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Vinson's CHENG Participates in ICAM 2006

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060730-02
Release Date: 7/30/2006 4:46:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brent Harrington, USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) -- USS Carl Vinson's (CVN 70) Chief Engineer (CHENG), along with several Northrop Grumman employees and other Navy personnel, participated in the International Conference of Agile Manufacturing (ICAM) in Norfolk, Va., July 19-20 to help answer questions regarding their involvement with Process Excellence.

The theme of Process Excellence is efficiency. It refers to refining any task, evolution, or process and increasing its efficiency.

“It’s [also] about everyone being on the same team," explained Carl Vinson's CHENG, Cmdr. Maria Kinnunen. “In the past, we only looked at things as they effected our individual departments. Now we are all moving in the same direction.”

The ICAM conference brought together people from the military and civilian side of manufacturing and engineering. Also present were consultants and teachers from companies and universities. All shared information about the areas of Process Excellence that worked for them to enable others to avoid some of the problems they experienced during their individual journeys.

“Teachers come to the conference to get an idea of what is going on in the ‘real world,’ to be sure they are teaching what businesses are actually doing,” said Kinnunen.

Kinnunen said she believes that since the shipyard and Carl Vinson are working together, they will see faster and more efficient results than ever before. In doing so, both are taking shared lessons and applying them to their own separate tasks.

Carl Vinson is focused on setting new standards during its Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) process, which has a lot to do with both the shipyard and the ship’s commitment to Process Excellence.

The Carl Vinson is currently undergoing its scheduled RCOH at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard. The RCOH is an extensive yard period that all Nimitz-class aircraft carriers go through near the mid-point of their 50-year life cycle.

During RCOH, Carl Vinson’s nuclear fuel will be replenished and the ship’s services and infrastructure will be upgraded to make her the most state-of-the-art aircraft carrier in the fleet and prepare her for 25 years or more of service.

For related news, visit the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/cvn70/.