PORTSMOUTH, Virginia. - Norfolk Naval Shipyard's (NNSY) Rapid
Prototype Lab (RPL) has developed an improved tool for manually honing steering
and diving cylinders aboard Los Angeles-class submarines.
This task was formerly done with an a 60 pound drill that was
difficult to control and required up to six personnel over the course of the
workday.
"We wanted something that would take the strain off our backs
and cut time getting the job done," said NNSY outside machinist David Bryant,
who first brainstormed a way to improve the process during USS Newport News'
(SSN 750) Engineered Overhaul (EOH). "After our talks, they went to the lab and
developed what we have now."
The development and testing for the new tool took about a year
and a half. USS Albany (SSN 753), undergoing an EOH at NNSY, being the first
opportunity to try out the new honing process. Team members at the RPL developed
a roller support fixture on the device, requiring only two people to be with it
at a time. It reduced the costs in man-hours, performing the job as well as
improving the quality of work in handling the machinery.
"You get a better job with this device because it's now easier
to control," said John Tate, NNSY rapid prototype lab toolmaker. "This job is
the perfect example of bringing the mechanic's ideas to life."
Many new tools and processes come from shipyard employee ideas
that are derived from two programs at NNSY: The Bright Ideas Program and the
Rapid Prototype Lab. The shipyard's Bright Ideas program promotes the importance
of workforce ownership and engagement, soliciting employee suggestions to
improve shipyard productivity, and the Rapid Prototype Lab makes the working
prototypes a reality.
NNSY, a Naval Sea Systems Command field activity, is the oldest
industrial facility belonging to the U.S. Navy, and specializes in repairing,
overhauling and modernizing ships and submarines.