The following discussion of outfitting problems, while written from the viewpoint of the outfitting officer in a private yard, should prove of interest to those concerned with this work in navy yards and repair bases and it is hoped may be of some help generally in acquainting the service afloat with outfitting procedure and methods. The outfitting procedures outlined herein are not unique; however, some of the information may prove of interest and assistance especially in view of our rapidly expanding fleet and the practical certainty that every officer will have or has had some experience in putting naval vessels into commission.
In brief the outfitting officer is faced with the following problem; he has the ship’s outfit, a new ship, a new crew, and he must arrange to deliver the outfit to the ship’s personnel and get it accounted for and aboard ship, properly stowed, in as little time and with as little confusion as possible. In addition, the outfitting officer is responsible for such additional items of work as the ship may properly request and for all arrangements with regard to the well-being of the crew and the handling of the ship from the time outfitting commences until the ship departs the yard.
In order to properly carry out the duties involved, the outfitting officer should be thoroughly familiar with both ship and outfit and should know exactly each stowage provided. He should have had some seagoing experience in order to intelligently discuss problems of stowage and arrangement with the ship’s people and he should have had some construction experience in order to properly evaluate any changes or alterations contemplated for purposes of stowage or otherwise. In Bureau of Ships parlance he should be a “hull” man. It is of advantage that he have some experience in bookkeeping and accounting methods. This discussion is based upon the supposition that the preparation of the ship’s allowance and the procurement of the ship’s outfit are handled by the technical division and the supply department, respectively, and that the outfitting officer’s responsibility commences with the receipt of the material in the yard and ends with its proper delivery and stowage aboard ship. It is, of course, necessary that the outfitting section, the technical section, and the supply department operate as a unit on matters involving shortages in outfit and supplies, changes in allowance, late deliveries, strip ship items, and other matters dealing with procurement.
In this connection the outfitting officer must keep constant check on the allowance lists and the shortage lists (material not received for vessels building) in order that the technical and supply people may be kept informed of progress, changes in manufacturer’s spare parts furnished, and critical items.
At this yard, Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, Chickasaw, Alabama, two methods of outfitting are employed, each method being designed to fit a particular situation. In the first case the now familiar “Ship’s Assembly Bay” method is used and in the second instance the method used might be termed the “Stock Room” system. The first case, it is thought, best applies in cases where a few vessels of a class are to be outfitted or where as in the case of destroyers or battleships a “tailor-made” job must be had. The second method best applies where a large number of vessels of the same class are to be outfitted at closely spaced intervals and has proved very successful in outfitting 180' minesweeps. Since the “Bay Assembly Method” is now in general use the second method will be explained in more detail.
As soon as the first officer to report for a vessel outfitting arrives at the yard, the outfitting officer should call on him and acquaint him with the outfitting procedure to be used. It has been found helpful to supply this officer with a general memorandum prepared with the view of answering all questions concerning yard procedure, outfitting procedure, telephone numbers of heads of departments, and a check-off list of items to be assembled by the ship’s people which are not on the allowance list. This officer should also be provided with the ship’s copies of the allowance lists, the ship’s copy of the book of box lists, and the ship’s copy of stowage schedules. By the time the P. C. O. arrives the outfit should be ready for checking by members of the ship’s company, all the ship’s books should be up to date, sufficient ship’s personnel should be instructed in the method of issue and receipt to be used, and outfitting may begin.
In both methods the same schedule or stowage forms are used and the bookkeeping is the same in both cases. The schedules are merely copies of corresponding allowance pages extended to include information necessary to properly identify and locate aboard ship every article issued. These books are conveniently bound as follows:
1 Book—Hull, Nav., S & A Allowance
1 Book—Machinery S-30 through S-52
1 Book—Machinery S-S3 through end
1 Book—Ordnance
As mentioned above the ship is also provided with a book containing duplicate copies of all box lists for all spare parts boxes arranged according to “S” groups.
In both methods of outfitting the receipt of material is the same. As the material is received in the yard, both contractor and government furnished allowance and outfit items are written up on individual RMR and these are filed against the original purchase orders or shipment requests. In the Bay Assembly method the material is routed direct from the receiving point to a bay or enclosure designated for the assembly of the outfit for the particular ship concerned as soon as the RMR is prepared. It will be seen from this that the equipment is assembled for each ship separately in the Bay Assembly method and that at the time outfitting commences the entire ship’s outfit and equipment is assembled in one enclosure and only awaits verification by the ship’s company before it can be moved aboard. The equipment is arranged by groups and classification and as it is checked by the ship’s company it is rearranged according to compartments as designated on the stowage list.
Schedules are also provided showing the disposition of all type items and special stowage and the ship’s people are provided with outline drawings of the ship showing all compartments by name and number. From this information the ship’s people are required to fill in the column titled “stowage” on the master stowage schedule. The outfitting section should be so organized that one man handles all hull, ordnance, and S & A items on each class of vessels, one man handles machinery items, and one electrical. These people are charged with the responsibility for the proper assembly and issue of the class items which they handle. They prepare the custody receipts for issue and see that the ship’s people keep the ship’s books in order. They are also responsible for the preparation of periodic and final shortages lists. When checking commences, these men, whose proper title would be allowancemen, move into the bay with a working party from the ship and the procedure is as follows: The ship is requested to designate proper personnel to receive, receipt for, and assemble hull, ordnance, S & A, electrical, radio, sound, and machinery equipment as well as the necessary working hands; these men perform identical work so only one class of item will be discussed. We will say that the machinery allowanceman presents a box S41-12 to be checked. These boxes are all numbered by S numbers according to the order received in the yard, boxes numbered S-l to 100 are metal boxes, all boxes numbered S100 to S200 are wooden or pasteboard boxes. The ship’s representative charged with checking machinery items would check the box list against the contents, the box list would then be checked against the allowance or stowage schedule and if all was in agreement he would sign for the box on the custody receipt. Proper notations as to box number, location, price and C. R. number should be entered on the stowage schedule. The article or box is then tagged with a tag showing stowage location and placed in a pile with other articles designated for the same stowage. This process is continued until all articles are signed for and the stowages listed in the stowage schedule. These entries are made in pencil as it may be desirable to change the stowage later.
By the time the outfit has been checked, the ship is generally ready to outfit. As soon as the day of commissioning has been determined, the outfitting officer and the P.C.O. may arrive at a suitable schedule for loading. A sample schedule is given below:
D-2 days, Load all spare parts boxes, bulky gear, loose spares
D-1 day, Commissary stores, galley gear, bedding
D-day, Crews and officers effects—commission ship
D-1 day, Ammunition, small stores, small tools
It is considered advisable to move all metal boxes, rotors, and heavy gear requiring special stowage as soon as possible in order that any errors in box racks, fit stowage, and clips may be corrected before the ship is delivered. The outfitting should proceed in an orderly manner, following the agreed schedule and maintaining the segregation achieved in the assembly bay by sending the equipment aboard compartment by compartment insofar as is possible. As soon as final stowage is achieved and after commissioning, the outfit should be checked to see that no mistakes have been made. The stowage schedule should then indicate the exact location of every article on the ship.
In the Stock Room Method the assembly and issue differ in important details from the method outlined above. The stockroom system is recommended in cases where identical outfits for a large number (8 or more) vessels of a class are to be assembled. It saves a great deal of space over the assembly bay method, it takes less personnel to operate, and the bookkeeping details are much less cumbersome, since the complete checking and outfitting operation is accomplished in one move. This system is designed so that the outfit may be issued quickly with a minimum of detail work and checking prior to actual outfitting operation. A warehouse space is provided with office space adjacent as shown in the sketch. Eight hundred bins of various sizes arranged in tiers are provided as well as central bays, which are lettered as shown, the bins are numbered. All like articles are segregated in individual bins and bays according to size in the usual manner of a stockroom.
Pigeon Hole Bins for Small Gear—Nos. 1 to 800 |
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Loading Platform |
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Checking Space |
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Bins For Small Parts |
Bin For Ship Use |
The custody receipts, in addition to the information shown on those previously described, show the bin number in the warehouse. It will be seen that this information on the warehouse books (duplicates of ship’s stowage schedule) will permit any article to be readily obtained. Stowage lists and schedules similar to those previously described are provided the ship and the assembly and issue procedure is as follows: The spare parts box lists are checked against the allowance and the boxes checked against the box lists as soon as ship’s people become available for this purpose. The remainder of the outfit remains unchecked until the day it moves aboard ship. As the spare parts boxes are checked they are sealed and returned to their original location in the warehouse. When the ship becomes available for loading the warehouse is handed a schedule of compartments to be loaded. The warehouse is then able in a few hours to assemble the material for any compartment called for. As the material passes out of the warehouse it is identified and signed for by ship’s people, the outfit moving out by compartments. The ship has already completed any detail checking and merely signs for sealed metal boxes in the case of spare parts. Other items are counted and checked as necessary. The stowage is in accordance with the previously prepared schedule. By this method a small vessel such as 180' AM may be completely outfitted in 14 hours working time. The warehouse or outfitting personnel involved is 3 men and 2 stenographers.
It will be seen from the foregoing discussion the outfitting consists of 85 per cent preparation and 15 per cent execution. The outfitting officer should be certain that all of the material on hand is delivered to the ship and stowed on board in strict accordance with the prepared schedules, otherwise confusion and loss of material are the certain result. In both systems the filing system in the outfitting office is the same—the Purchase Order number being the key filing number. RMR and custody receipts are filed against these P.O.’s with cross index to RMR numbers and C. R. numbers. Master books showing the status of the outfit for all vessels are kept, which are set up for this purpose. Custody receipts are prepared as soon as the material is segregated by either method and are arranged in numerical order by ships, each ship’s C. R.’s being filed separately until executed.
Aside from the assembly and stowage of the ship’s allowance and outfit proper, there are many items appearing on the allowance list that will be installed by the yard. These items include running rigging, anchor, chain stoppers, depth charge arbor, propeller nut wrench, and many others. Before the first ship of a class is delivered the outfitting officer should agree with the yard force which of these items the yard will install and handle. A list of these items is made in the form of a check-off list and the outfitting officer and the boatswain of the ship to be fitted out sight these items on board and they are signed for in the regular way.
The outfitting officer is also responsible for the “extra work” items requested by the ship. These items generally include anything not involving a change in design of a major nature and must be of such a nature that they are considered to add materially to the efficiency of the vessel as an operating unit. Such items include:
Provide extra mail trays
Install rack for navigational instruments
Provide binocular boxes
Relocate kapok life ring stowage
Provide hose racks for F.W. filling hose
It should be impressed on the ship’s officers that all such items must be accomplished before commissioning if possible, since any work after completion is of necessity more costly in time and man power. After commissioning, the outfitting officer must arrange to install all items of allowance such as clocks, clinometers, psychrometers, etc., that it was not possible to fit earlier and to accomplish minor work about the ship and assist and direct in securing the outfit for sea. Finally the outfitting officer makes all dockside arrangements and should continue to be of assistance until the vessel departs. He should be certain that the following items are received and accounted for:
Ship’s plans
Damage Control Book
Inclining experiment data
Tank curves
General Information Book
Record of tests and performance data
Due to changes in size of spare parts boxes, changes in outfit, and changes in design and compartmentation, the outfitting schedules are constantly changing and caution must be exercised to insure that all is in order before the outfitting begins.
To sum up, the outfitting officer must have a system that is general in application to the class of vessels to be outfitted, but each vessel must be treated as a unit and the schedule altered to fit the special cases. It is to be remembered that, whatever the system, 25,000-30,000 items per ship must be handled and stowed on board in such a manner that they may readily be located and identified by the ship’s force. A poor outfitting job can materially delay the vessel and will cause endless confusion and hardship among the ship’s people. Poor stowage, faulty checking, or incompetent management of the outfitting may result in serious damage to the vessel or her personnel as well as loss of irreplaceable items of outfit.
It must be remembered that the final impression that the ship’s company will carry away from the yard is that gained during outfitting. To give them pride and confidence in the ship, and in order to present a finished product, no effort should be spared to make the outfitting progress smoothly and efficiently.