HF DESIGNWORKS INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N142-083

Description

HF Designworks (HFDW) describes an approach for developing a Human System Integration (HSI) module to the existing Framework for Assessing Cost and Technology (FACT) tool. The HSI module, working within a SysML format, will hold implications for hardware design in terms of the eight HSI domains: Human Factors Engineering (HFE), Personnel, Habitability, Manpower, Training, Safety, Occupational Health, and Survivability. Benefits of such a module include improved safety and reduced manufacturing and maintenance costs; thereby contributing to reduced life-cycle costs. The Phase 1 effort will include identifying requirements for such a module and performing best of breed analyses of existing modeling algorithms to select relevant features for inclusion in our HSI module. Phase 1 will result in a plan and paper-based prototype of such a module, enabling heuristic assessments of design choices leveraging HSI related life-cycle concerns. Phase 2 will further develop, implement, and test the module as it becomes a plugin to FACT. The goal of this project is to develop a principle- and model-based software module that allows users to evaluate and compare potential designs in terms of their expected effects on operator performance, safety, and lifecycle costs (ensuring HSI domains are properly represented) before these systems are built.