John C. Stennis Underway for Sea Trials Ahead of Schedule
Sailors aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) got underway for Sea Trials as the ship's planned incremental availability (PIA) nears its end, August 11. John C. Stennis entered PIA in February with the largest work package ever planned for a six-month availability for a Nimitz-class carrier, requiring more than 2,800,000 man-hours of work between ship's Sailors, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, and contractors. Through teamwork, dedication and expert management, the ship was able to get underway ahead of their originally planned departure date. "With the extraordinary support of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, USS John C.
New Induction Coating Removal System Developed
Shipyard workers from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard have implemented an induction coating removal process that has reduced work execution costs and resulted in a safer work environment. Based on four available induction coating removal machines with trained personnel, this process has a potential cost avoidance of $655,000 per submarine availability and $2,620,000 per carrier availability. Once again Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has used Lean Manufacturing to improve productivity and reduce the Navy’s maintenance costs. Plastic Fabricator Tom Gardner has first-hand knowledge of the cost and time savings involved with the use of the induction coating removal process.
