The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) 04X3 Tactical Innovation Implementation Lab (TIIL) mobile implementation team (MIT) continued its pursuit for innovation May 14-18 across the four public shipyards.

The latest tour brought Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) Code 950 Mechanic Brian Kearns, Code 950 Supervisor Allison Gardella, and Josh Bickley of the innovation department (iPX) to its first stop at Norfolk Naval Shipyard's breaker section in Code 950 (Shop 51).

"For this tour, the PNSY team focused on innovative designs that they developed and use at their shipyard," said NNSY Rapid Prototype Center (RPC) Manager Martrail Parker. "These innovative designs are used to ensure efficiency and safety when working and powering the breakers."

The four innovations brought were a threaded rod and quick-release nut used to tighten the components of the breakers; a control box for putting control and variable power to breakers; a large 3-D printed hook-up with secondary stabs to plug into the breaker for power; and a smaller 3-D printed hook-up with secondary stabs to cover a range of sizes for the breakers used at the shipyards.

"These innovative technologies are still relatively new to our yard and were developed from frustrations we were having in our breaker shop," said Kearns. "These were developed by folks at Portsmouth in Maine who saw a need and took the steps needed to find a solution. I was very interested to see how the other shipyards would react to these technologies and see what solutions they may have come up with from similar frustrations. If we can unify on our processes and share our innovations with one another, we can grow as a team."

Kearns and his team led a demonstration in the breaker shop in Bldg. 510, hosting a large crowd interested in seeing these innovative designs in action.

"I was impressed to see how receptive and interested the folks at Norfolk Naval Shipyard were in regards to the technologies and what processes we follow in Portsmouth," said Bickley. "From the very first tool on display, they were asking questions and testing out the technologies firsthand. We were even able to compare processes and tools between the shipyards, finding they had a similar control box but with less features than the one we showcased. The tour provided a great discussion between shipyards and it was a pleasure working with them."

"It was a great turnout and great involvement," added Gardella. "Having Brian here to show the folks these technologies and to answer their questions really sparked their interest, and it's been great to see them jumping at the chance to try it out themselves. It's great to see how important innovation is to your shipyard. I think it's practical for us to be more acceptable to innovation. I know change can be hard for people, but there's a lot of folks out there with great ideas just waiting to be brought to life. I think we need to be more open to those ideas. Seeing Norfolk Naval Shipyard's commitment to innovation firsthand has inspired us to bring that passion back to Portsmouth."

Kearns concluded, "The Tactical Innovation Implementation Lab mobile implementation team is a great innovative tool that is aimed to bring those great ideas to light and to share them across all shipyards. I think the team at NAVSEA04X3, and folks like Martrail are doing a fabulous job and being the leaders for change. They open doors for folks and bringing these ideas and concepts to the forefront. I look forward to working with everyone again in the future."

The next TIIL MIT tour is planned for August. If anyone has an idea for an innovation or would like to share a technology already developed and used at the shipyard, contact Parker at 757-778-4181 or email martrail.parker@navy.mil.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Norfolk Naval Shipyard, visit www.navy.mil/.