EB News April-May 2013 - Electric Boat Corporation

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MENITZ MARKS 50 YEARS AT ELECTRIC BOATOne of STAN MENITZ’ first duties when hereported to his new job at Electric Boat in 1963was to pack up the mechanical design officewhere he would be working and move it into thenewest building on the grounds – Building 197.He moved into the top floor where they woulduse the latest technology – 21-foot drafting boards.But it didn’t stay the top floor for long, as EB addeda new floor to the engineering building the followingyear. Wheelbarrows became a common sight inhis office and the scent of fresh cement permeatedthe floor.STAN MENITZMenitz (431) still has his first pay stub, with anet pay of $43.51. He’d started on a Wednesday so it only coveredthree weekdays, and the total worked out to about $2.06 per hour.Menitz was recently recognized for achieving 50 years withElectric Boat during a breakfast with President KEVIN J. POI-TRAS and his senior staff.“I wonder what’s going to happen in my next 50?” Menitz joked.Poitras said executives at Electric Boat understand the value ofthe experience that Menitz brings to the job. Menitz recounted aninstance where they were trying to solve a design issueon USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), and he suggested asolution similar to what had been used on the NR-1,which he worked on during the 1960s. It turned out tobe the right answer.He said one thing experienced staff can do is to pointout to more junior designers and engineers those areaswhere tried and true methods are the best.“It’s simple and straightforward. Do it by the draftingmanual. If we get innovative, be careful, there areyears of experience behind what has been created,”Menitz said.He added that everyone has to adapt to the timesas well. Before the Virginia program started, for instance, all thedrafting boards were traded for computers. Today Menitz thinksthe best part of his job is working with computer graphics, particularlyon the steering and diving design for the Seawolf and Virginiaclasses with BOB WALSH (492).“If you get an engineer who knows his stuff you can do somegood work together,” Menitz said.NOEL CELEBRATES 50 YEARS ON THE JOBDON NOEL started at Electric Boat in 1962 asa four-step learner carpenter making about$2 an hour, and while he thought he would bebuilding submarines, his skills were soon put to adifferent use.Flasher, Greenling and Gato – all Thresher-classsubmarines as they were known at the time – wereunder construction in the South Yard, and twomore were taking shape in the North Yard. In fact,the year after he started, EB did its first ever doublelaunch, with Flasher and Tecumseh both slidingdown the ways on June 22.DON NOEL“I went down into the yard to work on thelaunchings for two weeks, and ended up staying for 15 months,”Noel told President KEVIN J. POITRAS and his staff during abreakfast to mark his 50th anniversary with the company.It took him a little longer than 50 years to get to that landmarkbecause of a break in service. Laid off January 1964, he came backafter four months and applied for a job, but was told there wereno openings. So he came back every day and said he would keepcoming back until they let him at least fill out an application.“After four days, they finally let me see an application,” Noelsaid. “I was persistent.” He was re-hired into a design position onJune 6, 1964, and has been at the company since.His three children, Kevin, Darin and Brenda, aswell as his brothers, Roland and Andy, all drove considerabledistances to help him celebrate. They alsosurprised him with a large advertisement in the NewLondon Day to commemorate the event.“Ducky Noel — Congratulations on 50 years at TheBoat,” the ad read. “You continue to be an inspirationand role model to all of us. When they made you, theybroke the mold. We love you Dad.” Featured in the adwas a picture of Noel and his three children on a trip toFlorida in 1976, which they re-created digitally.“When I came, I didn’t know port from starboard.And now I think I do,” he joked. CATIA, the computerizeddrafting program he has been using, is a far cry from thedrafting tables he started on, he said. “It was hard to get used tofrom triangles and T-squares and pencils, but enjoyable.”Over the years he has worked on many of the historic submarinesuch as Seawolf, Triton, Narwhal, even Nautilus three times.Today, he’s 24th in seniority at the shipyard.“Everyone hears about that and asks me when I’m going toretire, but I tell them, you ought to be talking to the 23 in front ofme,” Noel joked. “Everyone wants the number one spot, so no onereally wants to go.”10 | ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS | APRIL/MAY 2013
NEW TRUCK ADDS TO FIRE FIGHTING CAPABILITIESThe Electric Boat Fire Departmentrecently put D-12 into service, its newestengine / pumper truck designed specificallyto fight fires in a shipyard.It comes equipped with self-containedbreathing apparatus built into each seat sofirefighters can slip into their harness on theway to a call and be ready to roll, and equipmentthat allows quick hookup to shipyardair so the truck can recharge the systems.The truck carries 500 gallons of water and30 gallons of firefighting foam, and an exhaustfan that can move 3,000 cubic feet of air aminute to quickly clear smoky spaces.“This truck gives us the equipment we needto respond to almost any emergency you canimagine,” said Fire Chief JEFF FIRMIN. Andsince Electric Boat is part of the New LondonCounty Mutual Aid network, it means townsin the Groton area could also benefit from itsunique capabilities, Firmin said.The Ferrara engine truck has a 450-horsepowerCummins diesel engine but is stillquiet enough for fire fighters to carry on aconversation on the way to a fire scene –which is important so they can be formulatinga plan of attack en route.Other compartments are loaded with handtools such as bolt cutters, shovels, sledgehammers, axes, picks and pry bars, as wellas a variety of hydraulic / electric tools forcutting and pneumatic air bags for liftingalmost any material that might get in theway of the fire response team, as well as aSmart Power 6.2 kilowatt generator to keepit all running.D-12 is equipped with ladders and hundredsof feet of hose to get deep into any areaquickly, a deck gun that can deliver hundredsof gallons per minute on a fire, a high intensityLED light bar to illuminate the scene at nightor in foul weather, a built-in radio charger thatkeeps communications gear ready at all times,and tarps for covering material to preventwater damage if needed.EB BUSINESS ETHICS AND CONDUCTA REMINDER TO ALL REGARDING OUR BUSINESS ETHICS PRINCIPLESGeneral Dynamics Electric Boat is in business to earn a fair returnon behalf of our shareholders. We must therefore ensure that we conductourselves in accordance with the following principles:P USE ASSETS WISELYHow we manage assets reflects our personal and company values.P OFFER A FAIR DEALWe use our values to make hard decisions and offer the best productsat a fair price.P DELIVER ON PROMISESWe are people of our word and deliver on our promises to earn stakeholdertrust.P EARN A FAIR RETURNAs we deliver on our promises we must contract for a fair return.OUR BUSINESS CONDUCT REFLECTS OUR BUSINESSETHICS PRINCIPLESYour supervisor, manager and Human Resources personnel areavailable to assist you with questions concerning employee conductand company principles. Electric Boat Ethics Director Frank Capizzano(860-433-1278) is also available to assist anyone regardingquestions or issues that may relate to business ethics principles orethical decision making. The GD Ethics Hotline is available 24/7 foranyone with an ethical question, concern or complaint and may bereached at 800-433-8442 or 700-613-6315 for International callers.Online access is available at www.gd.ethicspoint.comREMEMBER – WHEN IN DOUBT ALWAYS ASK.ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS | APRIL/MAY 2013 | 11
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EB News April-May 2013 - Electric Boat Corporation

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