FABRICATION SERVICES Owner: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Technology: Special Steel Module Enclosure System Engineer: Naval Facilities Engineering Command Project Value: $2.5 Million SUBMARINE ENCLOSURES PORTSMOUTH State Pier, where they were fabricated into individual NAVAL SHIPYARD modules. Once completed, the modules were again tested at the State Pier, and then loaded onto barges for delivery Summit Metal Fabricators fabricated new structural steel to the shipyard. enclosures that house Virginia class submarines during major maintenance availabilities. This complex project required Summit to continuously monitor and adjust production rates and sequence delivery The enclosures are modular units that fit together seamlessly, schedules that corresponded with the shipyard’s critical but are built to 1/16th inch tolerance across their 60 foot timetable. length, allowing the connections that bolt the units together to line up for quick assembly and disassembly. Summit met all the shipyard’s milestones, with “just-in-time” deliveries allowing uninterrupted dry dock work in From the dry dock floor the enclosures stack on top of each preparation for submarine maintenance. other. When fully erected they reach almost 6 stories high and weigh more than 300 tons. Construction of the enclosures began at Summit’s Salem, NH facility. A complex process required numerous quality control inspections and testing and then stops at an industrial painter before the enclosures were transported to the Portsmouth PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS This project allowed for uninterrupted dry dock work in preparation for submarine maintenance...