NEW TRADE MANAGERS ON THE WATERFRONT BY ANNA TAYLOR • PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST
To facilitate the development of supervisors and mechanics, and to align roles and responsibilities between shops and projects, Norfolk Naval Shipyard restructured the Production Resources and Operations Departments to include both zone managers and trade managers. The split, which transferred certain responsibilities from zone managers to the newly-established trade managers, officially happened in January 2016. “The trade manager takes care of who and how. The zone manager takes care of what and when. And in those areas, the focus is on repairing Navy ships,” explained Pipe Group (Code 960) Trade Manager Randy Thurman. “Who do we put on the job, and are they qualified? How do they do it, what processes are they using? That’s my job as trade manager. The zone manager schedules and prioritizes. Together I know we can get things accomplished.” Zone managers are primarily responsible for the development of an execution strategy for their assigned area of responsibility, to include the appropriate quality, safety, resource demand, and schedule. Once a defined execution strategy has been developed, the zone manager executes that strategy with a focus on safety, schedule, and cost. The trade manager is responsible for providing supervisors and mechanics who have been trained to accomplish the work in a safe manner with the requisite quality. Shop directors assign trade managers to projects as needed to support each trade’s workload. Before the split, zone managers were overloaded. With the workload dispersed between zone and trade managers, there is more time for supervisory and personnel development. “It’s a good thing for our people,” said Thurman. “Our mechanics put the wind in the sails around here. We can do all the stuff we want, but execution is repairing that ship, and we can’t do it without fully trained mechanics. Do it safe, do it right, do it at cost.”
12 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • JUNE 2016
THE TRADE MANAGER TAKES CARE OF WHO AND HOW. THE ZONE MANAGER TAKES CARE OF WHAT AND WHEN. AND IN THOSE AREAS, THE FOCUS IS ON REPAIRING NAVY SHIPS. - RANDY THURMAN There are three types of trade managers, though they all focus on the same type of work. They act as mentors and coaches and are responsible for the development of supervisors and mechanics. They support the zone manager’s execution plan, and assist with the development and review of job summaries to coordinate proper planning, cost estimates, and scheduling strategies with other trade managers in the shop. “Trades managers are important to America's Shipyard,” said former Production Resources Officer Capt. Beth Silsdorf. “They are the key to the professional growth and development of the waterfront's first line supervisors.” Zone and trade managers work closely to ensure every angle of a job is covered, but the primary focus of the trade manager is to develop the supervisors, an important aspect of the shipyard’s performance improvement plan. “I’ve been in pipe my whole life, and that’s where my passion is, especially for the young people,” said Thurman. “All the old-timers might be gone, but I see a lot of good young people and we need to give them confidence.”