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 WorkSafeBC

For 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 as

Appreciative 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 Organizational

Performance for Optimal Pipeline Performance.

-    Collaborator: Assisted employers, health & safety agencies, and other regulatory stakeholders with developing, integrating, maintaining, and evaluating system safety strategies.

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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!