Chapter 1 Public Works

CHAPTER 1 PUBLIC WORKS TRANSPORTATION SHOPS SUPERVISOR A supervisor should possess a large amount of TACT and DIPLOMACY. Directing shop activities requires that you contact all types of people; for example, the mechanics who work for you, the personnel (military and/or civilian) who operate the equipment, and the officer (or civilian) to whom you are responsible. You must be careful not to let prejudices interfere with your good judgment. A transportation maintenance shop supervisor will need all of his past experience in diagnosing mechanical troubles accurately, scheduling and planning repair work skillfully, using all kinds of repair equipment, and directing the many activi- ties in maintaining transportation and earth- moving equipment. At some time during your career in the Navy, you may be assigned as a foreman in a public works (PW) transportation maintenance shop. You may also have to serve as supervisor of a Construction Battalion equipment maintenance shop. Because of the variation in the two different types of duty, the responsibilities of a foreman in a PW transportation maintenance shop will be discussed in this chapter, and the battalion equipment company shops supervisor’s responsi- bilities will be discussed in the following chapter. Although many of the positions have the same basic duties, the methods of doing the work may differ considerably. Certain areas of cost control vary a great deal. Duty in a transportation maintenance shop includes work of a continuing nature. Therefore, to provide continuity, civil service personnel are also employed. PUBLIC WORKS TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION A PW transportation department of a naval shore facility is generally stationary. As a supervisor in the PW maintenance branch, you would probably not have to plan and construct a new transportation shop, but, rather, would supervise the repair of equipment. However, if you are involved in the establishment of a new base, you will probably be consulted about the location and layout of the maintenance shops. You can obtain detailed information on the physical layout of the buildings by referring to Naval Facilities Planning Guide, P-437, Facilities Number 214 20B, Drawing 6028198. The location of tools and shop equipment depends on the amount and type of equipment to be maintained. The PW transportation organization discussed in this chapter is typical of the type usually found within a public works activity. The titles and organization may vary from activity to activity. To learn more about these organizations, you should obtain and study current NAVFAC instructions and publications that pertain to the public work centers and public work departments. By referring to figure 1-1, you can see that the Figure 1-1.—Functional organization management. for transportation 1-1