ESOH Challenges in Commissioning an Aircraft Carrier Brief 7832 Doug Parrish Booz Allen Hamilton E2S2 Conference May 2009, Denver 1
Outline Background Complex operational environment. Manning challenges. Design/contract challenges. Equipment challenges. Specific ESOH challenges. Hazardous materials. Safety equipment. Training. 2
Background: Changes over time. Photo: Anon. Photo: US Navy Photo: US Navy Photo: US Navy Photo: US Navy 3
Construction Methods Change Over Time Old style of building ships not normally used todayfor multiple reasons. Photo: Battleship.Org 4
Complex Operational Environment Photo: US Navy 5
Why do we have carriers? Purpose of an aircraft carrier: Force projection (i.e., drop bombs on target in geographically remote locations. USS CONSTELLATION (excv-64). Photo: US Navy 6
NGSB Aircraft Carriers 7
CVN-78 Plan Image: US Navy 8
The Construction Process Busy place. NGNN has 1000+ cranes, many forklifts, 3 shifts of operation, 19k+ employees. COMMERCIAL YARD! Carrier takes 5+ years to build. Some crew there ~2 years prior to commissioning, phased manning. Carrier build ~$5.5B & ~ 50M manhours. + Later outfitting + modernization. 9
NIMITZ Class (CVN-68) Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co, NGNN/NGSB. CVN-68 Deployed: May 3, 1975. Unit Cost: ~ $4.5B each, + planes & supplies. Propulsion: 2 nuclear reactors, 4 shafts. Length: 1,092 ft Beam: 134 ft Flight Deck Width: 252 ft Displacement: ~ 97k tons (88k metric tons) full load. Speed: 30+ knots (34.5+ mph). Crew: Ship's Company: 3,200 - Air Wing: 2,480. Aircraft: 85 10
Changes on CVN-77 vs CVN-68 CVN-77 is evolved or transitional CVN-68 design. CVN-78 = CVN-21 advanced design. Major improvements from her predecessors, including: Bulbous bow. Redesigned island and integral weapons elevator. Composite mast. Three-wire arresting gear configuration. Fresh water, vacuum system sewage capture & treatment plant. Plan for EMALS not incorporated, technology was not mature. 11
F-18F SuperHornet. Photo: US Navy E-2C in the wire. Photo: US Navy USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN-76). Photo US Navy 12
CNV-77: Significant Commitment of Resources Top of mast- 20 stories above waterline (244 ft). 4.5 acre flight deck. 1,092 feet long: nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall. Four bronze propellers, each 21 feet across and 30+ tons. Steering accomplished by two rudders, each 29 feet by 22 feet, 50 tons in weight. Four high speed aircraft elevators, 4,000+ square feet in area, bring planes to the flight deck from the hangar below. 13
CNV-77: Significant Commitment of Resources 47,000 tons of structural steel and about 1M lbs of aluminum used in the ship s construction. Modular construction process forms large individual units of the ship much like interlocking building blocks. Units welded together to form a module or superlift weighing up to 900 tons. 14
CVN-77 Capacity Home to about 6,000 Navy personnel. Enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days: 18,150 meals served daily. Distillation plants providing 400,000 gallons of fresh water from sea water daily, enough for 2,000 homes. Nearly 30,000 light fixtures and 1,600 miles of cable and wiring. 1,400 telephones, 14,000 pillowcases and 28,000 sheets. 15
The Ship Top speed 30+ knots (35+ MPH). 2 nuclear reactors, operate 20+ years without refueling. Conventional diesel ship burns ~ 270k gallons of fuel per day during flight operations. CVN s not tied to oil cargo ships like CV s. ~50 years lifespan. Three two-inch diameter arresting wires on the flight deck bring an airplane going 150 MPH to a stop in < 400 ft (i.e., mobile airport). 16
Manning Challenges Few people initially. Everyone has multiple jobs. As Safety Dept and rest man up, most are not trained for primary and collateral duties. First ship or carrier tour for many. Safety Dept = TAD bodies. 17
Design/Contract Challenges 1970s Design. Little changed from first NIMITZ design. Shipalts/mods not normally done at yard, wait on PSA/SRA. As designed/built to pass INSURV/Navy Acceptance Trials, then some items ripped out/replaced/modernized at SRA.»Wet Chemistry Photolab. FORD CVN-78 design ~complete, little Fleet input.»too late to input ESOH problems now/ not in contract. 18
BUSH, 2 nd with new bulbous bow 750 ton lift. New design more efficient. Photo: Northrop Grumman 19
BUSH in drydock, May06 Photo: Northrop Grumman 20
Superlifts: Upper Bow, Island 780 ton bow 700 ton island Photos: Northrop Grumman 21
BUSH in drydock, Sep06 Photo: Northrop Grumman 22
PCU BUSH Christening, Oct 7, 2006 Photo: Northrop Grumman 23
Schedule Keel laid: Sep 03 First crew onboard: Jun 06 25% ~Dec 06 50% ~ Jun 07 75% ~ Jan 08 Light off reactor Jul 08 Crew moveaboard Aug 08 Commissioning Jan 09 Builder s Trials Feb 09 Navy Acceptance Trials Mar 09 SRA/PSA Mar 09 Workups/FCT late 09 First Cruise late 2010 24
An aircraft carrier s flight deck is a busy place. Photo: US Navy 25
Many environmental concerns during operation. Photo: US Navy 26
Start training early to meet operational uses. Photo: US Navy 27
Multi-national, multi-state, oceans & rivers. Photo: US Navy 28
Equipment Challenges Buy initial outfitting items, no gear comes with the job. AELs are wrong. Supply Dept undermanned, no HAZMAT program. RPPO untrained. Byzantine supply system (not standard methodology). No hazmat spill kit nor ability to respond. 29
Specific ESOH Challenges Getting people to wear PPE. Constant training challenges- new people, new equipment, new systems, complex operations. Commercial yards have their own rulessome are arbitrary. Navy DOES NOT OWN THE SHIP, DOES NOT OWN THE YARD. Barge, rented offices, Huntington Hall, remote parking lots. 30
Facilities 31
Specific ESOH Challenges Shipyard owns emergency (medical, spill, fire, environmental) response until after crew move-aboard. While working aboard, Navy crew follows yard rules- if we know/understand them. SUPSHIP is intermediary. 32
HAZMAT Challenges One BM2/9595 for first year (Jul06-Dec07). No AUL, limited visibility on ordering. SERVMART provides HAZMAT- which may be fine for shore offices but not usable onboard. Safety Dept BM1/SK1 9595- late arrivals (Mar08). Have/use HAZMAT before program in place. No training, Hazcomm standard, PPE, disposal, spill kits, or storage. 33
Safety Equipment Receive just prior to builder s trials. 195 List/Exclusion Items: EEBDs & SCBAs. Bull s Eyes, CCOLs, SIB. Fire fighting equipment. Ladder chains. Nonskid decks. Deck coverings & deck markings. Warning Labels/SOPS/Operator Placards. 34
Training Challenges Many new, unique, untried systems. Navy crew doesn t own systems, yard does initially. Vendor prepares maintenance + training pubs- often late in the game. Crew must be trained/prepared for ATG Crew Certification, Builders and Navy Acceptance Trials. 35
Recommendations Standardize and implement consistent, timely SSWGs and allow changes to contract and design early in design cycle. More fleet/user community involvement, earlier- and USE their suggestions. Make and use passdown/lessons learned. More SUPSHIP oversight during all phases of build process. Get engineers out on site, get them familiar with environment and operational needs. 36
Summary Background Complex operational environment. Manning challenges. Design/contract challenges. Equipment challenges. Specific ESOH challenges. Hazardous materials. Safety equipment. Training. 37
ESOH Challenges In Commissioning an Aircraft Carrier Questions? Questions? One Mission, One Vision, One Team, One Fight! 38
Contact info Douglas K. Parrish PhD, CIH, CSP, REHS Booz Allen Hamilton Stafford Commerce Center, Suite 103 25 Center Street Stafford, VA 22556 Phone (540) 288-5126 Fax (540) 288-5050 Parrish_Douglas@bah.com 39