Crew Performance Requirements for Emerging Armor Weapons Systems: Studies of Crew Size and Methods of Forecasting Human Factors

Abstract : The purpose of this research was to examine (a) the effects of operating a lightweight armor combat vehicle with crew of varying size, and (b) the effectiveness of two methods of forecasting human factors and training requirements for the same weapon system. In Study I, experienced armor crewmen responded to questions about the impact on system performance of reductions in number of crewmen from four to three or two. The opinion data together with results of a literature review suggest that, if a combat vehicle design employs automation and control-and-display redundancy well, three men in a crew may not only be ample but perhaps superior to a four-man crew; a reduction to two men would, in the judgment of the experts, be too extreme, producing some degradation in system effectiveness and crewman confidence. In Study II, estimates of personnel requirements for the experimental weapon system were made by armor experts who were provided documents descriptive of the system but who had no first-hand experience with it. Their estimates, regardless of the kinds of descriptive materials used, did not differ significantly from judgments of the same requirements made by crewman experienced with the weapon system. In task areas where estimates of time to perform were compared with observed performance time, the armor experts tended to overestimate time to perform; the shorter the actual time, the greater the overestimate.