BOOSTING SAFETY STANDARDS OF THE SAF

What do you do after solving a problem? Do you note down what was done and archive the steps for future reference, or chuck the memory aside after resolving it?

This was what Military Expert (ME) 5 Hung Hao touched on in his presentation about the Hazard Log Framework, where personnel could log aircraft incidents, archive what had been done to mitigate them, and share the notes with those who may need it in the future.

Using an example of how the brakes from an F-15SG aircraft caught fire due to hydraulic fluid leakage, ME5 Hung explained that the entire hazard tracking process - from reviewing the United States Air Force's baseline system safety analysis to local incident investigation and carrying out risk mitigation actions, informing operators about the residual risk and tracking future design improvements - was all part of ensuring system safety throughout an asset's life cycle.

"Personnel can use this framework as a point of reference (to learn) what was done and they can also make improvements to these solutions," added the 38-year-old Head Aerodynamics Branch from the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Air Engineering and Logistics Department.

ME5 Hung was one of six presenters at the 7th Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) System Safety Seminar. Held at Temasek Club on 18 Jan, the annual seminar serves as a platform for personnel to share their knowledge on system safety.

Said ME6 Lim Chee Leong, Chairman of the Organising Committee: "We understand that military equipment cannot be operated without risk. System safety is a methodology to manage equipment risk, and since we cannot eliminate all risk, the effort is focusing on reducing the residual risk to as low as possible."

The Head System Safety Branch from Naval Logistics Department, who was also one of the presenters, shared that the Navy had developed a "through-life" framework that was implemented in the recently acquired Littoral Mission Vessels (LMVs).

For example, the Republic of Singapore Navy incorporated safety and operation requirements into the design and construction of the LMVs that comply with and can be certified by third-party ship classification societies. These societies, which establish and maintain technical standards for the construction and maintenance of ships, will help the Navy to keep up these standards throughout the LMVs' lifespan.

ME6 Lim, 42, said: "One of the key design considerations (when using commercial technologies) was to enable a lean crew to operate the LMVs. Getting someone else to do it (checking and certifying) frees our engineers to do more value-adding jobs or to cross over to newer and growing domains like unmanned systems so that they can (learn and) contribute."

For ME5 Jason Kwek, his presentation focused on how past experiences could be used as a platform for learning when acquiring new assets to ensure that the system will be safe for operators.

Using the Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) as a case study, the Head Armoured Wheeled Systems Section from Headquarters Maintenance and Engineering Support Formation explained that a lack of confidence when driving the vehicle had previously led to a few incidents. This was mainly because the operators were young Full-time National Servicemen (NSFs) and it was their first time operating a huge vehicle

"We took immediate action to resolve these incidents and...along the way, we try to influence the design (of new assets) so that we can make it safer for soldiers to use," said the 45-year-old.

For example, the camera systems in the Terrex ICVs were improved to allow drivers to see their surroundings better. Extra safety features, such as monitoring the pitch (climbing up or down slope) and roll (tilting to the left or right) of the vehicle to prevent it from possibly overturning, were also added.

ME5 Kwek explained: "These NSFs come in for two years and try to equip themselves to learn as much about the system as they can - this is already a challenge.

"Furthermore, the equipment coming into the SAF are becoming more complicated. As engineers, we want to ensure that (there are) safety features to help them and prevent things from going wrong."