Rhode Island and Boise Project Members Attend IPTD

The Rhode to Success

RHODE ISLAND AND BOISE PROJECT MEMBERS ATTEND IPTD TO BUILD BETTER RELATIONSHIPS

By ANNA TAYLOR • PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST

22 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • JULY 2015

The road to success may be paved with gold, at least if you ask the more than 60 Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) project team members from USS Boise (SSN-764) and USS Rhode Island (SSBN-740) who attended a joint Integrated Project Team Development (IPTD) seminar in early June.

The IPTD, a concentrated teamwork and learning program, is a significant milestone in the development of a cohesive, high-performing project team and a unique opportunity to build relationships within NNSY. The event better prepared each project team to plan and execute its upcoming availabilities; and in addition to several team-building exercises, attendees received strategic direction from Fleet Forces Command, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), and NNSY senior leaders, including Vice Admiral William Hilarides, NAVSEA Commander; Rear Admiral Mark Whitney, Deputy Commander NAVSEA Logistics, Maintenance and Industrial Operations; and Captain Scott Brown, Shipyard Commander.

There’s nothing like friendly competition, so during the week-long event in Washington, D.C., Rhode Island and Boise project team members participated in a number of activities designed to strengthen bonds and boost communication. One such exercise pitted the groups against each other to see who could develop a strategy to mine the most gold considering several given parameters. They shared personal photographic biographies with images of their hobbies and families and even participated in a scavenger hunt through Old Town Alexandria, during which they were divided into six-person teams and presented with a series of objectives to meet within a specific timeframe.

“The big thing for me was you get a sense of people’s personalities and character traits,” said Joe Boone, Business and Strategic Planning Office Production Controller for the Rhode Island project. “We got to see how they reacted in different situations - whether they were angry or panicked - and we’ll probably be going through the same thing in planning and execution for work related items.”

“In this business we’re all about schedules, dates, durations, and priorities, but often people forget about the human factor,” said Mike Tanner, Boise Deputy Project Superintendent. “That is a big part of building project teams, and often times we lose perspective on that. But if you have that bond and that cohesion on a project, then you’re probably going to be successful.”

The major objective of the IPTD is team building, but a large part of the five-day workshop is hearing NAVSEA’s perspective on the shipyard’s priorities, getting aligned with the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), and understanding what success looks like for each project.

“The combined IPTD was very beneficial because it allowed the Rhode Island and Boise project teams to get together away from the day-to-day distractions of the shipyard, and to get a different outlook from NAVSEA leadership that reinforced the importance of both availabilities,” said Mark Cook, Rhode Island Project Superintendent.

“It was particularly interesting to hear from Vice Adm. Hilarides and Rear Adm. Whitney regarding the reprioritization of shipyard availabilities and the need for Rhode Island’s ERO to finish in 27 months."

“We get driven to us that success is we make our schedule, and if we don’t, we’re not successful,” Tanner added. “But to [the guest

speakers], success is really just being honest and forthright. Honest and forthright in your schedule, honest and forthright on where you’re at with the project, and honest and forthright about the impacts it may have on the schedule, and that’s really all they’re asking us to do.”

One benefit to spending five days out of town mining imaginary gold with 60 colleagues was being able to spend time learning about each other and establishing connections off the clock.

“From a project superintendent perspective, a lot of times if you don’t get away from the shipyard, it’s a struggle to communicate with all your team members.

You don’t get that personal touch,” said Glen Ward, Boise Project Superintendent. “Work just consumes you. And we always want to know our people, so the IPTD gave me a great opportunity to bond with members of my team over chips and salsa.”

Each IPTD includes three steps, and Rhode Island and Boise will complete the remaining two later this year. Both project teams left step 1 feeling encouraged by their interactions and optimistic about the upcoming availabilities.

“When the IPTD first started, I didn’t understand the need for it,” said Ward. “But now the further I get in my career I realize it’s much more about the people, and I walked away with a greater understanding of the individuals I’m working with.”

JULY 2015 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • 23