The work is particularly helpful in inspections of ports and waterfronts. “You can see what’s on the surface, but to see what’s underwater is challenging,” Benoit added.

Each project team deployed to a site generally has four credentialed divers per team, but some underwater bridge inspections can take up to seven people with various skills. When staffing a new project, he said, “We look for the credentials needed for a particular job and the chemistry among possible members of a team.” Engineers also may assist on projects, but they must also be divers who are certified in underwater inspection.

Recent projects include maintenance on locks and fish ladders along the Columbia River and at Bonneville Dam. Other USACE districts with FRTDT members include Buffalo, Philadelphia, New England, San Francisco, and Nashville.

 

Using Remote Vehicles

One of the key tools to the team’s success is tethered remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), medium- to large-size machines that go places divers cannot. Supplementing the work of human divers, ROVs transmit images to the surface from some of the hardest-to-access areas. ROVs also are important in locations where divers’ limited visibility may hinder firsthand observations.

“If you have two or three divers in the water, you may get two or three different interpretations of the scene,” said Manny, who also serves as ROV program manager for the Portland District. A large, observation-class ROV can look out up to 200 feet and relay images to the surface; it also comes equipped with sonar to detect underwater objects. About 4 feet long by 2 feet high by 2 feet wide, the large ROVs can weigh about 110 pounds. But the team also uses much smaller ROVs that are 8 to 10 pounds and small enough to check as airplane baggage. This smaller device is “like an underwater flying camera,” Manny said. Use of GPS technology also allows experts on the surface to track the underwater location of a working ROV.

Such vehicles were important at the Naha Port, where it could reach potentially dangerous areas with unexploded bombs. As a result, USACE conducted a detailed safety analysis prior to a dredging project to deepen the port.

An ROV also can get within a few feet of the sea bottom and provide real-time information, Benoit said. The team also has used the vehicles to review the quality of dredging projects. “It’s another tool in the diver’s toolbox,” he noted.

 

Expertise and Cost Savings

The FRTDT maintains a busy schedule that has included underwater pier inspections at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland plus inspections at ports and facilities in Italy and Japan. On a 12-day trip to Busan, South Korea, a seven-member team conducted a sonar survey of the sea bottom and surface and underwater inspections of the integrity of key port structures. The South Korea project was an international operation – the USACE team included divers from Buffalo and Nashville district offices while the team received daily escorts from a boat crew of South Korean soldiers. The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command and the U.S. Army’s 837th Transportation Battalion helped provide logistical support.

“This has been an exciting time for the dive office and the dive/ROV program … We have an exceptional program made up of very dedicated people.”

The dive team missions to Italy, Japan, and South Korea also were part of the Installation Management Command’s Army Transportation Infrastructure Inspection Program. Under this initiative, USACE conducts inspections every four years of 15 Army installations with waterfront facilities, with much of that work falling to this team.

While U.S. taxpayers may not see the direct results of the dive team’s work, they reap its benefits through cost savings to the federal government. For example, a two-person USACE dive team with an ROV costs a minimum of $2,500, compared with a minimum of up to $8,000 for a commercial ROV team. “We are promoting safety, efficiency, and economic savings,” Benoit said.

Overall, USACE dive efforts have saved nearly $500,000 since 2010 when compared to the costs of conducting such activities through the private sector. “This is a solid return on investment that helps everyone,” he added.

Aside from cost savings, the divers provide quality work with a strong commitment to excellence, Manny said. “This has been an exciting time for the dive office and the dive/ROV program,” he said. “We have an exceptional program made up of very dedicated people.”

This article first appeared in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Building Strong®: Serving the Nation and the Armed Forces 2014-2015 publication.