"Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration from the Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009." / Advisor(s): Boudreau, Michael ; Brinkley, Douglas. "December 2009." "MBA Professional report"--Cover. Description based on title screen as viewed on January 28, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Notional Concept, Virtual Work Environment, Management Information System, Urgent Universal Needs Statement, share drive-based database. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66). Also available in print.

Thesis (M Eng (Research)) -- University of South Australia, 1992

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-59). Also available via the Internet.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) is assigned the mission to render safe and/or dispose of any device, conventional, nuclear, biological, chemical, or improvised, that may cause injury to personnel or damage to property. Teleoperated mobile robots have been fielded to make the job of the EOD soldier less hazardous. The current model in use is the Security Explosive Ordnance Disposal (SEOD) robot. The future model is the RCT Rover. These robots are designed to specifically target improvised explosive devices (IEDs) -- homemade bombs. With their present design these robots have limited capabilities. Only one gripper, which is bolted onto the end of the arm, is provided. It was the objective of the research to take the first step toward increasing the flexibility of this robot by applying technology which presently exists in the industrial robotics area. A feasibility study was proposed which considered both hardware and control issues of proposed changes. A quick exchange device was proposed as well as numerous end effectors to make the robot more adaptable to any given situation. Control and feedback system issues was also investigated that allowed the telerobot to have autonomous control during the end effector interchange sequence. / Master of Science

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): John E. Mutty, Joseph G. San Miguel. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Title from title screen (viewed July 18, 2003). Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61). Also issued in paper format.

This study addresses the need for improved risk assessment (RA) during explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) at sea by highlighting the environmental and operational complexities of handling unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the marine environment. It discusses the increasing demand for offshore EOD due to the construction of offshore wind parks and initiatives proactively addressing UXO dump sites. Conducting EOD work professionally and diligently to prevent accidents and environmental contamination will, hence, continue to be of paramount importance. In an effort to understand the RA tools that are available to EOD experts, this work reviews ten RA methods and identifies a methodological gap, thereby revealing the need for a new EOD RA method. Consequently, it introduces a novel method named the Risk Assessment Model for Unexploded underwater Military Munitions (RUMMs). This model is based on a directed graph and considers properties and aspects of the UXO, the environment, and the EOD procedure. RUMMs, which can be used during early EOD planning states or immediately before UXO handling, calculates the probability of an undesired detonation, the consequence of an undesired detonation, and the complexity of the EOD operation. The model is extensively explored by means of local sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation to demonstrate its reliability. Subsequently, RUMMs is tested with twenty EOD operations, which yield plausible model outputs that are in line with expectations and real-world decisions. The model's consistent and reproducible results, unaffected by fatigue or time pressure, add a new layer of reliability to EOD decision-making.:1 Introduction 1.1 Offshore UXO in a Multi-Use and Multiple Stressor Environment 1.2 Focus, Scope, and Purpose of this Dissertation 1.3 Research Hypotheses 1.4 Structure of the Dissertation 2 The Issue of Offshore Unexploded Ordnance 2.1 Background and Context 2.2 UXO Properties 2.3 Potential Effects of the Presence of UXO 2.4 Conclusion—The Case for Explosive Ordnance Disposal 3 Offshore Explosive Ordnance Disposal 3.1 EOD frameworks 3.2 EOD procedure According to the Selected Framework 3.3 EOD in Practice 3.4 Environmental Properties Affecting EOD 3.5 Conclusion—The Case for EOD Risk Assessment 4 Review of Risk Assessment Methodologies 4.1 Risk—A Brief Overview 4.2 Preparation of the Offshore UXO and EOD Risk Assessment Review 4.3 Offshore UXO Risk Assessment Review 4.4 Conclusion—The Case for a Novel Method for EOD RA 5 Development and Description of the EOD RA Model 5.1 Background of the EOD RA Model 5.2 Development Process of RUMMs 5.3 Undesired Events 5.4 Exceptions, Inherent Risk and Residual Risk 5.5 Risk Receptors 5.6 The Two Model Layouts 5.7 RUMMs Factors 5.8 Omitted Factors 5.9 Model Outputs 5.10 Other RUMMs Functionalities 5.11 Model Limitations 5.12 Conclusion—The Case for Model Exploration and Testing 6 Methodological Exploration and Application 6.1 Local Sensitivity Analysis 6.2 Monte Carlo Simulation 6.3 Application of RUMMs 6.4 Revision of the Gap Analysis 6.5 The Future of RUMMs 6.6 Conclusion—The Case for Real World Application 7 Conclusion 7.1 Recap of the Research Hypotheses 7.2 Outlook on RUMMs 7.3 Recommendations for UXO and EOD Research 7.4 RUMMs’ Response to Other Demands 7.5 RUMMs and the Way Forward in Offshore EOD

A qualitative description of the personal armour design system is elicited by comparing armour throughout the ages. Inputs that 'shape' designs are the materials technology, threat, wearer, task and environment. The emergent properties of protection, ergonomic effectiveness and financial cost form the basis of trade-offs to select final solutions. Work on the protection subsystem refines the key positive emergent property of personal armour. Existing quantifications of protection effectiveness are rejected in favour of a novel measure named the Usefulness Factor, UF. This is the first measure that accounts for the real benefit of armour. A five-stage model is proposed for the assessment of protection. Two feedback loops - due to making tasks as safe as possible and the ergonomic penalty of armour are evident. These must be considered in order to assess protection correctly. Casualty reduction analysis software (CASPER) is used to produce 'approach plots' and 'zones of usefulness' in order to make tasks safer and map the benefit of armour. This approach is demonstrated with the UK's Lightweight Combat EOD Suit against L2A2 and No. 36 Mills grenades, an HB876 area denial mine, a BL 755 sub-munition and a 105mm artillery shell. Assessment of secondary fragmentation from antipersonnel (AP) blast mines defines a threat input that is specific to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Trials are carried out with explosive charges of 50g to 500g, buried under 5 or 10cm of stones and sand at a range of 1m. The threat is defined in terms of the probabilities of (a) being hit, (b) a hit perforating armour and (c) a hit incapacitating an unarmoured person. The chances of being hit close to the ground decrease to approximately 15% of the value when directly above the mine. Secondary fragmentation is not likely to perforate armour that protects against primary fragments. However, it is likely to incapacitate an unarmoured person. Protection is traded-off against proxies for ergonomic and financial cost effectiveness by using quantitative optimisation of personal armour. This introduces the concept of a 'protection optimisation envelope', which defines the bounds of possibility rather than a single solution. CASPER is adapted to produce weight and cost as well as incapacitation parameters. This provides a model that generates both benefits and constraints of armour. Hence, the foundations are laid for the world's first fully integrated personal armour design tools. The ergonomic effectiveness subsystem is the primary constraint of personal armour. Visor demisting for the UK's Mk 5 EOD Suit provides a simple example. Existing methods of assessment of the ergonomic penalty of armour are considered. A novel development of biomechanics computational models is proposed to predict both the mechanical and thermal burdens of armour.

A qualitative description of the personal armour design system is elicited by comparing armour throughout the ages. Inputs that 'shape' designs are the materials technology, threat, wearer, task and environment. The emergent properties of protection, ergonomic effectiveness and financial cost form the basis of trade-offs to select final solutions. Work on the protection subsystem refines the key positive emergent property of personal armour. Existing quantifications of protection effectiveness are rejected in favour of a novel measure named the Usefulness Factor, UF. This is the first measure that accounts for the real benefit of armour. A five-stage model is proposed for the assessment of protection. Two feedback loops - due to making tasks as safe as possible and the ergonomic penalty of armour are evident. These must be considered in order to assess protection correctly. Casualty reduction analysis software (CASPER) is used to produce 'approach plots' and 'zones of usefulness' in order to make tasks safer and map the benefit of armour. This approach is demonstrated with the UK's Lightweight Combat EOD Suit against L2A2 and No. 36 Mills grenades, an HB876 area denial mine, a BL 755 sub-munition and a 105mm artillery shell. Assessment of secondary fragmentation from antipersonnel (AP) blast mines defines a threat input that is specific to Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Trials are carried out with explosive charges of 50g to 500g, buried under 5 or 10cm of stones and sand at a range of 1m. The threat is defined in terms of the probabilities of (a) being hit, (b) a hit perforating armour and (c) a hit incapacitating an unarmoured person. The chances of being hit close to the ground decrease to approximately 15% of the value when directly above the mine. Secondary fragmentation is not likely to perforate armour that protects against primary fragments. However, it is likely to incapacitate an unarmoured person. Protection is traded-off against proxies for ergonomic and financial cost effectiveness by using quantitative optimisation of personal armour. This introduces the concept of a 'protection optimisation envelope', which defines the bounds of possibility rather than a single solution. CASPER is adapted to produce weight and cost as well as incapacitation parameters. This provides a model that generates both benefits and constraints of armour. Hence, the foundations are laid for the world's first fully integrated personal armour design tools. The ergonomic effectiveness subsystem is the primary constraint of personal armour. Visor demisting for the UK's Mk 5 EOD Suit provides a simple example. Existing methods of assessment of the ergonomic penalty of armour are considered. A novel development of biomechanics computational models is proposed to predict both the mechanical and thermal burdens of armour.

Vid röjning av RSV-ammunition saknas idag adekvat beslutstöd för att dimensionera skadebegränsande åtgärder mot jetstrålens verkan. I uppsatsen vidareutvecklas en beräkningsmodell som författaren tidigare föreslagit. Syftet är att skapa ett verktyg som kan införas i ammunitionsröjningsverksamheten. Fullskaliga skjutförsök har genomförts för att klarlägga inverkan av förhållanden som är typiska vid ammunitionsröjning; en skyddskonstruktion byggd av sandsäckar och med ett långt detonationsavstånd till röjningsobjektet. Försöksresultatet visar att den grundläggande hydrodynamiska penetrationsteorin inte är användbar för dessa förhållanden. Vidare ger sandsäckskonstruktionen signifikant bättre skydd mot jetstrålen än en homogen grusbädd. Genom störningsanalys har känsligheten hos de enskilda parametrarna i beräkningsmodellen för verksamhetstypiska fel utretts. Härefter har Monte Carlo-simulering använts för att analysera den sammanlagda inverkan som dessa fel kan ge. Resultatet har legat till grund för att bestämma modellens säkerhetsmarginal. Militär nytta innebär att modellen skall kunna tillämpas fältmässigt, med korta tidsförhållanden och utan tillgång till avancerade beräkningshjälpmedel. Detta har lett fram till att ett enkelt diagram inkluderats i det kompletta dimensioneringsverktyget. Verktyget föreslås införas i regelverk och utbildningssystem för att avhjälpa den brist som råder idag. / During the clearance of shaped charge ammunition, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel lack adequate means for the design of protective measures against the jet. In this thesis a calculation model, previously suggested by the author, is developed further. The aim is to create a tool that can be applied to EOD operations. Full-scale experiments have been conducted to clarify the effects of conditions that are typical for EOD operations: protective measures built from sandbags with a long standoff distance to the ordnance. The results indicate that the hydrodynamic penetration theory is not suitable for these conditions. Furthermore, a sandbag construction provides significantly better protection against the jet than a homogeneous gravel construction. By disturbance analysis, the sensitivity of the individual parameters in the model is studied for typical errors. Subsequently, Monte Carlo simulation has been used to analyse the effect these errors can cause. The simulation results have then been the used to determine the model´s margin of safety. Military utility implies that it should be possible to use the model under field conditions, with limited time frames and without access to advanced calculating means. This has resulted in a simple diagram included in the comprehensive design tool. It is proposed that the tool is implemented in regulations and curricula in order to remedy today’s lack of decision support.