Nov. 7, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 135
SAILORS EARN CERTIFICATIONS, IMPROVE READINESS
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n 1913, Henry Ford developed new ways to cut down on time and improve productivity in the work place. Acting on principles such as making workflow continuous and reducing wasted efforts, Ford was able to not only get a product to his customers faster, but also reduce stress on workers. Today, a few members in the Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) office on board
Story and photos by MC2 (SW) Devin Wray
Nimitz are following similar guidelines to improve workflow in different departments throughout the ship. “Our overall goal on the ship is to make a culture chance,” said Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class John Doll, the CPI leading petty officer. “How do we come together as a group and all work together for a solution?” Doll brings Sailors to-
gether to find solutions to their workflow and customer service problems by teaching workflow methods that have been developed in the civilian sector. One step a Sailor might learn to improve their work center is the “pull step” in which Sailors identify an area in their work center that is normally backed up, they can then identify how to prioritize the workflow so that jobs can flow easily Continued on page 3
Sailor of the Day
Story and photo by MCSN (SW) Kole E. Carpenter
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and just focus on the task at hand.” His hard work and efforts were essential in the timely completion of 988 work orders, 1,857 maintenance man hours, supporting 457 sorties, encompassing 1,314 flight hours while operating in three separate areas of responsibilities. To his shipmates, Wert said his advice is to follow in the footsteps of your supervisors. “Listen to your LPO. Listen to your chief,” he said. “They’ve been in your shoes, so they know what it takes to be the best you can be.”
ircrew Survival Equipmentman 3rd Class Shaun Wert, from Florence, Ky., was named Sailor of the Day Nov. 6. Executing profound judgment and steadfast dedication to mission accomplishment, he inspected and repaired 27 sets of personal flight gear and 48 items of aviation life support equipment ensuring 100 percent mission accomplishment. “It feels pretty good,” Wert said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it. I try to stay under the radar, Commanding Officer
Executive Officer
Command Master Chief
Public Affairs Officer
Capt. Jeff Ruth
Capt. John Cummings
CMDCM Teri McIntyre
Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski
Editor MC3 (SW) George J. Penney III
Lead Designer MC3 (SW) Raul Moreno Jr.
Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions are subject to review and screening. “Nimitz News” is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.
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Continued from page 1
through the department without getting jammed. “A lot of the time we find it’s the process that fails, not the Sailor,” said Doll. These methods are taught through handson yellow belt and green belt courses, which are team-oriented classes that can transition back to the civilian sector as actual certifications a Sailor takes with them when they leave the Navy. A yellow belt class is a six-hour class where Sailors are put into teams to identify issues in the command, or recently, in their own department. Sailors are given the skillsets to identify problems and map out solutions. They can then take those skills and apply them to other issues they encounter. Those who are interested in learning these techniques further can take the green belt class, which ranges from five to 10 days, and focuses on leading a team to fix problems. No matter which course, Sailors can also identify processes that waste time. Similar to Ford’s assembly line, the CPI office can fix problems like unnecessary movement from one end of the ship to the other for a single part or signature. Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class Johnathan Villalobos is one Sailor who has seen the benefits of these programs, and has now become a collateral duty CPI member to help other Sailors improve their work centers. He is currently using tuition assistance to take the 16-week black belt course. “My favorite part is the effect we see on the process,” said Villalobos. “You see people get excited when we go through a process and fix it.” Doll also said he enjoys seeing how the program helps people. “People say that the Sailor doesn’t know how to do their job, but when we go through the process they come to a mutual understanding that the process is to blame and that the Sailor was just following the process,” said Doll. “If you haven’t talked to everyone the process affects, then you can’t identify all the problems.” One problem the instructors said they see in the classes is when Sailors have a solution or a good idea, but they haven’t identified all the fac-
Sailors conduct exercises to learn how to streamline processes during CPI courses.
tors it could affect in the process. The program aims to help Sailors implement their ideas with the goals of their chain of command. “The more people involved in fixing the same problem, the faster it gets resolved,” said Villalobos. Preparation and implementation of these ideas may take some time, but the payoffs can reduce frustration in the work place. What’s better is that the outcomes are recorded and sent to a central location in San Diego. Other commands can view the outcomes and decide if they can use them to improve their shops as well. Doll said identifying the supplier and customer in any job could standardize most problems to a baseline in which the problems can be solved using their methods. Through these steps Doll says the program can be effective for anything from machinery use to paperwork. “If we’re helping a shop, we’ll question every form you have in order to eliminate things like unnecessary signatures,” said Doll. The CPI office currently has Sailors working to improve things like the carrier on board delivery (COD) and hazardous material (HAZMAT) control systems. To learn more about these certifications and how they can help you, contact the CPI office at 1-5-0-Q or call J-6472. 3
INNO VIRTUAL TRAINER UPGRADES BOOST SHIPBOARD FLIGHT OPS
Story by Eric Beidel Office of Naval Research
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nswering the fleet’s call for more authentic training environments, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is delivering a more cost-effective, realistic simulator to train Sailors responsible for directing the movement of helicopters aboard ships, officials announced Oct. 23. The Helicopter Control Officer Trainer (HCOT) is being used by HCOs and Landing Signalman Enlisted (LSE) personnel at naval bases in San Diego and Norfolk, where courses required by the chief of naval operations are taught. The trainer initially was developed after Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder visited Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif., and talked to Sailors about ways to make their virtual training more realistic, taking into account moving ships, crashing waves and blinding rain, among other variables. “These dedicated Sailors play an important role in shipboard aviation, and they wanted a training environment that was as lifelike as the challenges they face in the ship-
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OVATION board environment,” Klunder said. “Staying in constant contact with the fleet allows us to quickly and effectively address concerns from the flight deck up to the bridge without breaking the bank.” Upgrades to the HCOT simulation eliminate the need for costly maintenance of aging hardware by combining training for personnel both HCOs in a ship’s flight control tower and LSEs on the ship’s deck coordinating take-offs and landings with hand signals. For those manning the control tower, the setup features five touch-screen monitors with the same controls they would use at their shipboard stations. Instructors inside and outside of the mock tower play the roles of helicopter pilots or other crew members who would interact with the officers. For the signalmen, a piece of headgear gives them a 360-degree view of a virtual ship deck. Another individual then uses a video game controller to either launch or land a helicopter based on the student’s hand signals. The system can throw anything at the students, including rainstorms, nightfall, crashes and fires, offering a level of realism unavailable with previous systems. “It’s like the difference between night
and day,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Joshua Chorniak, an instructor with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 2 at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. “Before, we had to tell students to pretend. Now, we can say that this is exactly what you’re going to see when you get out there.” The upgrades were spearheaded by ONR’s rapid-response TechSolutions program in conjunction with Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division Orlando and Lockheed Martin. Designed to bridge the gap between warfighters and scientists, TechSolutions accepts requests directly from Sailors and Marines and delivers prototypes to them within 18 months. ONR provides the science and technology necessary to maintain the Navy and Marine Corps’ technological advantage. Through its affiliates, ONR is a leader in science and technology with engagement in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 institutions of higher learning and 914 industry partners. ONR employs approximately 1,400 people, comprising uniformed, civilian and contract personnel, with additional employees at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C. For more news from Office of Naval Research, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/ onr/.
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By MCSN (SW) Derek A. Harkins By MCSN Eric M. Butler
By MCSN (SW) Kole E. Carpenter
QMSN Shaniqua Knight stands watch during a transit of the Strait of Messina.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to VFA-154 launches from the flight deck.
Sailors assigned to HSC-6 perform maintenance on an MH60S Seahawk helicopter on the flight deck.
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