Employees so engaged do not observe work actually being performed, but examine the quality of completed work. For this reason, the correlation of hours with the shipyard need not be total. Staffing levels support monitoring of only the most important tests. Furthermore, the U.S.S. Enterprise project is speculative, and a waiver may be sought to overcome problems caused by the hiring freeze. Finally, employees have accomplished the delivery of ships early under the current alternative work schedule hours.
Employees are cooperative, often coming in early, staying late, or working through lunch as needed.
It points to two previous decisions where the Panel recommended flexitime programs for employees engaged in similar work. The importance of an interface between its employees and those of the Contractor makes it impossible to designate a central core of hours when its employees must be present. Further, demands on its limited staff are increasing due to a Department of Defense hiring freeze exacerbated by normal losses from attrition, and the undertaking of a major project involving the removal of spent nuclear fuel and the overhaul of the U.S.S. Enterprise, scheduled for November 1990. Moreover, its proposal would permit it to continue to exert a palpable presence necessary to ensure that contracts meet the highest quality standards on projects critical to the safety of Naval forces, and to the country's security. At the same time, employees would receive greater flexibility within a time frame least likely to interfere with shipboard work, and give supervisors an accurate idea of an employee's availability for assigning work and scheduling meetings.