Consultants

Dr. David Embrey, Managing Director

Dr. David Embrey is the Managing Director of Human Reliability. He originally trained as a physicist and holds degrees in physics, ergonomics and applied psychology from the University of Birmingham and the University of Aston in England. After receiving his Ph.D. in human factors, he has subsequently worked for 25 years in the area of human reliability in systems, where he has published more than a hundred papers and reports and co-authored two books.

His main technical interest has been the assessment and improvement of human performance in systems. He has worked extensively in the petrochemical, nuclear power, rail transport, aerospace systems and marine sectors in Europe, the Far East, USA and South America.

His consultancy experience has included work in the USA, Japan, and Singapore as well as several European countries. He has worked for a number of large multinationals in the petrochemical sector, and has written a definitive text ‘Guidelines for Preventing Human Error in Process Safety’.

In the area of training, Dr.Embrey has developed many courses in human factors and human error prevention which have been given to companies in Japan, South America, the Middle East and Europe.

Jamie Henderson, Senior Consultant

Jamie Henderson holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Liverpool and a Masters degree in Ergonomics from Loughborough University . He is a member of the Ergonomics Society and has experience in a wide range of project areas and industry sectors. Over the past few years much of his work has been in the process industries, undertaking projects for companies such as BP, National Grid, ConocoPhillips, Borealis, Huntsman and Acetate Products. This work has given him considerable experience in the development of qualitative human reliability assessments for safety cases, and in the related areas of procedures and training.

In addition, Jamie has also made significant contributions to research projects covering diverse topics such as accident investigation, safety culture, remote working, emergency planning and safety critical checking. These projects have taken place in pharmaceutical, rail and aviation industries, as well as for regulatory bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Claire Whittington, Associate Consultant

Claire Whittington is a consultant human factors specialist and organisational psychologist and holds a degree in ergonomics from the University of Technology, Loughborough, and an MSc in Organisational Psychology from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Her original specialisation was in the area of accident analysis and prevention. More recently she has been involved in work in procedures development, and as an organisational psychologist with particular interests in learning organisations and self-managed teams.

10 years of research and lecturing experience was gained at:

• Medical School, University of Manchester.
• University of Technology, Loughborough.
• Ergonomics and Environmental Health laboratory, Kooperativa Forbundet, Stockholm.
• Department of Safety and Hygiene, University of Aston.

During her academic career her research was published widely in the academic press and presented at academic conferences. In addition, she conducted a research programme for the Scientific Advisory Branch of the Home Office on Techniques for the Collection of Accident Data. She has been a member of the Ergonomics Society Membership Committee, a British Standards Institution Technical Committee and has acted as an organising secretary and advisor for the Child Accident Prevention Trust.

Her current interests are:

• Investigation of safety and quality incidents.
• Organisational learning.
• Data collection systems and root cause analysis in safety and quality management.
• Design and auditing of operating procedures and procedure management systems.
• Design and evaluation of management systems in the context of safety and quality.
• Development of management training courses in human reliability, problem solving, team building and self-management.
• Process redesign and continuous improvement.
• Safety culture.
• Consumer safety and home accidents.

At present, Claire is leading a project for the HSE identifying and evaluating the social and psychological impact of workplace accidents and incidents of ill health on employees.