Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command Visits Earl Industries
Earl Industries was proud to host Admiral John C. Harvey Jr., Commander, United States Fleet Forces Command on 30 November 2011. The purpose of the Admiral’s visit was to review improvements made in Earl’s Virginia Ship Repair operations over the course of 2011. In a meeting at Earl’s Harper Avenue headquarters in Portsmouth, several of Earl’s leadership team, including Jerry Miller, Jeff Brooks and Paul Fields, briefed Admiral Harvey and the current Fleet Maintenance Officer, RDML Lawrence Creevy, on their respective roles in Earl Ship Repair. Processes covered included Planning and Technical Work Documents (Fred Pasquine), Procurement and Subcontracts Management (John Anderson), Production Management (Jon Nichols), Engineering (Warren Kennedy), Quality Assurance (Jeff Hanson), and Work Certification/Testing (Paul Rotloff).
After the meeting, Jerry Miller, Jeff Brooks, Paul Fields and Brian Miller (Director of Manufacturing) escorted Admiral Harvey on a walking tour of the shipyard and the Earl Precision Manufacturing facility. During the tour, Admiral Harvey reviewed Earl’s facilities, gained insight into the company’s multiple product lines, and saw process control first-hand. He also talked with members of Earl’s workforce, each of whom demonstrated their contribution to the principal Earl Industries product – Fleet Readiness. Earl employees who had an opportunity to interact with Admiral Harvey on the plant floor included: Richard Parker (Outside Machinist), Mike Davis (Outside Machinist Foreman), Justin Hollaway (Water Jet Table Operator), Arthur Faherty (Diesel Engine Instructor), Christine Shorts (QA Inspector), Ron Ridgeway (CNC Machinist), Steve Dortch (Machine Shop Foreman) and Scott Keheley (EPM Engineering Manager). Overall, the visit and tour was a great opportunity to display Earl Industries’ passion and commitment to the Fleet Commander for delivering readiness in support of Fleet operations. Admiral Harvey was very complimentary and thanked Jerry Miller for the opportunity to visit with the Earl Industries team and for the team’s collective commitment to performing first-pass quality work.
In a national climate that has necessitated increased scrutiny of fleet maintenance and repair processes, in both public and private shipyards, Earl Industries has taken an industry leadership role to improve process control and discipline, along with increased rigor and structure in Quality Assurance programs. Long a leader among the Navy’s fleet maintenance and ship repair contractors, Earl will continue to strive to exceed the Navy’s high standards and expectations. With an ever-renewing focus on standards, process and accountability; Earl’s goal is to reward the Navy’s confidence in “Team Earl” with superior quality, on time/on budget performance, and Readiness Delivered.