Resources

At present, Human engineering and ergonomics are critical considerations in designing military seats to ensure maximum comfort and reduced fatigue.

• DOD-HDBK-743 Rev. A – Military Handbook Anthropometry
• Def Stan 00-250 part3 – Human Factors for Designers of Equipment Part 3: Body Strength and Stamina
• Mil-Std 1472 F – Department Of Defense Design Criteria Standard. Human Engineering

Automotive regulations have long served as a reference in military seats designs.

Today’s military seating solutions should not only protect against anti mine and IED’s events encountered in the field but also should comply with civil safety regulations as dictated by ECE and FMVSS.

The following documents define the main standards as defined by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for requirements of seating and seatbelts design.

• FMVSS 207 – Seating systems
• FMVSS 209 – Seat belt assembly
• FMVSS 210 – Seat belt anchorages
• FMVSS 208 – Occupant crash protection in frontal impact
• FMVSS 214 – Protection of occupants in side impacts
• FMVSS 202 – Head restrain
• FMVSS 302 – Flammability of interior materials

The following documents define the main standards as defined by the European ECE regulations for requirements of seating and seatbelts design.

The EU regulation has divided the vehicles into several categories which impact the test criteria that applies to each category.

Category M

vehicles with at least four wheels designed for the carriage of passengers.

• Category M1: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers and comprising no more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat.
• Category M2: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers, comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, and having a maximum mass not exceeding 5 metric tons.
• Category M3: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers, comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, and having a maximum mass exceeding 5 metric tons

Category N

vehicles with at least four wheels designed for the carriage of goods.

• Category N1: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not exceeding 3,5 metric tons.
• Category N2: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 3,5 metrics tons but not exceeding 12 metric tons.
• Category N3: Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 12 metric tons.

The following documents define the main standards as defined by the European ECE regulations for requirements of seating and seatbelts design

ECE R14 – Anchorages for safety-belts intended for adult occupants of forward-facing or rearward-facing seats

ECE R16 – Safety belts and restraint systems

ECE R17 – Seat Anchorage & Head Restraints

ECE R94 – Protection of occupants against frontal collision

ECE R95 – Protection of occupants against lateral collision

ECE R25 – Head restraints

AAPC-ACEA Non-Exhaustive List of Candidate Regulations for Mutual Recognitions

NATO has conducted extensive research and analysis regarding the human body survivability in cases of extreme accelerations derived from crashes, under belly explosions and other high impact scenarios.

Link to resource

The following document provides an extensive analysis of the effects of the IED and land mine effects on the human body and serves as a valuable reference document for the analysis of the performance of vehicle blast protection.

Link to resource

The effects of high impacts accelerations have been thoroughly studied and investigated in the aviation industry. Many of the lessons learned in aircraft crashworthiness and survivability studies, have served as a reference for investigating the performance of blast attenuation systems.

• AIS – Abbreviate Injury Score Coder
• NATO AEP-55 STANAG 4569 – Protection Levels for Occupants of Logistic and Light Armored Vehicles
• DRI – Dynamic Response Indicator