U.S. shipbuilders continue in that role, though the playing field has changed. Modern-age governmental cutbacks and formidable overseas competition have reduced the number of U.S. yards and yard owners. While U.S. shipbuilders are today capable of producing larger, more sophisticated ships than ever, they no longer lead the world in output. A cyclical business dependent on multi-million-dollar contracts, particularly with the government, the U.S. shipbuilding industry has had to redefine itself to remain competitive. 

National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO), San Diego, CA, is one example of how the U.S. shipbuilding industry is working in new ways to achieve higher levels of quality and timeliness. A full-service shipyard offering ship design, construction, repair and conversion, NASSCO has focused on how to control or eliminate the costly delays that plague many shipbuilding operations. Delays that were once considered inevitable due to the custom nature of shipbuilding, are being ironed out of the process at NASSCO, thanks to the company’s serious commitment to TPM.

“We looked at all the things that were getting in the way of our objective to produce ships on schedule on budget,” says Fred Hallett, senior vice president and CFO. “We needed to meet not just the delivery of the ship, but all the interim schedules so that if a piece of pipe is supposed to be delivered from 
the pipe shop to ‘on block’ at 8 o’clock on a Tuesday morning, that piece of pipe gets delivered at 8 o’clock in the morning on Tuesday because there’s a worker standing out there ready to put it in place.” 

The problem at NASSCO was that, for years, the pipe wasn’t there when it was needed. 

Efforts to control the delays, such as Quality Circles and TPM, were attempted, but with minimal success. It was not until 1997, when a dedicated TPM position was created and 

filled, that the shipyard began to understand where it needed to make changes, how to 

make the changes, and, most importantly, how to ensure that the positive effect of the changes became permanent.

The switch to full-time TPM came after the company streamlined its production process. “We had no organization,” says Geno Martinelli, area manager of the pipe fabrication and sheet metal shops. “Our processes were not in control.” But when the pipe fabrication shop was reorganized into work cells, he says, “We had an opportunity to see what our capacity was in each category of the product we were building.” Projects were started on time and quality improved.

“But our bottleneck was delivery,” says Martinelli. “No matter what our schedule was, we could never meet it because our equipment uptime was only about 70%. Every day, something was wrong. It was a fire drill.”

Martinelli explains that when production factors were improved, “maintenance surfaced right to the top” as the reason why the shop still had problems. “I started tracking maintenance availability time by equipment,” he says, “because I was being held accountable for why we still weren’t meeting our goals.” He describes it as a “big eye opener” when he realized that key pieces of equipment such as the large pipe bender (the “big bender”) were down 26% of the time.

It was at this point that NASSCO “stepped up to the plate,” as Martinelli says, and hired a full-time TPM expert in November 1997. Enrique Mora, came to NASSCO with more than 30 years experience in a variety of manufacturing fields. He also knew how to start a TPM program, gain support for it and keep it going. 

“I had been in the sugar industry,” says Mora, “which is similar to shipbuilding in that it uses big machines that are expensive to replace. They need to work for many years, so you have to keep them in the best condition possible.” Mora had also been supervisor of plant engineering at Ford Motor Co. foundry, engine and truck-assembly plants in Mexico, where he had been responsible for training personnel and implementing preventive maintenance programs. According to Hallett, Mora’s hiring was a key part of several changes undertaken at NASSCO to address the issue of reliability. 

“TPM is a piece in a complex puzzle of everything that has to happen for us to deliver ships on time,” he says. “And to deliver them on time 12 months from now means that today, there are 5,000 pieces that have to go out to the yard, at the right place at the right time with the right engineering.” 

The initial results of NASSCO’s TPM program under Mora’s guidance were impressive. ‘The first year resulted in a 5% reduction in base maintenance costs, says Jim Clark, general supervisor/maintenance. “But more importantly, we gained in improved equipment uptime. Cost of improved production can be 10 times the maintenance cost saved.” 

For example, uptime on the big bender — Mora’s first project — went from 74% to 99%, thanks to an equipment “re-standardization” process, which involves a complete breakdown, cleaning, repair and reassembly of the unit. Subsequent TPM activities on other pipe benders resulted in zero downtime. Also, the set-up time for dies on the big bender (which are changed as different sizes of pipe are put on the machine), were reduced from 90 minutes to less than 20 minutes, thanks to TPM-SMED inspired design modifications. These included the addition of a work table and small bridge to allow the operator to remain on one level. Faster set-up time has allowed the yard to meet the very important just-in-time requirement for parts. 

“In the past they built all the pipes they would need for a ship in six months,” says Mora. “Now they build them just-in-time, which allows them to accommodate design changes and have them ready as close as possible to the application in the ship.” 

In the first quarter of 1998, the pantograph (a large, computer-controlled torch that cuts precision ellipses in pipe) was down for 31 hours. After a fourth-quarter 1998 TPM re-standardization, its downtime has been zero. 
TPM re-standardizations have also been conducted on a plasma cutter in the sheet metal shop, a 1,000-ton press, two press brakes, a 6-ft. roller and several weld positioners, all of which have experienced little or no downtime since. 

The re-standardization process typically uncovers problems both big and small, particularly on equipment that has never been analyzed in detail. The pantograph, for example, had regularly produced jagged, imperfect cuts that required additional hand grinding before welds could be made. TPM procedures revealed that the poor-quality cuts occurred because the machine was set up for an electrical setting that was higher than specification. A simple reduction in amperage — the need for which went unrecognized until time was taken to delve into machine details — put the pantograph back within specifications and allowed it to make clean cuts that could be welded without further work. 

TPM on the job... 

Most of the TPM work at NASSCO is conducted by members of the central maintenance shop, a 129-man unit headed by Jim Clark. The 21-year NASSCO veteran says the yard’s TPM program has inspired a significant shift in worker attitude which has ultimately made his job easier. “The attitude among machine operators prior to TPM,” says Clark. was, ‘We run the equipment, we break the equipment and [maintenance] fixes the equipment.~ After TPM, it’s ‘We are all responsible for the equipment performance and productivity.’ The TPM teams work to maximize overall equipment effectiveness. In the process, the operators become very knowledgeable about their equipment and perform normal daily maintenance of the equipment after the TPM event.”

To start a TPM event, Mora “borrows” maintenance people as he needs them to conduct a machine re-standardization process. He’ll schedule one of the yard’s critical machines for TPM at a time when the unit can be off-line for the required 
two to four weeks needed for a complete cleaning, breakdown, repair and reassembly. He then conducts classroom training sessions for the maintenance crew and operators who will be working on the machine. 

“This week I’ll be training those who will be doing the weld positioners,” says Mora. “First I’ll gather the materials I need to show them the parts and I tell them the machine will have to be disassembled and that we expect to find bad bearings  perhaps, and that they will need to be cleaned or replaced. We go through everything about the machine. If there is a complex electrical system, we get the blueprints and show the electricians and the rest of the crew how this system operates so our people become familiar with it. Then we move to the hands-on training.” 

After steam-cleaning the machine, “We start immediately discovering discrepancies, like loose or missing bolts or missing covers or leaks in pipes, fittings and hydraulic motors,” says Mora. “All elements that can have some discrepancy are discovered. We keep working at these, and at the same time, I keep training the crew in the philosophy of TPM. The first thing they learn is that TPM is going to make their jobs easier, faster, safer and more productive.

Mora says training sessions usually include the senior operator, another 
member of the department who may eventually be assigned to operate that machine. one mechanic and one electrician. “Sometimes we get more people from production,” says Mora, “and they all undergo this training.” During the hands-on phase, Mora works directly with them. “I put my coveralls on, and we go watch the machine and clean it and write down the discrepancy tags, then we concentrate on those. Sometimes we take pictures.”

Mora prepares a report on the completed procedure, which is posted on the company’s intranet for view at any time. The unit is then painted blue, thus serving as a constant - and growing -  visual reminder to workers of the positive effects of TPM.

“The idea is to return the equipment to original condition or better,” says Mora. In the process, custom design changes are often made, many of which are inspired by operator suggestions. For example, the work table and small bridge that were built and welded to the big bender were key reasons big-bender set-up times were reduced. A planned improvement is to construct a monorail to transport the dies and mandrels to the big bender. Currently, those heavy parts must be picked up and moved by traveling crane.

Similarly, a stairway was added to the 6-ft.-high pantograph to improve worker access to the machine. Other examples include a ramp that was added to the sheet metal shop’s iron shear machine which diverted cut metal parts to an area easily accessible by the operator. Also in the sheet metal shop, a wheeled work table was built for press plate operators which allows them to slide mandrels from the table to the exact level of the machine. Prior to the table, operators had to lift the large mandrels from storage to the machine. Anything that cuts even a few minutes of labor time results in significant savings at NASSCO, where the average hourly wage is $17.

The TPM effort at NASSCO also embraces concepts that boost productivity by improving morale. These include changes as simple as upgrading the worker locker room with new lockers and a fresh coat of white paint.

“The old philosophy was to paint the walls brown so dirt didn’t show,” says Mora. “Now we paint them white.” In the carpentry shop, where all machinery has been re-standardized through an internal TPM program (not conducted by the maintenance department), the contrast of the blue equipment against the background of all-white walls creates a clean, modern look not typically associated with shipyards.

“These are things the workers acknowledge that the company is doing for them,” says Mora, “that TPM is doing for them. TPM is helping them do their job, and that’s what this is about.”

Implementing TPM

Implementing a multiple-tiered program like TPM always faces challenges, but particularly in a diverse work environment like a shipyard. “There was the natural resistance you would expect from some employees,” says Clark. “But overall, the program was well accepted and supported by both the maintenance department and the production departments. I think the key to our success was upper management support and the selection of a TPM coordinator. We were lucky that Dick Vortmann [NASSCO president] was and still is the chief flag waver for the TPM program.

Martinelli says proof of management support is visible. “It’s not uncommon to see a vice president or someone at that level right in the machine finding out what we’re doing, “he says, “and that’s encouraging.” 

When Mora took over as TPM coordinator, however, he needed to convince the maintenance staff and those who worked in departments where TPM would take place that the new program was a good thing. 

“People are sometimes afraid that TPM will take their jobs,” he says. “On the contrary, the idea of TPM is to create a higher level of maintenance, that maintenance personnel are not repairmen, but the up keepers of the equipment. They need higher levels of skill to perform in this new environment. I told them the breakdowns are to be eliminated, not the maintenance people.” 

Mora says that since implementing TPM at NASSCO, “The operators have a better attitude than you could have found a few years ago. They keep their equipment cleaner and they are proud of what they are  accomplishing.” He adds that the maintenance department assists “the moment I need a mechanic or an electrician. If you don’t have that kind of support, you can do nothing.” 

It’s different from pre-TPM days, says Martinelli, “when you would always see a maintenance guy in the shop. You never see that anymore. We know when they’re going to be there now because we’re planning our maintenance instead of reacting.”

TPM into the future

Mora’s plans for NASSCO’s TPM program are far reaching. For one thing, the age of the machinery at the shipyard — an average of 20 years — and prohibitive replacement costs demand that machinery be well cared for. “Many of our machines have been upgraded to computer numeric control with the help of good suppliers and our own technicians,” says Mora. “The operating principles of new machines are not greatly different than the older ones, and the old machines often have stronger structures, so we apply the best of recent technologies and keep the old hardware.” Machinery like the yard’s 45-ft. roller (used to shape steel hull plates) was custom-built in the 1950s in Scotland, says Mora, “and would be hard to replace, so we keep upgrading it and it pays.”

Mora also envisions a shipyard where even hand tools will be subjected to operator-based TPM. 

“We’re getting to the point where each welder will take care of his machine or his tool,” he says. “This could be three or four years from now. We’ll have everyone who is now grinding plates in the yard come to a class where they’ll take apart their grinder and replace the bearings and put them back together. This is what autonomous maintenance is all about, where the user of the machine really becomes the owner of the machine. After that, they really take care of it.”

Hallett says TPM has helped put NASSCO on a course to becoming a 
world-class shipyard. “We have taken the first steps down a road to improved productivity. Our next task is to walk farther down that road to get additional, significant improvements in schedule, quality and productivity. We believe that’s possible, that we can get a lot better.”

Hallett adds that the yard’s motto is to be the best in the world. “We believe American shipyards used to be the best in the world,” he says. “We’ve visited other yards around the world and see no reason why we can’t be as good as they are. .Are we there yet? No, but we’re committed to continuous improvement to get there. Come back here in a year or five years and you’ll really be impressed.”