CRANE, Ind. - Improvements to a command's facility do not happen over night. It requires thoughtful planning, teamwork and coordination for all the pieces of a new construction project to come together.
The proposed construction of a new ammunition bunker at Crane Army Ammunition Activity illustrates this thoughtful planning as key players from CAAA, Naval Support Activity Crane and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers work together to ensure success.
According to CAAA Civil Engineer Travis Summers, the new ready-service magazine will provide a safe and effective means of loading and shipping Strategic Configured Loads and will enhance the activity's capability to meet the assigned requirements of the Army Strategic Mobility Program.
The process began in September when a planning charrette brought together all the key players to Crane. Summers said, the charrette is a planning exercise that allows all of the various groups such as security, safety, and environmental to meet with the project's primary user and provide their requirements for the project. This ensures that no major portions of the project are missed.
For this particular project, interviews were held with various groups, site visits were conducted, and preliminary designs and cost estimates were generated. During the meeting, all of the various groups met with the Corps of Engineers charrette team and supplied their required information. Within a couple of weeks, the Corps of Engineers had a finalized estimate and a draft was sent for CAAA to review. CAAA then sent the project on to US Army Engineering and Support Center for their review.
The information gained from the charrette will now allow CAAA to program the funds necessary for the magazine complex construction in FY10. Summers said that once the project funding is approved, it will be advertised to contractors, and Crane Navy, the host command, will oversee the construction to ensure it is completed as specified in the contract.
CAAA was established in Oct. 1977 and is a tenant of the Navy Region Midwest, Naval Support Activity Crane. The Army activity maintains ordnance professionals and infrastructure to receive, store, ship, produce, renovate and demilitarize conventional ammunition, missiles and related components.
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