THE APPLICATION OF A PLANNING CONTRACT CONCEPT TO A COMPLEX NAVY SURFACE SHIP OVERHAUL

ABSTRACTEarly in 1979, the Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet requested that alternate procedures be explored for overhaul of the USS Sacramento (AOE‐1). Of particular concern was the availability of the ship to accomplish alterations and repair planning prior to the start of the overhaul and the history of AOE Class ships not being completed in the private sector within the scheduled availability time. The planning type contract concept wherein pre‐overhaul tests and inspections, preparation of drawings, procurement of long lead time material and detailed overhauling planning and scheduling would be accomplished by the successful Contractor was one approach requested for major consideration. In July 1979, the decision was made to proceed with the planning contract concept for overhaul of the USS Sacramento. The Request for Proposals (RFP's) were issued to industry in November 1979 with contract award to Lockheed Ship building and Construction Company (LSCC) on 4 February 1980. In September 1980, the overhaul for USS Sacramento was classified by the Navy as “complex”, confirming specific management action and attention to be given during the planning and overhaul phases.This technical paper describes the application of the planning contract concept to the planning and overhaul of USS Sacramento. Actual experiences including issue of the negotiated Request for Proposals (RFP's), performing pre‐overhaul test and inspections (POT & I) procedures, accomplishing ship check and drawing preparation, and scheduling, including proper phasing of all elements and critical path analysis, will be reviewed in detail. Comparisons to conventional procedures will be made, along with concepts for modifying the methods employed to custom fit the characteristics of future overhauls. The closure will include a summary of “lessons learned” to date with specific recommendations for application of procedures to future overhauls.