Scottish safety and human factors specialist IHF lands in Australia
IHF, a boutique Scottish consultancy specialised in employee safety management and human factors, has launched an office in Australia.
Founded a decade ago in Scotland, IHF (which stands for Integrated Human Factors) helps clients in safety critical industries with two lines of business: safety management (enhancing employee safety) and human factors (reducing and mitigating human errors in work-related activities).
After gaining a growing roster of clients in Australia over the years (mainly in the Canberra and Perth regions), IHF has now decided to launch an on the ground operation.
“Expanding in Australia is the natural next step for IHF,” said Neil Clark, who founded the specialist consulting firm in Edinburgh in 2012. “With so many hazardous and process focussed industries based in Australia, not to mention the explosion in transport-related infrastructure projects, it made sense to setup a local operation.”
From its new hub in Perth, IHF will initially target companies in the natural resources, transport and utilities sectors. The local expansion is being led by David Clarke, who brings over 25 years of experience in human capital focused roles in both Australia and the United Kingdom to the firm.
“I have known David for many years, and his expertise and can-do attitude makes him the perfect person to lead the growth of IHF in Australia,” said Clark.
Across its footprint, IHF works for a broader set of clients, including enterprises in the aviation, defence, financial services, healthcare, oil & gas, transportation, maritime, and utilities industries. The firm’s 30 or so strong team is currently delivering projects across four continents.
The firm brings together experience in consulting, psychology, ergonomics, safety and learning & development to provide for a rounded offering. IHF also delivers software and managed services in the human factors domain.
Clarke: “The global shortage of competent and experienced human factors specialists has made it almost impossible for businesses to adequately address their organisational human factors – and not to mention regulatory – obligations. IHF provides top-level expertise in the field backed up by a robust suite of easy-to-use software tools to manage human-risk management.”
