Photo By Shelby West | Representatives from various codes across Norfolk Naval Shipyard came together to map...... read more read more
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) is leading the charge in piloting the Supply Sustainment Unit (SSU), which is being stood up to standardize the processes and practices of material acquisition not only at America’s Shipyard but to also leverage across the corporation.
Representatives across various codes came together to map the end-to-end process of bringing material into the shipyard from start to finish. With the support of Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) and the other shipyards, the team was able to determine how the material needed was identified, purchased, acquired, and placed within the hands of the customer at the shipyard – working to Lean the processes in place and determine the future of supply.
“I think the event overall was an awesome experience,” said Code 500 Supply Officer Capt. Mark Garrigus. “We took it from the beginning where the technical specifications are developed largely in engineering. From there, this team mapped out every single way we could acquire material – taking each action and breaking it down step by step.”
“This level of detailed mapping had never been done before in the non-nuclear side at the shipyard and it was important for us to have subject matter experts in the room who work material every day and know every single challenge and barrier that stands in the way,” said Code 500 SSU Lead Carolyn Parish. “It’s really been a unique experience and very eye-opening for everyone and seeing everyone come together as a team.”
The event was broken into two main phases: phase one focused on the timeline of purchasing material to it coming to the shipyard, and phase two on its arrival to getting it into the hands of the customer. The events were facilitated by process improvement team members who helped everyone in the mapping and reaching their final goals.
“We got to see a lot of the hardships everyone deals with day-to-day in terms of acquisitions,” said Code 520.2 Materials Manager Stephen Holly. “We’re all on different sides of the spectrum and we don’t always get to see what’s going on across the board. We’ve been able to share our experiences and see where everyone is coming from.”
Code 610.2 Nate Wheeler added, “Understanding each code and organization's process is what helps us a lot. Everyone talked about how they do things, what happens if we don’t do that, is the end user going to understand, is everything that identifies that equipment in the contract. We want to make sure the shipyard purchases the right material, equipment, and assets so the ships can move out of here on time.”
“This event helped us see the reality of what we endure in the material field and shows us that we needed to establish these processes and better communicate with each other,” said Code 990 Keyon Waters. “We had to Get Real to Get Better - now everything is more transparent. It makes us able to attack the real issues and solve what’s really happening together.”
Code 500 Process Improvement and Facilitation Team Member Jessica Roberts said, “I definitely think this event was a huge success. Getting to see these different groups come together and tackle these obstacles head-on together was amazing. They all saw their similarities and differences and were able to break down any walls they may have unconsciously had previously. They were able to develop these connections and it really opens the door for a successful future for material.”
Shipyard Commander Capt. Dianna Wolfson said, “I’m so impressed by everyone’s efforts in making this happen. It’s really an example of One Team coming together to serve our One Mission – your efforts directly tie into our mission here at NNSY to deliver on time, every time, everywhere to protect America as well as the goal of NSS-SY, to ensure timely deliveries back to the Fleet.”
Capt. Garrigus said, “We’ve been able to take everyone’s hard work and share it across the naval enterprise and are working now to corporately align on standardized processes and practices. We’re coming towards the end of this journey and are very excited for the future. Together, we’re training the processes and building back the skillsets in our workforce to optimally better the throughput of the material for the mechanic. Our North Star is 100 percent material on time at the place and need of our mechanics. With the SSU and all the efforts put into this project, we’re working on making this happen.”
The SSU team was recently featured in an episode of America’s Shipyard, a video series to celebrate the hard work and achievements of those at NNSY who met the mission and provided service to the fleet. Check out the video on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbHoRBJkjfM; Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NorfolkNavalShipyard1/videos/349927077286290/, and DVIDS at https://www.dvidshub.net/video/847862/americas-shipyard-episode-ten. This series will be an ongoing effort and new episodes will be premiering soon. Stay tuned to NNSY’s social media platforms for the next episode. If you have an idea that should be recognized for a future episode, please email NNSY_PAO@us.navy.mil and provide a detailed response of who or what we should recognize and why.
| Date Taken: | 07.11.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.11.2022 07:40 |
| Story ID: | 424718 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Norfolk Naval Shipyard Pilots Supply Support Unit Establishment for the Corporation, by Kristi R Britt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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