WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER: NORFOL PLANNING DEPARTMENT SUPPORTS UPCO
STORY BY MICHAEL BRAYSHAW • LEAD PUBLIC AFFAIRS SPECIALIST I PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 2 Saving time, reducing personnel on travel, and harnessing beneficial technology while practicing smart behaviors to prevent COVID-19 are just some of the ways Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) Engineering and Planning Department (Code 200) is effectively supporting an integrated shipcheck onboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) in Mayport, Florida. Even in a good month with favorable conditions, coordinating a shipcheck takes a lot of time, effort and planning. Shipchecks provide vital information for the development of Ship Installation Drawings (SIDs), which in this instance will be supporting modernization work during Iwo Jima’s upcoming Drydocking Selected Restricted Availability (DSRA). To coordinate this effort, NNSY’s Code 200 Planning Yard collaborated with Naval Surface Force Atlantic (COMNAVSURLANT), Southeast Regional Maintenance Center (SERMC), NAVSEA’s Surface Ship Modernization Program Office 18 • SERVICE TO THE FLEET • JUNE 2020
(PMS 407) as well as ship’s force to plan an effective and integrated shipcheck with respect to the current concerns related to COVID-19. Teaming between these entities had both a spirit of collaboration and sense of urgency, as coordination and execution of advanced planning for the shipcheck happened in less than a week when it usually takes a month. With continued concerns about minimizing travel and downsizing large teams as practical, Code 200 was able to assemble a team of 12 planning yard engineers, a fraction of the originally planned 62 personnel, to travel to Mayport. To minimize the spread of COVID-19 while maximizing the mission of supporting Iwo Jima’s upcoming availability, Code 200 is providing personal protective equipment to its team members as well as sanitizing stations onboard the ship. “The Planning Yard shipcheck coordinator worked with the ship’s [Executive Officer] and Medical Officer to ensure compliance
