Newsletter: February/March 2011 Newsletter

Our guest speaker for the February General Membership Meeting was Captain Gerald J. Reina, USN, Commanding Officer, Norfolk Ship Support Activity. Capt. Reina graduated from the University of Mississippi, with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree, and a minor in Mathematics. He was commissioned an Ensign through the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He went on to Surface Warfare Officers’ School, and later, was assigned to USS IMPERVIOUS (MSO 449), where he qualified as Surface Warfare Officer, Engineering Officer of the Watch, and Officer of the Deck U/W. 

 

He transferred to the Engineering Duty Officer Community in August 1986, and attended Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. There he received a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and completed Engineering Duty Officer School.

 

Captain Reina’s first industrial tour was at the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair (SUPSHIP) Portsmouth, Virginia, where he was assigned as Project Manager for several CNO ship maintenance availabilities. He completed his EDO qualifications, the Master Ship Repair Course, and qualified as Docking Assurance Officer. 

 

Captain Reina was assigned to Commander Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Norfolk, Virginia and held the positions of Amphibious Type Desk and Mine Warfare Type Desk Officer. Later, he returned to the waterfront assigned to Norfolk Naval Shipyard as Assistant, Deputy, and Project Superintendent for CNO ship maintenance availabilities on the big deck amphibious ships and the aircraft carrier USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT. He completed Nuclear Assistant Project Superintendent School, and subsequently, was placed in charge of the shipyard’s LHD/LHA and Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Type Desk. In August 1997, he was selected as a member of the Acquisition Professional Community in the primary field of Manufacturing, Production and Quality Assurance.

 

October 1998 – October 2001, Captain Reina served as the 8th Officer-in-Charge, U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility Detachment in Sasebo, Japan. There he was responsible for the material readiness of the Belleau Wood and Essex ARGs, Mine Counter Measure ships, a salvage ship, and the successful completion of several CNO and CM availabilities. He earned the prestigious Nippon Zenkokia award from the office of the Japanese Prime Minister for exceptional support and dedication to the community and U.S./Japanese relations.

 

Upon return to Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Captain Reina became the Business and Strategic Planning Officer, responsible for the funding and strategic planning of more than a million mandays of shipyard workload annually.

 

On July 23, 2004, Captain Reina became the 12th Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Portsmouth Virginia. He held that position until the disestablishment of the command and transition to the Regional Maintenance Center. There he held the position of Waterfront Operations for the Mid-Atlantic RMC, responsible for the maintenance of 68 ships and the management of 34 maintenance teams.

 

In September 2006, he transferred to U.S. Fleet Forces Command as Carrier Maintenance Branch Head responsible for programs, policies and budgeting of the Navy’s carrier fleet. On April 30, 2007, Captain Reina reported to Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego as Deputy Commander and became the Commander on 1 August 2008. Captain Reina assumed his current position as the Commanding Officer of the Norfolk Ship Support Activity in August 2010.

 

Captain Reina's decorations include the Legion of Merit (2), Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Gold Star), Navy and Marine Commendation Medal (Gold Star), and various other awards.   Currently, he is the Vice Chairman of the American Society of Naval Engineers Tidewater Section.

Ruislip, England and educated at the U.S. Naval Academy, earning a B.S. in Ocean Engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1973 until 1982. He is President of Davis Boatworks.  He was a member of the House of Delegates from 1992 until 2001.  He has been a member of the Senate since 2001.

 

Senator Wagner is a member of the following committees: Commerce and Labor, General Laws and Technology, Rehabilitation and Social Services, and Transportation.  Senator Wagner’s Senate homepage is

RDML Greg Thomas, Commander, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, was our guest speaker for the January General Membership Meeting. He provided an update on Norfolk Naval Shipyard and how it relates to the Norfolk Ship Support Activity (NSSA).

 

Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) is the fourth largest employer in Virginia with 9,800 employees. Situated on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River, NNSY's boundaries encompass approximately 800 acres. The property houses seven dry docks, four miles of waterfront, about 30 miles of paved streets and 19 miles of railroad tracks, its own police and fire departments, electricity and steam generating plant, and about 400 cranes.

 

The shipyard is full to capacity through the end of the summer. Good investments have been made to upgrade piers and drydocks. The next investments will be made to the shops and buildings. 

 

Of major concern is the aging of the workforce. The largest demographic is in the 50-55 year old range. Twenty-five percent of the workforce is currently eligible to retire. Forty-two percent of the workforce can retire in the next decade. The average age of the white collar employees is 44 and 45 for the blue collar employees. Over the next four years, the shipyard plans to hire 1,500 employees. The apprentice school graduates 150-160 apprentices annually. The shipyard plans to increase this number. 

 

Currently, Norfolk Ship Support Activity (NSSA) reports to NNSY. A request has been submitted to realign NSSA to report instead to RDML (Sel) Gale. Work on carriers and submarines will continue to be overseen by NNSY rather than NSSA.

No new member companies were submitted for the approval of the Board of Directors. However, Ashley Valve renewed their membership. 

Ashley Valve is a small, veteran-owned business that has served the military and local shipyards with their exceptional skills and rapid execution of jobs since 1993. They understand the increasing needs of our military and shipyard community as budgets are cut, contracts delayed and jobs lost. As we all adapt to these changing times, rest assured that Ashley Valve will continue to act as a leader in our industry with quality assurance, timeliness, and fair pricing. 

Ashley Valve has a documented history of successful repairs and demonstrated expertise from both OEMs and NAVSEA standards 009-90 for all of the following: hydraulic repair, valves; HP Air; pop tests for HP air relief; actuators; electric, hydraulic and pneumatic valves; diesel engine repairs; boat davits, windlass, air and hydraulic winches; pump overhauls, shaft seal replacement, and pump/motor alignment; fin stabilizers and steering systems, AC&R component repairs; magazine sprinkler systems; aircraft elevator repairs; sea water strainers; and hydrostatic test equipment.

 

Please visit their website at www.ashleyvalve.com.

Congratulations to Charles Mack of Marine Hydraulics International, who received the 2010 Safety Award. Mr. Mack was the winner of the second quarter Safety Award for his suggestion to mark safety loops with photo luminescent tape. Safety loops are designed to help prevent personnel from inadvertently falling into a tank or void. The safety loops are currently painted international orange for easy visibility in lighted conditions. By adding photo luminescent tape to the loops, they will also become visible in the event that there is a loss of lighting in the vicinity of the tanks and voids. This, in turn, will further help to prevent any incidents of employees falling into tanks and voids when there is little to no visible light. Another feature for this idea is that when personnel are evacuating a void that has lost lighting, it will assist them by being able to identify how close they are to the tank exit when they look up and see the photo luminescent tape glowing. Congratulations Charles Mack!

WHEN:           Wednesday, April 6, 2011

WHERE:         Virginia Beach office of Troutman Sanders, 222 Central Park Ave, Suite 2000 (20^th Floor).

COST:             $60.00 per person

 

This is a 1/2 day seminar sponsored by the VSRA Human Resources Committee.  It is exclusively offered only to VSRA members and will cover a variety of topics essential to the HR professional.

 

Presenters and topics include:

Christopher Abel, Troutman Sanders, LLP - Electronic Communication Monitoring/Social Networking Issues

Tammy Colvin, TASC - ERISA Compliance

John Di Dio, Professional Personnel Services, Inc. - Affirmative Action Plans

Victoria McCoy - Strategic Evaluations/Planning

 

The seminar price is $60 per person, and includes a light breakfast and lunch. For directions, please go to http://www.troutmansanders.com/virginia_beach. The parking garage is open to all visitors.

 

Please register on the VSRA website www.virginiashiprepair.org for above seminar. Online registrations are preferred; however, phone reservations can be accommodated. For questions/help registering please call our office at 757-233-7034.

VSRA member companies have been strong supporters of the Elizabeth River Project’s Learning Barge. In its first year, the floating classroom reached nearly 1,500 children, and VSRA supplied information on everything our industry does to protect and preserve the waterways. This winter, BAE Norfolk Ship Repair and Main Industries have pledged to help with the painting maintenance activity of the Learning Barge. Not only does this reduce costs for the non-profit program, but it gives our member companies an opportunity to give less experienced workers more training and skills development time. 

 

There are many other maintenance activities which need your support. If you company is interested in assisting with this most worthy project, please call Jason Green, Barge Captain at (757)399-7487 or email him at: jasonctgreene@gmail.com.

At the February General Membership meeting, Jason Green, Learning Barge Captain, recognized the following VSRA member companies for their contributions to the Learning Barge during 2010:

 

Auxiliary Systems, Inc.: Electrical and pump support

 

BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair: Hosting of vessel; Spud painting and modification; Observation pool drain modification; Various deck modifications; Steel bench construction, installation, and ballasting; Additional outlet installation and Crew access step build and installation

 

Beach Marine Services: Pledge to build off-season barge mooring berth

Colonna’s Shipyard: Pledge of Summer 2011 haulout and Pledge of emergency haulout for storms

 

Crofton Diving/Crofton Construction Services, Inc.: Dive inspections, Mooring Line, Jay Crofton’s Time, and Riverfest 2011 support

Earl Industries, Inc.: Ron Ritter’s time and support and Non-skid donation

Mr. Kevin Cosgrove, Esq., Hunton and Williams, LLP: Pro bono legal work

 

Mike Moore, London and Norfolk: Exceptional service to ERP and Learning Barge

Main Industries, Inc.: Prepping and coating interior voids

 

Marine Chemist Atlantic, Inc.: Pledge of a marine chemist check when required

 

Marine Chemist Service, Inc.: Shipyard Competent Person Class for Jason Green

Metro Machine Corp.: For Kathleen Hinton’s time and support

 

MHI Ship Repair and Services: Electrical support

United Coatings Corporation: Jean’s time and support and Steel bench blasting and powder coating

 

Virginia Ship Repair Association: Mal Branch’s time and support

The collaborative On-line Safety Orientation project is a huge success, with companies in Jacksonville, Florida also adopting it as their standard, and other regions interested in getting on board. Considering we logged over 12,000 users in its first ten months and have 460 companies actively using the program, we are proud of being a leader in this type of leveraged partnership among shipyards. 2011 will bring some updates to the program, so please watch for them to be released soon. These include:

 

As of January 1, 2011, VSRA made some staffing changes that will enable us to more aggressively pursue improvements and enhancements to both member services and training. Among these is the employment of Michelle Tomaszewski, Ph.D./abd SPHR as Director of Operations. As a contractor, Michelle worked to redesign and build our training division for the past six years. With a new office on-site, she will be able to increase this activity, as well as use her fifteen years of Association experience to provide more and better services to our membership.

 

Michelle is joined by Bahar Onal, who has been brought on as a part-time employee to help facilitate faster development of training programs and enhance marketing capabilities for our courses. We are looking forward to your input on new programs or improvements our expanded team can focus on. We believe our industry is The Strength Behind the Fleet, and we intend to continue to be the most active and productive ship repair association in the nation.

Did you know you can share articles, resources and regulatory information on our website? Members can upload documents and links FREE! This is a great way to promote your company by helping other members access important industry infomation! Just login to the website at www.VirginiaShipRepair.org and click on Resources/Publications at the top. Contact us if you have more ideas for improvement!

The 2011 National Ship Repair Industry Conference will be held 28 February to 3 March 2011.  It will once again be at the Embassy Suites in Crystal City with the same room rate as last year, $240 single, $269 double.  Hotel reservations can be made at the Embassy Suites by calling 1-800-EMBASSY using NSR as the group code or you can go to their website at:

 

Two events have been added; a dinner on Navy Day at Windows over Washington in the Doubletree Hotel right around the corner from the Embassy Suites, and the ASNE Presidents Club luncheon on Hill Day.  Here's the schedule:

 

Monday 28 February Travel Day    Opening reception at Embassy Suites sponsored by PSDSRA

 

 Tuesday 1 March       Navy Day      Dinner with speaker

 

Wednesday 2 March   Hill Day        VSRA reception on the Hill

 

Thursday 3 March       Industry Day (through noon)     Travel Day

 

The registration fee is $380 for members and $420 for non-members.  After pricing everything out, it came in higher than expected but at $380, we believe our VSRA members will certainly get their money's worth out of the four-day conference.  We are certainly getting an enthusiastic response from Navy and Coast Guard leadership.  Please use the NSRIC 2011 Registration Form to register.

http://www.virginiashiprepair.org/files/NSRIC11%20Registration%20(rev%201)%2019JAN11.pdf

 

The 2011 NSRIC Congressional Agenda may be found at http://www.virginiashiprepair.org/files/NSRIC11%20Congressional%20Agenda%2019JAN11.doc. Comments are always welcome.  There are real problems for our industry if the Navy doesn't get funded to the President's Budget ($6B for ship depot maintenance).  Hopefully it will be resolved satisfactorily before the conference but it needed to be included in the letters that are going out now.

3/16/11 TASC Luncheon Meeting held at the Norfolk Airport Hilton at 11:30 A.M. The guest speaker is Ms. Tammy J. Proffitt, Assistant District Director
for Business Development, SBA's Richmond District Office. To register, go to www.tasc-tgic.org.

3/16-17/11 TASC / TGIC Elections Pleased attend the TASC luncheon on March 16, 2011 to cast your vote for TASC-TGIC Board Members. It is very important for our members to show their support and vote in the election.
If you cannot be present at the election meeting on March 17th, you can still vote by proxy. Please download the TASC and TGIC proxy forms from the website at www.tasc-tgic.org. They are still looking for members interested in serving on the TASC Board of Directors and Industry persons to serve on the Tidewater Government Industry Council. Please volunteer to help guide your organization to be all that it can be! Send an e-mail to Beverly, Councilor for Nominations, at beverly@arvisoinc.com.

 

3/16/11 - ASNE Tidewater Section Dinner Meeting held at the Springhill Suites, Newtown Rd., 1800-1900 Social Hour, 1900-2030 Dinner and Program. Guest Speaker TBD.

 

Please make your reservations for the dinner meeting no later than noon
the day before it's scheduled at www.asne-tw.org.

 

4/20/11 - ASNE Tidewater Section Dinner Meeting held at the Springhill Suites, Newtown Rd., 1800-1900 Social Hour, 1900-2030 Dinner and Program. Guest Speaker is RDML (Sel) David Gale, Commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Centers. 

 

The committee met virtually to put together the January/February newsletter and reviewed the 2011 Workforce Development Survey. The committee meets the second Monday of the month at 1:00 p.m. at QED Systems, Inc. at 4646 N. Witchduck Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.

 

At the January meeting, the committee discussed Standard Item 009-72 and the Safety Seminar. The JINII Planning meeting is scheduled for February 9 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, and the National Ship Repair Industry Conference will be held at the Embassy Suites in Crystal City 2/28-3/1/11. The committee meets the first Thursday of the month at 9:30 a.m. in the Troutman Sanders conference room, 150 Main Street, 16th Floor, Norfolk, VA 23510.

 

The committee met in January and discussed the proposed total maximum daily loading for PCBs. This proposed rule will affect every facility on the Elizabeth River that has a VPDES or storm water permit issued by DEQ. The concern is that the proposed limits cannot be met. The committee also discussed the proposal to include hexavalent chromium discharges for welding and blasting operations in the NESHAPS for shipbuilding and repair. SBA is investigating and will comment in the future. The committee meets on odd-numbered months on the second Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. in the United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707.

 

 

 

The committee met in January to discuss the VSRA Shipyard Safety Orientation.  The 2010 Safety Suggestion winner was chosen. John Davis of Crofton Diving will chair the 2011 Safety Seminar. The first quarter VSRA/OSHA Partnership 2011 meeting will be at 0900 on 2/16/11 at Colonna’s Shipyard. The committee meets the second Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. in the United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707.

                                                                                                

At the February meeting, the committee discussed the RAPIDGate system. Effective May 1, 2011 fax submissions to the JPAS system will no longer be accepted. Users should instead use the scan and upload method. The Navy will be conducting an anti-terrorism exercise 21-25 February and may result in additional security measures at the bases. The committee discussed the problems experienced with the Contractor Verification System. The committee meets the second Tuesday of the month at 10:00 a.m. in the United Coatings Corp. Conference Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707.

We are pleased to offer the following courses:

 

COST: $100.00 VSRA members; $135.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: February 24, May 19, July 14, September 15, October 27, December 29, 2011, 7:30 am – 11:30 am

LOCATION: United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707

 

 

COST: $120.00 VSRA members; $150.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: February 23, May 18, July 13, September 14, October 26, December 28, 2011, 7:30am - 4:30pm

LOCATION: United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707

 

Emergency First Responders ~ OSHA Approved/Internationally Accepted

*This certification is OSHA-approved/internationally accepted and is a step beyond the Red Cross certification and is more oriented to industrial environments.* This course provides comprehensive instruction in CPR and First Aid, as well as Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use, emergency oxygen administration and conscious choking management skills. Upon successful completion of this course, attendees receive a Certification Card.

 

 

COST: $375.00 VSRA members; $495.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: March 24-25, October 20-21, 2011, 7:30am - 3:30pm

LOCATION: Tecnico Corporation, 831 Industrial Ave, Chesapeake, VA 23324

 

This course is designed for supervisors with more than five years of experience. Course learning centers on leadership demands, behavioral management, tracking professional goals, and developing stronger workers through career development and goal setting. The course delivers 16+ hours of lecture, video, hand-on activities, the Kouzes & Posner Leadership Challenge System and text-based assignments over a two-day period. Students spend four hours developing leadership communication patterns using job safety analysis, inspection and investigation scenarios to apply what they learned to real world examples.

 

 

COST: $500.00 VSRA members; $600.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: March 24, 25, 31 and April 1, October 20, 21, 27, and 28, 2011, 8:00am - 4:00pm

LOCATION: Tecnico Corporation, 831 Industrial Ave, Chesapeake, VA 23324

 

This course weaves Leadership and Management applications throughout the National Safety Council course.  Supervisors will learn about the labor market, their own leadership and management strengths and how to effect change on the waterfront.  Passing students receive the National Safety Council Supervisors Certification. This course will be for 4 weeks, only on Friday.  The course dates are Jan 23, Jan 30, Feb 6, and Feb 13 2009.  This course is for supervisors with 5 years or less experience.

 

 

COST: $275.00 VSRA members; $375.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: May 5-6, 2011, 8:00am - 4:00pm

LOCATION: United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707

Standard Items Update uses on-line capabilities along with text copy to overview Standard Items and hone-in on pertinent changes for 2000-2010. After a general overview, the instructor covers the material MOST relevant to the students in class. Little time is wasted in covering areas that students don't need. So, every class is different, but they meet all needs of the students and companies who send them! There are only 15 slots for this course, so please don't delay in signing up those employees who need this training!

 

 

COST: $320.00 VSRA members; $425.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: April 13-15, June 1-3, October 12-14, November 30-December 2, 2011, 8:00am-4:30pm 

LOCATION: Metropolitan Labs, 330 County St., Portsmouth, VA 23707

                                                                                            

This course will review coating documents such as SSPC PA-2, NSTM Chapter 631 and NSTM Chapter 634 for non-skid and others. It will also provide a thorough review of SI 009-32 and applicable sections of 009-04. Recent changes to the NAVSEA NBPI Exam have resulted in lower pass rates. In order to better prepare your workers, VSRA is offering a 1-1/2-day pre-course specifically to address exam standards and increase inspector-level knowledge. Each attendee will receive a current copy of NAVSEA Standard Items 009-32 and 009-04.

 

 

This course is approved by NAVSEA.

COST: $750.00 VSRA members; $900.00 Non VSRA members

DATES: February 28-March 4, April 25-29, June 13-17, October 24-28, December 12-16, 2011, 7:00am - 5:00pm

LOCATION: MARMC Building LF-18, Norfolk Naval Base

 

Attendance is limited to 20 applicants. A score of 80% or higher is required to be eligible for the certification. Students passing the exam will receive a four-year certification and a laminated wallet card from SSPC. Test results will come directly from SSPC. 

 

Due to changes with the SSPC, all documents related to this course need to be submitted to the SSPC representative, Jeannine Bodack. Her email address is: bodack@sspc.org, phone: 877-281-7772 x 2204, fax: 412-281-9995. These documents must be submitted two weeks before the first day of class. Please go to the SSPC website http://www.sspc.org to view the current required documents.

 

 

This training is certified by NAVSEA

COST: $850.00 VSRA Members; $950.00 Non-VSRA Members

DATE: March 14-18, May 23-27, November 14-18, 2011, 8:00am – 4:00pm

LOCATION: Earl Industries, Victory Blvd, Portsmouth, VA 23702

 

Attendance is limited to 20 applicants. This course delivers 35+ hours of lecture, video, hands-on lab work and text-based assignments over a five day period. A score of 70% or higher on the comprehensive exam is required for successful completion. The course covers all NAVSEA requirements and skill sets in depth. Upon successful completion of this course, the attendee will receive a NAVSEA Cableway Certification Card.

 

 

COST: $400.00 VSRA Members; $475.00 Non-VSRA Members

DATE: April 5-8, September 20-23, 2011, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

LOCATION:  Metropolitan Labs, 330 County St., Portsmouth, VA 23707

 

This course is directed to rising welders and shipfitters, or workers who need a familiarity with blueprint terminology, symbols and design features specific to ships. The course provides 28 hours of instruction with take-home activities, 3 quizzes and a final exam.  Attendees will receive critical drawing analysis experience, as well as hands-on blueprint activities.  For a complete course outline please contact the VSRA office.

 

 

Please register on the VSRA website www.virginiashiprepair.org for above seminars. Online registrations are preferred; however, phone reservations can be accommodated. For questions/help registering please call our office at 757-233-7034.

 

**Please note, you must be logged in to receive the discounted VSRA price for seminars.**

 

Refund & Cancellation Policy: VSRA offers courses at a greatly reduced rate to our members. Cancellations must be made within 4 business days of the course date to receive full credit contingent on slots being filled. Late cancellations will be given a 50% credit towards future training or 100% if open slot is filled. No-shows WILL BE CHARGED the course fee, and no refunds will be made. Substitutions are welcome; however, please contact the VSRA office as soon as possible. If VSRA has to reschedule or cancel a course, we will work with your company to place employees in a future training course.