Overview
This Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) short course covers the major individual, team and organisational factors relating to work system design and human performance in the workplace environment. The Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) professional, especially, is expected to identify opportunities and investigate HFE issues to drive respective improvements in the workplace, including knowledge of when and how to engage a Certified Professional Ergonomist and critically interpret the findings of any HFE-related study.
Human Factors and Ergonomics is the scientific discipline of understanding interactions among humans and other elements of a system and planning, implementing and evaluating appropriate interventions. By applying appropriate theory and methods in the workplace, Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) professionals as well as anyone interested in this field can help improve human performance and well-being and create benefits for the overall work system. Ergonomics promotes a holistic, systems approach by considering cognitive, physical and broader factors (e.g., social, organisational and environmental).

Evolve with QUTeX
Knowledge of current methods and techniques commonly used in ergonomics is essential for any professional who wants to contribute effectively to the design, evaluation and improvement of tasks, work systems and occupational environments.
What you will learn
Who should participate?
Occupational Health and Safety staff and any professional with a human-centered mindset from any industry sector (e.g., construction, energy, healthcare and transport) will benefit from the knowledge shared in this course which is delivered in a highly interactive learning environment and offers continuous support with access to additional material.

Your expert facilitator Associate Professor Nektarios Karanikas
Nektarios is an experienced tutor and workshop facilitator, and he is an internationally renowned specialist in the broader field of safety. In addition to academic courses, Nektarios has delivered open masterclasses as well as workshops for companies such as Aegean Airlines and NetJets Europe with excellent feedback on his effective and impactful teaching.
Learn more about Associate Professor Nektarios KaranikasCore concepts
During this course you will learn how to:
- Analyse components of work systems and apply methods for measuring and classifying tasks and factors relevant to work assessment and design.
- Apply tools and techniques to assess cognitive and physical human factors/ergonomic (HFE) aspects as well as macro-ergonomic areas.
- Account for and debate the causes and effects of common HFE issues as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the various HFE tools and techniques available.
Participants will develop their understanding of the HFE systems approach as it applies to:
- human information processing and decision-making
- situational awareness
- team methods and communication
- mental and physical fatigue
- task analysis and human error
- design of work systems
- hazardous manual tasks
- musculoskeletal disorders
- training and learning, and
- participatory ergonomic interventions.
Details
Where and when
Content will be delivered through a blend of live and pre-recorded sessions which can accessed through Blackboard (QUT’s online learning platform). Blackboard provides the opportunity to consolidate learning through peer collaboration and discussion with course convenors. The 5 days is indicative of the amount of total time needed to dedicate to your learning, the lectures and content can be covered at your leisure.
2021 program dates estimated to fall in July - October, to register your interest and be kept up-to-date please email qutex@qut.edu.au.
Certification
At the end of the Workshop Only course, you'll receive a Certificate of Attendance documenting your participation in the course.
If you undertake and complete the Workshop and Assessment course, you'll receive a Certificate of Completion upon successful completion of the assessment. This can be used to apply for advanced standing in a related award course.
This course offers an optional assessment module, comprised of a problem-solving task and end of semester examination. On successful completion of the assessment, participants will be eligible to apply for advanced standing for the corresponding unit in related Health, Safety & Environment award courses at QUT or other educational institutions subject to their policies.
Cost
Workshop Only
Registration type | Investment |
---|---|
Earybird registration (closes TBC) | $2,008.60 (GST included) |
Standard registration | $2,231.77 (GST included) |
QUT Staff / Student / Alumni registration | $1,673.83 (GST included) |
Australasian College of Health Service Managers (ACHSM) Members | $1,897.01 (GST included) |
.
Workshop and Assessment
Registration type | Investment |
---|---|
Earlybird registration (closes TBC) | $2,510.75 (GST included) |
Standard registration | $2,789.72 (GST included) |
QUT Staff / Student / Alumni registration | $2,092.29 (GST included) |
Australasian College of Health Service Managers (ACHSM) Members | $2,371.26 (GST included) |
More details
This program is shared by postgraduate students in Health, and will involve some collaboration between professional development participants and postgraduate students.