Although there are many considerations in the development and operation of commercial aircraft, passenger safety is by far the most important. Boeing is working with suppliers to ensure that the seat systems on its aircraft are designed to meet regulatory requirements through a rigorous building block approach. This approach ensures that analysis and tests are verified and validated from the component to the assembly level. Anthropomorphic test devices are also used to ensure that the seat systems perform properly and reduce risk of injury to passengers.

Best practices in analysis tasks such as material characterization, finite element modelling, contact modelling, and postprocessing are documented and used to ensure constancy and reliability. Analytical methods can be used early in the design process to help determine critical cases to consider and produce a high quality final design. Pilot projects are currently underway to ensure that the best practices are practical, wellunderstood, and sufficient. It is expected that, over time, the proper application of analytical methods will produce results that are of sufficient quality and predictability that they may be considered for some aspects of regulatory certification.