Initiatives

System Safety

The Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC) was established in response to the Secretary of Defense's May 19, 2003 memo, "Reducing Preventable Accidents" and is chaired by the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) (USD(P&R). Its purpose is to provide governance on DoD-wide efforts to reduce preventable mishaps. The Acquisition and Technology Program Task Force (ATP TF) is one of nine task forces currently chartered by the DSOC. The ATP TF Chair is Mr. Chris DiPetto, Deputy Director, DTE.

In accordance with its charter, the DSOC shall:

1. Review accident and incident trends, ongoing safety initiatives, private sector and other governmental agency best practices, and make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense for safety improvement policies, programs, and investments.
2. Assess, review and advise on improving all aspects of the coordination, relevance, efficiency, efficacy, timeliness and viability of existing DoD-wide safety and injury prevention information management systems.
3. Promote the development and implementation of safety initiatives, including Systems Safety for Acquisitions and operations, to improve mission success as well as preserve human and physical resources throughout DoD.
4. Oversee Council committees, receive regular progress reports on the status of approved action plans, serve as the approval authority for actions proposed by Council committees, and endorse appointment letters for committee chairs and members through their chain of command.
5. Coordinate with other federal agencies and industry leaders, to facilitate communication, coordination, and integration of best practices into DoD planning, development and implementation of initiatives and programs.
6. Support research to improve human performance, safety education standards/procedures, and equipment.

The ATP TF is charged with investigating and recommending or implementing changes to policies, procedures, initiatives, education and training, and investments to ensure acquisition programs address safety throughout the program life cycle, including systems acquisition, operations and support, sustainment, demilitarization, and disposal. The ATP TF recognizes that its impact, through the systems acquisition process, will be in the relatively long-term reaching fruition, but that its effects will have long-term benefit. The ATP TF also recognizes that while its charter focuses on acquisition policies as they relate to safety, it must also account for how its changes impact on the closely interrelated environmental and occupational health disciplines.

The goals of the ATP TF are to:

• Ensure acquisition policies and procedures for all systems address safety requirements
• Review and modify, as necessary, relevant DoD standards with respect to safety
• Recommend ways to ensure acquisition program office decisions consider system hazards
• Recommend ways to ensure milestone decision reviews and interim progress reviews address safety.

The bottom line is to establish a dialogue between the System Safety and Systems Engineering communities. For more information about the APT TF, including the latest policies, guidance, and initiatives, visit the ATP TF website.