Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) opened a new, two-story production services support facility Nov. 28.
The $15.8 million building is the first project completed in the shipyard’s 27-year facilities modernization plan and centralizes structural trades’ personnel in a permanent building close to waterfront projects.
“This building reduces costs, allows us to shed unnecessary infrastructure and gets us closer to the work, the dry docks,” said Capt. Brian Osgood , PHNSY & IMF commander. “This building was also designed with next generation Virginia class submarines in mind as we become the Virginia-class submarine center of excellence.”
The new facility eliminates lengthy and time-consuming travel between the dry docks and the previous home of the structural shop. The modern facility gives engineers and workers a satellite tool shop, light shop work area, administrative offices, briefing and training rooms, secure storage areas, information technology center and lunch and break rooms.
The support facility is the first project completion of the overall facilities modernization plan scheduled to finish in 2035. The shipyard’s modernization goals are to provide the right facilities to increase efficiency, improve safety and the quality of work life for shipyard workers while performing the mission of ship repairs. These goals will be achieved with execution of the $600-$800 million plan which includes 10 new construction projects totaling 415,000 square feet, reducing 50 temporary or re-locatable structures, consolidating and collocating numerous functions across the shipyard, increasing capacity for two wet berths and installing an intermediate caisson to extend capacity in dry dock one.
The shipyard is a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy’s surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii with a combined civilian and military workforce of about 5,000.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff,November 30, 2012