Puget Sound Naval Ship-yard and Intermediate Main-tenance, Bangor Site, recently completed one of the most highly successful CNO availabilities in recent history - the USS Kentucky (SSBN 737) Extended Refit Period (ERP).  This five-month, $17 million, dry docking ERP marked the first time that the IMF Bangor site was Lead Maintenance Activity for a CNO-level availability.

Teaming with the officers and crew of the Kentucky, Naval Submarine Support Center, Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific and Strategic Systems Programs, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Electric Boat Corporation and Todd Pacific, IMF led the way with a “one shipyard” workforce to undock her two weeks early and drive to an on-budget, scheduled completion Sept. 30.

The USS Kentucky ERP started in May 2005 and included over 1,500 major jobs performed by workers from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, private contractors and other government agencies. 

Major work included removal and repair of the fair water planes and rudder, removal and repair of all masts, periscopes and antennas, blast and paint of the sail, hull and main ballast tanks, along with a $2.3 million contract with Todd Pacific to blast and preserve the superstructure. 

The ERP was an opportunity to not only maintain and repair major components, but also modernize the ship with a new command and control combat systems suite along with other major ship alterations that will enhance the mission capability of the Kentucky. 

The ERP Project team consisted of five people, Lt. Cmdr. Don Wickens, project superintendent, Chief Machinist Mate (SS) Jeff Kremer, ship superintendent, Gary Parypa, scheduler, Jim Tonder, chief test engineer, and Senior Chief Electrician’s (SS) Jeff Smith, the Kentucky ERP coordinator, who leveraged the entire Bangor organization to plan and accomplish this mission. They incorporated lessons learned on previous CNO availabilities using Theory of Constraints Critical Chain Project Management model to schedule and accomplish the work.

They streamlined production and drove test completion to certify the completion of nearly 16,500 tasks in the project schedule, enabling the Bangor site to return Kentucky to the fleet on schedule with cost wise readiness.