5 l 17 l 2021
A weekly publication of Newport News Shipbuilding
Vaccinated Shipbuilders Can Shed Face Coverings Newport News Shipbuilding employees who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear face coverings, more than one year after they were mandated to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The changes align with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense and state officials.
Shipbuilders are constructing Enterprise (CVN 80) units in the North Yard. Photo by Ashley Cowan
Enterprise (CVN 80) Begins to Take Shape
The future of shipbuilding can be found on Newport News Shipbuilding’s Final Assembly Platen. That is where shipbuilders are using visual work instructions and modular construction to build Enterprise (CVN 80). With the Navy’s demand for more aircraft carriers in its fleet, NNS turned to digital shipbuilding for a more efficient build process. Shipbuilders use visual work instructions programmed on mobile tablets to identify parts and materials on their jobsites. “Working with visual work instructions instead of paper drawings has been really nice,” said Rebecca Arnold, a pipefitter apprentice. “Integrating visual work instructions with our building process has made jobs easier and more understandable. There is less rework.” So far, Steel Fabrication has completed 179 of a total 1,066 units. Modular construction allows shipbuilders to weld units together before the iconic “Big Blue” crane lifts them into neighboring Dry Dock 12. Throughout the aircraft carrier’s construction, fewer lifts will happen, but with more weight – called superlifts. “We are in the process of building the first 11 superlifts,” said Mike Butler, CVN 80 construction director. The aircraft carrier will take its shape when the units are moved into Dry Dock 12.
Unvaccinated employees and those going through the vaccination process must still wear a face covering while at work and are subject to discipline, up to and including termination, if found to be unvaccinated and not wearing a mask and unable to maintain social distance. Unvaccinated employees can remove their masks only in the following instances at NNS: • If you are not moving from one place to another and if you are 6 feet from another person. • When requested by Security for identity verification. • When wearing NNS-approved respirators to perform your job. • When performing hot work. In order to track which employees are able to go mask free, Huntington Ingalls Industries is requiring all employees to self-report their vaccination status in UPoint if they received a COVID-19 vaccine in the community by logging into UPoint from www.hiibenefits.com. Once logged in, click the “COVID-19 Self-Reporting” banner at the top of the homepage, read the instructions and fill out the brief questionnaire. Shipbuilders do not need to self-report on UPoint if they were vaccinated at NNS through QuadMed.