Photo By Matthew Stinson | The NAVFAC Washington team from Public Works Department South Potomac, Dahlgren,...... read more read more
The job was to replace two 110-ton capacity chillers for the Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC) at Naval Support Facility (NSF) Dahlgren. Normally, that kind of job would be contracted out. Lt. Travis Christensen, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Washington production officer at NSF Dahlgren, was set on changing that.
“As these projects came through our work induction board, since I have an HVAC background, I noticed there were some that did not require a whole lot of technical work that were slipping through our fingers,” said Christensen.
People who understand HVAC realize that big does not necessarily mean more complicated or even more time consuming, especially if you have the manpower. The HVAC shop at Public Works Department South Potomac, NSF Dahlgren, is now virtually fully-staffed. Keeping staff vacancy rates low at the PWDs across the National Capital Region is a top priority for NAVFAC Washington’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Greg Vinci.
“This project is a perfect example of the difference that our Human Capital Strategy, approved annually by the command’s executive steering group, is making across the command,” said Vinci.
After talented individuals were brought aboard at NSF Dahlgren, the emphasis shifted to training and tools.
“The focus the last couple of years has been on gaining the skills required for a variety of projects,” said Christensen. “We have great equipment now which allows us to perform work faster, so I convinced leadership to use this as a test case to see if we could accomplish these larger tasks which have been historically contracted out.”
NAVFAC Washington leadership agreed and the Dahlgren production team set to work.
All of the planning and estimating was able to be done in-house, thanks to the trade skill experience of so many members of the team, especially Mike Mahon, who designed the entire job in less than a month. The cost and size of the 110-ton chillers still required enlisting the help of the contracting team serving at Dahlgren to complete the purchase, but the units were delivered in just three months despite pandemic conditions.
The exact time and day the chillers did arrive, however, was unexpected. Thankfully, the production department consists of three divisions: utilities, facilities and transportation.
“I was able to tap into my own transportation assets and redirected a crane the day the chillers were delivered. When it was time to actually set the units in place, I only needed to give my transportation guys one day notice so that they had the right equipment the next day. Having my own production workforce gave us the speed and agility to do quality work.”
From start to finish, the project was completed in five months, and most of that time was due to the manufacturing of the units because they are so large. Christensen estimates that if the project went through the normal contracting process it would have taken a year.
“The time savings is great, but the cost savings is really what benefits the customer,” said Rich Pickens, NAVFAC Washington facilities branch head, PWD South Potomac, Dahlgren.
The bottom line cost including the purchase of the units and labor was approximately $300,000. Christensen estimates the same contracted effort would have cost $500,000 or more. That is at least $200,000 in cost savings, but it could be more if any unforeseen or emerging requirements had come about, such as schedule shift, which can balloon the costs further.
“One of the focuses of [Rear Adm. John Korka, commander, NAVFAC] is that we reduce A/C trouble calls by 50% across the board,” said Pickens. “The old units, one of them was basically not operational and the other needed constant attention. This falls right in line with the Chief’s mission statement of speed and agility.”
Speed and agility is at the forefront of the NAVFAC effort and are the two characteristics that define the enterprise as a systems command team. In this case, each and every manhour of work was done with in-house forces, from installation to plumbing to electrical work.
“The advantage of the reduction in service calls is going to be realized over the lifespan of these chillers, some 20 years, because the same people who installed it are maintaining it,” Christensen said. “That circumstance provides an extra layer of ownership because there is additional pride that our people are going to maintain these units from cradle to grave.”
One of NAVFAC Washington’s largest customers at NSF Dahlgren, Naval Surface Warfare Center, has a list of four chillers that they planned to contract out in fiscal year 2021, but Christensen, Pickens and the production team are going to execute the replacement of one of the chillers in the first quarter of FY21. The project will serve as another test run with a different customer. The NAVFAC Washington team aims to continue to deliver time and cost savings to our Sailors and Marines across the National Capital Region.
“I am so proud of our NAVFAC Washington Family – our hard work is paying off with successful projects like this one,” said Capt. Vinci.
Author’s note: Mike Mahon, NAVFAC Washington planner and estimator at NSF Dahlgren, died suddenly on May 29th, 2020. He designed the entire chiller installation job and noted that it was his largest and favorite project of his career. NAVFAC Washington, and especially the team at PWD South Potomac, Dahlgren, will miss him.
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.24.2020 10:11 |
| Story ID: | 378552 |
| Location: | DAHLGREN, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 383 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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