PCAPP's Renaissance Man
"Who better than Randy to take on a new project that required installation, systemization, operations training and completion of the activity all within a three-month period to meet the Department of Defense government customers’ expectations!"
Randy Johnson, Plant Support Specialist at PCAPP.
Randy grew up in Sallisaw, Oklahoma and went to welding school during his final years in high school. He became a certified welder and boilermaker and worked in refineries and chemical plants supporting outage work. He remembers his longest job was eight months in duration but gained valuable knowledge on fixing issues in industrial plants. This is where technical problem solving became his calling card. Randy was looking for a permanent location and lucky for PCAPP – the project was hiring welders!
Very quickly, his expertise in problem solving and mechanical skills established him as the “go-to” Subject Matter Expert who could solve any problem in the plant. He originally hired in as a Mechanical Technician, and then became the Cognizant Engineer over the Munitions Washout System (MWS) and Munitions Treatment Units that are the primary systems for destroying the chemical munitions. Today, he is a Plant Support Specialist supporting strategic field projects to complete the operations mission.
His favorite day at PCAPP was December 13, 2020 when the team successfully passed the no-rotation testing on the MWS. This was the game changer on simplifying the processing equipment, eliminating Level A maintenance entries for repairs, and doubling production in the first year of 105mm projectile processing.
Randy’s most recent project occurred late this year when he stepped up to fill a critical role to perform non-destructive examination (NDE) of a portion of the 4.2” mortars. His NDE project required installing a 6,500 pound shielded unit into a storage magazine with supporting utilities to perform x-ray of over 1,600 - 4.2” mortars. The purpose was to identify the amount of solid heel inside the chemical weapons that could cause problems down the road with processing and successful destruction of the chemical agent. Randy put together a team of maintenance and operations staff to coordinate installation, testing and training of the NDE device. Specialized equipment was manufactured to secure the mortar for the x-ray shot. Who better than Randy to take on a new project that required installation, systemization, operations training and completion of the activity all within a three-month period to meet the Department of Defense government customers’ expectations!
NDE was performed on eight different lots from the 4.2” mortar stockpile to provide a statistical sample of heel variability within the mustard lots. Randy’s ownership of this project from cradle to grave was the reason for its ultimate success to provide the project and government customer expanded information about the stockpile. He is the one of the our PCAPP superstars that proves that learning everything you can about your job sets the foundation for career growth within Amentum.
