Integrated Test System Single Point Control of Aircraft Checkout

Integration, checkout and test of a multi-discipline complex system like the B-2 involves concurrent operation of many scattered interactive resources. Potential unplanned conflicts involving high energy equipment can threaten the safety of the operators and equipment. Tests can be run serially to avoid conflicts, however, this adds considerable time to the process and cannot support rate production. Manual operation of the equipment can be coordinated, to a limited extent, using communication devices such as intercoms, but that is slow, imprecise, labor intensive and subject to operator error. A systems approach was needed to effectively integrate and control the test resources to sustain the throughput and provide the safety necessary for production operation. An Integrated Test System was developed to link the resources, provide single point access and control, and automate the process.