HFESNZ Newsletter - July 2025

A word from the editor

Tēnā koutou katoa

Welcome to our Winter Newsletter 2025.

This will be my final newsletter as Editor as I will be stepping down from the committee at the AGM.  I welcome anyone who is interested in the society to consider taking on the role of editor. It has given me the a wonderful overview, a macro look across all the different aspects of the society, the work being quietly done behind the scenes and the dedicated individuals involved.  It has been a very supportive and collaborative environment to get the mahi done-with lots of laughs along the way.

Ngā mihi nui

Karen Goodfellow, HFESNZ Editor 

Please send any information or news that you would like included in the next edition to, news@hfesnz.org.nz or admin@hfesnz.org.nz

A word from the Chairperson

Kia ora HFESNZ,

It’s been a wild, windy, and wet start to winter this year. I hope you and your whānau are safe and warm. Speaking of temperature, activity within HFESNZ these past months has been running hot! Many of you have been putting in serious mahi in support of our symposium, conference, short courses, PAB, and supporting our fellow association events.

Updates

Healthcare Symposium: Is being held in Christchurch, one day ahead of the conference. See details and more on health care in the Health care section below.
Thanks Karen, Fiona, Jo, Nic, Maggie and Carl for your contributions to this event it’s going to be great!

Conference: Abstract submissions for the HFESNZ conference closed earlier this month, and the abstract team has gone through the list of amazing topics and speakers. The speakers have now been finalized, and the full programme will be available shortly. Thank you to our review team, Joanne, Hamish, and Dwain, for your efforts here. Remember, there’s still time to buy tickets for the event, and we have a number of flexible packages that include attendance at our healthcare symposium the day prior. If you have any questions, please get in touch with our fantastic co-conveners, Nicola, Leanne and Rachel. See poster below.

HF Transport: Thanks to Hamish and the team at Mackie Research for leading the delivery of the first Human Factors in the Land Transport System short course in Auckland on May 29. The event was completely sold out and was an amazing success. The short course clearly demonstrated the value of human factors in improving transport system outcomes, and we hope it leads to more collaborations in the future. Well done, Irene, Clare, Maggie, Amy, Dave, Rebecca, and the AT Human-Centred Design Team for hosting and supporting the event.

HASANZ HFE Scholarships 2025: If you aren’t already aware, our friends at HASANZ are once again offering scholarships this year for HFE. For more information, visit https://www.hasanz.org.nz/scholarships-and-training. Entries close on 8 September. To be eligible for the scholarship, you must be a practicing health and safety professional or someone working in a role with a focus on human factors/ergonomics, who is looking to build capability and deepen expertise in this field.

NZOH Work-Related Health Conference: In May, the New Zealand Occupational Hygiene Society held their annual conference in Auckland. I, along with a number of HFESNZ members, presented at this fantastic event. Thank you, NZOH, for being great hosts. I sincerely hope that both societies continue to work together and support each other at these forums in the future. There is so much we can learn from each other as we (and other societies) navigate these challenging times in Health & Safety.

Annual General Meeting: The AGM will be held online on August 28 (12:00–1:30 PM). By this time, we will have completed updating our constitution (in line with the new Incorporated Societies Act), CPD updates, and society financials. The AGM is also an important time to swear in our new committee members via nominations. This year, six current members of the HFESNZ committee are stepping down. They have given the society their all over recent years. We thank them for their service and wish them well in their new endeavours. With this unprecedented reduction in committee numbers, it also opens the door for new members to step in and stamp their mark on the strategic direction of the society. We are particularly looking for the following:

• A new HFESNZ Secretary
• A student representative
• Ex-committee or PAB members wanting to lend their experience
• Advantageous but not a requirement: representatives with backgrounds in psychology, healthcare, transport sectors, regulator, marketing, HASANZ, or governance.

THANK YOU!
This marks my final report as Chair of HFESNZ before our upcoming AGM. After an incredible term, I’ll be stepping down from the role grateful, humbled, and proud of what we’ve achieved together.

Thank you to HFESNZ committee, our PAB, CHASNZ/WorkSafe, and most importantly, my wife Gloria and our five kids for supporting me throughout this journey and enabling me to concentrate on my duties.

A special mihi to Marion Edwin, Vanessa Beanland, Carole Unkovich, Leanne Hunter, Fiona Trevelyan, Karen Goodfellow and Dave Moore for your mentorship, guidance, and support.
While I’m stepping away from the Chair role, I’ll continue as New Zealand’s IEA Council Member and Chair of the IEA Certification Sub-Committee, proudly representing HFESNZ on the international stage.

As I reflect on my time as Chair, I want to sincerely apologise if I have unintentionally caused any offense during my tenure. My aim has always been to serve and unite our community, and I’m grateful for your understanding and support.

And now it’s time for fresh leadership! I’m thrilled to be handing the baton to an amazing successor. Who is it, you ask? You’ll need to come to the AGM to find out! (Hint: she is a highly respected leader who is not afraid to call things out for the betterment of our field). A new breed of NZ HFE professionals is also being considered, so we are in great hands.

Fa’afetai i le alofa ma le lagolago i la’u ta’ita’iga. Ia manuia.

Stephven Kolose

Membership Update

Welcome to our new members:

• Thayalan Sivachelvan
• Graham Fordy
• Larissa Biggs
• Kat Pavlenko - NZ Defence Force
• Sarah Glass

Please also note that membership renewal invoices have been sent out. If you could please get these paid in a timely manner or if you have any questions, please email me: admin@hfesnz.org.nz.

Special Interest Group - Transport: Hamish Mackie

 In May the inaugural Human Factors in the Land Transport System short course was hosted by Auckland Transport and sold out. The course covered general human factors and ergonomics principles and involved a range of practical activities to explore how human factors principles can be used to make land transport safer and more user-friendly.

Participants and team had a busy, thought provoking, energising, and successful day. There was a real hunger for systems methods to better understand transport issues and potential solutions.

Thank you to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of New Zealand, Mackie Research, Auckland Transport, the AT Human Centred Design Team, Irene Tse, Clare George,

Maggie Trotter, Amy Williamson, Dave Moore, and Rebecca Luther for helping make it happen.

Health Care - Karen Goodfellow

HFE in health care is  having a major boost this year with the visit of Professor Paul Bowie. The HFESNZ are hosting Professor Bowie who will be presenting at a number of events around NZ.

Professor Paul Bowie

Paul Bowie is a Patient Safety Scientist, Medical Educator, and Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors specialist from the UK. With over 30 years of experience across various quality and safety leadership and advisory roles in healthcare, medical-defence, medicine, and academia. Professor Bowie brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to these sessions. 

The first of Professor Bowies workshops is being held by AUT, aimed at a cross-sector HFE practitioner day and coordinated by  Dave Moore. Professor Bowie will be Introducing versatile approaches, methods and tools from his three decades of HFE practice in Scottish healthcare, followed by participant discussion on how we could adapt these for other sectors in NZ. Time allowing, the workshop participants will also examine a couple of recent NZ-developed tools with specialist critique from Paul. 

Date:       Monday 22nd Sept,

Location:     AUT Akoranga (North Shore) campus, Auckland

Aimed at:   A cross-sector HFE practitioner day

Numbers:  20-30

Format:    Interactive workshop

Focus on:  Approaches/methods/tools

Budget:    Venue hosted by AUT. Catering at cost-recovery from participants

Contact:   Dave Moore. 021 445 091. <dave.moore@aut.ac.nz>

A second, separate, and more detailed presentation on the Brilliant Basics package as developed by  Professor Bowie. This will be an interactive workshop introducing the fundamentals of HFE into healthcare and held at Middlemore Hospital. This is relevant to those working in clinical care, health and safety, occupational health, manual handling and quality improvement teams, system safety and design. See poster for details below. 

Professor Bowie is also presenting in Wellington being hosted by Te Tāhū Hauora (HQSC). 

And primarily, Professor Bowie is our keynote presenter for the Healthcare Symposium and again on the first day of the conference.  See posters below. This is an incredible opportunity to hear, share and learn from such a renowned Patient Safety Scientist and HF Specialist.  The programme has been devised and implemented by Dr Fiona Trevelyan who has been the driving force behind these events. A small team of members have been working together to make it all happen for our members, colleagues and for those outside of our society. These events are a major investment in HFE in our NZ Healthcare systems. Registrations are open via the website and spaces will be limited so don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity.

Update from Professional Affairs Board

Kia ora koutou,

As Convenor of the Professional Affairs Board, I'd like to share a quick update on our progress and encourage our members to get involved.

Are you eligible for professional membership?

If you believe you meet the criteria for professional membership with HFESNZ, we strongly encourage you to visit the Membership tab on the website and explore the different member options available. This is a great opportunity to formally recognise your expertise in human factors and ergonomics. You'll find all the details and the application forms there. Of course, if you have any questions or would like to discuss your eligibility, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Your applications would be incredibly valuable as they'll help us test and finalise our application forms and processes. This will ensure a smooth and robust system for all future applicants.

Already registered with an overseas society?

We're particularly keen to hear from those of you who are registered with other overseas human factors or ergonomics societies to see how we can simplify the New Zealand application process. Please email: profmember@hfesnz.org.nz. 

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Good news! The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) process is nearing finalisation. We're working hard to get all the details sorted, and we'll be providing more information shortly.

HFESNZ 2-day Conference in Christchurch

We're planning to hold a dedicated session at the upcoming HFESNZ 2-day Conference in October. We will provide a comprehensive update on the CPD framework and application process and answer any questions you may have.

Join the PAB Committee!

Finally, we're always looking for passionate and dedicated members to join the PAB committee. If you're a professional member and are interested in contributing to the advancement of human factors and ergonomics in New Zealand by helping shape our professional standards, please get in touch!

Ngā mihi,

Leanne Hunter Convenor | Professional Affairs Board Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of New Zealand

General News

In this issue: A new framework scales for success, guidelines for more accessible packaging … and much more Click here