Nov - Bath Iron Works
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BIWSend to PrintINSIDEFrom the Helm - 2Performance - 3Bowdoin Class Visits BIW - 3United Way Success - 4Retirees - 5Surface Warfare Director Visit - 5From the Fleet - 6Apprentice Class Graduation - 6Service Anniversaries - 7Deckhouse Unit Improvements - 7Hardings Open House - 8NEWSBIW is a complex operationand no one organization orfunction holds everythingtogether. All are key to meeting ourobjectives. The BIW Print Shop isone of those functions—small andlean; traditional, yet technologydriven;run by professionals withyears of experience; and indispensableto our daily jobs. MarcTurgeon, with 24 years at BIW andprior experience in a commercialprint shop, and Cindy Douglass(both D4505), who has spent 10 ofher 31 years at BIW in the printingbusiness, are the Print Shop, plusmachines. Steve Campbell(D4505) steps in as back-up andassists during peak periods.During Marc’s first few years atBIW, there were as many as sevenpeople working full time. He firstoperated a small printing press andremembers the steady “chunkchunk-chunk”of the press, whichwas the audio signature of the printPrint it! Marc Turgeon and Cindy Douglass in the BIW Print Shop.shop for a period of time. That’s gone,replaced by quieter machines that makevery different sounds. According to Marc,“At the same time that print technologywas advancing, people were leaving due tonormal attrition and retirements. Severaldidn’t want to adjust to the changes, butwe could not have stayed the way we were.It was simpler and I miss some aspects ofthose printing methods, but we wouldn’tbe here today if we’d remained just acopy shop.”Marc credits some of his earlier supervisorswith both his personal developmentand their support for major changes.“Lynda Olson pushed to get advancedtechnologies working,” he said, “and atthe same time was a big influence in termsof professional development as well asrecognizing our role as a service providerwithin the company.”The introduction of color copying in thelate 90’s was by far one of the biggest stepstaken. Marc was aware that many areas ofthe company were spending a lot of moneyfor color copying from outside vendors.Even so, it was a big step for the company<strong>Nov</strong>ember2006to invest in the capability and to stay withit as the problems were resolved. “At first,color was wonderful just because it wascolor” said Marc, “but there were a lot ofproblems with keeping it going. People mayremember the first DD 21 proposal whereit seemed like down time was the colorcopier’s primary mode.”BIW outgrew its first color copier inthree months. At the same time, consumerdemand for speed, as well as color, wasgrowing throughout industry. As the technologieswere integrated, the equipmentbecame highly capable in terms of bothquality and speed. To date, Marc and Cindyhave overseen four upgrades to our colorcapability with a fifth under consideration.“Today,” said Marc, “the reliability of theequipment is unsurpassed. When doing along run like the BIW News, it’s not uncommonfor a color machine to operate a full 8hour shift without stopping. During labornegotiations, we have run black and whitemachines for 32 hours non-stop.” Theynow perform many repairs themselves and(Continued on pg. 5)
From the HelmDugan Shipway, President, <strong>Bath</strong> <strong>Iron</strong> <strong>Works</strong><strong>Nov</strong>ember is almost gone and I hope that each of youcelebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday withyour family, loved ones and friends. Eleven monthsof this year are now behind us and we are on the verge ofcompleting another chapter in BIW’s storied history as 2006draws to a close. It seems to me that those 11 months havepassed very quickly. I guess that’s just the way it is when youare involved in doing the kind of challenging work we do hereat BIW.As I was thinking about how fast these months have passed,I found myself reflecting on the fact that time is really a preciouscommodity and, as such, not something to be wasted.Now, I know I’m not the first person to figure that out and itmay not be a big revelation to you, but let me suggest that allof us at BIW need to keep that fact in mind as we go aboutour daily business of building Navy ships.On <strong>Nov</strong>ember 17, 2006, we cut steel for Hull 505 (DDG111), our 33rd and next-to-last DDG 51 Class destroyer.In parallel, we are rapidly moving forward with DDG 1000detail design and are working with the Navy toward the awardof a ship construction contract. Make no mistake about it,there are still many uncertainties, plenty of challenges andlots of hard work ahead of us. But we can look forward to allthat with a higher degree of confidence and we are in a muchbetter position today to address those things than we were just11 short months ago. We are where we are today because wemade the decision to be proactive and use the time we had toimprove our performance—we decided to do somethinginstead of wasting time.In our personal lives and at the shipyard, each of us is facedwith multiple schedules and deadlines—places to go, thingsto complete, decisions to make—they are all around us andeach competes for a finite amount of time. The key to managingthese multiple priorities is to act—to keep things movingforward. When there is something to be done, the best time todo it is now. Action produces results while inaction (in mostcases) produces only problems.Inaction when it comes to safety results in the worst kindof consequence—someone gets hurt and the ripple effects onfamily and co-workers are significant. Inaction when it comesto safety matters is simply unacceptable and the responsibilityto act rests first with the individual and ultimately stretchesthroughout the shipyard. Each of us must assume responsibilityfor our own safety first and then look toward the safety of ourfellow workers to ensure everyone goes home in the same conditionin which they arrived. Let me give you a real life example.I was recently walking down the pier next to GRIDLEY,looking up at the mast and wondering what work still had tobe done when I walked right under a crane lift. I failed toaccept responsibility for my own safety; but fortunately, thecrane operator saw me and blew his horn (more than once) anda rigger also quickly warned me to move to a safe place. Theywere looking out for the safety of their fellow workers—in thiscase, Dugan.We are a safer shipyard today than we were but we are notsafe enough. In 2007, we will again set goals for our safetyperformance and we will pursue every avenue that makes senseto reduce our injury rates. We must act now—individually andcollectively—and commit ourselves to safety.Time is truly a precious commodity. I encourage everyoneto take a moment and think about just how precious it really isand then, whether it involves your personal commitments, yourjob here at BIW or safety, resolve to act. Action creates results,results lead to improved performance and performance equalsopportunity, which is the key to our future.“TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE”2 | <strong>Nov</strong>ember 2006 | BIW NEWS
Performance October 2006RECORDABLE INJURIESCumulative Through October 2006Number of Injuries—Total Company125010508506504502500848ImprovementTargetEnvironmental1129ActualYear to date (YTD) progress toward achievingour environmental performance goals underthe Maine DEP STEP UP and other environmentalprograms is displayed as follows:Equal to or better than YTD goalAbove YTD goal, improvedfrom prior yearAbove YTD goal, not improvedfrom prior yearLOST-TIME INJURIESCumulative Through October 2006Number of Injuries—Total Company300250200150100500170ImprovementTarget254ActualCumulative Through October 2006Solid WasteHazardous WasteEnergy CostsPaper ReductionBIW NEWSBIW NEWS is published monthlyby the CommunicationsDepartment (D94) of <strong>Bath</strong> <strong>Iron</strong><strong>Works</strong> and is produced internallyin the BIW Print Shop.The primary objectives ofBIW NEWS are to recognizethe service, accomplishments,innovation and contributionsof our employees and to provideinformation on matters that areof interest to our workforce.Comments and suggestionsare welcome and should beforwarded to Dixie Stedman atMail Stop 1210 or by e-mail atdixie.stedman@biw.com.Facility/ShiftInformation Call LineToll free information on facility status,work shift delays, and cancellations1-866-630-BATH(1-866-630-2284)Class TimeIn early <strong>Nov</strong>ember, our EnvironmentalOperations group hosted 31 studentsfrom Bowdoin College’s EnvironmentalStudies class to give them first-hand exposureto the concept of “best practices” andto observe how we manage environmentalmatters. Professor DeWitt John, Director ofBowdoin’s Environmental Studies Program,said, “We came, in part, because of BIW’srecord in the EPA performance Track andMaine STEP-UP programs. It was the firsttime this class has been to BIW and, formany of the students, it was their first tourof a major industrial facility.”BIW NEWS | <strong>Nov</strong>ember 2006 | 3
United in CaringThis year is the 50th anniversaryof the local United Way organization,United Way of Mid CoastMaine, and the 50th anniversary ofBIW’s participation in the program.In fact, it was BIW’s seed contributionin 1956 that started the local programand we haven’t missed a year since.Because of the size and generosityof our work force, we typically are thelargest contributor to the local UnitedWay campaign. This year, the BIWemployee contribution of $631,000,combined with the company’s donation,amounted to a total pledge of over$730,000, nearly 40% of United Way’stotal $1.8M raised. It’s also apt to bethe case that when BIW exceeds its goal,as we did this year by 12%, United Wayexceeds its goal as well. So important isthe BIW contribution that part of theexcitement of the annual finale includesthe announcement of the amountpledged by the BIW campaign andacknowledgement that this year’sUnited Way goal and the plan tosupport 38 agencies is intact.Led by co-chairs Sharon Guay, LS6(D27) and Don Bernier (D10), 30 ofour coworkers spent a substantialamount of their time this fall on theannual campaign. Many volunteerover and over, as shown by the factthat this year, only two were first timecampaigners. This year’s theme for the2006 Campaign Finale, based on the50th anniversary year, was “The Fifties.”The BIW volunteers are in the habitof putting on a skit and the photo indicatesthey approached this activity withas much enthusiasm as they did theirwork for United Way.Another key player is Steve Young(D81) who is the 2006 LoanedExecutive to the United Way campaign.During the active campaign, he workedfull-time with United Way to help coordinatetheir overall efforts, and as aresult, learned some amazing things.“I was struck when I visited so manyUnited Way-supported agencies in thearea,” he said, “and realized that thework of providing services to people“The Fifties” Skit Members. (l to r) 1st row: Patty Filion (D27), Liz Pecci (D4505), Sharon Guay; 2ndrow: Jack Ware (D15), Don Bernier, Janice Gammon (D27); 3rd row: Ed McCarren (D27), Dick Doyle(D81), Dave Sparks (D30), Scott Sorenson (D20), Steve Cornish (D11), Steve Young, Gary Douglass(D10), John Portela (D27), and Carroll Leeman (D09).who need them goes on right in front of usall the time but it’s under the radar. Youdrive down a street and maybe see a smallsign as a hint of what’s inside, but actuallystep inside and there’s a whirl of activity ofpeople helping people.” Steve continued,“So often, I got the sense that these smallorganizations serve hundreds of people,and that means there’s a lot of people inour area with situations that they can’thandle on their own.”Sharon Guay adds, “One theme ofUnited Way is the impact of the rippleeffect—help one person and you helpmany other family members, even intothe next generation when children are influencedby the example of a parent orfamily member who overcame difficulty.”She added, “Another is that United Waydoesn’t provide band aids, it helps peoplefix the problem that is causing their presentdifficulty. When help is provided, there’susually the option of trained professionalswho are dedicated to promoting lastingchanges. People do, in fact, turn their livesaround, and many of these people becomeUnited Way contributors themselves.”Sharon said, “the concept of ‘giving back’is everywhere in United Way, and it’s verystrong within BIW.”This year, BIW received the CampaignExcellence Award for overall excellence duein part to increases in sustained giving.This is the group of contributors whodonate 1%–2% of their pay and allow theirdonation to change as their income changes.The BIW United Way volunteers saw thatthis segment of givers was, as Don Bernierdescribed it, stagnant. So they developed araffle where the name of anyone who joinedor increased their contribution in this groupwent into a pool, with the winner receivingan all expenses paid trip (donated by BIW)for two to the <strong>Nov</strong>. 25 Patriots-ChicagoBears game. “It was a success within thesuccess of our larger campaign,” said Don.“We doubled the number of sustainedUnited Way givers and Steve Bernard(D19), an electrician, won the prize.”With a successful United Way campaigncomplete, this year’s volunteers are left witha well-deserved sense of accomplishment.According to Steve Young, “Many of usdon’t understand hardship, and that’s good,but at the same time, if we have jobs thatlet us support our families and we havehealthy families, one way to appreciatethat good fortune is to help others in ourcommunities.”4 | <strong>Nov</strong>ember 2006 | BIW NEWS
Send to Print (Continued from cover)usually can keep a machine running whilewaiting for service. One thing they don’tdo is discard a lot of paper. Cindy said thatrework, today, is insignificant. In a printrun of 10,000 copies, they might throwaway one.As with advances in equipment, the waywork is handled within the company hasalso changed. Perhaps the single biggestdifference is electronic submission of filesso that today, only 5% is received as hardcopy. Email, CDs, and direct submission toprint queues accommodate nearly everyrequirement.From a distance, people might think aprint shop works by pushing buttons, butany button pushing is completely dependenton the skill and experience of the operators.Marc and Cindy, as well as Steve, haveattended Xerox training facilities whenevera significant upgrade or major new programis introduced. “Have to,” they say, “becausethe equipment is too complex to masterwithout training and lab experience.”That one person can be on vacation andthe second can usually run the full facilityis a testament to their skill as well as theirapproach to their jobs. “Cindy is by far oneof the best co-workers I’ve had,” said Marc.“She is smart, capable and completely comfortablewith the technology aspects ofthe job.”When asked about the most satisfyingaspects of their jobs, both consider it to bethe final product, especially if it’s achievedas a result of some challenging problemsolving. Those that work with them knowthat they are always eager to involve themselvesearly on in a project and, when theydo, you can be sure it will be done smoothlywhen it comes down to printing. Cindysaid, “Every job is created on the computerand the output is designed before we pusha button. We determine the most efficientway to do the job and we can produce acomplicated, finished product with one runthrough one machine. Creating a productthat is what the customer wants, doesn’thave to be handled twice, and is appealingat the same time is very satisfying.”“People are usually very appreciative andwe get a lot of thank-you’s,” said Marc, “butreally, it’s our job. We support everyone inthe shipyard and we’ll work with anyone toget their job done when it’s needed.” Cindyadded, “We take people’s deadlines seriously.”There are many of us who endorsethose statements.Printed material is not their only product.Using various levels of automation,including, lately, one tool called SmartMailer Program, the Print Shop does allinternal and external company-wide mailingsto the point that the items are sealed,addressed, imprinted, and sorted in USPostal Service bins with bar code identifiers.These bins are delivered to the Post Officewhere the mail directly enters the system,essentially bypassing steps because they’vebeen accomplished back at BIW. Thisprocess translates to reduced postage costsand BIW has already saved over $10,000this year using Smart Mailer.Not every piece of equipment is cuttingedge, however. The Print Shop uses aninserting machine that’s about 10 feet longOctober 2006RetireesDept.Name27-00 Dixon, Robert C16 Years 11 MonthsPres Tech III81-00 Merry, Schuyler L.32 Years 6 MonthsMaterial Clerk III87-00 Cloukey, Dennis H.26 Years 2 MonthsSr. Engineer Projectand 10 years old, outdated in terms ofcapability but still serving present needs.The current inserter is actually their second.Marc noted, “Years ago, before wehad any automated equipment, I heardGreg Moore (D4505),who worked forPepper Gainsley (D2601) in OfficeSupply at the time, talking about aPortland print shop going out of businessand seeing a machine where paper goesin one place, envelopes in another, anda letter pops out somewhere else. NextI heard, they bought it at auction for acouple hundred dollars and had it hauledto <strong>Bath</strong>. We had to disassemble it to getit inside, reassemble it, rearrange theroom to make it fit, and then figure outhow to make it work.”This year, the Print Shop is on track toprint about 4.8 million black and whitecopies and 1 million color copies, thework product of two professionals whojust happen to be two of the nicest peopleyou’ll ever meet.CNO’s Surface Warfare Director Visits BIWOn <strong>Nov</strong>ember 2, 2006, RADMBernard J. “Barry” McCullough,Director Surface Warfare (N86)visited BIW. RADM McCullough is thesponsor of all surface ship programs and akey decision maker regarding the Navy programsin which BIW is involved. The tripinvolved an overview of current programs, awalk-through of DDG 1000 design atCROF, and a walking tour of the shipyard.The DDG 1000 presentation featured the3130 Advanced Machinery Unit, which willbe built as a pilot project ahead of full constructionstart fab to prove the conceptswhich BIW and NGSS are jointly applyingto the design process. At the time of thevisit, the unit was 35% complete andRADM McCullough expressed great interestin the progress and the level of completionhe was able to observe. He finished the dayby speaking with a number of BIW peopleduring the shipyard tour and stated, “It’snice to see BIW first-hand rather than onpaper, which means more when makingdecisions in Washington.”Walk Through. Mike Lemay (D10), left, and RADMMcCullough, right, during the tour of the AssemblyBuilding.BIW NEWS | <strong>Nov</strong>ember 2006 | 5
From the Fleet1-800 Call BIWIn late October 2006, the BIW PSAof USS FORREST SHERMAN(DDG 98) underway in Norfolkdetected cable shielding deficienciesassociated with the digital fuel control(DFC) installation performed by theNavy using a third party vendor. Ateam, including Paul Brochu, EdBlackman, Dave MacDonald and ScottMyrick (all D19) diagnosed and thencorrected the problem, keeping the PSAon track.On the heels of this discovery andrepair, USS BAINBRIDGE (DDG 96)executed an emergency breakaway as aresult of simultaneous 1A and 1B gasturbine module emergency shutdownswhile refueling at sea. The Navy tiedthe failure to the DFC installation, alsoperformed by a third party vendor, duringDDG 96 PSA several months priorand asked BIW to quickly get onboardUSS BAINBRIDGE (DDG 96) in theGulf of Maine.to assist with troubleshooting the problem.Due to the recent DDG 98 experience, BIWtransferred Dave MacDonald and ScottMyrick to DDG 96 where findings revealedthe same cable shielding deficiencies associatedwith the machinery control systemand DFC interface in Main Engine Room1. A team, including the Navy, BIW and theoriginal vendor, completed repairs withindays and pierside testing, followed byunderway exercises, resulted in no unusualshutdowns. The joint consensus of theUSS FORREST SHERMAN (DDG 98) approaching Norfolk.team was that the underlying problem wascorrectly identified and corrected.Others supporting DFC resolutioninclude Darren Pearce and Ray Labbe(both D40) and Kerry Stanchfield, BillGregory and William Babb (all D38).BIW expects tasking by the Navy to allowus to oversee future DFC installationsduring PSA to ensure that recent lessonslearned are applied.The ApprenticesOn <strong>Nov</strong>ember 16, 2006, the12 apprentices of the ManufacturingClass of 2006 graduatedat a ceremony held at the Taste ofMaine restaurant attended by the familyand friends of the apprentices, as wellas BIW management. Since formalapprenticeship began at <strong>Bath</strong> <strong>Iron</strong><strong>Works</strong> in 1950, hundreds of studentshave graduated and pursued shipyardcareers in various Manufacturing tradesand Design disciplines. The rigorousprogram consists of four years and8,000 hours of on-the-job trainingand classroom academics.BIW's programs and apprenticesare registered with the Maine StateApprenticeship Committee, which isrecognized by the U.S. Department ofLabor, Bureau of Apprenticeship andTraining. The academic program isaccredited through a partnership withMaine Maritime Academy. Successfulcompletion of the program results in adiploma from <strong>Bath</strong> <strong>Iron</strong> <strong>Works</strong>, journeymancertification from the State of Maine,and an Associate of Science degree fromMaine Maritime Academy. There are currently16 apprentices participating in theManufacturing Class of 2007 and 15apprentices in the Class of 2008.Congratulations! Jeff Geiger (D01) and DougOmatick (D46), far left, with the graduating ManufacturingApprentice Class of 2006, (l to r) JimMcConnell (D17), Mike Moody (D09), Kevin Poulliot(D07), Jeff Dagneau (D19), Tim Sullivan (D25), LarryElwell (D10), Mike Coombs (D09), Ben Brown (D50),Scott Jeffords (D15), Jason Hallowell (D50), NormDyar (D50), and Jamie Carter (D07).6 | <strong>Nov</strong>ember 2006 | BIW NEWS
700 Washington Street<strong>Bath</strong>, ME 04530PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE PAIDBATH, MAINE04530PERMIT NO. 31Hardings Open House—October 21, 2006“We’re proud to show offand people like to showtheir families what theydo for work.”~ Dana McIntire