Design Interface and the HEDAD-M 

In the development of DoD systems, Design Interface is the integration of the quantitative design characteristics of systems engineering with the Integrated Product Support (IPS) Elements and reflects the relationship between design parameters and product support requirements. Design interface analysis is based on digital system models and digital product data that form the system's Authoritative Source of Truth. These design parameters are expressed in operational terms, and one key aspect is suitability, the measure of an item's ability to be supported (e.g., maintained) in its intended operational environment.

Since nearly all DoD systems require periodic maintenance to keep them in a high state of readiness, maintainability is a key “-ility” to invest in during development. Use of a model-based Human Engineering Design Approach Document-Maintainer (HEDAD-M), DI-HFAC-80747, is an invaluable tool to analyze the design’s maintainability digitally. The HEDAD-M documents the maintenance-related characteristics, maintainer interfaces, layout, access, and installation and removal of equipment, as well as the associated maintenance tasks and actions.

Program offices should tailor the HEDAD-M Contract Data Requirements List and Data Item Description for development contracts to require “model-based” analysis, which provides visualization of various maintainer anthropometric categories (e.g., small to large, etc.) performing tasks on the digital system model. This analysis can highlight potential issues with access, removal and installation, etc., long before “metal is bent,” saving time and resources and resulting in delivery of a highly maintainable system to the Warfighter.

Next time: Model-Based Technical Manuals