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1. Introduction.
SeaPort-e is the Navy's electronic platform for acquiring support services in 22 functional areas including Engineering, Financial Management, and Program Management. The Navy Systems Commands (NAVSEA, NAVAIR, SPAWAR, NAVFAC, and NAVSUP), the Office of Naval Research, the United States Marine Corps, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) compete their service requirements amongst 1800+ SeaPort-e IDIQ multiple award contract holders. The SeaPort-e portal provides a standardized, efficient means of soliciting offers from amongst the diverse population of large and small businesses and their approved team members. All task orders are competitively solicited, awarded and managed using the SeaPort-e platform. Since nearly 85% of its contract–holders are small businesses, the Navy’s SeaPort-e approach to acquiring services provides opportunity that fuels the Nation’s engine of job growth.
On January 22d, 2007, Innovative Productivity, Inc. (IPI) was awarded its SeaPort-e Prime Contract N00178-07-D-5104 for providing Engineering, Technical, and Programmatic Support Services.
2. Experience
IPI is a small, not-for-profit business that provides a rich variety of services to the U.S. Navy and to that part of our local community that has Department of Defense interfaces. From our beginning, we have made the creation and maintenance of a responsive customer interface our most important guiding principle. IPI has demonstrated an exemplary ability to listen to customers, perform in a timely and cost-effective manner, and provide a quality end-product. For a decade, our premise has been, “Results, Results, Results.” This has affected our staff selection and our ingrained “travel to their sites” approach. We know our customers by name, from the flag officer level down to the deck-plates. We know their locations and visit them often to discuss ongoing efforts. We have recently traveled to Japan, Hawaii, Belgium, and to other overseas locations as an ongoing part of our active participation in the “Navy Team.” We routinely work with and visit the Fleet (U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Naval Surface Forces, Naval Air Forces), the shore establishment (the various Naval Surface Warfare Centers, the public shipyards, the Supervisors of Shipbuilding and the Regional Maintenance Centers, Office of Naval Research, etc.), and Headquarters (NAVSEA, OPNAV, HQ U.S. Coast Guard, etc).
Our team of employees comes from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, experiences and education. We have a number of retired senior Navy officers with extensive experience in fleet and ashore activities. We also have former U.S. Army and Air Force officers on staff and a number of PhDs in residence. Current staff members have served in senior positions in industry including such titles as Technical Manager, Director, Senior Vice President and President.
Over the past ten years, IPI, through its operating units, the McConnell Technology & Training Center (MTTC®) and the National Surface Treatment Center (NST Center®), has developed a solid reputation for providing outstanding engineering, technical, and programmatic support services. IPI has successfully delivered over 50 individual projects for Navy and other DOD customers. Our experiences in several functional areas in the recent past include:
a. Research and Development Support
IPI has been tasked to conduct basic R&D in areas such as Gun Battery Alignment, Fluorescent Marine Coatings, Soluble Salt Measurement, and Structural Aluminum Alloys. (NAVSEA 05P2, NSWC Port Hueneme Division, NSWC Carderock Division)
b. Engineering, System Engineering & Process Engineering Support
IPI has been tasked to manage projects in support of NAVSEA, PEO Ships, PEO Aircraft Carriers and other Navy sponsors. This has included large projects on Oily Water Separators, Variable Speed Vent Fans and Variable Speed, High Torque Motors for naval gun applications. (NAVSEA 05P2, NSWC Port HuenemeDivision, NSWC Carderock Division, PEO Ships and PEO Aircraft Carriers).
c. System Design Documentation and Technical Data Support
IPI has been tasked to develop, manage and maintain the most comprehensive source of information on corrosion and marine coatings that is available world-wide. At the request of SEA 05P2 and the Office of Naval Research, IPI, dba the National Surface Treatment Center (NST Center®), inaugurated a website (www.nstcenter.com) that coordinates the efforts of the Navy, the shipbuilders/repair yards and coating vendors. This website has become the de-facto reference for corrosion control information and Navy generated data. It is the only publicly-accessible source of some Navy corrosion control data. (NAVSEA 05P2, NSWC Port Hueneme Division)
d. Quality Assurance (QA) Support
IPI, dba National Surface Treatment Center, was requested by NAVSEA 05, NAVSEA 04 and NAVSEA 07 to develop and implement a process to assess ship and submarine preservation capabilities and processes at the Navy’s shipyards and other maintenance organizations, including SUPSHIPs and Regional Maintenance Centers. The goal of this project is to measurably increase Navy coating system life-expectancy and reduce Fleet preservation costs.
As a part of this effort, a baseline assessment was required for all public and private shipyards. The assessments were performed by teams comprised of NAVSEA and IPI personnel. The Assessment Teams followed a detailed “Preservation Quality Assurance Assessment Guide” developed by IPI. During the course of these initial assessments, the Teams wrote over 140 actionable findings, and improvements in the preservation processes were quickly noted as a direct result. With few exceptions, follow-up assessments of the same activities have consistently shown improvement in both their preservation processes and technical compliance with Navy and industry preservation standards.
As a direct result of Preservation QA Assessment findings, IPI was tasked in May 2004 to develop a real-time preservation QA data collection, recording, storage, and analysis tool for both Naval Shipyards and SUPSHIP/Regional Maintenance Center organizations. The QA Tool Kit package includes unique interface software, an Oracle database, and specialized report generators; it not only collects field data, but stores, analyzes and disseminates this data to various end users. All collected data resides on an IPI server and is made available via a web interface. This system will allow Navy management personnel to use preservation QA data to correct problems while the ship/submarine is still in port, rather than merely collect data. The QA Tool Kit development effort involved extensive process reviews and modifications, along with system design and re-design, which ultimately led to pilot testing, redesign and follow-on testing. (NAVSEA 05P2, NAVSEA 04, NAVSEA 07, US Fleet Forces Command, NSWC Port Hueneme Division)
e. Training Support
The Naval Sea Systems Command is the technical authority responsible for specifying coating system use. A key element in carrying out this responsibility is to provide adequate training to the government workforce responsible for the application, inspection and maintenance of preservation systems.
At NAVSEA’s request, IPI conducted a preliminary training needs assessment based upon the guidance contained in Military Handbook 1379-2 (MIL-HDBK-1379-2). A brief gap analysis and needs analysis addressed the government workforce training deficiencies within the Supervisors of Shipbuilding, Naval Shipyards and ships’ force. IPI then developed a comprehensive preservation training program targeted at SUPSHIP, shipyard, and ships’ force audiences. The program prioritizes training needs into logical and manageable groups for curriculum development.
This training program addresses the continuous improvement process in Navy shipbuilding and repair. Part of the program includes an assessment tool to help organizations benchmark themselves on attaining preservation process excellence and to identify improvement opportunities. This tool is based on the Preservation Quality Assurance Assessment Guide developed by NAVSEA and IPI. (NAVSEA 04, 05, 07, US Fleet Forces Command, NSWC Port Hueneme Division)
At NAVSEA 04’s request, IPI is currently developing a web-based interactive training product that is intended for use by the Navy’s workforce of Shipbuilding Specialists (SBS). The course will focus on the roles and responsibilities of the SBS concerning the oversight of contracted preservation work aboard the Navy’s ships and submarines. The course will include 17 modules that fully describe the preservation process and Government oversight of it. It will include authoritative guidance for the SBS, student scenarios, exercises, analogies, and tests. The course will include audio, video, and text-to-speech functionality. (NAVSEA 04, NSWC Carderock Division)
In addition, McConnell Technology & Training Center (MTTC®) continues to provide various training support to the Navy, other DOD personnel, and to numerous industries which sustain the military. Activities include identifying training needs; providing training on relevant technical and business skills; and assisting each of these entities to improve their quality, management, leadership, information security, and employee technology skills.
f. In-Service Engineering, Fleet Introduction, Installation and Checkout Support
IPI, dba the McConnell Technology & Training Center, has managed a Fleet Maintenance Reduction Program including over 40 individual projects designed to reduce the costs associated with shipboard-level and intermediate-level maintenance. These projects were identified at the SYSCOM and Fleet levels and were carried out using a variety of in-house, commercial and government resources. The annual savings achieved by the FMRP is currently rated at over $72M/year, a figure derived from Navy estimates.
In general, the Navy highlights a problem and quantifies its magnitude. IPI is tasked to identify and demonstrate a solution to the problem. The solution set is expected to be a derivative of a commercially available product or process so that no extensive R&D is required. Usually qualification testing, following by shipboard evaluation, as defined by the SHIPMAIN process, is required to obtain approval for service use.
Examples of these projects include: Watertight Door Hinges, Heat Exchanger Descaler, Topside Connector Covers, DDG-51 Class Gas Turbine Intake Louver Coating, Remote Valve Actuators, Speedwrap Insulation, Variable Speed Motor Drives, Magnetic Couplings, Scullery Dishwasher, Fire Zone Joiner Doors, Hatch Gas Springs, Aircraft Carrier Elevator Roller Guides, and Vertical Package Conveyor safety/reliability improvements. Most of these projects are complete and are being installed and rolled forward into new construction. (US Fleet Forces Command, COMSURFOR, COMAIRFOR, NSWC Port Hueneme Division)
The outline of events for one of these projects, the DDG-51 Class Gas Turbine Intake Louver Coating Project, is as follows: US Fleet Forces Command requested that MTTC solve a corrosion problem on DDG-51Class Destroyer gas turbine intake vent louvers. Within two weeks, MTTC had coordinated the efforts of US Fleet Forces Command, COMSURFOR, Bath Iron Works (BIW), and a commercial company that coated parts using a process called “Fluidized Bed Powder Coating.” BIW shipped five louvers to the contractor, who processed them in the presence of Navy officials and returned them to BIW. The Navy has subsequently back-coated all 41 louvers on each of the ships of the class and has incorporated the process in its new construction programs. All of this happened within five weeks of the initial US Fleet Forces Command request. Since that time, U.S. Fleet Forces Command and the Type Commanders have routinely used MTTC and the NST Center to provide quality and timely services.
g. Program Support
IPI has supplied extensive, quality support for a number of Navy organizations as a part of its continuing contractual requirements. Most notably, NAVSEA 04, 05 and 07 and U.S. Fleet Forces Command have benefited from IPI’s direct program support. IPI has also provided program and engineering support for non-Navy activities such as the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army and the Department of Veterans Affairs (NAVSEA 04, 05, 07, NSWC Port Hueneme Division).
3. Team Member
In order to provide the most comprehensive and professional services possible, IPI has teamed with Richard Parks Corrosion Technologies, Inc. (RPCT), a SBA 8(a) company. The professional expertise provided by RPCT enables IPI to offer the Navy a complete maritime coatings and corrosion service in one stop. RPCT is located in Garrisonville, VA, which is within the National Capital (Zone 2) capture area. IPI and RCPT have worked very closely in the past five years. While IPI is recognized for its expertise in corrosion issues, its resume extends well beyond those boundaries. Therefore, this interface indeed makes proper sense. A teaming agreement with Richard Parks Corrosion Technologies, Inc. is in place. No additional team members are envisioned at this time but will be contemplated in the future based on the needs of the customer.
4. Quality Assurance Program and Management Techniques
IPI has trained large groups of individuals from NSWC Port Hueneme and NSWC Crane Division in the tenets of Organizational Leadership, Lean Manufacturing, Six-Sigma and ISO 9000. In concert with the Defense Contracts Management Agency (DCMA), we target local Department of Defense vendors for quality system certification. We therefore have the luxury of holding ourselves to the requirements of quality management and process improvement that we espouse and teach.
IPI has, for the past six years, applied Kaizen and Lean techniques to internal processes, and we have achieved demonstrable improvements in internal efficiency and cost reductions. Each manager is responsible, on a monthly basis, to review his/her cost/schedule system printout and report to senior leadership on any variances. By analyzing and cross correlating workforce requirements and individual position descriptions, we were able to eliminate one full-time staff position. This reduction was achieved through attrition and reassignment of workload. The IPI staff is constantly ready for change management. IPI team leaders incorporate independent quality assessments to ensure that, when change occurs, the project team is responsive to the customer’s needs. Our staff attends professional conferences and training regularly to stay abreast of management processes and technological advancements. When change creates a need for expertise beyond that of our staff, consideration is given to a new hire or subcontractor. We are continuing to analyze new functions as well as appraise our status in current functional areas.
5. Task Orders and Technical Instructions under this contract – none at this time.
6. IPI Points of Contact for SeaPort-e:
For Operations:
Mr. G. Edward Hafling
Chief Operating Officer
ghafling@mttc.org
Innovative Productivity, Inc.
401 Industry Road, Suite 500
Louisville, KY 40208-1692
Voice: 502.638.4405
Fax: 502.638.4305
For Contract Administration:
Mr. Otis W. Fox
Contract Manager
ofox@mttc.org
Innovative Productivity, Inc.
401 Industry Road, Suite 500
Louisville, KY 40208-1692
Voice: 502.638.4406
Fax: 502.638.4306
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