Photo By James Cleveland | KITTERY, ME. Apr. 11, 2023, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard: Inside Machinist Wayne...... read more read more
Upgrading equipment at a government facility takes more than money. There is an extraordinary amount of planning involved. Last April a team from the Inside Machine Shop (Shop 31) began planning equipment upgrades, utilizing every cent in their budget. Shop 31 Industrial Plant Equipment Coordinator Rich Clark and Administrative Assistant Tom Simard were the leads on a project which brought more than 30 new pieces of equipment to the shop floor in building 300. Their planning ahead allowed them to utilize roughly $4.5 million of unallocated funds at the end of the fiscal year 2022.
When choosing which equipment to purchase, Shop 31 leadership made sure to consult their most valuable asset, the mechanics who would eventually use it. "We have machinists come to the shipyard from the private sector who have used different technologies," said Clark. "It's so important to tap into that knowledge base. The more relevant points of view we have, the better decisions we can make."
Purchasing the new equipment for multiple sections of the Inside Machine Shop required a lot of market research. New England has a robust industrial machinery presence, so many day trips to manufacturers in the area were made to see their offerings. Machinists from the shop floor took part in these trips to add their valuable insight from years of experience to assist in the decision making process. "This new equipment is an investment in the incredible machinists that we are fortunate to have supporting the mission every day," said Shop 31 Superintendent Aaron Economou. Leadership in Shop 31 has empowered their people to control their own destiny by giving them the bandwidth to be able to plan for the future. “It is a great feeling to invest money into the future of the shipyard," said Shop 31's Operations Manager Justin Orr. "Working with our machinists to update obsolete equipment directly improves morale and job efficiency.”
Collaboration between Shop 31, Shop 06's Production Machinery Mechanics, Code 700's Riggers, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), and Code 982's Industrial Engineers was necessary to coordinate all the moving parts of this project. New power distribution schematics were designed by NAVFAC Electrical Engineer Mike Boissonneault and Code 982 Electrical Engineer Pat Mears, new conduit and wiring was run by Shop 06, and Riggers carefully moved old equipment out and new equipment in to building 300, making this project a true team effort. Shop 31, Shop 06, and the Riggers have been working both first and second shift as well as coming in on weekends to complete this work as efficiently as possible. Major capital improvements are planned for the rest of building 300, including power upgrades and exterior maintenance scheduled to be completed in the next few years.
“This ongoing project has been an amazing shipyard team effort. There is no way we could have done this without the support we received from 06 mechanics under the supervision of Karie Hovey, Paul Belmore’s rigging crew, the Public Works Department under Jim Brown and the NAVFAC project execution team led by Max Begin," said NAVFAC Project Manager Keith Wyeth. "There were so many individuals who put in long hours to get us where we are today, and continue to support us as we complete this project. Thank you to everyone who has been involved.”
Prioritizing the order in which each machine is replaced depends on a number of factors. The delivery date of new equipment must align with when new infrastructure is run, and the machine which is to be removed also needs to find a new home if it is still in good working order. Many of the displaced older models are being repurposed across the shipyard. Some have gone to the training department, some are brought to satellite locations to supplement existing machining cells, and some are used to replace machinery that is in less optimal physical shape.
Roughly half of the new equipment has already been installed and is online for use. The new machinery is much more power efficient and in most cases takes up a significantly smaller footprint than their older counterparts. As the art of machining becomes more automated, operator safety increases. The new mills and lathes have well lit enclosures with viewing windows, keeping the operator safe while material is removed. As the shop transitions their older model mills and lathes to more user friendly units, personnel safety was a top priority in choosing the right models. "Some of the equipment we run is perfectly functional, but from a different era," said Clark. "We are rapidly bringing building 300 into the 21st century of machining. New units operate more efficiently, have robust safety features, and can make more intricate cuts as well."
Planning ahead was the key to this success for Shop 31. By leveraging their internal talent, leadership in the Inside Machine Shop has put the right people in place to take on projects of this magnitude. Having a workable plan starts with including needed support codes in the planning process. Clark and Simard are quick to note this project was only possible with help from across the shipyard. "We rely heavily on our partners in other shops in both the planning and execution phases of this work," said Simard. "We couldn't have been successful without their help."
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is America’s leader in attack submarine maintenance, and modernization. The on-time completion of submarine maintenance availabilities is critical to maintaining warfighter readiness. As a field activity of NAVSEA, PNS is committed to maximizing fleet readiness by safely delivering first-time quality, on time, and on budget.
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.19.2023 14:22 |
| Story ID: | 442916 |
| Location: | KITTERY, MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 1,434 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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