Hi everyone; it’s Kevin. Today is Monday, January 2. Happy New Year—I hope you’re off to a good start and had an opportunity to celebrate the holidays with your family and friends. The New Year provides an opportunity for a fresh perspective, and today I’m going to talk about a new approach we’re taking to communicate our 2023 goals.
Annual goals help guide our efforts and connect each of us to our team members across Electric Boat. As I highlighted in our Year-End video, I’m seeing more collaboration and better teamwork across the organization, and I believe some of that comes from shipbuilders achieving a better sense of how their role integrates with others. To build on that momentum, the senior leadership team and I have adopted an approach our Navy and others use known as Commander’s Intent, or in our case, President’s Intent.
President’s Intent is a clear and concise expression of objectives and our desired end state. It’s less prescriptive than previous years’ goals and should give our directors and managers some room to maneuver as they make tactical adjustments while keeping the greater objectives in mind. It will be up to each department’s leadership to operationalize my President’s Intent so that your goals are clear, and you understand how your daily work ties to our company’s objectives.
For 2023, our priorities are Safety, Quality, Shipbuilding Velocity and People.
You’ve heard me talk about the need to improve our volume—how much we produce—and our velocity—how quickly we can produce, because it really underpins all of our objectives. Simply put, we need to build submarines faster. However, we won’t compromise safety to increase our velocity. Over the last four years, we’ve made steady improvements in safety and have done so with the youngest team we’ve had at Electric Boat in decades. We are making a difference by empowering people with the information they need to stay safe. That won’t change in 2023, so you need to ensure you remain 200% accountable for your own safety and the safety of those around you.
We’ll also increase our focus on building in quality, so no matter what job you do, you know going in what a quality job looks like. It’s up to you to build in quality; it’s not up to someone else to inspect it in for you. We build the most complicated machines in the world that are home to our nation’s warfighters, and we will always have a need for inspection. However, getting it right the first time means less rework and that increases our velocity. We’ll never put our inspectors out of business; rather, we’re pushing quality upstream in our process.
Our Core Values begin with “Value Each Other.” People are the bedrock of Electric Boat. Our family of shipbuilders is growing every day, and we must all lend a hand in teaching each other how to be better at our profession. If you are a new member of our team, learn quickly, ask questions and hone your skill set so that you can contribute your talent to our purpose. If you’re more senior, be generous with your time and teach others what you know. Your effort will create more hands and brains to lift the load and add value to our company and to our country.
So what’s our desired end state that ties to these four priorities?
- First, we want to achieve a fourth consecutive year of improved safety performance.
- Next, we want to sustain continuous improvement in our production quality across the board.
- Third, we want to deliver Virginia-class submarines—three of them in 2023: SSNs 792, 795, 797.
- We also want to regain our track on a 78-month Columbia delivery schedule.
- We need to sustain a 48-month delivery schedule for the USS Hartford, our maintenance and modernization work.
- Next, our business must meet its financial obligations for earnings and cash, what we refer to as our Operating Plan.
- We also desire our facilities and equipment to be materially ready to support the work ahead of us for 2023.
- We’ve got a lot of hiring to do, and we want to meet our staffing demands across the enterprise.
- I believe we are the best shipbuilders in the world, and so we set the standard by which all others are measured. That’s an important part of our 2023 desired end state.
For additional clarity and details on each of our priorities, and the end states I just described, we’ll link to Electric Boat’s 2023 Priorities in the transcript of this podcast. I also encourage you to reference our recently updated Strategic Plan which details our Key Business Objectives over a greater timeline, that is, through about 2027.
Folks, we have an enormous opportunity to deliver on our mission now and through the coming decades. As we move through 2023, please ask yourself these questions:
“Am I aware of my surroundings and performing my tasks safely?”
“How can I continuously improve my own performance?”
“How can I help my fellow shipbuilder?”
Thanks everyone—soon I’ll provide an update on our Incentive Program.
We’ll talk again soon.
Kevin
On the Waterfront, the Future Arizona is Coming to Life
An intricate, high-stakes choreography in Electric Boat’s North Yard is bringing the future Arizona (SSGN 803) to life as shipbuilders, led by Ship’s Manager Josh Leaf, continue to meet major milestones assembling the first submarine that features the Virginia Payload Module (VPM). In just a matter of weeks, EB teams in Groton and Quonset Point...Continue reading→
2026 Veterans Day Observances
Join us on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, for Electric Boat’s annual Veterans Day observances, as we gather together to honor our service members past and present. There will be ceremonies held for first-, second- and third-shift employees in Groton and Quonset Point. 2026 Veterans Day commemorative pins will be available for those in attendance. If...Continue reading→
Introducing the Native Americans & Indigenous People of Electric Boat (NAIP) Employee Resource Group
Electric Boat (EB) Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce while contributing to the success of our business. Formed to raise awareness and celebrate different cultures, communities, and experiences, these employee‑led groups foster a stronger sense of unity and belonging. ERGs cultivate an inclusive environment where employees can connect,...Continue reading→
Rayha Report Ep. 30: 40-Year Dinner Celebrates EB’s Distinguished Shipbuilders
Electric Boat recently held the annual 40-Year Shipbuilder Dinner at the Mystic Marriott, honoring the newest class of Distinguished Shipbuilders for their contributions to EB and our nation’s defense. Watch the latest Rayha Report to hear from a few of these shipbuilders as they reflect on their career in conversation with EB President Mark Rayha....Continue reading→
EB Supports 45th Annual MLK Scholarship Awards
Electric Boat was proud to serve as a scholarship sponsor for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Trust Fund at its 45th Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner. More than 600 community members gathered to celebrate this year’s extraordinary cohort of 2026 MLK Scholars. These 13 outstanding students were recognized for their academic excellence, leadership, character,...Continue reading→
Building the Future: EB’s New Central Distribution Hub
In April, Electric Boat (EB) began construction on the new central distribution hub for its warehousing, shipping, and receiving operations at 45 Frontage Road in North Stonington, CT. Since then, the 480,000‑square‑foot next‑generation warehouse facility has quickly taken shape. All wall panels are now complete, and construction is ahead of schedule. The facility will celebrate...Continue reading→
Delivering the Future
Some imagine the future. We deliver it now.
State-of-the-Art Simulator Prepares District of Columbia Crew for its Mission
As construction of the District of Columbia (SSBN 826) continues apace in EB’s South Yard Assembly Building, the sailors who will soon be at the controls are spending hours in a dynamic, high-tech simulator learning the intricacies of operating the 21,000-ton, first-in-class boomer. The Columbia Ship Control Operator Trainer (CSCOT) is a replica of the...Continue reading→
Groundbreaking Ceremony Marks Start of USS Groton Sail Monument
Fifty years after the USS Groton (SSN‑694) first launched, dozens gathered outside the Groton Public Library Oct. 9 to celebrate the groundbreaking of the USS Groton Sail Monument. The $6.6 million project—three decades in the making—will honor the men and women who design, build, operate and maintain the Navy’s submarines, as well as the families...Continue reading→
A Celebration of Heart, Community and Victory
2026 American Heart Association Eastern Connecticut Heart Walk Recap Saturday, October 3, 2026 | UConn Avery Point The 2026 American Heart Association Eastern Connecticut Heart Walk at UConn Avery Point was nothing short of extraordinary. Under bright autumn skies, 26 incredible Electric Boat teams and 151 walkers came together with passion, purpose, and unstoppable energy...Continue reading→
