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The Human Systems IAC, formerly CSERIAC, was established by the United States Department of Defense as a government owned-contractor operated facility in 1988 at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The Human Systems IAC is administered by the Defense Technical Information Analysis Center (DTIC), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, technically managed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Human Effectiveness Directorate (AFRL/HE), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and operated by Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Mclean, Virginia.
HSIAC deals with the human component of a system using a total system approach. The total system includes not only the prime mission equipment but also the people who operate, maintain, and support the system.
The Human Systems Information Analysis Center (Human Systems IAC) is the gateway to worldwide sources of up-to-date human systems information for designers, engineers, researchers, and human factors specialists. Human Systems IAC provides a variety of products and services to government, industry, and academia to promote the use of ergonomics in the design of human-operated equipment.
Human Systems IAC provides "The Right Human Factors Information at the Right Time." What is Human Systems Technology?
Researchers, designers, and engineers must accommodate a number of difficult physical and mechanical variables when they design and produce equipment. They also must account for the capabilities and limitations of the human beings who will manufacture, operate, and maintain that equipment.
Human systems technologies encompass a diverse and dynamic field drawing upon the knowledge and skills of the physical, medical, and social sciences. This field includes data, theories, and practices obtained from a variety of disciplines such as industrial ergonomics, human factors, cognitive psychology, experimental psychology, social psychology, and applied medicine. The synthesis of these disciplines provides designers with information concerning equipment intended to be operated and maintained by humans in sea, land, air, and space environments.
The HSIAC provides the research, development, and acquisition communities with "The Right Human Factors Information at the Right Time." To achieve this, the Human Systems IAC deals with the human component of a system using a total system approach. This method includes not just the prime mission equipment, but also the people who operate, maintain, and support the system; training and training devices; and the systems' operational and support infrastructure. DoD policy stresses the importance of optimizing total system performance and minimizing the life-cycle cost of ownership through a total system approach to acquisition management.
Advancements in technology have generated a vast amount of archived technical information. Finding this information is a difficult task. While computer networks and on-line databases help, the researcher, scientist, or engineer still has the time-consuming task of sorting and analyzing a huge amount of data to get the information needed. But help is available. The Human Systems IAC is staffed with human factors experts who have specialized training in data collection and analysis techniques. It relieves researchers, designers, and engineers of the burden of locating, sorting, and analyzing data.
In addition, HSIAC locates, creates, and distributes a wide range of human factors software, models, and other analytical tools. Human Systems IAC also develops and distributes technical publications, including handbooks, data books, state-of-the-art reports (SOARs), critical reviews, technology assessments, and research directories. The Human Systems IAC newsletter Gateway keeps the technical community aware of technology trends and developments; it is distributed free-of-charge to all who request it.
HSIAC locates, creates, and distributes a wide range of human factors software, including:
Anthropometry & Biomechanics
Anthropometric Data Analysis Sets: Data useful for resolving human accommodation issues during equipment design
Computerized Biomechanical Man-model (COMBIMAN): Human-computer model of a seated operator
Crew Chief: Human-computer model of a maintenance technician
Human Workload Assessment
NASA Task Load Index (TLX): A multi-dimensional rating procedure to collect subjective workload assessments of operator(s) working with human-machine systems
Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT): A subjective workload scaling method to quantify the workload associated with various activities
Workload Consultant for Field Evaluation (WC FIELDE): A decision support system that assists a user in the selection of workload assessment techniques
Observational Data Analysis
Activity Catalog Tool (ACT): A tool for tracking and recording human activity in a natural setting or studying pre-recorded videotape
MacSHAPA 1.1: A software environment that supports observational data analysis, including the analysis of videotape
Tools For Automated Knowledge Engineering (TAKE): Uses concept maps to represent, record, and explore knowledge domains
Reference
Computer Aided Systems Human Engineering Performance Visualization System (CASHE:PVS): Allows users to explore and experience a multitude of topics concerning human performance in complex systems
Human Systems Information Analysis Center (HSIAC)
AFRL/HEC/HSIAC
2261 Monahan Way, Bldg 196
WPAFB, OH 45433-7022
Phone: (937) 255-4842
Fax: (937) 255-4823
E-mail: [email protected]
http://iac.dtic.mil/hsiac
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