Automated Crop Dusting, A Systems Engineering Approach

As a systems engineer (SE), one would have to listen to the point of view of each department involved in the design process. First, both of the engineering teams (Guidance and Navigation and Payload) would have to explain which commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components are not performing correctly. The engineers would have to do an analysis on all of the components in their system, and use carefully constructed flow charts to make sure all of the COTS equipment is compliant to the system requirements.

Once the analysis is complete, each subsystem would need to present their findings to the systems engineering group through a PowerPoint presentation or a white paper. The SE group would have to take these findings and check them against the requirements for the system. If the components are not compliant to the system requirements, then each subsystem group would have to go back and look for compliant alternatives that satisfy the requirements. If they are all compliant, there may have to be discussions about what equipment is critical and what is not as critical to the overall design so that substitutions or deletions can be made to meet the appropriate weight requirements. Both of these systems would have to work in conjunction with the safety engineers; fuel margin takes priority and should not be touched.

In addition to working with the various engineering groups involved, systems would also have to work with procurement and purchasing to discuss possible contractual changes or budgetary changes with the customer. These discussions must take place prior to any final design decisions being executed on the program.

As a result of the findings on this program, it would be in the best decision of the contractor to look into other options for the next generation. For instance, instead of going with all COTS components, engineering could look into the amount of work and budget required to outsource development of components or software. This could save the program money and valuable weight margin, although it may require more time and resources. However, this is usually a viable option for the contractor as long as the customer is on board and contracts are agreed upon by both sides.