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Overview

A custom full-stack single-page web application designed and deployed aboard the USS Bataan (LHD-5) during the 2015 Drydock Phased Maintenance Availability (DPMA). It managed the maintenance lifecycle of 749 watertight doors, hatches, and scuttles.

The Problem

• Scale: Tracking the maintenance status of 749 critical fittings during a compressed drydock cycle.
• Leadership: I led a 15-person specialized maintenance team and required real-time data to direct repairs, order parts, and track progress across the entire ship.
• Legacy Process: Decentralized paper logs (one page per fitting) made it impossible to generate accurate progress reports and caused hundreds of wasted man-hours physically checking status.

The Solution

A mobile-first Single Page Application (SPA) leveraging the team members’ smartphones to track maintenance progress (and boosting team morale by providing a professional reason to have their devices out during work hours).

• Offline-First Architecture: Built using PouchDB (frontend) and CouchDB (backend) to allow data synchronization when connectivity was available, but full functionality when offline deep in the hull.
• Stack: Node.js, Express, CouchDB for backend sync, SPA using jQuery Mobile (optimized for mobile touch), and PouchDB in browser local storage for continuous operation online or offline.
• Features:
  • Searchable Database: Indexed by Deck, Frame, and Center (standard Navy coordinate systems) to allow team members to check the status of any door they walked by during the work day, and searchable/sortable by completion status to prioritize which doors to work on next, based on steps completed and parts status for each door and hatch.
  • Business Intelligence: Automated percentage-complete calculations for command briefings. Generated printable reports to assist me in managing which doors needed the most attention, and where bottlenecks were for maintenance completion.
  • Parts Workflow: Integrated tracking for parts ordering and arrival, based on door type.
  • Maintenance Steps: Broke all maintenance steps into individual tasks with step instructions, possible parts for that step (click to add a part as needed for this door/hatch), and required tools all in the app, customized for each door type. This was a huge time saver for the team.

Operational Workflow

• The “Faraday Cage”: The steel hull blocked all wireless signals inside the ship.
• Flight Deck Sync: The team synced data via cellular on the flight deck during morning muster.
• Distributed Operation: The app ran entirely from local browser storage throughout the day deep inside the ship.
• Resync: Maintenance updates were merged back to the master server during daily debriefs.

Engineering Impact

• Precision Management: Ensured the meticulous completion of 8,239 individual inspection steps on 749 doors and hatches.
• Direct Efficiency: Managed 12,768 mishap-free man-hours of technical maintenance.
• Executive Visibility: Provided the Commanding Officer with weekly and on-the-spot, data-driven “Percent Complete” metrics.

Timeline

• Deployed: Used during the 2015 USS Bataan (LHD-5) Drydock Phased Maintenance Availability (DPMA).