Photo By Aldo Anderson | Norfolk Naval Shipyard's (NNSY) Preservation and Habitability Department (Code 970)...... read more read more
Safety is a top priority at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY). The Preservation and Habitability Department (Code 970) Safety and Occupational Health Specialist Mathew MacCord does his best every day to ensure that no one gets hurt today, or any day, at America’s Shipyard.
According to Safety and Occupational Health Supervisor Chris Hewett, “Mat is an energetic advocate for safety on the waterfront. He engages with employees on the deckplate daily and has taken this job and ran with it.”
MacCord started his NNSY career on the waterfront as a Woodcrafter Shop (Shop 64) apprentice and still has a love for it. “If I don’t walk the piers and docks, then I don’t feel like I’ve made the most of my day,” said MacCord.
A native of Suffolk, Va., MacCord studied naval architecture at The State University of New York’s Maritime College. After college, he returned to Virginia and found work in the labor trades with jobs such as a hydraulic mechanic, deck hand, and performing concrete and demolition work. “I sampled many of the industries Hampton Roads has to offer,” said MacCord. “This is where I discovered that work ethic and a drive to better yourself is sometimes hidden in a sore back and underpaid efforts.”
MacCord eventually made his way to NNSY, was hired as an apprentice, and graduated the program with honors. After graduation, he began working on Moored Training Ship (MTS) projects. “Blanking voids, installing doors that appear to float in place, fabricating tables and shelves, and constructing entire access facilities were only the secondary duties we performed,” said MacCord. “Special Hull Treatment (SHT), sound damping, and habitability are the primary drivers of our mission.”
While in Shop 64, MacCord bonded with those he worked with, both within his shop and outside. “The sheer nature of our industry and the role we play in it forges tight relationships,” said MacCord.
Dedicated to the shipyard’s mission of repairing, modernizing, and inactivating our Navy’s warships and ensuring that those he worked with got home safe to their families every night, MacCord was a natural fit to serve as the crew safety representative to the NNSY safety committee.
When the previous Code 970 Safety Advocate retired, MacCord was unanimously named as a replacement. “Through the deckplate bonds I’d made and a continued run of luck with great leadership, I knew I wanted to make the most of my knowledge of safety and my trade,” said MacCord.
MacCord’s first day in his new position, and his first day at a desk, was in October 2019. “From the start, it was an entirely new world,” said MacCord. “It took months of recalibrating nearly everything about myself to lighten my collar. Now under the wings of Chris Hewitt and Colt Eason, I’ve done so.”
Though he may still sit behind a desk, MacCord is still passionate about the waterfront and protecting those who work on it. “The waterfront is where I find the organic source of my purpose,” said MacCord.
Outside of work, MacCord is the father of two children, Liam and Norah. “Together they define the beauty and strength of my world,” he said.
As the parent of a child with autism, parenthood looks different for MacCord than it may for others. “Autism parents have several extra duties that require more than average supervision,” said MacCord. “Everyday tasks can be more challenging and the simplest communication can be a monumental break through. Despite this, we still find ways to camp, hike, and take trips to parks or museums. We don’t let anything get in our way!”
Like many others, the last 18 months have been challenging for MacCord. His father-in-law developed rapid onset dementia and moved in with MacCord and his family. MacCord’s father-in-law had taken him in nine years earlier when he was just starting his career at the shipyard. Then COVID hit, and “Boom!” said MacCord. “We were all locked together, an angry elderly pottymouth and a misunderstood toddler with autism,” he said. “The walls of my world began to collapse, and it took so much from me.”
“I find that I am not the only one in my shipyard family that is barely holding it all together,” said MacCord. “However, one of the most valuable and underrated benefits of life at NNSY is the additional family you never expected to gain.”
He views it as his responsibility to help keep this shipyard family safe.
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.20.2021 06:55 |
| Story ID: | 407597 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 228 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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