In an effort to prevent injuries to insulators working on John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), X33 acting Lead General Foreman Mark Wilson recently partnered with Pivot Physical Therapy to evaluate teams and develop job-specific stretches and exercises for shipbuilders.

“They’re a part of our process now. We’ve integrated. We want continuous training with Pivot looking at the jobs as they come up and evaluating and talking to the craftsmen,” Wilson said.

Although shipbuilders at any experience level benefit from the partnership, there is special attention for new craftswomen and craftsmen. They go on a ship tour and are shown how to safely approach different workspaces they will experience.

“We want them to understand that learning to work safely is a part of learning your craft,” Wilson said.

He said there has already been a positive impact from the partnership with Pivot, and he anticipates improvements to safety numbers in the future.

“I think this sends the message to the employees that we really care about them and that we put safety first,” Wilson said. “We want them to work in a safe environment and to do things the correct and safe way.”