In 2018, Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) Machinery Alterations (MACHALT) program marks 35 years of efficient ship upgrade installations.
The process for making an alteration to a U.S. Navy ship often requires a long timeline. The MACHALT program was developed to streamline the process for implementing Hull Mechanical and Electrical (HM&E) equipment alterations.
The predecessor of NSWCPD, Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, developed the MACHALT program in 1983. The program’s purpose is to increase the expediency of performing relatively minor HM&E changes. The changes may involve retooling, upgrading, or performing alterations equivalent to a repair. The efficient alterations save the Navy from potential major repair costs.
Brett Franks, MACHALT program manager, has been with the team for 19 years. Franks compares the success of the program to the saying–efficiency is doing things right, but effectiveness is doing the right things.
“MACHALT has been successful because we crafted it to always be efficient and effective,” said Franks.
Before MACHALT, the Ship Alteration, or SHIPALT program was required for implementing HM&E changes. The SHIPALT program typically requires more documentation and a longer approvals process. While SHIPALTs are still necessary for performing permanent changes to ship configurations, MACHALT reduces both the cycle time for HM&E alterations, as well as the overall number of SHIPALTs required by the fleet.
To implement a change, MACHALT designs and supplies a specialized kit to a ship. The kit includes everything necessary for the change; all hardware, checkout materials and procedures, installation instructions, instruments list, and all of the logistics and documentation support.
Each kit allows for one alteration to be made. For example, if the Navy needed to upgrade 80 doors on a ship, then 80 kits would be required.
Since its inception, the MACHALT team has been responsible for the creation and installation of more than 50,000 kits, impacting more than a thousand ships and craft. Most alterations have focused on safety and maintenance. The program allows for small changes to be made at the pier, as well as while the ship is underway.
One example of a machinery alteration upgrade is MACHALT project number 559. This alteration responded to general ship air conditioning refrigerant leaks. Refrigerant is a colorless, odorless, but toxic gas that can leak out of seals located throughout a ship. The air conditioning and refrigeration systems were losing an estimated 262,200 pounds of refrigerant a year across the fleet. This represents an annual cost of approximately $2.6 million. Even more importantly, the leaks could also create unsafe working conditions for Sailors.
“The challenge was the scope of the alteration, because it really was about every ship in the Navy,” Franks explained.
The alteration replaced the Refrigerant Leak Monitors (RLM) with more reliable and sensitive units. The old RLMs were unreliable and might not alert Sailors that leaks were occurring. The new RLMs provide early leak detection at the source. The monitors also provided greater alarm sensitivity and alarm tracking. This allowed for a more complete coverage of air conditioning and refrigeration plants across the ships, which notified Sailors of a problem sooner. Additionally, the new RLMs are much easier to maintain.
During the period of 2004 to 2011 every active ship in the fleet received the alteration. The ships were upgraded as efficiently as possible, with multiple ships scheduled for work at the same pier. This reduced travel costs for NSWCPD employees and the contractors performing the alterations.
“[The MACHALT engineers have been described as] waterfront ninjas, slip in and get the job done before anyone knows what happened. They get alts knocked out while the ships are pier side,” Franks explained.
Over the past 35 years, the program has made efficiency and commonality its priorities. The MACHALT team strives to make every alteration across the fleet the same; using identical parts, even across ship classes wherever possible. This commonality helps cut down training and install time as well.
“The process is the same,” said David Elia, Technology Deployment branch head. “you aren’t reinventing the wheel every time.”
NSWCPD provides the Navy's primary technical expertise for naval machinery research and development and in-service engineering, as well as machinery cybersecurity and lifecycle engineering.