The USS North Dakota (SSN 784) Project Team at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard engaged in a cross-functional problem-solving deep dive to focus on the best way forward to accomplish required work. Given the complex challenges of a large array backfit and the schedule churn, the team recognized the need for a unique approach to expedite the approval. From the deck plates to the boardrooms, open and candid dialogue led to a solution for the installation, prompting leadership to “turn their chair” on certain stipulations and approve the plan for installing the array.
“This is why transparency and keeping the lines of communication open about the status of critical work is so important,” said North Dakota Project Superintendent John Gironda. “It’s the right approach to problem solving as we’re not having to go up and down silos once or, even worse, multiple times. It’s also the right mindset to the culture change necessary to quickly solve problems,” said Gironda. “We obviously get more accomplished as a team rather than as individuals.”
Dr. Steve Spear, senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, agreed with Gironda’s comments. “When technicians and mechanics find themselves in situations ‘unready to work, start to finish’ they need to be able to pause and call out the problem, rather than having to muscle through it. This pause allows for cross functional problem solving at a senior level to bring the solution into practice so going forward it’s safer, quicker, and easier to do great things,” said Spear. “Together that returns stability and predictability to the project.”
“Working to mitigate challenges like these are a perfect example of the unity needed to safely execute our work with a sense of urgency to deliver combat-ready submarines back to the fleet with increased lethality,” said Nuclear Engineering and Planning Manager Stephen Fahey, Senior Executive Service. “The North Dakota Project Team exemplified what is possible when you’re willing to raise your hand for help when needed and embrace accountability to persistently drive toward excellence. The key element of resolving this issue was recognizing that the responsible organizations had to come together at the worksite on the ship to understand what needed to be done to solve the problem.”
By leveraging an outward mindset to align stakeholders and navigate a path to success, the North Dakota Project Team met the unique challenges with the large array backfit eliminating submarine maintenance delays.
As noted by Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti in the 2024 Navigation Plan, “Ability comes from good thinking done in advance and there is no time to waste. We will deliver results using the tools and resources we have to gain ground without losing speed. We must accelerate our efforts to deliver the ready force we need now.” ALL AHEAD FLANK!
| Date Taken: | 01.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.13.2025 14:43 |
| Story ID: | 489008 |
| Location: | KITTERY, MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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