Claud A. Jones Award
1996
CDR Kevin M. McCoy, USN
For his significant contribution to naval engineering as set forth in the following:
As Repair Officer onboard USS L. Y. SPEAR, Commander McCoy was Officer in Charge of an Afloat Intermediate Maintenance Activity (IMA) which provided superb support to the largest and most diverse submarine squadron in the world. Recognized as one of the Navy's finest fleet maintenance engineers, Commander McCoy set a totally new standard for performance by sending ships to sea on time, reducing the backlog of outstanding maintenance, and achieving unprecedented cost reductions.
Organizations talk about Total Quality Leadership, under Commander McCoy's leadership, USS L. Y. SPEARlived it every day and became the recognized fleet leader in incorporating the concepts of service, excellence, process measurement, and continuous improvement. Seeking out expertise from corporate America, Commander McCoy developed extensive measurement indicators to track performance and initiate process improvement in all areas of operation. He paved new ground by implementing the quality principles of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality and Presidential Quality Awards throughout his organization with tremendous documented success in terms of cost avoidance, reduced maintenance backlog, and increased customer satisfaction. Results were dramatic and earned the Secretary of Defense's nomination for the prestigious Presidential Quality Award. Perhaps the greatest benefit from this endeavor was the fact that more than 800 sailors, chief petty officers and junior officers learned firsthand how to implement such a program and the tremendous performance benefits possible. These personnel are now available to help lead other Navy organizations to higher levels of performance.
Over an eighteen month period, Commander McCoy worked relentlessly to reduce the average cost of a submarine upkeep day by forty-nine percent. This superb effort saved more than $900,000 in material funds. Commander McCoy's comprehensive plan included extensive use of replacement components from decommissioned submarines, increased reliance on repair vice replacement components and onboard manufacture of parts vice costly procurement. He developed the cost effective micro-miniature (2M) circuit card repair facility afloat, saving more than $100,000 in replacement card costs, while repairing one hundred percent of the cards submitted by tended units.
When selected for the first low pressure resin discharge ever performed by an afloat IMA, Commander McCoy designed a low cost, reusable drydock enclosure for use during a submarine resin discharge despite the fact that he was assigned to perform only one resin discharge. His ingenious design was assembled from commercially available Connex boxes in lieu of traditional, labor-intensive drydock staging. Today, Norfolk Naval Shipyard utilizes the same enclosure designed and used by Commander McCoy at a cost savings of roughly $200,000 for each use.
Commander McCoy epitomizes the highest ideals of fleet engineering and is most deserving of the Claude A. Jones Award.