As Newport News Shipbuilding continues to observe National Quality Month, O06 is highlighting Submarine Fleet Support and the Columbia-Class Submarine Program. The first message below is from Joe Dvorak, Columbia Program trade director.

“Newport News shipbuilders feel a great sense of pride in what we do because what we do is important. A big part of that comes from knowing that we always deliver top quality ships to our customer. It’s our reputation that’s been forged over 135 years. We will continue that reputation because producing quality products is our responsibility,” he said.

David Horne, Submarine Fleet Support Program trade director, also shared his thoughts. “It is an incredible honor to build and service the greatest ships to sail the oceans. As captured on The Rock by Collis P. Huntington, ‘Always Good Ships’ is both our legacy and our future. Lives depend on the quality of our work today and will for generations to follow. Each of us must hold ourselves accountable for the first-time quality of our work, no matter where you are in the value stream. I take pride in knowing that our customer can focus on the global mission without concern for the quality of our products,” he aid.

The second round of Quality Craftsman winners are Kelvin Thompson (X33) and the X43 team of Scott Guest (X43), Chris Fox (X43) and Thomas Bouska (X43).

Thompson’s continuous quality work is shown in over 15 tank inspections with a 100% completion rate. He takes pride in his job, while never complaining, and does what is asked of him.

Recently, this X43 group completed the last set of initial door tracks for the deck edge doors on John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). This was completed with first-time quality and no defects, maintaining a 1/16” tolerance across the length of the tracks on all four sets of doors. The process takes roughly two months for each door, and none of the 84 initial tracks had to be cut loose and reset.

If you see any of these Quality Craftsmen around the yard, please congratulate them for a job well done. Next week the overall Quality Craftsman/Group of the Month will be chosen. O06 is accepting nominations through 9:30 a.m. Oct. 26.