Shipyard Apprentices Take a Back to Basics Approach to Ship Maintenance

PEARL HARBOR, HI, UNITED STATES

04.01.2011

Story by Liane Nakahara 

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard apprentices are learning how to repair and maintain ships with erector sets to duplicate basic repair processes without having to use costly surface ship parts.

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard trades instructors are using a hands-on approach of model building into this year's marine machinery mechanic apprentices training curriculum to develop the next generation workforce that's more accustomed to electronic forms of learning.

"We knew we had to get back to the basics, so we asked ourselves, 'how did we learn how to do mechanical things growing up,'" added Dave Shirai, marine machinery mechanic apprentice instructor.

Using their new training method, first-year marine machinery mechanic apprentices follow written process instructions, inventory parts, and troubleshoot problems to build models and improve their mechanical skills. Each construction set come with written plans simulating the task group instructions apprentices will follow when they transition to work on ships and submarines.

"Using Erector sets as learning tools extends far beyond them being entertaining," said Shirai. "Only after the apprentices have prepared thoroughly and followed proper procedures can they receive work approval from us to begin building."

The model construction training cost-effectively stresses the importance of the basic processes in ship maintenance while keeping students interested. First-year apprentice Shawna Casabar, who began her four-year apprenticeship Jan. 18, said the building exercise helped her learn by breaking processes down.

"We will have to know how to do all of these things when we begin working on actual ships," said Casabar. "We can't just go to the instructor every time we run into a problem. We have to come up with solutions on our own, and that's what we are doing here. Plus, it was a lot of fun."

First-year apprentice Jason Ahnemiller agreed, "I would say I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but these Erector set models aren't so easy that the exercise becomes boring. It's great hands-on experience that reinforces the step-by-step procedures we will need to know."

"We only have a certain period of time to train shipyard apprentices before they're out of our hands," said Shirai. "This training helps us instill the importance of the basics early on in their careers, which in turn, helps them be better-prepared mechanics in the future."

The shipyard is a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command, and a full-service naval shipyard and regional maintenance center for the U.S. Navy's surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii with a combined civilian and military workforce of about 4,900 and an operating budget of $563 million. Strategically located in the mid-Pacific, the Shipyard is about a week of steam time closer to potential major regional contingencies in East Asia than sites on the West Coast. For more information on the naval shipyard, visit www.navsea.navy.mil/shipyards/pearl.

• Date Taken: 04.01.2011
• Date Posted: 04.27.2011 19:49
• Story ID: 69446
• Location: PEARL HARBOR, HI, US