area are potential sources for generating contaminated waste water. A storm drain near the front door of the building is plugged so that potentially-contaminated rain water will not enter the storm sewer system. This results in frequent flooding of the building. A short term solution would be to purchase a portable berm to isolate the outside storage area from the rain gutter. A long term solution would be to either place all of the materials in the outside storage area in a trailer, or put a roof over the outside storage area and build a berm around the materials. Once the hazardous materials are isolated from the weather, the storm drain could be open to alleviate flooding in the building.

Substitute/Lamp & Lighting Technologies

Shop maintains on-site exit signs and street lighting. Existing exit signs use 15-watt fluorescent bulbs. Street lamps are fitted with high-pressure sodium lights that have separate lamps and pulsers. Illuminating the exit signs with LED lighting would save $23 per sign per year. New street lamps with a single lamp/pulser assembly would alleviate the problem of pulsers continuing to activate after lamps have burned out.