TABLE OF CONTENTS Humans are an integral part of the operation and maintenance of military equipment. Very few items procured by the government operate in an environment that does not require human contact or involvement with the equipment. Therefore, humans must be considered an integral part of the total system. System safety engineering and human factors engineering are responsible for evaluating the equipment design to ensure that it allows human participation to be as safe and efficient as possible.
No matter how good the design of an equipment item, if it cannot be operated and maintained safely, it is unacceptable. System safety engineering is charged with developing and implementing a system safety program that continually evaluates the evolving equipment design to identify potential safety hazards. As they are identified, hazards are analyzed to determine ways in which they can be reduced or eliminated through design or procedure changes.
The system safety objectives of any program are to influence the design using a systematic analysis and evaluation approach that results in equipment that is as safe as possible to operate and maintain. Figure 7.1 shows the general objectives of system safety. Achievement of these objectives is realized through implementation of the design criteria listed in Fig. 7.2. These general design criteria illustrate the areas normally addressed by system safety engineers during equipment design.
| MIL-STD 882B
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