Safe, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has successfully achieved AS9100C implementation and certification. This certification confirms that the quality management system (QMS) is certified for the design, development, and manufacturing of aerospace products, with an emphasis on the integration of new technologies into safety-related products.

Additionally, this milestone reaffirms Safe’s commitment to exceeding customer expectations in quality, technology, and performance and plays an integral part in achieving the continuous improvement goals established by the organization.

AS9100C and ISO9001:2008 Certified (attached certificate, PDF)

Safe has received an extension of an existing contract from the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD), Fort Eustis, Virginia. The contract is part of a Multi-phase Two Step BAA contracting vehicle to support the development of improved crash protection for crews of Army helicopters.

The additional work will expand on the capability of the crash responsive technology developed by Safe in the previous phase of work. The goal is to extend the capability of current energy absorbing and restraint systems to provide crash protection in significantly more severe crashes than do current systems. The work involves modeling, analysis, design, and testing to be conducted over an 18-month time period.

Safe is teamed with AmSafe Aviation of Phoenix, AZ to provide inflatable restraint support to the program.

This Phase I SBIR program will develop an anthropomorphic test device (ATD) (also referred to as a “test manikin” or “test dummy”), which will be used specifically for land vehicle blast testing. The Hybrid III ATD was developed specifically for automobile crash testing and to quantify the types of injuries most commonly experienced in automobile crashes. The human response to blast insult is quite different, and consequently, the automotive ATDs lack biofidelity when exposed to a blast environment.

The initial effort will apply technology developed by Adelaide Test & Evaluation Systems for a Frangible Surrogate Leg to the upper leg, pelvis, and spine for a Combat Injury Manikin (CIMan). Safe’s ultimate goal is to develop an ATD that is biofidelic, yet affordable to use in blast testing.

Frangible surrogate legs for ATDs, Adelaide T&E Systems

Safe has been awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin to finalize the design, qualify, and deliver energy absorbing struts for use in a space exploration vehicle. The energy absorbing struts will be part of a crew impact attenuation system with which these vehicles are equipped. The struts will support a pallet on which astronauts will be seated. The struts are designed to absorb impact energy and lower the loads imposed on the crew in the event of a hard landing.

This is the third contract related to this technology that Safe has received. The first contract was received in 2008 from NASA Langley. The prototype struts produced under that contract were statically and dynamically tested and the results were used to support development of the current crew impact attenuation system.

NAVSEA has awarded Safe a contract modification to fabricate a full-scale prototype of the VULCAN (shock and vibration resistant stowage system) and to continue the Phase II SBIR development effort. Safe is engineering the VULCAN, a reconfigurable common cradle pallet assembly for use on the Littoral Combat Ship, to securely stow and transport the ship’s mission-specific watercraft.

Safe, Inc. has been awarded a Phase II SBIR contract to continue the development of a hypoxia monitoring and warning system for use by pilots of high altitude/high-performance aircraft.

Safe, Inc. is conducting an expansion of its dynamic drop tower test capabilities.

This expansion will increase Safe’s ability to conduct accurate, repeatable dynamic tests while meeting various test pulse specifications.