New Inspection Program Seeks Greater Safety, Savings
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS100417-11
4/17/2010
From Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy announced new pipe-weld inspection techniques April 7 which are expected to save millions of dollars.
The ultrasonic testing (UT) practices were developed by engineers and inspectors at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (IMF), a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) field activity.
"These new techniques can provide huge savings," said Ole Hovland, PSNS & IMF mechanical engineer.
According to Hovland, using UT provided manpower savings of up to $500,000 for each aircraft carrier major overhaul availability.
The UT initiative is one of several action items managed by NAVSEA's Cumbersome Work Practices Task Force (CWP-TF). The task force's goals include reducing shipyard maintenance costs and schedule duration by eliminating non-essential technical requirements and introducing improved processes, technologies and materials.
NAVSEA continues to identify and execute initiatives such as the elimination of cumbersome work practices and pursuit of commonality to reduce total ownership costs.
Hovland said using UT to detect welding defects in the large-diameter, steel piping in aircraft carrier steam systems requires substantially less manpower than other testing methods.
One UT technique being tested is phased array (PA) UT, or PAUT, Hovland said. The PAUT generates images similar to a sonogram. The system includes a wheeled scanning unit that attaches to a circular track that wraps around a pipe's weld section. This enables the unit to be moved in a straight line around the pipe, taking ultrasonic readings from multiple angles. The result is a two-dimensional image of the weld.
"The UT initiative is a great example of our engineers' ingenuity at adapting new, commercially available technologies to Navy maintenance and repair," said Kurt Doehnert, NAVSEA's Logistics, Maintenance and Industrial Operations Command program manager and CWP-TF co-chair.
The CWP-TF includes representatives from the four Naval Shipyards and Intermediate IMPs, Submarine Maintenance Engineering Planning and Procurement Activity, Supervisors of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Carrier Planning Activity and various NAVSEA headquarters offices.
The group holds regular meetings via teleconference and works closely with warrant holders and other experts who address specific items and perform the actual field work. The task force is co-chaired by CWP program manager Mark Browder of NAVSEA's Fleet Readiness Engineering Office.
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