PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii –
On Feb. 19, Rep. Ed Case, who represents Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District, or the district where the shipyard if located, visited the shipyard to learn more about its capabilities, workforce development, innovation and training. Currently Rep. Case is assigned to the Appropriations Committee and serves on the Military Construction Subcommittee, so his engagement with and positive view of the shipyard is very important.
The Congressman last visited the shipyard more than 13 years ago and he was interested to see how the shipyard had or had not changed since then. Rep. Case noted how workload has grown since that time despite being told during the last Base Realignment and Closure process that shipyard workload would diminish. He was pleased with this.
Rep. Case took time to greet workers in Machine Shop 67 where employees demonstrated innovations in training and work. The Congressman tested the virtual reality headsets used for painting and welding training. Special thanks to Traci Hanlon and John Morgan for organizing the event and for everyone who participated in the demonstrations as Rep. Case’s staff said that this was definitely a highlight for the Congressman.
“We are working to find innovative ways to increase the productive capacity in our shops,” said Nolan Oshita, C930 Continuous Training Development Leader. “I think it was important for us to be able to show Congressman Ed Case what we were actively doing to expedite the proficiency building in our workforce.”
Rep. Case then toured Dry Dock 3 to get a better understanding of the modifications required to support maintenance on a Block V Virginia Class submarine and also received windshield tours of Dry Docks 1 and 4.
Discussion points with shipyard leadership included the makeup of the engineering workforce, where and how often the shipyard provides fly-away support, when the shipyard will conduct its last 688 availability, and the shipyard’s first early completion of a VACL availability, two days early.
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