More than torque wrenches: Why the calibration laboratory is vital to shipyard success

MORE THAN TORQUE WRENCHES: WHY THE CALIBRATION LABORATORY IS VITAL TO SHIPYARD SUCCESS Story and Photos by Anna Taylor • Public Affairs Specialist Editor's Note: The Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) MidAtlantic Regional Calibration Center (MARCC) is a full-service calibration laboratory at Naval Station Norfolk. The employees at the MARCC, one of the most specialized calibration laboratories in the world, are responsible for standardizing and repairing equipment essential to keeping the Navy’s sea, shore, and air assets fit to fight. This is the first installment of a series in Service to the Fleet focusing on the contributions of this unique facility.

It’s easy to operate under the radar when you’re the one repairing it. It’s even easier when you’re located 10 miles and 30 minutes away (on a day with decent traffic) from your command headquarters.

But distance makes the heart grow fonder, and while it may operate out of sight and sometimes out of mind, the MARCC truly 16 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • AUGUST 2017

is a one-of-a-kind facility. It was designed to handle a more robust workload than any of the Navy’s other calibration labs, and although the word “regional” is in the lab’s name, the term is used loosely.

“Our region really extends worldwide,” said MARCC Director Scott Rutherford. “It’s not unheard of for us to work on equipment from Bahrain or Japan. We’ll also help out the other calibration labs when needed. The boundary is really based on our capabilities and whether or not we have the time to do it.”

The MARCC exists largely in part to make sure shipyard employees feel confident in the safety of their tools.

“Take a pressure gauge – how do you know it’s measuring correctly?

People make decisions based on the reading from the pressure gauge,” said Rutherford. “What would happen if the reading was incorrect?

That could change their decision. So we make sure the decision based on the gauge is the correct one.”

While the MARCC is world-renowned for its industry expertise, one of the facility’s greatest success stories is less about the job and more about the people. The Sailors and civilians who work at the MARCC are often found side-by-side completing technical, highly-complex assignments.

“These relationships are unique because the opportunity does not arise in many Sailors’ career paths to work with civilians,” said Chief Interior Communications Electrician (ICC) General Livingston, a mechanical calibration and oil analysis supervisor. “The civilians are the constant at the MARCC, and they carry

experience that is valuable when training our Sailors. Our Sailors thrive when they have an expert to assist and answer questions. The workload never lets up, but neither do our Sailors or civilians.”

According to Rutherford, the MARCC finishes 45,000 calibrations each year, which translates to roughly 100,000 calibration hours. That means there’s no time to waste, so the MARCC uses a well-tested regimen to bring new Sailors up to speed ensuring they can hit the ground running.

At the MARCC, the Navy relies on a well of civilian knowledge to develop the Sailors’ skills, Rutherford explained. Many of the Sailors who arrive at the MARCC are young and fresh from boot camp.

“This is their first assignment and it’s the only real calibration experience they’re going to have. At the shipyard and in the shops, you see mostly civilians. There’s generally a line between where the Sailors and civilians work. We blur those lines here. It hasn’t always been seamless, because it was unusual for the culture,” he said. “But what we have been able to do is set a standard and break down those perceived barriers. The cost to the shipyard would be much greater if we didn’t have the military force here.”

According to Rutherford, Sailors complete on the job training and are assigned a civilian mentor to watch and work with before they are able to do things independently. The other regional calibration labs are generally comprised of either Sailors or civilians, which makes the MARCC’s composition unusual.

“Our job is special because every piece of gear we calibrate and return to the fleet ensures that they can perform the

maintenance and troubleshooting required to maintain mission readiness in all aspects of the Navy,” said Electronics Technician First Class (ET1) Daniel Kitchen. “Everything we do daily at the MARCC directly impacts every functional area of the Navy’s submarines, aviation squadrons, surface ships, and shore commands.”

Kitchen, who supervises 40 Sailors in the calibration, troubleshooting, repair, and alignments of electronic test equipment and aviation test sets, also said the civilians he works with at the MARCC provide expert guidance and trade tips and tricks to help his Sailors see a different side of the business.

“It’s a very unique relationship because the other calibration labs do it differently,” said MARCC Deputy Director Lt. Zebulun Shaw. “We have civilians and Sailors working in the same shop.”

“I think the shipyard sees us as a gauge shop, or they think of us as the toque wrench guys,” said Rutherford. “What they don’t see is the huge amount of electronic work we do…radio frequencies, night vision goggles, scopes for submarines, watt meters, and a lot of really high-tech equipment.”

“When someone wants to bring in a new piece of gear, they have to consider the calibration involved and the incredible amount of engineering support required,” added Shaw.

The MARCC has been serving the nation’s military for decades. It was originally part of the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) at Naval Station Norfolk, but the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) of 1993 transferred the calibration technicians from NADEP to a centralized facility, now known as the MARCC. AUGUST 2017 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • 17