Comments on: Ships that Won’t Sail

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By: angel

angel — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:30:41 +0000

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By: Ptsfp

Ptsfp — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:00:17 +0000

As a former employee of a leading machine tool manufacturer I have seen several of these problems up close and personal.
The biggest problem is that the US is sending most of it’s manufacturing overseas to China. When the sub-assemblies arrive from China, they are tested and programmed or modified. The failure rate from equipment coming from China was very high. But, supposedly it led to more profit(for the executives), but at what cost?
The second problem, especially where I worked was that they had a very hard time recruiting and retaining young workers. Let’s face it, the majority of young workers don’t want to turn a wrench. So what you ended up with was a skilled work force that will be retiring very soon, and a bunch of young people biding time until something better comes along. Their really was no middle workers to take over for the retiring workforce. We will soon loose a lot of experience and talent that will not be replaced.
We need to rebuild American manufacturing and not build China by sending our hi-tech manufacturing there. American manufacturers are selling their souls to China in the name of greed. If this does not stop soon, it will cost us all dearly.

By: demophilus

demophilus — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:14:34 +0000

I don’t know much about shipbuilding, so I don’t really know what to contribute here, except that Mac, Byron, Mark1 and gsak seem to hit the nail on the head.
Apart from that, it seems that a catastropic breakdown in ship contracting can’t be traced to a single point failure, like unions or government regulation. There’s too many moving parts in this kind of fandango for a single cause.
That being said, our “lead systems integrators” don’t seem to be integrating too well. LockMart and NG bought into the shipyards because they thought they could make money at it. Looks like they were right.
Call them scapegoats, or fatted calves. Any way you slice it, it’s well past time we trimmed some fat.

By: gsak

gsak — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:07:53 +0000

That depends partially on what you consider an acceptable Engineering Department; how much of a difference you perceive between a full team of very experienced engineers, and three or four old salty guys leading a bunch of younger guys and girls.
Personally, I think it is technically a drain on experience; although, I must say that I’ve known the engineering staff at Gunderson and they’re a sharp group. And they have a decent percentage of younger people on their team.
With solid Team Leads, a younger workforce is pretty competent. Maybe it’s just that only the older guys are worrying?

By: Trial Lawyer

Trial Lawyer — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:54:16 +0000

Could it be that our highly skilled labor force is drying up and so these delays could, in part, be due to a longer learning curve? Designing and manufacturing cutting edge equipment involves cutting edge expertise. With the average age of our workforce declining (due to large number of retirings), is there a debilitating drain on experience?

By: unmannedanimal

unmannedanimal — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:53:44 +0000

@rick
i think we’re on the same page. i did not intend to say that the defense industry is uniquely lacking in skilled workers. i was trying to put dc2’s assertion that gen-x is here and leading in context with mac’s evidence from aerospace by contrasting management and engineers/machinists/etc.
as i understand it this isn’t a problem with population, such that the solution is greater or lesser numbers of gen-xers. i think this is a problem described within a population e.g. the distribution of knowledge/skills within gen-x is markedly different from that of the boomers and their children, creating knowledge gaps in the american workforce.
why the change in distribution? was gen-x pulling IT and finance jobs out of the air while manufacturing jobs lay idle and unfilled? were they trying to fill a vacuum in the wake of a globalizing industry? i don’t know. at this point i can confidently say that i am out of my depth as well as my age bracket.

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:51:42 +0000

Unmannedanimal,
Sorry, but I must disagree with you about this affecting only the defense department, et al. There is a shortage of skilled workers for about any trade you can name.
I also have to disagree about it being just a population problem. These kids were looking for work at the very peak of the downsize and outsource wave. The entry level jobs that would have taught them the skills we are now in such desperate need of are anywhere but in the US.
Basically I think we are reaping what our policy makers have sown, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

By: Jimbo Jones

Jimbo Jones — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:25:05 +0000

“Words/ Posted by: gsak at September 22, 2008 11:00 AM“
Should have taken it to the press. Terrible story and a prime example of the crooked-ness i was whining about lower down in this mighty thread. That SSP manager guy needs putting down.