What Do You Believe In?
Deneen Thaxton, Nuclear Quality Control & Audit, and Assessment
July 27, 2018
Integrity. Honesty. Transparency. Respect for each other. Respect for our product and the men and women who protect our country.
These can simply be words in a WIB article or they can be the foundational moral codes that make us a great shipbuilding team.
At Electric Boat, thousands of people gather every day to combine knowledge, skill, drive and raw material into vehicles that enable the Navy to keep our nation safe.
The sailors who take our great machines to sea don’t worry about the ships we build. They trust that we have done our jobs well. This unbreakable trust is earned every time we sign our name to a job ticket, work package or certification document. Our signature affirms that we have the competence and character to ensure our jobs are done right.
But we aren’t perfect. Sometimes things don’t go the way we expect. What happens then?
We learn from our mistakes. We gather our teams together to discuss what happened. We take action to prevent the mistake from happening again. Whether you call it a “critique,” “hot scrub,” “stand down” or “team learning session,” we strive to continuously improve. We stay focused on the problem and on the learning. We don’t lay blame. Instead, we emphasize how we can prevent others from making similar mistakes. If you find your mistake is being scrutinized, please don’t see it as a drubbing. Hold your chin up and be honest and transparent about what happened. Help others learn from it and help us prevent it from happening again.
Learning from our mistakes makes us stronger and more effective. Don’t fear speaking up if you make a mistake or see something that isn’t right. Report it to management, quality or use the Ethics Hotline (800) 433-8442. Openly discussing and resolving issues is just one more way to demonstrate our respect for the trust the submarine community has in us.
Integrity, honesty, transparency, respect for each other and respect for our product and the men and women who protect our country are what make us the best shipbuilders in the world.
Have a great summer, and be proud of what we do!
