Human Factors & Ergonomics (HFE) Hub

• Heather Kahle - A systems approach to her Canadian Manual Handling Projects

  Heather Kahle talks with Sharon Todd about her work, her manual handling projects and the tools that she uses. As a Human Factors consultant and previous president of the Association of Canadian Ergonomists, Heather helps companies apply human organizational performance/human factors and ergonomics principles and methods. In 30 years with WorkSafeBC, she applies experience with investigations, MSI prevention, and error mitigation across many diverse industries.Heather's  journey into the world of Human Factors (HF) and System Safety began in the picturesque town of Lund, Sweden, where she earned my MSc from Lund University.Three Decades at WorkSafeBCFor three decades, Heather had the privilege of working at WorkSafeBC, where her role spanned across various pivotal functions:   - Educator and Mentor: I educated investigators, applied scientific methods, and mentored officers in conducting complex and serious industrial investigations.   -HFE Expertise: Provided human factors and ergonomics (HFE) expertise to multidisciplinary teams across engineering, investigations, education, and prevention field services.   - Developer and Deliverer: Developed and delivered courses, webinars, and workshops to enhance understanding and application of methodologies such asAppreciative Inquiry, Cognitive Interviewing, Fatigue Risk Management, and Human-Machine Interface to prevent struck-by incidents.   - Risk Project Leader: Led and supported risk-based projects applying systems methodologies to review performance, understand vertical risk integration, and develop effective preventative measures.   - Tool Creator: Developed tools to assess organizational readiness, compliance, and performance.   - Regulatory Advisor: Advised on regulation development relating to safety-critical work and systems theory, including Incident Command systems.   - Risk Analyst: Reviewed risk factors related to musculoskeletal injuries, error traps, and communication factors across a wide range of industries.   - Author: Authored technical reports, bulletins, risk assessment materials, and safety issues reviews, making complex information accessible to wide audiences.   - Standard Contributor: Participated in CSA Standards Z1005 - Incident Investigation and Prevention Program, Z1516 – Fatigue Risk Management for First Responders, and the CSA Express Document; Human and OrganizationalPerformance for Optimal Pipeline Performance.-    Collaborator: Assisted employers, health & safety agencies, and other regulatory stakeholders with developing, integrating, maintaining, and evaluating system safety strategies.This educational podcast is brought to you by the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society of Australia. If you like this podcast please make us your favourite on your podcast app. If you want to find out more about Human Factors and Ergonomics or if you have a question about this podcast please go to the HFESA website ergonomics.org.au and make your request via our contact page. We will be back with more episodes soon!

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• Dr Pujitha Silva - An Injury Litigation Data Project

  Sharon Todd chats to Dr Puji Silva a mechanical and medical engineer about his work and research into litigation injury data. Puji primarily works in ergonomic risk assessments and litigation matters related to permanent injury in both workplace and public liability cases, applying his expertise in biomechanics, human factors, and safety design principles to improve workplace outcomes and legal evaluations.Dr. Pujitha Silva is a mechanical and medical engineer with extensive experience in human biomechanics, ergonomics, and injury prevention. His career spans over 15 years across industries such as healthcare, bulk material systems handling, wearable technology applications in sports and rehabilitation, and biomedical device development, where he has applied ergonomic principles and human factors research to optimize workplace safety and system performance. He is also a litigation consultant, researcher, and certified organizational coach, with a deep interest in the intersection of ergonomics, injury data analysis, and workplace safety strategies. Dr. Silva is currently an Ergonomics Consultant where he specializes in:Ergonomic risk assessments & workplace safety solutions to mitigate musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and prevent injuries.Expert litigation reports for workplace injuries (manual handling, slips/trips/falls, and system failures).Implementation of Work Health and Safety (WHS) compliance strategies in Victoria and NSW.Developing human-centered design solutions to enhance safety in industrial and commercial environments.Data-driven research on injury trends, including a landmark 40-year analysis of litigation injury cases, presented at the HFESA 2024 National Conference.The pursuit of a Bachelor’s in Medical Engineering was the start of Puji’s journey into understanding how the human body works and how it can be studied using engineering principles borrowed from various disciplines, differently from traditional medical approaches. This curiosity led him to the study of biomechanics, particularly focusing on the interactions of soft and hard tissues, their degeneration, and injury mechanisms. His early research included intervertebral disc mechanics and non-invasive spinal stress measurement, providing insights into how biomechanical factors influence injury risk and degeneration. However, his career took a turn when he transitioned into port and infrastructure engineering, focusing on mechanical system design. This work introduced him to the critical interactions between machines and people, deepening his understanding of industrial safety and human-system integration.This shift broadened his perspective on human factors and ergonomics, leading him to focus on performance-based biomechanics, which naturally incorporated human interactions with the environment—spanning industrial ergonomics, sports performance, rehabilitation, and biomedical device development and commercialization with a human-centric approach.This educational podcast is brought to you by the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society of Australia. If you like this podcast please make us your favourite on your podcast app. If you want to find out more about Human Factors and Ergonomics or if you have a question about this podcast please go to the HFESA website ergonomics.org.au and make your request via our contact page. We will be back with more episodes soon!

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• Vanessa Huron - Real Drones are not Toys

  Dr Vanessa Huron discusses the use of drones in various environments and the human factors aspects of drone use. Dr Vanessa Huron holds a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) in Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Diploma in Innovation Management and a PhD in Microbiology from the University of New South Wales.Vanessa's research focuses on human factors and safety, accessibility management, and educational design and delivery applied across several domains, includingPsychosocial hazards and work re-designSafety and risk managementEducational design, delivery, and digital technologiesVanessa is an Associate of the Disability Innovation Institute, which seeks to support disability research and foster collaboration at UNSW.This educational podcast is brought to you by the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society of Australia. If you like this podcast please make us your favourite on your podcast app. If you want to find out more about Human Factors and Ergonomics or if you have a question about this podcast please go to the HFESA website ergonomics.org.au and make your request via our contact page. We will be back with more episodes soon!

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• Sidney Dekker - his thoughts on Failure, Blame, and Forgiveness.

  Sharon Todd chats to Professor Sidney Dekker about his experience in organisational psychology and his thoughts on incidents, blame and forgiveness. Sidney takes us on a roller-coaster ride; as he discusses error as a consequence of other factors, encourages us to set others up for success and challenges organisations to choreograph significant change into their responses to failure. Sidney Dekker (PhD Ohio State University, USA, 1996) is Professor in the School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, and Director of the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. Sidney has lived and worked in seven countries across four continents. He coined the terms ‘Safety Differently’ and ‘Restorative Just Culture’ in the 2010s, which have since turned into global movements for change. They encourage organisations to declutter their bureaucracy and enhance the capacities in people and processes peopleOne his most recent pa make things go well—and to offer compassion, restoration and learning when they don’t. Many today will recognise Sidney’s ideas and concepts in for example ‘HOP,’ ‘Learning Teams,’ the ‘New View,’ and more. An avid piano player and pilot who learned to fly at age 14, he has been flying the Boeing 737 for an airline on the side. He is a trained mediator and Crisis Chaplain.Sidney is prolific and bestselling author of, most recently: Ten Virtues of a Positive Safety Culture; Random Noise; Stop Blaming; Foundations of Safety Science; The Safety Anarchist; The End of Heaven; Just Culture; Safety Differently; The Field Guide to Understanding ‘Human Error’; Second Victim; Drift into Failure; Patient Safety; Compliance Capitalism; and Do Safety Differently. He has co-directed the documentaries ‘Safety Differently,’ ‘Just Culture,’ ’The Complexity of Failure,’ and ‘Doing Safety Differently.’ His work has well over 20,700 citations and an h-index of 64. Stanford has ranked Sidney among the world’s top 1% most influential scientists since Newton. More at sidneydekker.comHere is one of Sidney's most recent papers, https://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/jha/article/view/26274 This educational podcast is brought to you by the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society of Australia. If you like this podcast please make us your favourite on your podcast app. If you want to find out more about Human Factors and Ergonomics or if you have a question about this podcast please go to the HFESA website ergonomics.org.au and make your request via our contact page. We will be back with more episodes soon!

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• Ari Antonovsky - Human Aspects of Dependability and his work

  The HFESA president Kath Jones is chatting to Ari Antonovsky about his work on Human factors and 'Human Dependability.'Dr Antonovsky was originally trained as a Materials Engineer.  Through his role as a Reliability Engineer in the resource industry in Australia, Indonesia and NZ, he became involved in working directly with maintenence and operations crews.  His interest in human factors and the organiastional aspects of maintenance lead to PhD research at Curtin University, sponsored by Woodside Energy Ltd.  This project examined the quantitative influence of specific human factors on the reliability of maintenance tasks.His recent UWA research projects, funded by the Royal Australian Navy, examined the human factors requirements in operations, maintenance and training for the Future Submarine, and the human factors that influence maintenance effectiveness on a surface vessel.Dr Antonovsky is currently project leader for revision of an international standard (IEC 62508), which  provides guidance on the human aspects of workplace dependability.This educational podcast is brought to you by the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society of Australia. If you like this podcast please make us your favourite on your podcast app. If you want to find out more about Human Factors and Ergonomics or if you have a question about this podcast please go to the HFESA website ergonomics.org.au and make your request via our contact page. We will be back with more episodes soon!

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