Zone manager creates new PPE hood to reduce eye injuries

ZONE MANAGER CREATES NEW PPE HOOD TO REDUCE EYE INJURIES Story and Photos by Anna Taylor • Public Affairs Specialist

Top: Ashley Morgan, Shop 11 Helper Trainee, demonstrates the Slick Hood. Above: Perkins (right) inspects the Slick Hood.

16 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • NOVEMBER 2016

The sparks aligned for Dreyson “Slick” Perkins when he was promoted to forward end zone manager on the USS San Francisco (SSN 711) project.

The position provided him the platform he needed to bring his new protective hood to life.

The “Slick Hood,” which was christened in honor of Perkins’ nickname, is a fireretardant personal protective equipment (PPE) hood designed to minimize the risk of eye injury. The hood protects from slag, dust, paint chips

and other debris generated by everyday work at NNSY, such as grinding, sanding, needle gunning, sand blasting, highpressure painting, welding, and working with fiberglass.

The old hood, a soft cotton blend with a wide opening for a full-faced respirator, allowed dust to settle above the wearer’s brow or get stuck in the folds of fabric around the head and neck. The piece of equipment designed to protect employees was causing preventable injuries when debris would dislodge as

Right: Dreyson "Slick" Perkins, creator of the new Slick Hood. Below: Perkins indicates one place where particles and fragments gather on the old hood.

the hood was taken off, or if particles flew into a bystander’s eye when blown by the wind.

From June 5, 2015 to May 31, 2016, NNSY had more than 70 incidents to employees’ eyes. Of those reported incidents, 37 could have been prevented with the use of the Slick Hood.

The new hood is made of thin fabric with a built-in plastic face mask and a small elastic hole that fits around the majority of the two filter cartridge full-faced or halffaced respirators used at NNSY. The method for removing the hood traps all particles and fragments inside, similar to the way a nurse removes a soiled latex glove, which reduces the risk of stray dust finding its way into an unsuspecting eye.

The idea came to Perkins in 2010 when he was a new employee at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY). He proposed the idea a few times, but it never gained the necessary momentum to move from concept to prototype.

After getting promoted from shipfitter mechanic to tank area manager supervisor and finally to (Operations Department (Code 300) Zone Manager, Perkins submitted his brainchild to the Beneficial Suggestion Program. He created a prototype of the Slick Hood with the assistance of Shane Martin, a sail loft supervisor, and it caught the attention of the Structural Group (Code 920) Process Improvement Office. Next, Perkins and the Code 920 Process Improvement office made a list of pros and cons and analyzed the benefits a new hood would bring to NNSY. “Then we met with the Safety Office (Code 106) and let them pick it apart, and they loved it,” said Perkins. “So now we’re in the process of starting to manufacture it at the sail loft.”

Perkins did his best to make the design easy for the shipyard to recreate. He didn’t want to outsource the labor, but needed to make

sure it was cost effective for NNSY to keep production in house.

“I started working with Shane to create the hood with the prototype in mind,” said Perkins. “I sat down with him and sketched it out and then he went to work on it during his free time.”

Perkins is still developing the final product, but two of the other public shipyards are already interested in using it.

“We are planning on producing the first 500 for use on the San Francisco conversion project,” said Perkins. “It should hit the streets, so to speak, by December or January.”

Perkins said he couldn’t have created the Slick Hood without help from people like Wallace Martin, the San Francisco Project superintendent, his SSN 711 family, the Code 920 Process Improvement group, Angie Alexander, his friend and former zone manager, and his “Dawg Pound Tank Crew” on the USS Maryland (SSBN 738) project.

He hopes to honor their support by keeping his San Francisco crew safe while it undergoes conversion at NNSY. “I am responsible for the forward end of the conversion work on the [San Francisco],” said Perkins. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt on my watch.”

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