Human-System Integration issues for a low-cost, optimal-manning, high performances Frigate

摘要

Reduction of life cycle costs and Optimization of manning are among the most demanding requirements for future Surface Combatants. These two objectives will lead to the optimization of the crew workload on board and to the adoption of new design solutions in order to have a good balance between costs and manning. Optimized manning is defined as the minimum number of personnel consistent with human performance, workload, and safety requirements, and affordability, risk, and reliability constraints. Among the main ways for achieving shipboard manpower reduction are to be considered: a higher level of automation in ship functions, with particular regard to combat management and to damage control and fire fighting; the implementation of improved internal architectures for the naval platform; the adoption of systems, materials and construction techniques that require less maintenance on board; the introduction of new procedures and technologies in supporting life at sea, moving workload from the ship to ashore support facilities/services. A major engineering challenge for this approach is to use the Human System Integration process. The principal objective of the HSI discipline in system development is to ensure that requirements and considerations for the human element of the system will influence design. The system must be designed to facilitate and support human performance capability, safety, reliability, survivability and accommodation. This objective is achieved by addressing human requirements early in system design and development, in fact, from the very outset of the design process. How this is accomplished is through application of the HSI top down requirements analysis (TDRA). This paper describes this methodology (TDRA), its state of the art and the first results of its application to the concept study for a new Italian class of Frigates.