Throughout aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Sailors and contractors are busy with work requirements in preparation for refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) maintenance.

The work requirements vary from simple to complex, and may require hanging a specific tag.

A tagout is needed to de-energize mechanical and electrical equipment to safely perform maintenance. The tagout process requires multiple quality assurance checks and needs to be executed with high attention to detail to ensure the safety of all personnel.

To some, the tagout process may seem daunting or overwhelming, but there's no need to stress because more GW Sailors were assigned to the work control team Jan. 17 to make the process easier and more organized.

The work control team serves as a liaison between contractors and ship's force, said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) 1st Class Roy Diaz, the leading petty officer of work control aboard George Washington. We will primarily be processing WAFs, which are work authorization forms, and tagouts.

Typically, when a tagout is needed, Sailors report to damage control central for the proper paperwork. Now the process is slightly different.

Every job has to go through a contractor now, unless it is short-term PMS (planned maintenance system), said Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Joseph DeMarco, the assistant leading petty officer of work control aboard George Washington. If a job extends into RCOH, a Sailor will come with a draft for approval. If it is approved, they will receive a WAF number. Then the Sailor gets the line items and creates a package containing any pertinent information to be passed on to the contractors. The contractors will make a WAF of their own for the job to be completed.

In addition to processing WAFs and tagouts, work control is responsible for ensuring the correct personnel are held accountable for any work they complete, as well as make sure jobs are completed in an organized manner.

RCOH is a big maintenance overhaul which includes many jobs that range from simple to complex, said Diaz. Whenever a job happens, a WAF comes in and we use it to dictate scheduling. There is a lot of work to be done in four years, so it's important that we schedule jobs properly. This allows us to control what is being done on the ship, and when it will be done.

While organization is the main focus of work control, safety is an issue always at the forefront of accomplishing any job.

We have AOs (authorizing officers) and AAOs (assistant authorizing officers) in place to make sure the correct personnel understand what specific tags are being incorporated, said Diaz. There are a lot of system tags and master tags, so these checks help everyone make sure safety procedures are followed.

In addition to focusing on safety, the work control team also provides customer service for the tagout process. DeMarco, who joined the team February 2016, is a resource for Sailors and contractors.

Work control will be in full effect for the foreseeable future. Although some Sailors like DeMarco have been on this temporary assigned duty (TAD) for approximately a year, the workload is just starting to pick up.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/USSGW or http://www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73.