USA: Huntington Ingalls Renovates Shipbuilding Process to Increase Efficiency

Huntington Ingalls Industries has begun revamping its shipbuilding process to increase efficiency and meet U.S. Navy requests for less-expensive vessels, a top company official said yesterday.

Huntington’s “most seasoned shipbuilders,” working alongside engineers and planners, recommended a more streamlined approach, focused on assembling components earlier, outside of the ship, before installing them onboard, according to Bob Merchent, a company vice president.

“Planning the work earlier, to perform the work in those earlier stages, enables a much more efficient process and helps us meet our mutual goal with the Navy of lowering the cost of these vessels going forward,” Merchent said in a morning briefing with reporters.

Merchent spoke in that briefing about the company’s DDG 51 destroyer program. In an afternoon session, he said the company is undergoing a similar overhaul for its National Security Cutter program and nearly all vessels built at the Pascagoula shipyard, which employs 10,800 people.

“We’re essentially employing the same practices here, for the same reasons I mentioned this morning,” Merchent said, speaking at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, located at the National Harbor, just south of Washington, D.C.

Citing ongoing negotiations, Merchent declined to say how much money the efficiency improvements are likely to save the company.

Destroyer ‘very important part of our portfolio’

Late last month, HII was officially spun off from Northrop Grumman Corp.

Company leaders have said the split will allow the new, smaller entity to be more agile and focused on shipbuilding.

In addition to its Mississippi operations, Huntington also runs shipyards in California, Louisiana and Virginia.

Merchent said the DDG 51 destroyer program is a “very important part of our portfolio” at the Pascagoula shipyard.

“This program’s been in existence for over a quarter century. I would submit this is perhaps the best-managed Navy program since the start of the Navy,” he said.

Merchent said 28 of the 62 expected DDG 51 ships have been delivered, and the latest contract award should be finalized this month.

He added that the company’s third National Security Cutter is on track for delivery in September, with construction of a fourth slated to begin in August.

By George Altman(GulfLive)

[mappress]

Source: GulfLive, April 13, 2011; Image:HII