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Northwest Chapter
The Northwest Chapter again hosted the Hanford biannual Professional Development Conference, a joint venture with the local ASSE and AIH chapters. Six papers were presented, with 37 people in attendance for the day-long conference.
Sierra High Desert Chapter
Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. As the system safety workload grows in the high desert, so does its membership. Carol Wolfe has joined the Chapter and brings along her organizational skills, as she will be the new Sierra High Desert Chapter newsletter editor. She has worked for the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division for 15 years, and has been directly supporting the System Safety Engineering Division (headed by Chapter Past President Ken Chirkis) for the past year. Dave Mesa has also joined the Chapter, as he is one month new to the system safety engineering discipline – however, he brings more than 20 years of explosive safety experience. He is currently a Navy Reserve ordnance "gunner" for the Weapons Test & Evaluation Squadron (VX-31). Dave will be attending the University of Southern California's system safety and software safety courses next spring, and he has one year left in his pursuit of a B.S. degree in professional aeronautics with an aviation safety minor.
Ken Chirkis has been promoted to assistant adjunct professor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and continues to instruct in the fields of aviation safety, industrial safety and aviation psychology.
As the Sierra High Desert Chapter grows, its members are making inroads with the local community by supporting events and providing volunteers for safety-related booths.
Singapore Chapter
The Singapore Chapter held a get-together and sharing session on the afternoon of November 9, 2005. This was the fifth such session since the Chapter's inception in September of 2003, and the second session for 2005. It was held in the Founders Hall of Singapore Technology Kinetics.
Chapter President Michael Tan gave a brief update on Society matters. He also shared highlights of the 23rd ISSC and encouraged submission of papers to the next Conference. He congratulated Ms. Onn Eng Ling, Immediate Past President of the Chapter, on attaining Senior Member status.
The Singapore Chapter affiliate plan was also launched at the meeting. Under this plan, Chapter affiliates will be able to access the password-protected sections of the Chapter Web site to be launched in the next work year.
The session included a presentation of the 23rd ISSC paper by the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) on "Quantitative Risk Based System Safety Assessment for an Ammunition Processing Facility." The paper was presented by Mr. Oei Su Cheok. (The original presenter, Francis Loi, had injured his ankle.)
The sharing session was attended by more than 35 people from DSTA, Defence Science Organisation National Labs, Singapore Technology Engineering Subsidiaries, the Singapore Armed Forces, National University of Singapore, Land Transport Authority and the Singapore Police Force. The evening concluded with a sumptuous dinner buffet.
The 2nd Singapore Armed Forces System Safety Seminar was held on November 25, 2005, and was organized by DSTA. The key members of the organizing committee, Michael Tan, Fan Yue Sang and Oei Su Cheok, were from the Singapore Chapter. The guest of honor was Chief of Defence Force LG Ng Yat Chung, and the keynote speaker was Chief Defence Scientist Prof. Lui Pao Chuen. One of the highlights of his address was a discussion of the saw-tooth nature of accidents.
The seminar featured six speakers who shared their experiences in system safety. The topics and speakers were:
- Operationalizing System Safety in DSTA - Mr. Fan Yue Sang, DSTA
- Munition System Safety - Mr. S. Ravenderan, DSTA
- Shipboard Explosives Safety - Mr. Nigel Moberly, System Design & Evaluation, U.K.
- Army Tactical C2 System - Ms. Thaneletchumy Thangaras, ST Electronics Systems Pte. Ltd.
- Submarine Maintenance Safety Program - LTC Chow Yuk Hin, Naval Logistics Department, RSN
- PRIMUS 155mm SSPH - Tan Wee Cye, DSTA
More than 300 guests attended the seminar.
Tennessee Valley Chapter
On September 21, 2005, the Chapter conducted its scheduled monthly meeting hosted by APT Research, Inc. Prior to the official start of the meeting, Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer made a proclamation declaring Huntsville, Alabama, as an "International Center of Excellence for the Practice of System Safety Engineering." Chapter President Gary Braman then opened the meeting. The meeting's guest speaker was Dan Driggs, the lead C-27J system safety engineer and a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel, who gave a 30-minute presentation titled "Implementation of SAE ARP 4761 Industry System Safety Standards into Military Programs." The presentation included a discussion of the transition from MIL-STD-882 to the SAE ARP 4761 Industry Standards, how safety requirements are developed, systems engineering's role as the "backbone" for system safety implementation, and some other considerations when using the industry standard.
On October 19, 2005, the Chapter conducted its scheduled monthly meeting hosted by SAIC. The guest speaker was David B. West, a principal engineer with SAIC supporting the U.S. Army's Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) in Huntsville. David is SAIC's representative on the GEIA G-48 System Safety Committee and currently serves as its secretary. He gave a 30-minute presentation titled "Developing a New System Safety Standard for U.S. Army Aviation."
On November 16, 2005, the Chapter conducted its scheduled monthly meeting hosted by L3-GSI. Chapter President Gary Braman discussed the formation of a study group to prepare for taking the ASP and/or CSP examinations, and asked anyone interested to contact him. A senior analyst in system safety with CAS, Inc. supporting the Utility Helicopters Project Office at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, he was also the guest speaker for the monthly meeting, giving a 30-minute presentation titled "Safety – A Function of Leadership."
Washington DC Chapter
The Washington DC Chapter has recently published a full-color, 20-page newsletter. In it, the Chapter announces its plans for a Chapter awards program, a planned Chapter Web site, the selection of a theme for the 25th International System Safety Conference (to be held in Baltimore in 2007) and much more, as well as a full-length technical paper. Kudos to the Chapter on this outstanding new publication!
Winners Circle Chapter
On December 14, 2005, the Winners Circle Chapter's Executive Committee held its first tele-meeting, in which senior officers in Indiana and Kentucky linked up by speakerphone, allowing all to participate in the meeting without a two-hour drive in the wintry weather. The new system worked out well, and the Chapter is planning to try more tele-meetings over the next few months.
A general meeting (live and face-to-face) is planned for February.
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