VKF modernization program wins Zero Accident Award

  • Published
  • By Vicki Peters, Contributing Writer
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Earlier this month, Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) successfully kicked off a customer test in the recently modernized Tunnel A portion of the AEDC von Kármán Gas Dynamics Facility (VKF).

The expanded capabilities which brought this test to AEDC were the result of multiple smaller projects which began four years ago and are scheduled to end later this month.

In addition to the advanced test capabilities this effort brings to AEDC, the team of employees who worked on this effort during the period beginning with fiscal year 2011 and continuing through the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 brought additional recognition to AEDC. This team earned the prestigious Jacobs Engineering Zero Accident Award for calendar year 2012. To earn this award, team members worked over 250,000 consecutive hours without an injury.

Multiple project components were considered in determining this award according to Frank Wonder, former VKF/ABC/4T Program Management Office (PMO) Group Lead and Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) project manager.

Earning the Zero Accident Award is an impressive achievement and a challenge for any group of employees who routinely work together as Marilyn Graves, Jacobs Technology Group V-Plant Control Project Manager, explained. One of the biggest safety challenges was "having so many people from so many disciplines, groups and departments working in the same area at the same time and coordinating their work efforts to ensure everyone was safe," Graves said.

"We had other companies working alongside of us for the motor installation and trouble shooting. Their personnel were briefed on our safety protocol which probably differed from that followed by their companies."

Graves noted that the accomplishment was a result of "not rushing to test when systems were not ready just to make schedule." This involved checking out systems that were completely new from what had once been used and doing so with plans in place in case something went wrong. One of these systems is the Backup Emergency Shutdown System (BESS), which allows plant operators to quickly bring the plant to a safe operating state in case of a power loss or other emergency.

Lisa Waddell, Jacobs Technology Group VKF Project Manager, added, "A lot of training went on before and during the checkouts. The operators were consulted during design, installation and checkout. Some things that just weren't working - such as alarming at close to warning levels - were changed or modified."

Waddell commented that complicated safety measures included development of a new threading procedure for a safer way to thread motors, ensuring that motor lifts followed the requirements for "critical lifts" and that rigging was inspected per procedure, as well as following a very complicated lockout/tagout process to ensure continued use of high pressure air throughout the base.

Weekly meetings with VKF plant personnel were held to discuss which work efforts were being executed and how they affected one another, Graves explained. These and compliance with ATA and AEDC processes regarding use of the job safety analysis and master work permit were key in coordinating safe work efforts. Wonder noted that "There were a handful of folks in the PMO who prayed daily for our work, particularly for the safety of those working in the field. God surely answered our prayers!"

According to Wonder, a major safety concern involved the Tunnel A Nozzle and Diffuser Actuators and Controls project.

"Hundreds of hours were spent developing a comprehensive demolition and installation plan for the outage required for the ABC Modernization TIPP [Test Investment Planning and Programming]," he said, noting that the outage was required to ensure "protection of personnel and the two 40-foot long upper and lower nozzle contour plates during removal of the nozzle actuators.

"This included procedures for replacing the 80 nozzle actuators in a manner that would be safe for personnel and also ensure that the irreplaceable plates would not be damaged in the process. The plan was even reviewed by a 'Red Team' chaired by Brandon Stiles, AEDC/TSDI (Test and Communications Branch), and a team that included several senior engineers from AEDC and Jacobs Technology. The result was a great success! The old actuators were safely removed and the new ones safely installed while the nozzle contour plates remained perfectly intact."

Throughout the VKF Modernization Project, weekly integration meetings were used to coordinate activities and ensure the Project Management Office was informed of what work was going on with other efforts. Prior to checkout of each system, designers generated detailed checkout plans to ensure systems operated correctly. One individual was assigned as the project's point of contact for drawings. This person was responsible for keeping up with all of the drawings, collecting and consolidating red-lines from multiple sources onto one drawing that would then be sent to drafting. These actions along with detailed planning in every phase of the project and selection of the safest methods available helped overcome the significant safety challenges encountered throughout the effort.

"Achieving this level of performance took something more than simply following the rules," said Tom Lavelle, Jacobs Technology Health, Safety and Environmental Division Director. "It took each person taking care of himself as well as watching out over one another."