Because Engineering Department is responsible for training San Diego ships in 3M, I began searching for best 3M practices. My staff pointed to two Pacific Fleet ships, USS Sterett (DDG 104) and USS Rentz (FFG 46), Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CNSP) Code N43 (Mr. Jerry Brugger) and the Board of Inspections and Survey (INSURV) for answers to how to get 3M right and why it matters. — USS Rentz completed a 3M mid-cycle assessment (MCA) in Apr. 2012, performing well with a command total score (CTS) of 91.06 percent. Cmdr. Lance Lantier, who recently fleeted up to command Rentz, provided a consolidated response to the best practices questions. His answers reflect the shared philosophy that carried both ships to success in 3M, which could not have been achieved if they were simply “ramping up.”
Q: How did you make 3M part of your daily routine? A: Include 3M in your daily battle rhythm; maintenance happens every day, 365 days a year, so why not beat that drum at every opportunity? If the commanding officer (CO), executive officer (XO), command master chief (CMC), or any senior khaki is walking around and sees maintenance being performed, they can stop and ask about what the maintenance man is doing, look over the check with him, evaluate deck plate compliance.
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Q: What is the one key factor that you would identify as having had the greatest impact on your 3-M success? A: Without blinking an eye, we can say the answer is COMMUNICATION. Communication between maintenance men, work center supervisors, the chief petty officer (CPO) mess and wardroom had the greatest impact with the success of the program internally. Externally, whenever a question was brought up, our Maintenance and Material Management Coordinator (3MC) shared that information with other 3MC’s on the water front. When in doubt, we had no problem bringing issues up to ATG and CNSP for guidance. As a result, Rentz has 12 separate “additional guidance” documents, complete with an index, which is kept in every work center manual. We have also provided these documents to ATG, visiting perspective COs/XOs, and other ships. When we had a question about a safety-related issue, we directly engaged the Naval Safety Center and got the answer. This was also helpful during our safety survey, as the same people we engaged at the Naval Safety Center were present. It just shows once again that communication internally and externally is the key.
Q: How did you prepare for your most recent 3M assessment? A: Rentz conducted rigorous cross-departmental administrative effectiveness reviews (AER), involving all CPOs, division officers (DIVO), and department heads (DH). Everyone involved gave their assigned work center a thorough look, and discrepancies were identified with enough time for correction. Rentz also conducted a consolidated ship’s maintenance program (CSMP) review with all departments and corrected discrepancies during the review. It took a great deal of time, but we believe it paid huge dividends on the outcome of the 3M MCA. A vigorous
spot check program is another key to the program’s success. Every work center supervisor, leading CPO (LCPO), DIVO, and DH, along with the 3MC, CMC, XO, and CO conduct weekly spot checks. Many of our historical spot checks focus on those checks that have been identified as being on troubled systems, which we often see in quarterly newsletters. Spot checkers are encouraged to also look for checks that include hazardous material (HAZMAT), tag-outs, or require personnel protective equipment (PPE). The spot check program brought to light many questions regarding these subjects which were worked out well in advance of the assessment. Reviewing SKED and CSMP by the chain of command in a timely manner is also imperative. — USS Sterett performed well on its past two 3M assessments with little or no outside assistance. Their Oct. 2011 MCA was conducted with almost no notice and at the end of deployment. Sterett passed its subsequent June 2012 3M certification with an overall CTS of 94.58 percent. Three of the many personnel responsible for Sterett’s success during this period were CMDCM(SW) Christopher Benavides, ABFCS(SW/AW) Andre Barriga, Sterett’s 3MC, and Chief Engineer, Lt. Ernie Miller. Their detailed answers to how they prepared for two successful assessments echoed CULTURE and COMMUNICATION across and up/down the chain of command.
pp On board USS Sterett (DDG 104), ET3(SW) Casey Aragon performs preventive maintenance on the STC-2 terminal Net box. (U.S. Navy Photo)
Q: What is the one key factor that you would identify as having had the greatest impact on your 3M success? A:
“Culture change! 100 percent effort from every Sailor aboard! We focused on procedural compliance and standardization during the conduct of maintenance and our internal
http://issuu.com/surfacewarrior/docs • Winter 2013
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