Mary-Louise Hoffman
Huntington Ingalls Industries‘ Newport News Shipbuilding division applied ideas from personnel and lessons learned from the USS Gerald R. Ford construction project to find efficiencies when building the second aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy’s Ford class, Daily Press reported Saturday.
Mike Butler, program director for the John F. Kennedy carrier at Newport News, pointed to a culture transformation effort that prompted workers and suppliers to offer suggestions for the JFK shipbuilding project.
Kennedy has an $11.4B price tag, compared with the lead Ford vessel’s $12.9B cost. The shipbuilder also saw Kennedy project labor costs decline 16 percent compared with the other ship.
Lucas Hicks, vice president of Newport News’ new construction-aircraft carrier programs, said the business sees an opportunity to further save before the 2022 delivery schedule for the JFK vessel.
The JFK christening event is scheduled to take place on Saturday at the Newport News shipyard, three months earlier than previously planned, according to the report.
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late president and sponsor of his father’s namesake ship, will christen the vessel at the ceremony.
