Jeffrey A. Cerro
Government/Industry Committee Chairman
NASA Langley Research Center

International Mass Properties Engineers in all disciplines will be very interested in attending this year’s Government/Industry workshop. In the United States SAWE is the professional society chosen to take on the responsibilities for maintenance and growth of U.S. based Mass Properties standards. Internationally, through application of “Open” standards development practices, newly developed SAWE standards should be acceptable as international standards. Join us in our workshops to discuss progress in the creation of these new Mass Properties Standards and Recommended Practices. Last years conference succeeded in producing a Recommended Practice document hierarchy which at the top has a single document to describe Mass Properties Engineering (MPE) tasks. This document then indicates eight more documents of both technical and managerial nature and together these nine documents describe the Functional aspects of Mass Properties Engineering, the general tasks which occur for all transportation modes. Detailed MPE standards and Recommended Practices will be referenced from these top level documents. Come and hear the status of our systems engineering level and our detail level standards activities. The Society’s development of a Marine Engineering Mass Properties textbook is a major accomplishment to be reviewed. Also panel or speaker topics will include current European issues in the implementation of MPE standards. SAWE hopes to see many contributors and generally interested participants at this year’s G/I meeting. Vendors, please note that the definition of an “open” standards development process means your ideas and contributions are also of primary importance to the creation of modern standards.

Joint Session

Traditionally SAWE G/I day (Tuesday) has largely been defined by U.S. activities related to that regions particular standards and best practice documents. By meeting in Spain this year, it is our opportunity to gain greater insight into the European and General International communities use and development of MPE best practices. With this prime consideration in mind a full G/I day joint session is planned. Topics of discussion for this large workshop format meeting include:

• European development, utilization, and maintenance of MPE standards for the,
• Marine
• Aerospace
• Ground Vehicle transportation sectors.
• SAWE Functional Recommended Practice standards development
• The future of MPE considering E-standards and OOP techniques
• The status of SAWE textbooks and handbooks
• Development of the new SAWE website
• Yearly status of the SAWE G/I committees

Transportation Sector Breakout Sessions

SAWE International Conference meetings traditionally include separate meetings for each of our transportation sector groups:

• Marine Systems
• Airline Affairs
• Military Aircraft
• Missiles and Space Systems
• Ground Systems

Meeting time and space is again being set aside on Tuesday so that breakout sessions can be held for each of these groups. Any meeting participant interested in attending a breakout session is welcome to participate and gain more in-depth knowledge of that group’s activities. Breakout sessions are scheduled in 2 hours blocks

Government/Industry Lunch

The Government/Industry luncheon will feature a prominent guest speaker from the aeronautics industry. While final arrangements are currently underway, we can expect a lively presentation relevant to current military aircraft programs. The Government/Industry luncheon is included with a full three-day registration or vendor registration.