$3M Saved Using Water Bags for Weight Testing
The Navy has recently begun using water bags accomplishing periodic weight tests of boat davits. A result of a teaming effort between NAVSEA, NAVSEA Philadelphia-SSES and FTSCLANT, this innovation will save the Navy over $3 million per year compared to traditional methods. In the past, tests using concrete block or steel weights required a pier side or barge crane plus four-six individuals, cost as much as $20 thousand and required up to eight hours. Using water bags is simple. A flexible container is filled with water, acting as the test weight. Water supplied from the ship fire main fills the bag to the required weight. (Remember "A…
New Office for Water Weights
Water Weights, Inc. recently opened its newest office in Fife, Wash. The new office will service the company's customers in the Pacific Northwest Region of the U.S. and Western Canada. The opening expands the company's North American operations to five divisions. Water Weights now has local services in California, Illinois, Georigia, Louisiana and Washington. The company has also developed an improved lifeboat testing system to help operators conform with the new Amendments to Chapter III of SOLAS regulations. In addition to SOLAS, the USCG requires weight testing of the lifeboats during each inspection for certification and whenever the falls are turned end-for-end or renewed. The new system allows for remote application and removal of the load, thereby improving safety.
