2026-09-21T00:46:47Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/1052942022-01-13T07:54:46Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
Nancy G. Leveson.
Chung, Nicholas, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
System Design and Management Program.
System Design and Management Program.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
2016-11-14T19:05:31Z
2016-11-14T19:05:31Z
2014
2014
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/105294
962272791
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 211).
The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) faces new challenges as it continues into the 21st century as the world's leader in developmental flight test. New technologies are becoming ever more sophisticated and less transparent, driving an increase in complexity for tests designed to evaluate them. This shift will place more demands on the AFTC Safety Management System to effectively analyze hazards and preempt the conditions that lead to accidents. In order to determine whether the AFTC Safety Management System is prepared to handle new safety challenges, this thesis applied Dr. Nancy Leveson's Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) technique. The safety management system was analyzed and potential safety constraint violations due to systemic factors, unsafe component interactions, as well as component failures were investigated. The analysis identified the key features that make the system effective; gaps in the sub-processes, roles, responsibilities, and tools; and opportunities to improve the system. These findings will provide insights on how the AFTC Safety Management System can be improved with the aim of preventing accidents from occurring during flight test operations. Finally, this thesis demonstrated the effectiveness of the STPA technique at hazard analysis on an organizational process.
by Nicholas Chung.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
211 pages
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Engineering Systems Division.
System Design and Management Program.
Systems-theoretic process analysis of the Air Force Test Center Safety Management System
Thesis
application/pdf
false
Publication
unknown
unknown
<Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="51be88d8-fe40-4959-8799-f3dac71e15f9">
<Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type>
<Language>eng</Language>
<Title>Systems-theoretic process analysis of the Air Force Test Center Safety Management System</Title>
<PublishedIn>
<Publication>
</Publication>
</PublishedIn>
<PublicationDate>2014</PublicationDate>
<Authors>
<Author>
<DisplayName>Chung, Nicholas, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName>
<Affiliation>
<OrgUnit>
</OrgUnit>
</Affiliation>
</Author>
</Authors>
<Editors>
</Editors>
<Publishers>
<Publisher>
<DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName>
<OrgUnit />
</Publisher>
</Publishers>
<License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License>
<Keyword>Engineering Systems Division.</Keyword>
<Keyword>System Design and Management Program.</Keyword>
<Abstract>The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) faces new challenges as it continues into the 21st century as the world's leader in developmental flight test. New technologies are becoming ever more sophisticated and less transparent, driving an increase in complexity for tests designed to evaluate them. This shift will place more demands on the AFTC Safety Management System to effectively analyze hazards and preempt the conditions that lead to accidents. In order to determine whether the AFTC Safety Management System is prepared to handle new safety challenges, this thesis applied Dr. Nancy Leveson's Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) technique. The safety management system was analyzed and potential safety constraint violations due to systemic factors, unsafe component interactions, as well as component failures were investigated. The analysis identified the key features that make the system effective; gaps in the sub-processes, roles, responsibilities, and tools; and opportunities to improve the system. These findings will provide insights on how the AFTC Safety Management System can be improved with the aim of preventing accidents from occurring during flight test operations. Finally, this thesis demonstrated the effectiveness of the STPA technique at hazard analysis on an organizational process.</Abstract>
<Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right"
>
</Access>
</Publication>