ATOC self-help makeover improves safety, saves Air Force money

Published April 10, 2015
By Michael S. Della Vecchio Sr.
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Air Traffic Operations Center staff recently gave the center a much needed makeover that not only improved safety, but saved $139,440 in cost avoidance by eliminating the need to hire the labor.

According to Steven Max, Tinker Air Terminal Operations chief, safety and the overall welfare of the people working in the facility was a major issue.

The ATOC is the focal point for all aerial operations on Tinker Air Force Base. A

Anything from cargo to passengers being loaded on military aircraft flows through the ATOC.

As part of the ongoing Strategic Plan Alignment, ATOC facilities were upgraded through a major self-help project with 16 Air Transportation Specialists completing a large portion of the work, totaling 13,000 man hours, over a four month period.

To complete the project, the materials used consisted of 70 gallons of paint, 3,000 square feet of carpet, 1,000 feet of chair rail, 500 square feet of window tint, 500 square feet of blinds, 960 square feet of insulation and sheet rock and 1,800 square feet of ceiling tile.

"I'm very impressed by the change in the ATOC," said Col. Christopher Azzano, 72nd Air Base Wing and Tinker installation commander. "The newly renovated work area is a prime example of what a little hard work and ingenuity can accomplish."

He added, "These guys saw an unsafe work environment and took ownership of their workplace and attacked it as a team to get the job done."

The list of problems the renovation addressed was lengthy.

"The walls within the facility weren't even finished," said Mr. Max. "There were studs nailed to cinder block walls and there were partitions brought in to hide it. Once the partitions were down, that is when we discovered the unfinished walls."

"The climate control in there was terrible. It was breezy and drafty, there were holes in the floors and in the walls, windows were leaking and broken, therefore water had infiltrated into the building. There were areas that had no ceiling tiles in the roof," said Mr. Max. He added that the windows upstairs were replaced and the team came in and tinted them and installed blinds to cut back on the glare of the sun. "It was simply unbearable up there during the daytime."

"We took everything down to the bare minimum," said Mr. Max. "We ripped the Formica paneling off the walls and took the floor down to the bare floor. Once that was accomplished, new studs were installed in the walls, it was insulated with a vapor barrier up to keep the moisture infiltration out. Sheetrock, taping and bedding was next before it was painted."

Civil Engineering charged a little over $43,000 to complete everything that needed to be done to bring the ATOC up to code. That included the ductless air system, all the can lights and the rest of the electrical work. All of this was at no additional cost to the government.

"The work that these Airmen do is simply amazing and the different skill sets that they possess is extremely impressive. There was a lot of on the job training but for the most part, these guys jumped right in and showed how really talented they are," said Michael Frasco, chief of Distributions.

"They have a career field of loading aircraft but then when you get them in here, they were taping and mudding sheetrock and then painting it so it's really amazing to watch these guys work. But the most impressive thing to watch was the teamwork that took place throughout this process. This project literally built camaraderie."

"We are always trying to capture new business opportunities," said Mr. Frasco, "and now we have the capability to do that with the legitimate air terminal operations center."