NOB, Norfolk, VA –
Walking down Main Street in Building CEP-200 you can usually hear the sound of a grinder or someone in the Production Department’s Hull Branch working on one of their many projects. This shop, as well as all of the shops within the Production Department, is always busy fixing ships, but at the end of the day its about the Sailors and getting them the hands on training they need to become the subject matter experts before leaving Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC).
“Our ultimate goal is when a Sailor leaves the Hull Branch we want them to say that they gained both knowledge and proficiency,” said Byron Myers who serves as the Zone Manager for the Pipe, Watertight Door and Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) repair shops, which comprise part of the Hull Branch located on Main Street in Building CEP-200.
In total, the Hull Branch also covers the Sheetmetal, Shipfitter and Lagging Shops.
“We have 120 Sailors and 25 civilians who are assigned to the Hull Branch,” said Myers.
As the Zone Manager, Myers is tasked with managing the shops daily functions, which include ensuring the work packages they receive from the planning shop are completed in a timely manner.
The Pipe Shop has the capability of repairing or replacing a wide variety of piping systems on a ship. This includes, but is not limited to, firemain piping, seawater service piping and potable water piping. Repairs are made by using the gauge line that reads pressure all the way up to piping that supplies seawater to various firefighting systems.
The SCBA shop hydrostatically tests and inspects SCBA bottles and masks that are used to fight fires aboard the ship.
“The bottles require testing every 36 months said,” Myers. “The shop tests the masks to ensure there are no leaks. If a piece of equipment fails inspection the shop will make the repairs in house.”
The Watertight Door Shop repairs door grooves, which includes gasket replacements and watertight door dog adjustments. The shop also has the capability to make rust repairs if found on the door channel gasket.
The Shipfitter and Sheetmetal Shops focus on structural repairs. “We mostly repair bulkheads, life line stanchions and flight deck net frames in the shipfitter shop,” said MARMC Zone Manager James Harper. “We also repair ready service lockers, cutout hatches and doors. Our guys can really do anything with metal.”
Last but not least, is the Lagging Shop. Pipe lagging is a special type of insulation fitted around pipes. It keeps heat within the pipes – so it’s useful for saving energy, as well as preventing pipes from freezing and bursting. Lagging also prevents condensation from forming on cold pipes.
“We install lagging on bulkheads, on the inner side of the skin of the ship, chilled water pumps, vent ducting, exhaust ducting and heat exchangers,” said Lagging Shop Zone Manager E.G. Warren. “The lagging serves the purposes of reducing heat loss, reducing personnel injuries and maintaining system efficiency. We also teach ship’s force (S/F) Sailors through our ‘Self Help’ course how to install lagging on the ship. It’s a hands-on class and they learn a lot.”
The Hull Branch makes training a fundamental part of each new Sailors learning curriculum. With an experienced group of civilian personnel working in the Hull Branch, who were once Sailors themselves, it makes that training an easier process.
“Our civilian force really provides the continuity piece here in the shop,” said Harper. “All of our civilian personnel have over 10 years of experience. The Sailors have their training pipeline which has been cut over the years, so we pair all of our new Sailors with experienced civilians so they get qualified correctly and learn our procedures.”
For Sailors new to the Hull Branch or for those requalifying their welding certificate, they work with Preston Everette, who oversees the weld/braze instruction booth where qualification takes place.
“Preston leads the program,” said Myers. “Ships will send Sailors over here temporarily to either update their qualifications or gain new ones. If we have a unique job that requires a unique qualification, we can send our welder to Preston to get a unique qualification in order to complete the job. We also push each Sailor to attain as many Navy Enlisted Classifiers (NECs) through the Navy Afloat Maintenance Training Strategy program while stationed here at MARMC. These NECs are a huge benefit to the ship when the Sailors return.”
The Hull Branch is part of the overall production team and impacts mission readiness of ships on the waterfront every day and is one of MARMC’s strongest assets in meeting the command’s Strategic Business Plan priorities of on-time delivery of ships to the fleet.