When a major snowstorm blanketed the area last week, teams from Newport News Shipbuilding were cleared the way for a return to mission-critical work.

About 50 dedicated O46 shipbuilders worked inside the gates while contractor crews cleared parking lots, said Buzz Halleen (O46).

Before the first snowflake fell, teams checked equipment, purchased supplies and coordinated with contractors. Finally, teams pretreated roadways, walkways and gates while staging materials where needed. Ensuring all materials and tooling were in place beforehand was key, said Bill Crawford (X36).

Snow began falling at noon on Feb. 19 and ended around 1:30 the next morning. The shipyard received about 8 inches of snow. Clearing efforts began at 3:30 p.m. with a focus on parking lots, sidewalks, yard entrance gates, walkways and main roadways in the shipyard, said Mark Auerbach, O46 general foreman. Parking lots were cleared in the North Yard and progressively moved south.

The coordinated effort included members of the dry dock operations team, who worked to ensure safe passage across all dry dock gates by ensuring freeze protection was in place, and teams had adequate staffing and materials, said John Anderson, senior dockmaster.

“We had to clear a path to make safe access for everyone, especially our ship’s forces sailors, said Joel Taylor (X36). “Working together as a team made it fun to shovel the snow, though.”

“We put thought into always being ready, and have what, and who, we need for plant protection,” John Potts (X36), a dockmaster.

Thanks to these and other efforts, NNS returned to normal operations starting with second shift on Feb. 21.

“We were happy to support the return of our fellow shipbuilders,” said David Crews, O46 general foreman.