On Wednesday, July 31, the USS John Warner was certified and delivered back to the Navy 17 days ahead of schedule. “I’d like to thank everyone involved in the project – they should be proud of themselves and their work,” said John Occhionero, program director of submarine maintenance and modernization.
Electric Boat was approached by the Navy in early March after a rudder problem was identified on the Virginia-class boat. The repair was emergent since the Navy needs the boat to support deployments later this year. The EB team proposed a period of performance from April 22 through August 16, with an incentive completion date of August 1.
“The success of this maintenance availability is due to the outstanding pre-planning effort between all involved, including the operations trades, ships management, purchasing, test, the docking crew, engineering and the program office,” said Occhionero. “When unexpected problems arose, the entire team turned it around. That’s why we were able to meet our early incentive date. It shows the Navy how well we can perform.”
Also critical to the EB team’s exceptional performance on the John Warner were the many lessons learned from Montpelier, EB’s largest submarine repair job, which was completed this spring, “such as using the same team from one boat to the next, because they knew what was expected,” said Occhionero. “It’s rewarding, and fun, when we can deliver on time or early.”
SSN 785 left EB on August 2, and the crew reports the rudder is performing well. As part of the repairs, EB also replaced torpedo tube shutter bearings and performed additional testing. “For the removal of the rudder, we utilized new construction fixtures, which enabled us to save a great deal of time,” said Occhionero. “In addition, we supported about 10 – 15 alteration installation teams (AITs), who came in to work on a variety of areas, taking advantage of the boat being docked.” AITs typically come from outside companies or the Navy themselves.
