Making a sound evaluation

THE Directorate of Air Force Safety (DAFS) is the Air Force’s specialist advisory organisation on safety matters and equipment, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

On page 20 of the March 1 edition of Air Force News an article on Sonic Plugz appeared and as it dealt with an item of PPE I requested that my PPE Desk Officer review the article.

Although the article was written in a generally informative nature it did suggest that the Sonic Plugz provided better performance on ranges or aircraft than the current PPE supplied by Air Force. No attenuation data was provided in the article so members were unable to make an informed purchase decision.

Research identified that these plugs have a Noise Reduction Rating of 24dB (this is an American rating system and is not a rating approved under Australian Standards). Conversion to the Australian Standard SLC80 gives these plugs an approximate attenuation rating of 20dB.

Current approved earplugs have SLC80 ratings of between 24 and 28.5dB. Approved earmuffs, which are typically worn on Air Force ranges, have SLC80 ratings of up to 32dB. Clearly the Sonic Plugz have lower performance levels than currently approved items.

All PPE used in Air Force work environments must be approved for use by DAFS and these items are then published on the RAAF Approved List of PPE and coded onto SDSS. Personnel are not to use PPE not approved for use. All approved PPE is issued to members at no cost, so personnel do not have to purchase expensive PPE that does not comply with single Service policy.

WGCDR M. Paterson
Deputy Director Ground Safety

Call to ease squeeze on storage

MY move to Canberra in December 2002 was a credit to the Defence Housing Authority staff both at Raymond Terrace and the Canberra office, but I would like clarification on the antiquated policy regarding married quarter storage, i.e. no shed when the house has a double garage.

We moved from our own home into a married quarter on posting from Williamtown and, as is the case in most service moves, the stress is only added to when the gaining house doesn’t have all the creature comforts, such as air-conditioning, or sufficient storage, such as a shed.

My wife and I have three teenage sons and after spending 12 years in the Newcastle locality we had accumulated a considerable amount of camping and recreational gear.

At our new locality, as the removalists continued to unload a constant barrage of our equipment from the removalist truck into our allocated married quarter, it became obvious we were in real storage trouble.

We now have swags, tents and associated camping gear stored in the roof; five bikes under the eaves of the house in a fruitless effort to keep them from the Canberra weather; my workbench and associated items under the pergola; most gardening implements are adorning the corner of the yard either awaiting a slow death from rust or a quick exit via theft; and the remaining “valuable and attractive” items have been wedged into every nook and cranny in the garage. I grit my teeth every time I need to grab a tool.

The DHA transitions pack provides a voluntary survey and after the move I elected to complete the survey. I was happy to accept the opportunity to state my opinion regarding the lack of a shed.

The group that collates the information from the survey then contacted me and I explained my thoughts. I was later contacted by one of the managers from the same group and I again explained my thoughts. Shortly after a friendly woman from DHA contacted me and I again discussed my thoughts. At no time in the three conversations was there anything but politeness and agreeance.

About three weeks later my new friend at DHA phoned to say she had contacted the owner regarding my desire for a shed but “he was not in a position to do it”. I did not anticipate this proactive approach but was, however, grateful. We discussed the policy that would see an expensive motor vehicle sit out under the extremes of Canberra weather (and let’s be honest, where both partners work two cars are not a luxury but a necessity) to enable the lawnmower and pushbikes to be secured in the garage.

It’s time all married quarters were provided with adequate storage. I believe I have a genuine requirement and should expect compliance from a reasonable request to adequately secure and house my family’s goods.

It would appear that the member and DHA can be held to ransom by a property’s owner, governed by antiquated policies in a leaseback situation.

FSGT C. Thompson
Directorate of Personnel-Airman

Official Response:

DHA provides a mix of three, four and some five bedroom houses to ensure that Defence families are provided with housing appropriate to their needs.

In some houses there is a separate storage shed and in others the storage space is met by the provision of a double garage. The houses are geared to the requirements of Defence families, but must also take account of community trends.

When members join the Defence Force they know that they will be required to be mobile and to live in a variety of houses and locations.

Every house is different and it is important that members take this into account when deciding the amount and nature of the furniture and effects they acquire.

Sometimes it is not possible to accommodate all of a family’s furniture and effects when moving from one house to another.

When this happens, provision exists to store overflow items at public expense for the duration of the posting. Members experiencing difficulties should also liaise with their local Housing Management Centre Manager to see if there are any options available to maximise existing storage space in their double garage.

There are no plans to change the existing policy to provide that houses with a double garage should also have a separate storage shed. If a policy change were made, it would inevitably result in an increase in the cost of providing Defence housing, with consequent increases in member contributions.

Adrian Wellspring
Director Housing and Removals Policy

HAVE YOUR SAY
Keep your letters to 250 words.
Include your name, unit (where applicable), location and contact details.
Send letters to:
raafnews@defencenews.gov.au (this is not part of the Defence Restricted Network, so include “Sec: Unclassified” in the subject field if sending on the DRN).
Letters to the Editor, Air Force News, R8-LG-042, Russell Offices, ACT 2600
Letters might be edited for reasons of space, spelling or grammar. Where appropriate, responses will be sought through official channels.

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