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A military alteration that changes or improves the operational or military characteristics of a
ship.
A technical alteration that generally concerns personnel safety and equipment effectiveness.
An alteration-equivalent-to-repair (AER) could be one of three types. One involves substitution,
without change in design, of approved, different material, available from standard stock. The
second involves replacement of worn or damaged parts, assemblies, or equipment with those of
later and more efficient design that have been approved by the responsible systems command.
The last type is used for strengthening of parts that need repair or replacement to improve the
reliability of the parts, provided no other change in design is involved.
ALTERATION RESPONSIBILITIES.—Ship alterations (SHIPALTS) involve material under the
technical control of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Alterations which affect shipboard
systems and equipment under the technical control of other systems commands; for example, air
alterations (AIRALTS), ordnance alterations (ORDALTS), and special program alterations (SPALTS),
are not SHIPALTS. However, they may require concurrent SHIPALTS if changes affect shipboard
system interface.
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT FIELD CHANGES.—Field changes are identified by type and
class. The type depends on the material included in the change kit or furnished by the installing activity.
The class refers to the funding and the installation responsibility.
Details concerning various types of and approval authority for alterations can be found in the
Electronics Installation and Maintenance Book (EIMB), General, NAVSEA SE000-00-EIM-100.
Material Identification
At some time in your work, you will probably have to replace a defective part or component. If you
are familiar with national stock numbers (NSNs), Navy item control numbers (NICNs), part numbers
(PNs), and the Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List (COSAL), getting the replacement should be a
simple chore.
NATIONAL STOCK NUMBERS (NSNs).—An NSN is a 13-digit stock number used to identify
an item of material in the Federal Catalog System of the Department of Defense. It consists of a four-digit
federal supply classification (FSC) and a nine-digit national item identification number (NIIN). The first
two digits of the FSC denote the group or major division of materials and the last two digits denote the
class of subdivision of material within a group.
Examples of groups are:
GROUP
TITLE
31
Bearings
48
Valves
59
Electrical and Electronic Systems Components
79
Cleaning supplies
