Analysis for the design of a U.S. Navy diving and salvage smart stage

Abstract

The Navys Dive and Salvage community is in need of a new dive stage, called the SMART Stage, which will increase the productivity and safety of its users along with matching their capabilities to that of the commercial industry. The existing dive stage is a stainless steel cage that merely transports divers and their tools from the surface towards the worksite at a maximum depth of 300 feet. What modifications and improvements can be made to make the divers safe? Improve productivity? Should this new stage be comprised of commercial off-the-shelf parts or can it be purchased as a pre-fabricated system? This thesis will investigate what is needed to improve the safety and productivity for the community as well as the possible design alternatives of a SMART Stage. This study will perform the Systems Engineering process by carrying out a stakeholder needs analysis to help define the functions and requirements that must be met by the SMART Stage.