4. GENERAL PROGRAM GUIDELINES.

4.1 Program Managers.

4.1.1 Roles of the program manager.

In the context of this standard, the program manager's primary role is to ensure environmental engineering considerations are addressed systematically, thoroughly, and effectively at appropriate times throughout the materiel acquisition process. The process for accomplishing this integration is diagrammed on figure 1-1. An associated role is to ensure environmental effects information is documented, available, and communicated from one program phase to another.

4.1.2 Guidance for program managers.

a. DoD 5000-series documents call for a total systems approach through systems engineering, considering all life cycle needs, including storage, transport, and operation in natural environments (DoDD 5000.1). Specifically, they call for a description of how performance in natural environmental conditions representative of the intended area of operations will be tested. This includes identifying test beds that are critical to determine if developmental test objectives are achieved, taking into account such stressors as temperature, vibration (random or sinusoidal), pressure, humidity, fog, precipitation, clouds, electromagnetic environment, blowing dust and sand, icing, wind conditions, steep terrain, wet soil conditions, high sea state, storm surge and tides, etc. (DoD 5000.2-R). The environmental tailoring process shown on figure 4-1 and the generalized life cycle environmental profile in figures 4-2a and b use systems engineering approaches, helping to ensure that system design and test criteria are tailored to environmental conditions within which materiel systems are to operate and that total ownership costs are reduced.

b. As indicated on figure 1-1, there may be times that the program manager has valid alternatives to testing actual hardware or hardware prototypes when conducting laboratory, development, or operational tests. These alternatives include, but are not necessarily limited to, using simulation to reduce the costs involved in producing and testing hardware prototypes, using coupon samples instead of entire systems when specific materials are the central acquisition issue, and using analytical procedures such as verification by similarity to systems already tested and approved. An environmental engineering specialist (EES) can aid program managers to establish an engineering basis for selecting such alternatives. When these alternatives are selected, Task 401, Environmental Engineering Master Plan, must contain the rationale for their selection, including an explanation of expected cost savings, other benefits and risks to system effectiveness/safety. (See Part One, Appendix A, Task 401, and Appendix B, paragraph F.)

c. The following paragraphs, organized by major acquisition documents, capsulize environmental effects information for program managers and serve as background information for design engineers, test engineers, and environmental engineering specialists. Appendix B provides detailed direction for program managers.