Vice Adm. Phil Cullom, deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics (N4) and Vice Adm. Tom Moore, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), partnered to host a High Velocity Learning Competition at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Boston, March 22-24.

The first of its kind, the competition brought together 32 participants from across the Navy ship maintenance enterprise to collaborate on developing concepts for breaking down barriers that impede shipyard throughput. Event participants included specialists in engineering, planning, facilities, logistics, acquisition, warfare and information technology and represented commands from as far away as Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

Using a Navy shipyard business case study as background, four cross-functional teams independently worked through a design-thinking curriculum to rapidly generate, sort and develop solutions. Thousands of ideas were created during the two-day event and only the best from each team was presented to the judging panel during the rapid-fire final presentation.

The winning team proposed a Centralized Learning Innovation Facility or CLIF. The CLIF would be composed of a schoolhouse and center of excellence, drawing apprentices and experienced shipyard personnel together from various shipyards and support communities to learn, share and innovate.

Lt. Cmdr. Katherine Gerhard, an Engineering Duty Officer with Supervisor of Shipbuilding Gulf Coast and a member of the winning team, said of her experience, "This was my first 'real-life' event where there was a tangible goal that could realistically impact the way the Navy does business. I got to meet people from a variety of different backgrounds, with many different experiences and expertise . . . there was a wealth of knowledge gathered in one room at a time, a rarity which could really change the way we do business."

Event judges Cullom; Rear Adm. Mark Whitney (director of fleet maintenance for U.S. Fleet Forces Command); Rear Adm. (Sel) Bill Greene (NAVSEA logistics, maintenance and industrial operations executive director); Isaac Taylor of Defense Innovation Unit - Experimental; and Mark Johnson, co-founder of Innosight, chose the winner among the proposals for its viability, feasibility and desirability.

During an awards ceremony aboard USS Constitution, one of six frigates authorized by Congress in the establishment of our Navy almost 223 years to the day, Cullom drew parallels between the innovations of the 18th century vessels which founded our Navy and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson's push to renew that innovative spirit and apply it across the force. Cullom remarked on the success of the event, "I believe this is only the beginning of a new era of smart, orderly innovation that is going to be critical to our Navy's future success."