M-COP OVERSEES CREATION OF NEW CODE 930 WORK AREA BY ANNA TAYLOR • PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST PHOTOS BY SHAYNE HENSLEY • NNSY PHOTOGRAPHER There is a new, centralized work area for overhauling submarine hull and back-up valves in Bldg. 171 thanks to Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Mechanical Community of Practice. On past availabilities, poor coordination and lack of communication were ongoing problems within the Mechanical Group (Code 930), which contributed to low cost performance and late delivery of valves. The historical performance of overhauling hull and backup valves at NNSY was inadequate. The ships and submarines repaired and modernized by NNSY contain piping systems with valves of various sizes, styles and functions, and the maintenance of these valves typically requires a complex combination of removal, disassembly, detailed inspections, repairs, precise reassembly, final shipboard installation, and testing. Despite the critical nature of the work, there was never a dedicated team, which created work stoppages, injuries, and employee churn. To improve quality and efficiency, the M-COP analyzed the problem with help from Code 100PI (Performance Improvement Department), and delivered a solution using Lean Six Sigma and
Jared Alder and Kermit Jackson Jr. work in the new space created by NNSY's M-COP.
Learning Organization principles. “After several planning sessions, we identified what needed the most improvement,” said Chad Waldroup, M-COP director. “We used a value stream analysis to map out the current and desired future state of those processes to determine where our efforts should be focused.” The result was a new work area where a core group of Code 930's Machine Shop (Shop 31) and Marine Machinery Shop (Shop 38) managers, supervisors, work leaders, mechanics, and apprentices could overhaul the valves. The space was designed to provide the group with adequate resources to perform work within budget and schedule, something the old execution areas couldn’t do. A Community of Practice offers a way for the shipyard to unite employees around a common interest. Using systems thinking, these cross-functional teams combine their mental models, knowledge, and personal mastery to identify constraints, wastes and opportunities for improvement. Because of the M-COP’s efforts, the valve-repair group is no longer operating out of separate locations, which the Code 930