Noaa corporate office nominations
Section II – Justification
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- Section III – Additional Information
Section II – Justification• What was the specific goal, challenge or problem related to the Department’s mission and/or strategic plan? NOAA was slated to fly 297 hours on the G-IV aircraft and 245 hours on the P-3 aircraft for hurricane reconnaissance and research during the 2005 season – the actual number of hours flown was 897. Meeting this demanding flight schedule with safe, reliable and mission capable aircraft for the most active hurricane season in the history of the United States in support of NOAA’s Hurricane research and reconnaissance mission proved extremely challenging. • What was the context in which the nominee addressed the goal, challenge or problem? The maintenance branch had to support DOUBLE the number of actual hours and reconnaissance missions into and around tropical cyclones from the year before. NOAA's WP-3D aircraft alone had to fly 673 hours last fiscal year, which was the most on these aircraft since 1998. NOAA's heavy aircraft are by far the most difficult to maintain and keep mission ready requiring many man-hours per hour flown. • What specific actions did the nominee take to address the goal, challenge or problem? The maintenance branch worked day and night to support the flights. Any maintenance that could be accomplished in between storms was efficiently accomplished during the brief down periods to the largest extent possible since the P-3 Flight Engineers also represent a large portion of the branch’s personnel. • What were the results of the actions in either quantifiable or qualitative terms? The branch performed flawlessly and was instrumental in the Aircraft Operations Center being recently recognized by both the Director of the National Weather Service and the Director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) for their outstanding support during the most active hurricane season ever recorded. The command was tasked with 90 low level fixes of tropical cyclones in 2005 and performed all 90. NOAA's G-IV aircraft was tasked to fly 50 missions, many of them back-to-back 8.5-hour missions, during this past year by NHC and successfully completed 49 of those, a 98% mission completion rate. The maintenance branch personnel worked day and night to meet these mission completion rates and protect the public. The tangible benefit of this work to the public was the evacuation warnings given to millions of people minimizing loss of life during an unprecedented season. Section III – Additional InformationHow long did it take to complete the accomplishment? One hurricane season - June 1 to November 30th, 2005. What is the short term impact (1-2) years of the accomplishment on the bureau and/or Department’s mission? Ensuring that NOAA’s reputation for hurricane forecasting remains at the highest level by providing the aircraft that gather information for those accurate forecasts. What is the long term impact (3-5) years of the accomplishment on the bureau and/or Department’s mission? By providing the aircraft for research as well as reconnaissance missions, the maintenance branch has ensured that the future forecast improvements would continue. It is only through the research flights that forecasters are able to experiment with new methods for prognostication. The maintenance branch provides these aircraft. Does the accomplishment affect other bureaus/Department or other Federal agencies? If so, how? Almost every agency in the federal and state government is impacted by the flights of these aircraft. Specifically, FEMA, state, county and local emergency management agencies benefit the most from these flights. Did the accomplishment result in a major advancement in science, technology, or automation? If so, how? No. Did the accomplishment result in a major advancement in non-scientific areas such as customer service or administrative support? If so, how? No. Previous Awards received by the Aircraft Maintenance Branch: None The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center reports to the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations in Silver Spring, Maryland. CAPT Jon Bailey Group NMAO Nomination #21 Nominees:
Line Office: Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Nominator: RADM Samuel DeBow, Jr., OMAO Certificate citation: For developing and implementing new innovative processes, procedures and technology resulting in significant improvement to organizational effectiveness and service provided to its customers. Justification: What was the specific goal, challenge or problem related to the Department’s mission and/or strategic plan? Improved organizational efficiencies. What was the context in which the nominee addressed the goal, challenge or problem? Under the direction of the Director, CAPT Jon Bailey, the Commissioned Personnel Center (CPC), the CPC team developed several efficiencies that have improved the overall service provided to its customers. These actions were up and beyond their normal jobs. What specific actions did the nominee take to address the goal, challenge or problem? Enhanced Records Access. CPC staff developed a web based “Virtual CPC”, which allowed all officers to have access to their personnel folders. Prior to this IT solution, officers had to visit CPC or request a copy of their officer personnel record or copies had to be mailed to the officers. Improved Records Management. CPC staff converted the Annual Review of Records to an electronic process. This effort reduced the possibility of original personnel records being lost or destroyed during shipment to other geographic locations. Additionally, over 120 hours used (3 FTE for 1 week) in packing and unpacking records was redirected to other projects. Estimated cost savings of $25K (i.e., travel, hotel rooms, conference rooms). Improved Officer Personnel Board (OPB) Process. CPC staff transition from a paper based officer personnel board process (OPB) (i.e., promotion, separation) to an electronic OPB selection process. This new electronic board process provided enhanced capabilities which resulted in fewer days being needed to hold boards (i.e., boards were reduced from 3 days to 1 day; reduced FTE usage by 160 hours for boards). Improved Access to Policies. CPC staff transitioned personnel policies from a paper based to an electronic based system. This electronic based system allowed easier access to policies, quicker updates and reduces the costs of publishing paper based manuals. Personnel Allowance List. CPC established a billet list for the NOAA Corps that aligned with the number of officers authorized by law. This change resulted in better management of the limited number of officers, reflected the true needs of NOAA programs, and met Congress’ expectation of the total number of billets reflecting authorized strength. Officer Evaluation System. During 2005/2006, the NOAA Corps completely revamped its officer evaluation system. The new Officer Evaluation Report (OER) provides a better tool for providing feedback to the officer and the Officer Personnel and Assignment Boards who use this information when making critical decisions regarding officer promotions, assignments, and career development decisions. What were the results of the actions in either quantifiable or qualitative terms? Allowed for the redistribution of over 280 hours FTE to other projects. Improved overall service to CPC’s customers. Section 3 - Additional Information (Maximum number of characters for all six questions in this section cannot exceed 2000.) How long did it take to complete the accomplishment? When was the accomplishment completed/implemented/deployed? The various projects were completed between October 2005 and May 2006. What is the short-term impact (1-2 years) of the accomplishment on the bureau and/or Department’s mission? N/A Improved efficiencies and stewardship over billets and resources. What is the long-term impact (3-5 years) of the accomplishment on the bureau and/or Department’s mission? N/A Does the accomplishment affect other bureaus/Department or other Federal agencies? If so, how? N/A Did the accomplishment result in a major advancement in science, technology, or automation? If so, how? N/A Did the accomplishment result in a major advancement in non-scientific areas such as customer service or administrative support? If so, how? Improved access to records and quicker response time to customers. NOAA Ship DELAWARE II NMAO Nomination #22 Nominee: The Officers and Crew of the NOAA Ship DELAWARE II Line Office: Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Nominators: Michael Abbott, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations Northeast Fisheries Science Center 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone: 508-495-2298 Email: Michael.S.Abbott@noaa.gov Russell Brown, NOAA Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone: 508-495-2380 Email: Russell.Brown@noaa.gov Period of Performance: October 2004 – April 2006 Certificate Text: For testing and troubleshooting the new fishing gear to be used in the NOAA Fisheries Service’s Bottom Trawl Survey aboard the FSV Henry B. Bigelow Justification: Section 1 – Definitions: Northeast Fisheries Science Center Bottom Trawl Survey: a multispecies finfish and invertebrate survey conducted utilizing a stratified random sampling design and employing standardized research fishing gear to ensure compariability among surveys and years Resource Stakeholders: individuals and businesses affected by survey results including commercial and recreational fishermen, processing and support businesses, scientists and researchers Headrope Height: the distance between the headrope (top of the net) and the sea floor. This distance is critical to determining both the volume sampled and the catch rate of fish that are distributed near but not in contact with the sea floor. Trawl Doors: Large flat or convex metal devices designed to spread the wing ends of a bottom or midwater trawl through ground sheer or hydrodynamic forcing. Trawl doors tested during this effort ranged from 350 to 800 kg. Section 2 – Award Justification: What was the specific goal, challenge or problem related to the Department’s mission and/or strategic plan? The spring (1968 – present) and autumn (1963 – present) bottom trawl surveys conducted by the NOAA Fisheries Service’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) are the longest running continuous time series of research vessel sampling of broad scale finfish and marine organism invertebrate communities in the world. The extensive time series of data has allowed scientists to document: the dramatic collapse of many fish stocks in response to intense harvesting by distant water fleets in the 1960’s; the dramatic collapse and subsequent recovery of several important fish stocks including Atlantic herring and haddock on Georges Bank; and shifts in the distribution of finfish and invertebrates and detection of large year classes (cohorts). With the introduction of the FSV Henry B. Bigelow and the expected retirement of the RV Albatross IV, it was necessary to both shift research platforms and adopt new scientific fishing gear that could be effectively utilized on the Bigelow. New fishing gear was designed by an Advisory Panel of scientific and resource stakeholders including commercial fishermen. What was the context in which the nominee addressed the goal, challenge or problem? The officers and crew of the RV Delaware II faced a daunting set of challenges including testing gear with multiple sets of trawl doors, fishing gear that is designed to be utilized on a significantly larger vessel and working cooperatively with commercial fishery stakeholders and NEFSC Scientists to optimize gear performance. What specific actions did the nominee take to address the goal, challenge or problem? The NOAA Ship Delaware II completed 7 cruises over a period of 19 months testing the new gear with many gear and rigging modifications, scope and speed trials, changes in personnel, and flexibility of scheduling. The vessel officers and crew responded by coordinating gear preparation and rigging, determining innovative and safe approaches for gear deployment and retrieval and assisting in troubleshooting of electronic and acoustic sensors used to log and evaluate gear performance. What were the results of the actions in either quantifiable or qualitative terms? The results of this project are a gear design that is endorsed by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Trawl Survey Advisory Panel, a diverse group of scientific and industry stakeholders. The information gained from future surveys will be used in analyses of ecosystem process variability and contribute to the NOAA Mission Goal to "Protect, restore and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through an ecosystem approach to management." Section 3 – Additional Information: How long did it take to complete the accomplishment? When was the accomplishment completed/implemented/deployed? The officers and crew of the RV Delaware II worked with scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center during 7 separate cruises between October 2004 and April 2006 to adaptively modify and testing the proposed survey fishing gear. What is the short-term impact (1-2 years) of the accomplishment on the bureau and/or Department’s mission? Extensive testing of gear and evaluation of results by Trawl Survey Advisory Panel members has resulted in significant short term benefits including stronger relationships with stakeholders and increased stakeholder confidence in scientific operations on NOAA research vessels. What is the long-term impact (3-5 years) of the accomplishment of the accomplishment on the bureau and/or Department’s mission? To be honest, labeling long-term impacts in terms of 3-5 years is extremely short sighted (by an order of magnitude) relative to the NOAA mission of understanding ecosystems and managing resources on an ecosystem basis. The impacts of effective survey gear design are long-term and broad scale since these surveys are expected to be conducted on an annual basis for the next two to four decades. The scientific fishing gear from previous bottom trawl surveys was held relatively constant for a period of 43 years. Does the accomplishment affect other bureaus/Department or other Federal agencies? If so, how? These bottom trawl surveys serve as a primary platform for the collection of biological and oceanographic samples on the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf. Over the past 43 years, the surveys have included participation of individuals from 170 different federal, state and international agencies and universities. NEFSC bottom trawl surveys support an average of 40 external sample requests from other federal, state and international agencies and universities per survey. Did the accomplishment result in a major advancement in science, technology, or automation? If so, how? The new fishing gear is design for more consistent performance of a variety of habitats and under a range of sea state conditions. Initial testing on the RV Delaware II indicates that the gear has consistent bottom contact, a significantly higher head rope height, and is able to effectively sample a significantly broader range of habitats and biota. Did the accomplishment results in a major advancement in non-scientific areas such as customer service or administrative support? If so, how? By troubleshooting issues of gear changes on the NOAA Ship Delaware II, the transition to the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow will be much smoother and stakeholder confidence in NOAA fisheries surveying operations will be enhanced. This effort positions the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow is to be the fleet standard of fishery survey vessels on the Atlantic coast. NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE NOMINATIONS Steven Bograd NMFS Nomination #23 Nominee
Nominator William T. Hogarth, Ph.D. Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Significance As the complex and poorly understood linkages between climate variability and marine ecosystem health become more comprehendible, NOAA is expanding its ability to incorporate climate-related information into its fisheries management decisions. Certificate For superior contributions in scientific research and leadership with NOAA and its partners in understanding the linkages between climate variability and marine ecosystem health. Justification What was the specific goal, challenge, or problem related to the Department’s mission and/or strategic plan? The scientific community recognizes that ecosystem structure and productivity are influenced by the environment, and may be altered by future climate variability, but lack knowledge of the processes. Dr. Bograd’s research and leadership efforts are instrumental in creating an understanding of the scientific basis for how climate variability impacts marine ecosystems. What was the context in which the nominee(s) addressed the goal, challenge or problem? Dr, Bograd’s research and scientific leadership efforts specifically address both the NOAA Ecosystem and Climate Goals, and strengthen the links between them. Trends and fluctuations observed in populations of living marine resources frequently are attributable to impacts from physical processes in the marine ecosystem environments. Dr. Bograd’s efforts are expanding NOAA’s ability to incorporate climate-related information in NOAA’s fisheries management decisions. What specific actions did the nominee(s) take to address the goal, challenge or problem? As a project leader in the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP), one component of the Census of Marine Life, Dr. Bograd studies the migration patterns of large open-ocean animals and the oceanographic factors controlling these patterns. The TOPP program is a partnership between scientists from NOAA, academia, and foreign nations to integrate animal tracking data collection efforts with oceanographic observations to map the habitat of these animals and to understand how climate variability induced changes to their habitat impacts these animals. Dr. Bograd’s studies of the diverse biota in upwelling waters in the California Current, the seasonal and inter-annual migrations of the transition zone chlorophyll front in the Current, and oceanographic characteristics of biological hot spots in the North Pacific are helping to delineate the impacts of climate variability, often evidenced in the marine water column, on marine ecosystems of fishery stocks. Through his leadership roles in the Northeast Pacific Program of the U.S. component of Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics; components of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System for the west coast; and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s Small Pelagics and Climate Change Working Group on the “Use of Environmental Indices in Management of Pelagic Fish Population,” Dr. Bograd’s efforts are adding to the body of knowledge on the impacts of climate change on marine populations. Directory: Word Word -> Illinois state board of education Word -> Ccm module 4 Persons, Families, and Corporate Bodies Associated with a Work Word -> Northern territory of australia Word -> Number: caveat in the [Will/Will and Codicil/Estate of] Word -> Word Wall Chants Use these as fun ways to practice word wall words at home! Word -> List of accessible executive records Word -> To visit our student-to-student file sharing network Word -> What We Owe Jehovah’s Witnesses Word -> PriceWaterhouseCoopers Archive 148 linear feet in 98 record cartons and 4 flat boxes. Biography/History Word -> Guide to Preparedness Download 1.54 Mb. Share with your friends:
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