Eight specialisms. One standard of assurance.

On a programme

We take the technical lead from bid to disposal: producing the engineering and management plan, owning the work breakdown and basis of estimate, preparing and chairing the design reviews, and holding the balance between schedule, cost and assurance. Our engineers have held Safety Design Authority, Chief Systems Engineer, Systems Architect and Head of Engineering Integrity posts on multi-billion-pound programmes.

We also set up the organisational engineering process itself — the certification route, the safety and environmental management system, the review gates — and present the result to DE&S delivery teams, the MAA, DOSG, Dstl and Front Line Commands.

Standards & methods

Typical deliverables

• Engineering and Safety Management Plans, roadmap and WBS
• Basis of estimate for engineering and safety activities
• Design review packs and close-out of actions
• Technical and safety risk registers
• Release-to-Service and certification evidence
• Organisational engineering process and design certification process

On a programme

We build the safety argument alongside the design rather than after it. Hazard identification, analysis and modelling feed design decisions — design for safety — across system architectures, electrical, electronic and programmable systems, software and firmware, mechanical, hydraulic and electro-hydraulic systems, ordnance and the human–machine interface. Derived safety requirements are linked to hazard mitigations and to their verification, so there is an auditable line from hazard to design feature to test.

Whether the duty holder needs an ALARP justification for a modification, an independent safety assessment, or a full safety case for a new platform, the output is written to stand up to scrutiny — and we chair the safety working groups and project safety committees that sentence it.

Standards & methods

Typical deliverables

• Safety Management Plans and SEMS
• Hazard logs — Cassandra, DOORS or bespoke
• Derivation of safety requirements and their V&V activities
• PHA, SHA and SSHA; functional, physical and common-cause analysis
• Safety case reports (GSN / CAE), including electronic safety cases
• ALARP and R2P2 justifications
• SIL, ASIL and DAL assessments and compliance matrices
• Independent safety assessment and advice
• Trials safety cases and live-firing support
• Chairing Safety Working Groups and PSECs

On a programme

We take a concept from horizon scan and paper study through demonstrator to qualified equipment, with the technology-readiness evidence at each gate. ADL currently leads Phase 1 of a government propulsion technology programme — Integrated Full Electric Propulsion and Energy Storage for the Submarine Delivery Agency and DE&S — from horizon scan and technology matrix through trade scoring on safety, reliability, availability, maintainability, survivability and performance, towards design and demonstration.

Current themes: IFEP and energy storage; fuel cells, lithium and non-lithium batteries, supercapacitors, battery management and charging; defence aeronautical data infrastructure modernisation with enhanced security, safety and availability; and control and instrumentation safety support to the Office for Nuclear Regulation. ADL is a proven Futures Lab lead organisation, collaborating with academia and manufacturing partners.

Standards & methods

Typical deliverables

• Concept of Use (CONUSE) and Concept of Operations (CONOPS)
• Horizon scan, technology matrix and scoring
• Derived requirements
• Initial design and detailed design
• Technology test and demonstration; full-scale demonstration
• Certification and manufacturing readiness
• Defence Innovation and Futures Lab bids and delivery

On a programme

We design and secure the networks that programmes and platforms depend on — from national safety-critical data networks such as aeronautical data and aerodrome communication, navigation and surveillance infrastructure, to enterprise, cloud and virtualised environments. Data integrity assurance covers latency, corruption and unauthorised access, assessed through logical modelling, timing breakdown analysis and architectural assessment.

On the platform we work with the aerospace, land, rail and ship data buses that carry safety-related traffic. Cyber Essentials Plus certified ourselves, we help suppliers meet Defence Cyber Protection Partnership and JOSCAR expectations.

Standards & methods

Typical deliverables

• Network architecture and segmentation design
• Data integrity assurance assessments
• API and data integration design
• Cyber risk assessment and treatment plan
• Cyber Essentials readiness and evidence packs
• Virtualisation and cloud environment design