INSIDE Toner looks back on 2001, forward to the future • Page 2 EB employees reach Earned Hours goal • Page 3 Team develops interactive course for QA inspectors • Page 4 Malchiodi describes future sub designs at MIT • Page 6 Steel trades trio develops course for fire prevention, hot work • Page 7 GD’s Oliver brings corporate HR perspective to management club • Page 9 Classifieds • Page 10 Service awards • Page 11 Company readies launch of EBTV • Page 12 Navy awards EB $42M contract modification for submarine work The U.S. Navy has awarded Electric Boat a $42.3 million contract modification for nuclear submarine work. The award is a continuation of a contract signed in May 1999 to provide design, engi- neering, material and logistics support for the Trident program, the Trident UK program, the two operational Seawolf-class submarines, NR-1, and efforts supporting Los Angeles-class ships. It also supports work at DECEMBER 2001 continued on page 2 Director of Operations Mike Alu presents a holiday turkey to Erich Simonds (243) during first-shift distribution behind Building 221 on Dec. 12. Altogether, the company gave away some 9,000 turkeys to employees at all locations in the continuation of an Electric Boat holiday tradition. A Holiday Tradition
Transcript
INSIDEToner looks back on 2001, forwardto the future • Page 2
EB employees reach Earned Hoursgoal • Page 3
Team develops interactive coursefor QA inspectors • Page 4
Malchiodi describes future subdesigns at MIT • Page 6
Steel trades trio develops coursefor fire prevention, hot work • Page 7
GD’s Oliver brings corporate HR perspective to management club • Page 9
Classifieds • Page 10
Service awards • Page 11
Company readies launch of EBTV • Page 12
Navy awards EB$42M contractmodification forsubmarine work
The U.S. Navy has awardedElectric Boat a $42.3 millioncontract modification fornuclear submarine work.
The award is a continuationof a contract signed in May1999 to provide design, engi-neering, material and logisticssupport for the Trident program,the Trident UK program, thetwo operational Seawolf-classsubmarines, NR-1, and effortssupporting Los Angeles-classships. It also supports work at
DECEMBER 2001
continued on page 2
Director of Operations Mike Alu presents a holiday turkey to Erich Simonds (243)
during first-shift distribution behind Building 221 on Dec. 12. Altogether, the
company gave away some 9,000 turkeys to employees at all locations in the
continuation of an Electric Boat holiday tradition.
A HolidayTradition
Dan Barrett, Editor
Dean R. Jacobowitz,Contributing Editor
Bob Gallo, Gary Hall, Gary Slater, Photography
Crystal Smith, Editorial Assistant
Electric Boat News ispublished monthly by thePublic Affairs Department, 75 Eastern Point Road,Groton, CT 06340
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard inBangor, Wash., to backfit olderTridents to accommodate D-5 mis-siles, and D-5 pre ERP (ExtendedRefit Periods) work at Kings Bay,Ga.
Eighty-two percent of the workwill be performed at Groton; 13 per-cent at Newport, R.I.; 2 percent atPuget Sound; 2 percent at Kings Bay;and 1 percent at Quonset Point, R.I.The contract work should be com-pleted by September 2002. ■
EB awarded$42M Navy contractfrom page 1
Above, HR DirectorJohn Hardink and HRChief Jack Shea engagein discussions withState RepresentativesNancy DeMarinis andWade Hyslop Jr. atElectric Boat’s annuallegislative breakfastbriefing. Some 30 state legislators andmunicipal leadersattended the event,which provided themwith a review of thecompany’s 2001 per-formance and an out-look for the upcomingyear.
Buoyed by a strong performance over the past year, ElectricBoat is on track for another successful year in 2002.That was the heart of the message delivered by EB
President Mike Toner earlier this month at the company’s annual leg-islative breakfast. Some 30 state legislators and municipal leadersattended the session in the Technology Center to hear Toner describethe year in review as well as his expectations for the future.
According to Toner, EB continued to perform well on its backlogof work. The base-ship portion of the third and final Seawolf-classsubmarine, Jimmy Carter (SSN-23), is 73 percent complete; theVirginia-class lead ship, SSN-774, is 63 percent complete with a pro-jected early delivery date of June 2004; and the second ship of theclass, Texas, is 48 percent complete.
The company’s trade hiring requirements are being met, saidToner, as 550 new employees were added to the employment rolls atQuonset Point and another 200 at Groton.
continued on page 8
ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS I December 2001 I 3
Electric Boat employees Dec. 14received $500 incentive checks(minus applicable withholdings)
after the company reached its Earned Hoursgoal for 2001.
“Everyone’s efforts throughout the yearwere the key to our strong financial per-formance,” said President Mike Toner. “TheEarned Hours program enables our employ-ees to reap the rewards of their hard workand dedication to the customer.”
The Earned Hours program was initiatedlast year to give employees a personal andfinancial stake in the company’s overall per-formance; management decided to offer itagain this year after a successful 2000.
“Our members are happy to have con-tributed to another good year at Electric
Boat,” said MDA-UAW President MelOlsson. “They never lost sight of the goal.”
“The Earned Hours program is a greatincentive,” said MTC President KenDelaCruz. “For the second year in a row, ithas allowed our members to share in thecompany’s good fortune – which they asemployees contributed to.”
Electric Boat employees and thecompany have combined topledge a record total of $1.25 mil-
lion for regional health and human-servicesagencies.
The amount pledged during the EBEmployees Community Service fall cam-paign represents an increase of $120,000over what was collected in 2001.
Of the total raised, $1 million will bedonated to the United Way of SoutheasternConnecticut. This includes a $275,000 con-tribution from Electric Boat. The remain-der of the $1.25 million will be allocated toother United Way and charitable organiza-tions where EB employees live.
The EB employee and company contri-bution to the regional United Way helped
push that organization’s 2002 campaigntotal to more than $9 million for the firsttime. EB also won its first “$1 MillionSociety Award” from United Way for itscontribution.
EB President Mike Toner noted that thecampaign at the shipyard began not longafter a $140,000 fund drive for the victimsof the Sept. 11 terror attack ended.
“We were a little concerned that peoplehad already given a significant amount ofmoney and we wondered how we woulddo,” he said. “They responded with a mil-lion dollars.”
The leaders of this year’s CommunityServices drive – MTC President KenDelaCruz, MDA-UAW President MelOlsson and EB VP Bob Nardone, creditedthe success of the effort to the campaign
volunteers from the MTC, MDA-UAW andsalaried ranks. This year’s participation ratehit 84 percent. In addition, EB membershipin United Way’s Spinnaker Club – givers of$1,000 or more – increased by 27 to 112employees.
Toner called the Community ServicesCampaign total an amazing accomplish-ment. “It’s a real tribute to our employees,who pull together every year to help thepeople in our communities who need itmost. I want to thank everyone for makingthis year’s campaign such an outstandingsuccess.”
Employees, EB pledge a record $1.25 million to regional charities
Employees receive $500checks asEarned Hours goal is reached
From left, Harvey Jorgensen, Mark Sheehan, Barry Steamer, PatriciaNeal and Wilbur Glenn developed a new self-study program for
Nuclear and Non-nuclear Quality Assurance inspectors. Missingfrom the photo are team members Al Hubbard, Phil Davis and
Sharon Moscariello.
Team develops interactive course for Quality Assurance inspectors
Awide-ranging team of Electric Boat employees has developed a progressive self-study program for Nuclear and Non-nuclear Quality Assurance inspectors thatwill virtually eliminate the need for one-on-one instruction.
The computer-based training program was developed by employees in Non-DestructiveTest Engineering, Nuclear Quality Control, and Logistics Technical Data and Training.
“We sat down to try to develop what we feel is a very good self-progressive study coursefor the Quality Assurance and Nuclear Quality Control organizations,” explained MarkSheehan (341), a Liquid Penetrant Testing (PT) test examiner who helped design the course-ware. “If an inspector is uncertain in an area, this affords him the opportunity to sit down andgo through those areas to beef himself up.”
NDT Engineering Supervisor Barry Steamer said the courseware was originally intendedas a means for certified inspectors to refresh themselves on a periodic basis when productioninspections are less frequent.
“However, the course has already proven itself to be an excellent training aid for new indi-viduals who are studying for certification examinations to become PT inspectors and as ameans by which certified inspectors can measure their proficiency at making acceptance cri-teria evaluations,” he said.
Patricia Neal (403), a senior IT training system expert who authored the courseware, saidit will be relatively easy to develop similar computer-based courses for other subjects nowthat the framework has been created and perfected.
Neal and Thomas Quinn (341), a magnetic particle testing (MT) test exam-iner, have since begun collaborating on two new training programs for mag-netic particle testing, one for the Quality organizations and a limited ver-
4 I December 2001 I ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS
“The course has already
proven itself to be an excellent
training aid for new individuals
who are studying for certification
examinations to become
PT inspectors and as a means by
which certified inspectors can
measure their proficiency at
making acceptance criteria
evaluations.”– Barry Steamer
NDT Engineering Supervisor
continued on page 5
Self-study course proves to be excellent training aid
ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS I December 2001 I 5
sion for steel trades usage.The courseware itself is user-friendly and
has already been well-received, Neal said.The courseware even includes videos show-ing the proper – and, to illustrate what notto do, improper – steps for performing a PTinspection. And at the conclusion of the 45-minute course, a self-test is offered.
“I think it came out real good – it’s prettyinformative,” said Al Hubbard (423), one oftwo inspectors who appear in the course-
ware’s training videos. “Having that test atthe end is going to be pretty helpful to mostof us.”
Nuclear Quality Control Director KevinMurphy complimented the team for creatingsuch a good training program.
“It’ll be a valuable tool for keeping ourinspectors well-versed on all the proceduralrequirements so that they can do their best,not only on a daily basis but also duringcritical events such as NAVSEA audits,when their actions are closely watched by
government representatives,” he said.The interactive courseware team also
included inspector Phil Davis (321), nucleartraining specialist Harvey Jorgensen (423),multimedia analyst Wilbur Glenn (403),and senior engineer Sharon Moscariello(403). ■
from page 4
Sharon Rossi (400)collects a donationfrom Al Ruditsky(472) at the Grotonshipyard’s SouthGate as part of theEBMA/EBAC-spon-sored Toys for Kidsdrive. The morethan $8,000 collect-ed was turned overto local charitableorganizations,which purchasetoys, clothes andpersonal items asChristmas gifts forneedy area chil-dren. In addition tomoney, EB employ-ees also donatednew toys to theEBMA/EBAC col-lection drive.
Cambridge, Mass.
Studies performed by Electric Boatindicate that the U.S. Navy couldintroduce several advances in its
future submarines – electric drive, doublehulls and a variety of payloads, for instance– to make the vessels more capable andaffordable.
That was the message delivered by AlMalchiodi, EB’s director of advanced con-
cepts, last month in his presentation “ASubmarine Road Map Beyond 2010.” Hispresentation was part of a two-day subma-rine-related conference sponsored by theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.
Noting that attack submarines could beused through the full spectrum of conflict –from pre-battle preparation to post-war bat-tlespace monitoring – Malchiodi describedseveral technology targets that need to beincorporated in future submarines.
These include making submarine moreaffordable; increasing the payload a subma-rine can carry relative to its own weight;ensuring a low acoustic signature by con-taining noise starting at the outside of a subthrough its exterior design and mufflingnoise progressively toward its interior; and
carrying weapons and other payloads exter-nally.
Additionally, said Malchiodi, submarinesof the future must become increasinglymodular so they can accept technologyupgrades more frequently and easily.Submarines should also provide a greatervariety of communications bands and net-works for their commanders, includinghigh-data-rate acoustic communicationsand laser communications.
Malchiodi presented ideas for double-hulled ships, as well as elliptically shapedouter hulls, which could increase designflexibility and reduce acoustic signatures.And he discussed the benefits of employingmore off-board vehicles – subsurface, sur-face, air and ground unmanned vehicles –from a host submarine
He also asserted that the Navy – alongwith the submarine industry – shouldn’tlimit themselves to weapons when thinkingabout payloads. Submarines will deliverlogistics packages, intelligence, surveillanceand reconnaissance sensors by unmannedvehicles and larger-capacity launch tubes.■
Malchiodi describes future submarine designs at MIT
6 I December 2001 I ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS
Some of the technology targets
that need to be incorporated
in future submarines include
making submarine more
affordable; increasing the payload
a submarine can carry relative to
its own weight; ensuring a low
acoustic signature by containing
noise; and carrying weapons and
other payloads externally.
It began as a simple refresher coursefor employees in the steel trades. But a fire prevention and hot work
training program, developed and taught bysteel trade techs Charlie Hedding (226),Fred Greene (227) and George Strutt(229), was deemed so important byOperations VP John Casey that he sug-gested to his management team that alltrades participate in the 90-minute class.Before the trio knew it, nearly 1,000tradespeople were signed up.
“We don’t want people getting hurt andgetting burned,” Hedding said at the onsetof one of the classes recently.
Greene said the main reason the pro-gram was developed was to remind peopleof the prerequisites for hot work and theduties of a fire watch, particularly in lightof incidents that had occurred at othershipyards.
“Some people get involved in fire watchactivities or hot work more than others,” heexplained. “Other people do hot jobsmaybe every couple of months. This is justso they can refresh their memory.”
Hedding, with input from Greene andStrutt, developed a PowerPoint show foruse during each class, while Strutt andGreene developed mock-ups that employ-ees were shown afterward. The mock-ups,the trio explained, illustrate how to preparean area for hot work so other employees orship components aren’t harmed.
“The important thing here is protectionof personnel,” stressed Hedding. “Ship’sequipment, yes, it is expensive, yes, itcosts a lot of money to replace, but that’sthe thing – it can be replaced. If we lose alife, you can’t replace somebody’s life.”
Strutt agreed.“The protection of personnel – that was
the big emphasis that all three of us put
into the class,” he said.Lastly, class attendees were reminded
how to correctly use Casualty Controlboxes to report a fire, an injury or anyother problem on or near a boat.
But for the most part, the subject matterof the class was familiar to everyone whoattended, which, the instructors said, madeit that much more effective.
Also impressed with the effectiveness ofthe class was steel trades SuperintendentRon Donovan, who said, “This team didan outstanding job focusing on the safetyof the people performing the hot worktasks and the safety of their co-workers inthe affected areas.” ■
ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS I December 2001 I 7
Steel trades trio develops coursefor fire prevention, hot work
From left, FredGreene, GeorgeStrutt and CharlieHedding put the finishing touches ona mock-up that theycreated for use withtheir fire preventionand hot work training program.
8 I December 2001 I ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS
Flanked by Senior HRSpecialist Hank McNeiland HR Chief Dan Clancy,VP of Operations JohnCasey picks one of thewinners in Electric Boat’sSalaried AbsenteeReduction Raffle.Altogether, 145 salariedemployees with 1 percent or less sick timeover the last year won atotal of $150,000 in $2,500,$1,000 and $500 prizes.Another 25 employeeswon parking passes for2002.
DMV vanwill continueGroton visits
Based on employee response, theConnecticut Department ofMotor Vehicles (DMV) mobile
van will continue to visit the Groton facilityin 2002.
According to HR Chief Jack Shea, some300 employees made use of the van torenew licenses and registrations, ask ques-tions, and obtain forms for various transac-tions. The van made two visits – one inOctober and one in December.
Shea said he is now working with theDMV to schedule visits for the first sixmonths of the year. Dates will beannounced as soon as they are firmed up,he said. ■
Last month, EB and the MDA-UAWreached an agreement on a 54-month laborcontract that extends through July 2006.The pact was noteworthy for two reasons,Toner said – it was reached after only fourweeks of bargaining, and it was ratifiednine months early.
And finally, he said, the company com-pleted its $12.4 million automated steel-processing center at Quonset Point. Thecenter – equipped with state-of-the-art laser,water jet and high-definition plasma cuttingtechnologies – is the most advanced facilityof its kind in the submarine industry. It wasdedicated in a ceremony Dec. 17.
Looking forward, Electric Boat’s busi-ness plan remains unchanged despiteGeneral Dynamics’ unsuccessful bid toacquire Newport News Shipbuilding.
The key elements of the plan, Toner said,are to:
•Accelerate the procurement rate ofVirginia-class ships to two per year
as soon as possible.
•Obtain more overhaul and repair work.
•Ensure that EB secures the designcontract for SSGN, and obtains as much related manufacturing work as it can.
These steps would help eliminate gaps inEB’s projected workload and stabilize theworkforce.
The company’s vision for the future alsoremains unchanged, according to Toner.That vision is to:
EB on track for another successful yearfrom page 2
ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS I December 2001 I 9
Mike Toner points out to J. William Jones how the Groton shipyard has evolved since Jones was Electric Boat’s general manager in the 1960s.The 89-year-old Jones traveled from his home in New Hampshire for a tour of the Groton facility.
Walter M. Oliver, GD’s vice presi-dent of Human Resources andAdministration, was the dinner
speaker at the Electric Boat ManagementAssociation corporate night, held last month atthe Mystic Marriott.
Oliver, who is relatively new to the defenseindustry, has a long career as an HR profession-al in the metals, automotive parts, and telecom-munications industries. During his EBMA pres-entation, he gave his perspective on “people andcorporate culture issues” facing GeneralDynamics.
Since the mid-1990s, the company hasacquired several businesses. In fact, two-thirdsof all employees now are with units that had adifferent parent company only a few years ago.This has brought at least a dozen different cor-porate cultures into GD. While this has addedorganizational complexity, it also brings with ittremendous opportunities. It enables GeneralDynamics to move key individuals across abroader experience base to share new ideas, saidOliver.
In addition to issues of corporate culture,Oliver has also focused on management succes-sion during the past year. The corporation peri-odically reviews and identifies management tal-ent.
Oliver also interjected personal stories andanecdotes. One of his favorites is “The Story ofthe Geese.” Geese fly in a V-formation for sup-port and to lessen the workload for every-one inthe formation. Also, the geese will take turns onthe point, and honk to encourage the lead goose.If one of the geese becomes disabled, two othergeese will drop down with the injured bird andstay with it. Oliver feels there are important les-sons in this story. “We are all on a long journeyin the workplace (35-40 years) and can go fur-ther if we support each other and share theload,” he said. “This means giving everyone achance to use his or her particular skills and tal-ents.”
In conclusion, Walt asked audience membersto think about what they can do as leaders topositively influence the work environment andto maximize the performance of the organiza-tion. ■
GD’s Oliver brings corporate HR perspective to management club
“We are all on a long
journey in the workplace
(35-40 years) and can go
further if we support
each other and share the
load. This means giving
everyone a chance to use
his or her particular skills
and talents.”– Walter M. Oliver, GD vice president of Human Resources
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10 I December 2001 I ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS
$Classified
EBAC runners hitstride on Park Avenue
Competing in the prestigious JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge roadrace in New York City Dec. 1, two teams representing the EBAC Men’sVarsity Running Team finished 7th and 22nd in the 3.5-mile event.
Teams from the United States, Europe and Australia participated in the race, whichwas run on Park Avenue.
The EB runners and their overall places and times are as follows:The 7th Place Team - (45) Ed Zubritsky - 19:15; (53) Bobby Clark - 19:22; (82)
Carl Roth - 20:16; (111) Harold Haugeto -20:57; (132) John Brown - 21:14.The 22nd Place Team - (142) Brian Lundie - 21:19; (154) Gary Deal - 21:31;
(169) Dana Award - 21:44; (170) Norm Kahler - 21:44; (194) John Trahan - 22:06.Also competing for the team were (228) Rob Reale - 22:41; (241) Dave
Anderson - 22:52; and (387) Tom McColl - 25:47. ■
226 Stephen A. Kokosky438 David R. Prentice
243 Norman E. Brown355 Robert A. Kowak438 William N. Joseph Jr460 Robert D. Guzzio
221 Gary R. Perkins244 Eugene C. Texter Jr251 Bernard F. Payne405 Diane L. Amburn496 David R. Zoller447 Paul F. Bergel Jr450 Burton F. Gischner452 Omar D. Hall II452 Richard W. Partelo456 James K. Procious501 Roger A. Vowles
100 Terrence Brennan JrAllen S. HopferMarshall J. NormanDavid W. Paradis
200 Henry A. DoucetteErnest R. Lariviere Jr
226 Thomas J. CoutureJohn W. MacGregorGary J. RiceMichael J. SlatteryPeter K. Swan
229 Robert F. BurkleRandy J. Williams
230 William D. Steele
242 Ralph L. CoutureGeorge G. Leiper JrThomas B. NoyesWilliams S. ThompsonGlen R. ZagarenskiJohn M. Ziccardi
243 Roger J. AllysonKen J. CofoneJudy A. Moran
244 Ronald R. LabrecqueGerald G. Leblanc
252 Roland M. AllardMark S. ChappellEdward P. ChurillaChester J. DrongTimothy J. LiveseyRobert A. Tellier
272 James S. AltmanJames J. Gorton
330 Sharon A. Rathbone333 Carol A. Rondeau355 Mary A. Barboza
Edward L. DenslowWayne J. EmondPeter F. GilchristPhilip D. LeeYvonne MirandaMichael A. O’NeilRodney B. Watson
411 Edward J. O’Donnell412 Clement W. Brown Jr414 Karl H. Lohr425 Shirley M. Lemay431 Dale R. Williams433 Elaine B. Welge434 Peter F. Justin447 Dennise F. Cray
David D. GauvinJohn W. MularzPeter M. Smerkar
449 James R. Mack452 Paul G. Ludwig453 John P. Braica Jr
Anthony L. Kiertianis456 Ronald R. Rios459 Joseph E. Berg
Mark H. CilianoJames R. CoteMark A. DelauraEdward D. GreeneLouis J. Piette JrDennis E. Widstrom
493 Richard A. Lavoie496 Bruce L. Wood501 Earle A. Gainsley Jr505 Edward J. Lindeborg505 Jeffrey C. McKibben604 Cynthia J. Malaguti642 David A. Lefebvre650 Timothy P. Banning
Dexter A. White662 Michael J. St. Germain795 Michael A. Boucher901 Paul F. Hassell
George A. LepageRobert J. Salley
902 Oscar S. Butler JrGerald J. CouillardGerald R. LamarreBruce E. Sullivan
904 Raymond F. Caswell JrTerrence Slattery
911 Clark R. CarrDavid H. DudekPaula J. IzzoMark E. SimondsGeorge D. Vincent
915 James E. BisordiRoland A. DuquettePeter S. MedeirosMichael C. MorrisonDavid C. Piche
924 Paul B. CervantesJohn N. Chirico
935 Dennis J. DefrancoMichael Giacher JrVictor J. Heroux
950 Kenneth A. BrouillardPhilip J. McCafferty JrSteven A. Woolley
957 Barbara A. BetleyCynthia A. CorleyJohn P. ConwayJoseph L. Alves
970 Robin S. Farrell
230 Stanley W. Kondratowicz241 Royal L. Allard III
Robert C. Ventura
242 Remo J. Laureti JrKenneth M. MichelRussell A. PerkinsSamuel Rios
243 David A. LewisJoseph W. MorseNorbet E. Oloff
251 Melvin L. DanielsRobert W. DelaportaErnest L. HolleyKenneth R. OlsonJerome ParkerEarl E. PudelerEdward J. Stack
252 Linda D. ArmstrongTimothy S. CelicoRichard A. CharronDavid R. DavisLevester JonesDavid B. LacossJohn J. LamySabino C. NardoneFrank R. TagliatelaMichael K. Taylor
330 Michael A. Trask402 Barry A. Berger403 Randy J. Souza405 Lynda M. Ezersky411 Michael J. Brusca413 Vincent R. Young431 Duane V. Gamble447 Robert W. Bryce448 Kenneth R. Borden
Christopher E. BuffonCharles W. Gesner
452 Steven M. BeckKaren SequaraAthan E. Tasoulas
459 Donald A. DefossesRoderick D. FordRobert J. Scott
484 Debra L. Matthews496 Mark A. McCallum505 Glenn A. Credit706 Thomas J. Manfredi902 William B. Senuta915 Craig A. Burke924 Edward Zubritsky925 Wesley F. Cook Jr
ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS I December 2001 I 11
ServiceAwards
40 years
35
30
25
20
years
years
years
years
Standard PresortU.S. POSTAGE
P A I DGROTON, CT
PERMIT NO. 392
To enhance the flow of informationwithin Electric Boat, the companyhas purchased a visual communica-
tions network that will deliver news over televi-sion monitors and LED readerboardsthroughout the Groton and QuonsetPoint facilities.
Within the next few weeks, morethan a dozen monitors and a handful ofLED signs will be installed at key areasthroughout both locations.
Electric Boat’s installation, to beknown as “EBTV,” will provideemployees in every department andevery trade with equal access to infor-mation.
Once up and running, the system willfeature a mix of national news head-
lines, GD stock quotes and local weather fore-casts, plus a regular flow of Electric Boat-
generated information. The messages on boththe monitors and LED signs will be text-based,though the messages on the monitors will beenhanced with the use of graphics and photos.
The installation of system hardware isscheduled to be completed by mid-January; thesystem itself should be operational within thefirst quarter of 2002.
“EBTV will eliminate the information gapthat now exists between employees who haveaccess to computers in the workplace and thosewho do not,” said Director of CommunicationsNeil Ruenzel. “With this new system, everyemployee will be in the loop.”
More information about EBTV will be pro-vided as the start-up date for the system nears.■
