NEWS
FIVE MINUTES WITH KEVIN MOAK, CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT, GIBBS & COX, INC.
Kevin Moak, Chairman and President, Gibbs & Cox, Inc.
The name Gibbs & Cox is a storied maritime industry name, one that evokes memories of some of the finest ships ever built, including a vast majority of U.S. Navy surface combatants as well as the vaunted SS United States. All told, more than 6,000 naval and commercial ships have been built to G&C designs. This year the company celebrates its 80th anniversary and Maritime Reporter & Engineering News spent some time with Moak to discuss the company's storied past and promising future. by Greg Trauthwein
How did you initially become interested in the marine industry? Kevin Moak I blame it all on my dad. He was a career marine, and in the mid-1960s he took advantage of an opportunity to get me aboard a United States Navy light cruiser in Taiwan. They gave me a step stool to look through a viewport into the firebox in the boiler room, and it was then and there � the sights, the sounds, the smells � that stirred my interest in ships and the maritime industry. When my high school guidance counselor asked what career I wanted to pursue, I said "naval architecture and marine engineering," and she actually had to look up a description and investigate where it was offered. And from early on, the only company I wanted to work for was Gibbs & Cox. Please describe for me, in a sentence or two, your management philosophy. KM It is really pretty simple: Let's do a good job. We try to recruit and hire really good people, then give them the tools, training, process and support, and I try not to micro-manage the process. We recognize and reward excellent performance. Also, communications is key. One thing I try to instill is better communications top to bottom, and we have a truly open door policy. I meet with every person that we hire and the message to all is, essentially, "we'll treat you professionally, and we expect the same." In your career, what do you consider to be the most significant marine industry technological innovations? KM The single most important innovation is the development of computer aided engineering and manufacturing. When I started (31 years ago) hand calculators were rare. When we purchased our first PC, it had a 10MB hard drive, and we thought `Wow, how are we ever going to fill that?' CAD, in the generic, has allowed huge gains in efficiency. To put it in perspective, DDG 51 was really the first implementation of CAD, and there were real problems with it. There were 1,000 people working on that design. On LCS, we had about 200 people working on the design; the factor of efficiency is simply amazing. What do you believe is the secret to your firm's longevity and success? KM I think we have a simple philosophy, handed down from founders. After William Francis Gibbs died and Frederic H. Gibbs took over, he sent a letter which read in part... "always adhere to the highest standards of design engineering and ethics in order to serve the best interest of the United States government, particularly the Navy Department." We don't just say those words, we live them; it's our culture. We design and engineer complex surface combatant ships, and we've had 80 years to hone our trade. We have had more surface combatant ships built to our designs than any other company out there. Where is Gibbs & Cox investing today to ensure its relevance for tomorrow? KM First and foremost, we are investing in our people. Also, we are always investing in constant process improvement. The ship design process is a tough process, and anything that we can do to reduce cost and man hours, is better for us and the customer. For example, early in the LCS design process, we took check of our processes. Prior to designing the LCS, we had a work flow that was interrupted (with LCS) meaning it didn't flow so well. We reevaluated our work flow so that we could better manage things properly in a constant change environment, while maintaining our standards. Also there has been investment and growth in our Government Services Group, where we try to use our expertise in the early stage of design to not add cost, but to drive long-term, life cycle costs out of the design. We have a really long history in detail design of surface combatants, so we can recognize up front some of the design issues that will cost you dearly later on. What are the key issues/challenges to building and maintaining a strong, efficient Navy? KM The Navy is facing some interesting challenges. The acquisition process is once again in a state of flux, and from my experience, every few years, it changes. Sometimes the changes are simply a knee jerk reaction; sometimes the changes are a result of `lessons learned.' One of the top challenges for the Navy today is manpower reduction. Everyone talks about reducing costs, but the driving force is manpower reduction. Another issue is how the Navy does its long range planning. For example, DDG 1000 requirements were based on the Cold War requirements, and obviously life has changed. A key challenge is simply this: how do you efficiently do the planning and acquisition of the future fleet of ships. First, I think, we need to change the culture in DOD and Congress with the way in which we budget the shipbuilding process. We need to figure out the need, budget for it, and move forward. The business of buying things in "one-sies and two-sies" does nothing but drive the efficiency out of the process. The way that it is done now is inefficient, and it does not allow the industry to plan well regarding the workload. What are the top challenges in running a strong and efficient Gibbs & Cox? KM Workload and staffing is always a challenge, as is the case for many companies in our industry. Also, overall, I don't think we (the country) produce the number of engineers that are needed to drive forward. With the economic downturn, I think there are a lot of seniors in high school and freshmen in college that might now be thinking that the business
Since it was founded on June 29, 1929 by lawyer and engineer William Francis Gibbs (left), his brother Frederick H. Gibbs and Daniel Cox, a noted yacht designer, Gibbs & Cox has evolved into one of the more storied ship designers in the world, with the iconic SS United States and the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship in its long line of credits. 22 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News