Employees in the Propulsion Plant Planning Yard (PPPY) (E70) at Newport News Shipbuilding had a unique opportunity last week to learn more about the work taking place across their division during the first “PPPY All About the Business” Expo, hosted by the PPPY Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) champions.

“This was an opportunity to showcase what PPPY does as a division,” said Kevin Barnwell (E70), a PPPY ED&I champion. “Most people don’t get to see outside of their area of responsibility, but this allowed them to see other sections within PPPY and see how we all work together as a team.”

With 480 employees, PPPY provides emergent fleet and shipyard support and life-cycle management for propulsion systems on Ford-class aircraft carriers. “Our mission is to serve the deckplate craftsman and sailor,” said PPPY Director Jerry Sazio.

During the hour-long expo, shipbuilders manned stations and explained their work to fellow shipbuilders as they passed through.

“This allows the teams to connect on a different level,” Sazio said. “The thing that impressed me the most today is the energy with which our teams are presenting their products. It’s obvious that they’re excited about what they do.”

Among the employees presenting at the expo were interns Maddie Gonzalez (E70) of Virginia Tech and Ryan McGowan (E70) of the University of Virginia. Gonzalez and McGowan demonstrated the usefulness of laser scans for PPPY.

“It was interesting to see people’s reactions to stuff we were working on and their thoughts of how cool of a tool it is,” Gonzalez said. “This is a really cool place to work. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of opportunity.”