The MANPRINT Program
MANPRINT History
Benefits of MANPRINT...
MANPRINT is a winning proposition for everyone involved. The Army wins with MANPRINT because emphasis on total system performance produces synergistic effects for people, equipment and organizations. Industry also wins through adherence to MANPRINT principles because products, whether designed for military or commercial application, are less costly to staff and train to operate and maintain. Above all, MANPRINT optimizes total system performance and at minimum cost.
Throughout the design and development phases, MANPRINT ensures that:
- system operation, maintenance, training and support requirements are matched to personnel availability;
- systems become increasingly user-centered, trainable, reliable and maintainable; and
- life cycle costs are reduced through minimizing or eliminating specialized skills and tools for user-level maintenance.
- total system performance is optimized at minimal life cycle costs by proper assignment of functions to man or machine.
A MANPRINT Example...
In 1984, Allison and Garrett formed the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company (LHTEC), a partnership that won the Army's contract to develop an engine that would power the Comanche helicopter. The team approached MANPRINT integration principles with vigor and developed a organization where communication, commitment, feedback and user influence prevailed on the designers.
This approach resulted in a capable and highly supportable engine, the T800, which surpassed all Army reliability and maintainability requirements. In contrast with predecessor engines, the T800 requires fewer personnel to perform flight-line maintenance. User training requirements are also significantly reduced. LHTEC's approach resulted in numerous innovative solutions to field maintenance and support challenges. For example, only six common handtools are needed to perform user-level maintenance, translating into a 76 percent reduction in depot tool inventories.
Human Systems Integration...
The importance and success achieved by the Army's MANPRINT has led the Office of the Secretary of Defense to adopt the concept for the entire Department of Defense. MANPRINT is included, under the descriptive name of Human Systems Integration, in DoD Regulation 5000.2-R, 1996.
