'Twas the day after Christmas and all through the shops hardly any employees were moving. You could almost hear pin drops.
The weekends following Christmas and New Year's Day were very productive for two groups of employees on the installation, despite the fact most of the workforce was off for the holidays.
Maintenance crews from the directorates of Public Works and Engineering and Quality were checking their lists twice and marking off all the good things they could accomplishing for the installation during shutdown.
The millwrights, crane and rigging crew, electrical shop and support maintenance shop from DEQ as well as the plumbing, air conditioning/refrigeration, millwright and electrical shops from DPW were on the installation in force, ready to perform needed preventative maintenance and make repairs.
"We did more work than we had scheduled," said Greg Hindmon, chief of DEQ's Production Equipment Branch. "During shutdown we always try to attack the issues we can't get to when production is running -- the things where we need people out of the building."
Hindmon praised his group, both day and night shifts, for their sacrifices, dedication and hard work during the holidays.
"This is probably one of the best shutdowns we have had in years," said Matt West, supervisor for DPW's electricians.
Both shops were able to tackle a long list of service orders, work orders and other needed repairs including replacing the transformer on a generator test stand (DEQ) and the lighting in numerous shops as well as some of the depot's signs (DPW).
"For the test stand, we assisted the shop for months, helping the equipment limp along until we had the time needed to change out the transformer," said Hindmon, adding the job, which was projected to take four days, took three, thanks to the dedicated DEQ employees.
Randy Freeman, a plumber leader for DPW said much of the work they accomplished could not have been done if production employees had been on the job.
"One project we finished was replacing a four-inch steam valve. It was easier to work on it without the shop's employees present," said Freeman, adding that the scale of the job and the fact the steam to the building would have to be turned off would have made conditions difficult for employees to be in the shop during the transition.
Shutdown periods are vital for most repairs on the installation's steam system.
"This is the only time we can make repairs to our steam system, outside of emergency repairs," said Danny Craft, supervisor for DPW's plumbing shop.
Freeman said the plumbers often use shutdown periods to scan through entire shops, looking for, and fixing, leaks before they become a problem.
Craft praised his employees, saying they do a good job of prioritizing needed work with the production areas ranking as a top priority.
By working through the weekends, when no one was around, these employees, both day and night shift, ensured a more pleasant return to work for the rest of the workforce.
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