"We want to create a healthier shipyard worker, improving health one step at a time."

This is the motto for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Health Improvement Team (HIT), a group of like-minded apprentices who aim to bring health incentives and benefits to the workforce.

The team consists of Shop 51 Apprentice and Team Leader Lacey Scruggs, Shop 56 Apprentice Cortney Parker, Shop 11 Apprentice Seth Simple, Shop 89 Apprentice Michael Roberts, Shop 56 Apprentice Jakub Shaffer, Shop 51 Apprentice Randall Smith, Jr., and Shop 51 Apprentice Josh Stills.

"The HIT is focused on finding new and innovative ways to bring healthier lifestyle choices to our shipyard workers," said Scruggs.

The team came together as part of its Team Building and Problem Solving class, which required a formal presentation as a final grade for the semester. Following the same mentality they hoped to bring to NNSY, the team came up with a concept for a fitness tracker health incentive program for shipyard employees.

"What we wanted to do was develop a health savings account and an application for shipyard workers to use to track their step progress and gain rewards in their health journey," said Scruggs. "Our team researched the downfalls of being inactive, the benefits for being active, and ways that ship yard workers can get their steps in at work or at home, as well as survey the interest of an application being available to the workforce."

Scruggs and her team led an interactive presentation at Tidewater Community College April 23, inviting fellow apprenticeship students, shipyard workers, and more to learn about this innovative approach to a healthier worker. Apprenticeship Director Colby Tynes, Off-Yard Carrier Assistant Project Superintendent James Scruggs, Off-Yard Carrier Superintendent Don Wessells, and Apprentice Program member Jeff Butler were among those in attendance.

"When we were discussing a health incentive program, we wanted to design something that was easy to participate in. Something that wouldn't be time consuming and worth it for the employee," said Parker. "We created a survey that we conducted last summer across the shipyard. Out of 250 subjects, we found that nearly half had a fitness tracker device of their own and many would be interested in participating in a program that provided rewards for steps."

The Fitness Tracker Incentive Program would require the user to have a fitness tracker. They would then enroll in the Health Savings Account program and download the HIT app developed by the team. From there, the steps they take both in and outside of work would be tracked and they can begin to save towards rewards which include money towards doctors' fees, laser correction, lab work, braces, x-rays, prescriptions, and more.

"The app itself syncs your steps, provides a collection of fitness trips and personal training videos, and links to your health savings account so you can track your balance," said Parker. "The user would submit their steps every six months and will be classified on one of three tiers depending on how many daily steps they earn."

"This project has been a huge endeavor for us as a team and I'm looking forward to what the future holds for us and our shipyard," said Scruggs. "A healthier worker is a happier worker and this program aims to make the road to health a more rewarding experience. We appreciate the support and encouragement from our fellow ship yard workers, including the upper management who took the time to hear our ideas firsthand. It truly means a lot to us and encourages us all to move forward in making America's shipyard the best it can be."

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