Newsletter: February/March 2012 Newsletter

Capt. Michael Malone, Commander, Surface Maintenance Engineering Planning Program (SURFMEPP), discussed the function of his command.  SURFMEPP provides centralized Surface Ship life cycle maintenance engineering, class maintenance and modernization planning and management of maintenance strategies aligned with and responsive to National, Fleet, Surface TYCOM and NAVSEA needs and priorities.

They develop and issue Baseline Availability Work Packages for CNO-level availabilities and the supporting tools and processes to capture and analyze maintenance history, execution, and return cost data for every availability.  Their purpose is to insure surface ships meet their service lives.

Our guest speaker will be Senator Frank Wagner, who will provide us a valuable insight into this year's legislative session with his legislative update.  Senator Wagner was born at USAF Base, Ruislip, England and educated at the U.S. Naval Academy, earning a B.S. in Ocean Engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1973 until 1982. He is President of Davis Boatworks.  He was a member of the House of Delegates from 1992 until 2001.  He has been a member of the Senate since 2001.

 Senator Wagner is a member of the following committees: Commerce and Labor, General Laws and Technology, Rehabilitation and Social Services, and Transportation.  Senator Wagner’s Senate homepage is http://www.wagnervasenate.com/

At the December meeting, the Board of Directors approved four new member companies.  The new companies are Applied Industrial Technologies; Governor Control Systems, Inc.; LandCoast Insulation, Inc. and The American Equity Underwriters, Inc. 

Applied Industrial Technologies is one of North America’s largest distributors serving maintenance repair operations (MRO), original equipment manufacturing (OEM), government, shipbuilding and ship repair markets.  Applied is an authorized source for a diverse range of high quality products, including bearings, power transmission components, fluid power components and systems, industrial rubber products, linear motion components, tools, and safety products.

Please visit their website at www.applied.com.

Founded in 1998, Governor Control Systems, Inc. (GCS) is a privately held company specializing in the design, installation, service and repair of rotating and reciprocating equipment control solutions to the marine and land-based power generation industries.  GCS offers a comprehensive range of solutions and products for the service, repair and system upgrades of engine and turbine control and monitoring equipment.  GCS has recently opened the only Woodward authorized independent service and repair facility in Norfolk.

Please visit their website at www.govconsys.com.

LandCoast was incorporated in 1974.  Their personnel are trained and experienced in all phases of thermal and cryogenic insulation, sound attenuation, fireproofing, painting, coatings, steam & electric heat tracing systems, refractory, marine, and scaffolding requirements.  LandCoast is a premier contractor for insulation and related scopes (fireproofing, coatings, refractory, abatement, etc.) serving in both open-shop and discrete union environments. 

Please visit their website at www.landcoast.com.

At The American Equity Underwriters, Inc. sees opportunities to create safer workplaces and better bottom lines. This results in products and services that are intuitively better.
AEU has deep roots within the maritime industry, and that experience is invaluable. They truly understand the business inside and out and put this knowledge to work in everything they do. This allows them to create a diverse collection of products tailored for precise needs, ensuring brokers and insureds receive the best service and coverage possible. Their expertise is exemplified by their management of USL&H and State Act Workers’ Compensation programs. With more than 20 years of longshore and maritime experience, they have the flexibility to provide creative and effective solutions. Extending their portfolio of maritime products, their wholesale division works with retail agents to offer both marine casualty and marine property coverage.

Please visit their website at www.amequity.com.

At the January meeting, the Board of Directors approved six new member companies.  The new companies are Ahern Rentals & Xtreme Manufacturing; Lokring Mid-Atlantic, Inc.; Mills Marine & Ship Repair; Professional Staffing Agency, LLC; SuiteAmerica; Wilcox Savage.

Ahern Rentals has more than 39,000 different pieces of equipment ranging from high reach equipment such as boom lifts and scissor lifts heavy equipment, lawn and garden equipment and hand tools. They specialize in equipment and sales, as well as provide a wide selection of ship repair contractor supplies, parts and equipment service options.

Ahern Rentals is the largest independently-owned rental business in the United States. With more than 50 years in the business, their professional staff can help you choose the equipment that will get your job done right!

Please visit their website at www.ahern.com.

Lokring is a supplier of pipe fittings, tooling, and training to the maritime industry.  LOKRING Technology^® is dedicated to the relentless pursuit of perfection in understanding and satisfying the industry’s fluid and gas connection requirements. Using state of the art computer aided technology, LOKRING^®designs and produces the most advanced fluid and gas transfer connectors on the market today.

Please visit their website at www.lokring.com.

Mills Marine & Ship Repair, located in Suffolk, accomplishes ship repair and fabrication services. 

SuiteAmerica is a leading provider of fully furnished and accessorized apartments.  Their apartments are elegantly furnished and well appointed.  Their government services team ensures they have apartments convenient for ship repair activity nationwide.  Offering twice the space and comfort of a typical hotel room, SuiteAmerica is the best value for per diem.  Everything from utilities to furnishings are included in one bill.  They honor government per diem.

Please visit their website at www.suiteamerica.com.

Professional Staffing Agency, LLC, a labor provider serving the maritime market, is located in Norfolk. 

Willcox Savage is a law firm serving the maritime industry.  Their attorneys represent management in all aspects of maritime law, including maritime personal injury and death, collision and allision cases, marine insurance coverage, cargo claims, terminal owner and operator representation, vessel charters, licensure, documentation and registration, maritime finance, stevedore and marine contractor negligence claims.

Their attorneys try to resolve matters prior to heading to court, but if that does not work, they also have extensive experience defending maritime entities in federal and state courts throughout the country.

Please visit their website at www.wilsav.com.

At the February meeting, the Board of Directors approved four new member companies.  The new companies are Coastal Marine Services, Inc.; Domestic Fuels & Lubes, Inc.; Pelagic Technologies, Inc.; and Zurich Insurance Services. 

This brings our total membership to 226 member companies, a new record! 

Coastal Marine Services provides marine insulation; lagging, and deck covering removal, installation, and repair services.  They have offices in Virginia Beach, VA; San Diego, CA; Puget Sound, WA and Mayport, FL. 

Please visit their website at www.coastalmarineservices.com.

Domestic Fuels & Lubes is a supplier of petroleum products in the Grater Hampton Roads and Southeastern North Carolina areas.  They deliver gasoline, undyed ultra-low sulfur and dyed ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels and dyed low sulfur kerosene, as well as quality motor oils, lubricants and greases.  They specialize in job-site deliveries and set-up.  They are Coast Guard approved to make waterfront deliveries. 

Please visit their website at www.domesticfuels.com.

Zurich Insurance Services provides business and insurance consulting.  Emphasis is placed on employee safety and loss prevention.  However, they can provide all insurance products related to marine industries. 

Please visit their website at www.zurichna.com.

Pelagic Technologies are specialists in naval and marine electrical and electronics, including thermographic services and reports.  They accomplish alterations, repairs, and installations.  With offices in Virginia Beach, they have worked in several shipyards and have an audited quality management system.

Currently we have 17 schools enrolled in the LEGO competition.  Two of our schools were unable to continue with the project. However, we are still in need of Technical Advisors for the following schools.

Mary Passage- Newport News

Central Christian Academy- Portsmouth

Dozier Middle- Newport News

As the LEGO preliminaries and finals are approaching, we will need volunteers to judge at the event.

If you are interested in becoming a Technical Advisor or a Judge, please contact Bahar Davis (BDavis@VirginiaShipRepair.org) (757-233-7034)

We want to thank all of our volunteers who participated in the 2011 Career Days held at schools around Hampton Roads.  This experience has provided a wonderful opportunity for VSRA members to share their work knowledge and experience with the youth in our area.  Our volunteer teams reached 6,058 students in 19 schools. This is a valuable program that saves our member companies a great deal of time and money by consolidating our efforts.  We also had the opportunity to participate in 14 of our area Elementary School Career Days reaching 4,684 students and providing materials and branding items to promote the ship repair industry.  The kids really enjoy the Ship Repair Sam books, and schools call us to get more!

We need Career Day Volunteers for the following Career Day events:  Blair Middle School, Thursday, April 16^th; and the 21^st Annual Career Expo – Suffolk Public Schools, Tuesday, April 24, 2012.   Please contact Sylva Bell, at (757)233-7034, e-mail:  sbell@VirginiaShipRepair.org

Nomination forms for the 2012 Tradesmen of the Year awards will be released March 15, 2012; however, now is a great time to start planning for your process. Each year we find that companies who have an internal program for recognizing exceptional performance among employees submit the best nominations. We encourage our members to consider a plan that gives your top employees the best chance for receiving this award. Please refer questions, and/or to receive sample documents to Michelle Tomaszewski at 757.233.7034.

VSRA offers an extensive list of great training materials- DVD’s, pamphlets, books, training kits Etc.  You will be able to find anything from Blood-Borne Pathogens to Machine Safety and Workplace Violence. Our wide vary of training materials are available to all our member companies at no cost!  If you would like to check out any of the library items please visit the following site: http://www.virginiashiprepair.org/Resources.aspx

Includes FREE Additional Benefits!

In response to the overwhelming success of the VSRA Association Medical Plan, we are launching an association dental plan for January 1, 2012 start dates.  The plan is insured by Assurant Employee Benefits, a national top ten dental insurance company with approximately 1000 network dental providers in Hampton Roads. 

Dues-paying members of the VSRA with between 5 and 150 employees are eligible for the no-cost value-added benefits.   What are the Value-Added Benefits?

• Higher maximum benefit levels provided through the Preventive Max Waiver  provision.  This feature excludes the cost of preventive dental care from the calendar year maximum benefit, effectively increasing the maximum by the amount of preventive care expenses, typically about $200 to $250 per year.
• Assurant is also a leader in worksite voluntary benefits.  Assurant offers a complete menu of coverage types such as critical illness, term life and disability.  Members will receive an additional 3% discount off their dental rates just for offering these popular benefits to employees.  Even better, Assurant will do all the work of enrolling and communicating benefits to employees. 

Once Assurant has provided rates for the dental plan, simply confirm that your company is a member of the VSRA, and the extra benefits will be included at no cost.  Assurant’s full dental product line is available to members, and benefits may be either company paid, or completely employee funded (voluntary).

If your company already provides dental insurance through Assurant, you may add the value-added benefits on renewal by simply confirming your membership in the VSRA.  We are pleased to offer access to these valuable benefits for our members and want you to know that in addition to saving money on dental insurance, joining the plan helps support your association.

Gregg Kennerly and Advanced Benefit Strategies (ABS) are the sponsoring brokers for the program, but the plan can be provided through any licensed agent appointed with Assurant.

 Contact ABS at 757-536-4554, email: Gregg@absofva.com, Web: www.absofva.com

Submitted by Audrey Bandy, (205) 943-4767, abandy@atn.org                                         

 Mobile, AL. – More than 10,000! That’s the number of skilled shipbuilding and repair professionals needed nationally over the course of the next few years.

In response to this need, the leadership team of the Lighthouse Campaign has been working with NCCER and sent representatives to a meeting at their headquarters in Alachua, Florida, on December 6-7, 2011. The purpose of this meeting was to finalize the plans for the development of a nationally standardized training and assessment program for the maritime industry.

Targeting shipbuilding and repair and offshore marine companies, skills trade providers, regional and national trade associations, and equipment manufacturers, the Lighthouse Campaign is a drive to fund the development of a national Maritime Workforce Development program for the maritime industry.  The drive was launched officially at the Shipbuilders Council of America's fall meeting October 26, 2011, in Biloxi, Mississippi.  At that meeting, Byron Dunn, president of Gulf States Shipbuilding Consortium (GSSC) and Chair of the leadership team for the initiative, along with Steve Greene, Vice President of NCCER, discussed the critical issues facing the industry and described the elements of a formal Workforce Development program.  Dunn and Greene then discussed the impact this type program would have in terms of ROI and outlined the deliverables for the campaign along with the investment levels.

NCCER was approached because it has developed training and assessments in over 60 craft areas and has over 4,000 training locations in the U.S. for the construction and maintenance industries. NCCER’s curricula and assessments have portable, nationally-recognized credentials, which include transcripts, certificates and wallet cards that are tracked through NCCER’s National Registry. Their experience and resources will help the maritime industry give our current professionals the credentials they deserve and ensure that individuals coming into the industry get the training needed to succeed. 

Join the next meeting that will be held in conjunction with GSSC's 2012 annual meeting scheduled March 27-28, 2012 in Mobile, Alabama.  At that time, an interim board made up of initial investors will be installed as the National Maritime Council to draft bylaws and formalize the group’s structure.  In addition, the council will provide oversight for this initiative going forward until a permanent board is installed at the group’s meeting in the fall.   We’ve waited long enough … invest in the future of the maritime industry.  Visit gsship.org/lighthouse or contact us today to find out how you can get involved.

The following members of the Lighthouse Campaign’s core leadership team attended the December meeting at the NCCER headquarters:   Mike Torrech, American Maritime Holdings; Byron Dunn, GSSC; Audrey Bandy, GSSC; John Lotshaw, Ingalls Shipbuilding; Mike Leleux, VT Halter Marine; and Michelle Tomaszewski, Virginia Ship Repair Association.

About NCCER — NCCER is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum with portable credentials and to help address the skilled construction workforce shortage. NCCER is recognized by the industry as the standard for developing the construction and maintenance craft professional. For more information, visit http://www.nccer.org or contact NCCER customer service at 888.622.3720.

By Caroline Taylor, R.N.

For retail businesses throughout the United States, Valentine’s Day is one of the most profitable celebrations we recognize as consumers.  According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent as much as $15.7 billion in 2011 on our sweethearts and loved ones on an occasion that has everything to do with own hearts.  Matters of the heart are also foremost in the healthcare and wellness field in paying tribute to February as “American Heart Month”.  An aging population, poor diets and exercise habits and a lack of awareness of the importance of good heart health costs businesses billions of dollars each year. 

While we obviously can’t stop the aging process, we can certainly do more to prevent heart disease and strokes, the first and third leading killers of men and women in the United States.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), cardiovascular diseases which include heart disease and strokes, account for more than one-third of deaths (33.6%) each year.  They are also among the leading causes of disability with nearly 4 million people reporting disabilities from these conditions last year.  Health care cost figures are even more astonishing: the CDC reports that $444 billion was spent on costs related to poor heart health with $1 out of every $6 spent on treatment for these “silent killers” in the U.S. 

Submitted by Top Guard Security

Remember the shooting of a dean and a professor by a disgruntled student at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, VA? What about Columbine High School? The team identified as the “D.C. Snipers” changed the lives of several people forever, and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 sent shock waves throughout the nation.

As a result, workplace violence (WPV) prevention rightfully became a top priority throughout the government and private sector alike.  WPV is still a very real issue in today’s work environment. Careful attention by management to behavioral changes in employees can help to greatly reduce the likelihood of an incident.

03/21/12 - TASC Annual Meeting held at the Norfolk Airport Hilton, 11:30 A.M.   To register, go to www.tasc-tgic.org.  The guest speaker will be Mr. Fenton F. Priest, III,
President, Tidewater Association of Service Contractors.  This will be the annual membership meeting and includes elections.

03/21/12 –ASNE Tidewater Section Dinner Meeting is held at the Springhill Suites, Newtown Rd., 1800-1900 Social Hour, 1900-2030 Dinner and Program.  The Guest Speaker will be RDML Dave Lewis, USN, PEO Ships.  To register, go to www.asne-tw.org.

3/27-28/12 – Gulf States Shipbuilding Consortium's (GSSC) 2012 Annual Meeting in Mobile, Alabama. To register, contact Audrey Bandyby telephone at (205) 943-4767 or e-mail at abandy@atn.org.

Communications Committee

The Communications Committee met on February 23, 2012.  The Committee is working on a Media Policy for the Association. The committee meets the Thursday following the General Membership Luncheon meeting at 9:00 a.m. at QED Systems, Inc. at 4646 N. Witchduck Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.  Newsletter articles are welcomed. The next meeting will be on March 22, 2012.

Contracts Committee

The Contracts Committee met on February 2, 2012.  The membership was thanked for their support of the seminar program in 2011.  They plan to have a new program for 2012.  The Contracts committee meets the 1st Thursday of every month at the Norfolk offices of Troutman Sanders, Sixteenth Floor, 150 West Main Street, Norfolk, Virginia.     The next committee meeting will be on March 1, 2012.

Environmental Committee

The Environmental Committee did not meet this month.  The committee meets the second Thursday of the odd numbered months at 10:00 a.m. in the United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707.  The next meeting will be on March 8, 2012.

Human Resources Committee

The Human Resource Committee met on February 1, 2012.  The HR Committee focused on special considerations when dealing with contracted workforce. Their next meeting will focus on base access issues.  The Human Resources Seminar is scheduled for April 25, 2012 at the Norfolk offices of Wilcox & Savage.  Sign-up information will be available soon.  The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held at the Norfolk offices of Wilcox & Savage – 22nd Floor, 440 Monticello Avenue, Suite 2200, Norfolk, Virginia, at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, March 7, 2012.

Quality Assurance Committee

The Quality Assurance Committee met on Tuesday, February 14, 2012.  They are working on the newly designed web system and catching up on audits. Please join them for discussion on the system and QA concerns. The committee meets the 2^nd Tuesday of the month at 10:30 a.m. at Q.E.D. Systems, Inc., 4646 North Witchduck Road in Virginia Beach.  The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, 2012.

Safety Committee

The Safety Committee met on Thursday, February 9, 2012.  Volunteers and sponsors are needed for the 2012 VSRA Safety & Health Seminar.  The Safety Orientation is updated for 2012, and DVD copies are available through VSRA.  The committee meets the second Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. in the United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707.  The next meeting is on March 8, 2012.

Security Committee

The Security Committee met on February 14, 2012.  The U.S. Navy will be conducting an exercise the week of February 27, 2012 and only Mission Essential personnel will be allowed access. The committee meets the second Tuesday of the month at 10:00 a.m. in the United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707.  The next meeting is on March 13, 2012.

Worker’s Comp Committee

The Worker’s Comp Committee met on February 9, 2012.  The committee discussed dual insurance issues related to Longshoremen regulations. The committee meets the second Thursday of the even numbered months at 10:00 a.m. in the United Coatings Corp. Training Room, 650 Chautauqua Avenue, Portsmouth, VA 23707.  The next meeting is on April 12, 2012.

VSRF

The Virginia Ship Repair Foundation met in January and discussed the need to raise the bar on outreach materials, recruiting more volunteers for Career Days and the growth of the LEGO competition. They are currently seeking nominations for one or possibly two, Board members.