 Based at the San Diego Naval Station, the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) provides maintenance support and maintenance training to more than 50 surface ships, aircraft carriers, and submarines of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. This is a weighty responsibility for Captain Kevin Gannon, Commander of the SWRMC — as is the complement of roughly 3,000 sailors and civilians under his command.
位在聖地牙哥海軍基地，美國海軍西南區維護中心（ SWRMC ）提供維護支援和訓練給美國海軍 50 多艘船隻、航空母艦、潛水艇以及美國海岸巡防隊。這對美國海軍西南區維護中心的指揮官 Kevin Gannon 上校來說，是相當重大的責任，因為大約 3000 名海軍士兵和平民所需的補給都在他的管轄之下。
Captain Gannon, who describes himself as a “lifelong learner,” holds an undergraduate degree from Tulane University in mathematics, an MS in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey , and an MS in systems engineering from University of Virginia . But he is quick to point out that his education is not confined to formal schooling; in each of his positions in the U.S. Navy, Gannon has worked to keep abreast of new developments in his fields of expertise.
Gannon 上校形容自己是位「終身學習者」，他自 Tulane 大學數學系畢業，在 Monterey 海軍研究所取得機械工程碩士學位，並且在 Virginia 大學取得系統工程碩士，他很快地指出他所受的教育並不限於正式的學校教育而已，無論 Gannon 在美國海軍的任職為何，他總是努力保持他的專業能跟上最新的發展。
Gannon describes his main responsibilities at SWRMC as overseeing lots of industrial processes (anything from fixing a pump to overhauling a gun) — and he is constantly looking for ways to streamline these processes. This quest led him to OpenCourseWare several years ago, while browsing for information on LEAN manufacturing.
Gannon 在 SWRMC 主要的職責是監督多種製造作業流程（例如從幫浦修理到槍支檢修），他不斷的尋找改善這些作業流程的方法。這樣的需求，在幾年前當他在瀏覽精實製造（ lean manufacturing ）相關資料時，帶領他進入了麻省理工學院開放式課程。
“ LEAN is a tool that industry has been using for the last couple of years,” explains Gannon, “ focusing on process improvement, and minimizing waste. I was looking generically for LEAN information, and stumbled across OCW. I was really impressed. This site is a true intellectual gem. They have a couple of LEAN classes in the engineering section, such as ‘Course ESD.60 – LEAN/Six Sigma Processes,' that were very useful.”
「精實（ Lean ）是一套近幾年工業界普遍使用的工具」 Gannon 解釋著，「它針對製程加以改善並且減少報廢情況的發生。當我在找精實的資料並駐足於開放式課程時，我對它真是印象深刻。這個網站真可說是一顆智慧的寶石，他們在工程領域部分有很多精實的課程，像是 Course ESD.60 – Lean/Six Sigma Process （ 6 個標準差製程），非常地實用。」
OCW has also proved helpful in other areas of Gannon's job. For example: leadership training for the sailors under his command is one of his major concerns. So, soon after discovering the OCW Web site, Gannon browsed through the MIT Sloan School courses on OCW to see if any of these courses could be helpful. “The Leading Organizations course [‘Course 15.322' ] has turned me on to all sorts of useful references,” Gannon says. “We've used a bunch of books mentioned in the syllabus. And the lecture notes are also an important tool. They include documents on the problems and prospects of a changing organizational world, and models of organizational change. We've used these for our discussion and our teaching here.”
麻省理工學院開放式課程也提供了 Gannon 在其他方面的工作有效的協助，例如他最關心的其中一件事就是他麾下海軍士兵領導能力的訓練，在他發現了麻省理工學院開放式課程網站後不久，他瀏覽遍網站上史隆學院的課程，尋找是否有哪些課程能派得上用場；「這些領導組織的課程（ Course 15.322 ）引導我到各類有用的參考資料，我們採用了一堆課程大綱裡提到的書籍，課堂講稿也是很重要的工具，內容包括改變中組織的問題、前景，以及組織變化的模式；我們採用了這些資料在課堂中討論及作為教學的主題。」
“ OCW has definitely accelerated our ability to train,” Gannon continues. “As far as I'm concerned, these courses are already tried-and-true. They've worked with a high-performing group. They're a nicely bundled package, and they're free. How can you beat that?”
Gannon 接著說：「麻省理工學院開放式課程確實加速我們訓練的能力，就我而言，這裡的課程都已經先試過而且得到證實的結果，這些課程已經由一群高效率的團隊經營，它們是一套裝束紮實的完整課程，並且免費開放使用；你怎麼比得過它呢？」 |
