Who can become a Registered Member?
Anyone who can demonstrate sufficient knowledge and experience of ergonomics/human factors can apply to become a Registered Member. This is the main professional grade of membership of the IEHF so the assessment procedure is rigorous, but we will guide you through it.
What knowledge and experience do I need?
You need to have, and be able to demonstrate, a deep and broad base of skills, knowledge and experience of ergonomics/human factors. You need:
- A minimum of three years’ experience of working in ergonomics/human factors if you have graduated from an IEHF-accredited degree course. If you have not graduated from one of these courses, you need four years’ experience.
- To be able to demonstrate that you undertake an ergonomics approach to work (a human-centred, participatory approach integrating essential knowledge areas)
- Detailed knowledge of all of the following knowledge areas (though not a high level of expertise across all areas):
- Anatomy & physiology
- The work environment (environmental stressors, performance shaping factors, psychophysiology)
- People & systems (socio-technical systems)
- Psychology (general & organisational psychology)
- Methods & tools (survey and research methods)
Find out more about what these knowledge areas include.
How can I back up my application?
You will need two referees who are Registered Members or Fellows of the IEHF, and one of whom must work outside your organisation. In special circumstances, referees of an equivalent standing in a related professional body may be accepted, contact the IEHF office if you wish to do this. Remember that your referee needs to know you and your work, so you may need to familiarise them with your work in advance of submitting your application.
Do I need a mentor?
Yes, you will need to have a mentor who is a Registered Member or Fellow of the IEHF. If you are a graduate of an IEHF-accredited course, you will need at least one year of experience under the supervision of a mentor. Otherwise, this period of mentored supervision should be at least two years. Your mentor must submit a report on your work when you apply.
Your mentor cannot also be a referee. Find out more about mentoring.
I’ve been working for years, do I still need a mentor?
Under exceptional circumstances the period of mentoring could be waived by the PAB but this generally will not happen unless you have more than 10 years’ experience in ergonomics work. If you do have more than 10 years’ experience, you can apply to be considered for interview. See further details on the requirements and process for being interviewed.
How can I demonstrate my knowledge and experience?
The application form will guide you through most of it, and this will be supported by a log book, your mentor’s reports and referees reports which will allow us to assess the rest (we have a forms for all that too).
What should I put in my log book?
Your log book is a key part of your application as it demonstrates to the assessors the ergonomics that you have undertaken over your minimum period of work. Ideally you should start your log book as soon as you start working professionally. The following criteria must be met:
a) Your log book must contain separate records for between 10 and 20 projects.
b) The projects in the log book must be of sufficient significance to demonstrate to the assessors your ergonomics input to the project.
c) They must demonstrate your development as an ergonomist over the qualifying period.
d) The total time spent on those projects must be a minimum of 100 days for each year of qualifying experience (pro rata for part-time work).
e) The minimum period of mentored work in the log book should be 150 days (with an accredited degree) or 300 days (without).
Each record in your log book should comprise:
a) A brief summary, with detailed documentation in an appendix.
b) Discussion of the salient components of the human factors/ergonomics involved. For example, provide a list of reports that you have produced, the names of particular methods, tools and techniques that you used. Include reference to conference proceedings or journal articles relating to your log book entry.
c) Discussion of the salient personal and professional/technical skills involved.
d) An indication of your degree of responsibility, level of authority and description of your role in the project.
e) A critique of the successful and less successful features of each project.
To provide detailed information about some of the work in your log book, you must submit examples of your project reports. You don’t have to provide one from each of your log book entries, three or four will be enough. A good guide would be one report from each year you were mentored, and one from each other year in the qualifying period.
Some of my reports are confidential, what should I do?
The protection of client and/or national confidentiality is of paramount importance. The first thing to do would be to make sanitised copies of the reports: take out company, product and location names, etc. and see if your employer will then allow you to release them.
If this is not possible then there other things we can do, taking into account any preferences that the client and/or your employer may have. Contact the IEHF office if this is an issue so that we can work together to find a solution.
Do you have any log book examples?
Yes, we have provided some examples below to give you guidance in the level of detail required to satisfy the assessors that your knowledge and competence levels meet the criteria required for successful Registered Member accreditation. Mentor’s comments are included to provide guidance to mentors on the amount of detail required in the mentor’s report. Assessor’s comments are provided to show feedback against the log books reports.
Can I complete my log book retrospectively?
Yes you can, your log book can reflect work you have already done.
Does work experience count?
You can include work undertaken during a period of work experience as part of your degree. It counts at a rate of 50% (i.e. one year’s industrial placement counts as 6 months’ qualifying experience) but to be eligible it must be suitably supervised, with mentor’s comments. If you have relevant work experience from before your IEHF-accredited degree, you can count that towards your total experience time at a rate of 75%.
How will my application be assessed?
Once we have received and checked your application for completeness, we will ask for reports from your referees and mentors (if you have not already done this). Once they have been received, your application will be passed to two members of the Assessment Panel of the Professional Affairs Board who will then review it. At this point the assessors might ask you to submit additional information if there are any areas which need clarification. The assessors have to answer positively all the questions below:
- Have you completed the necessary minimum time for professional experience?
- Have you demonstrated sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge?
- Do your log book and reports contain sufficient work to enable the assessment to be done?
- Does the mentor’s report confirm your mentored experience?
- Does the mentor’s report confirm acceptable levels of performance in the use of ergonomic concepts and techniques and professional behaviour?
- Is the mentor’s report adequate and supportive?
- Have you demonstrated sufficient experience?
- Have you demonstrated sufficient professional development?
- Have you demonstrated an ergonomics approach to your work?
- Are your referees reports adequate and supportive?
The assessors then make a recommendation to the PAB, who may themselves occasionally ask for additional information from you, for instance, if the two assessors did not unanimously recommend acceptance.
How long will this take?
That depends on several things such as the quality and completeness of your initial application, and the speed with which we receive your referees’ reports. The assessors are all volunteers so must find time to assess your application, though they will endeavour to do this as quickly as possible. Most assessments are completed within a month. We will make every effort to keep you in touch with progress but you are also welcome to contact us at any time to check how your application is progressing.
If my application is successful, what happens then?
Congratulate yourself! If the PAB approves your application, we will let you know straight away and you will be sent a letter confirming the decision. You will get a certificate and will be able to use the post-nominal MIEHF, as recognition of your professional status. Your name will appear on the Professional Register and also be published in the next edition of ‘The Ergonomist’.
Importantly, as a member of the IEHF, you must abide by our Code of Professional Conduct, which helps us to maintain standards and reassures employers and clients.
What if my application is rejected?
If your application is rejected by PAB, you will be given guidance as to the areas in which it was felt that your application was lacking, so that you get a chance to improve your application. We will help you all we can with this.
How much does it cost?
There is a one-off application and assessment fee of £50 + VAT. A subscription to a Taylor & Francis journal of your choice is included in your membership fees. How much you pay as a Registered Member depends on how you receive your journal, and how you pay your fees. If you pay by direct debit the current subscription is £98 plus the cost of your chosen journal. If you pay by cheque or debit/credit card, a fee of £8 will be added.
How do I apply?
- Complete the application form.
- Complete your log book and accompanying reports.
- Email it all to the IEHF office.
- Ask your mentor to complete the mentor report form and send it in.
- Ask your referees to complete the referee report form and send it in.
- Send a cheque for the application fee or call the office on 01509 234904 to pay by card over the phone.
All of the documents should be sent to applications@ergonomics.org.uk
Note that the application form is a PDF that can be filled in electronically but you must have Adobe Reader 9.0 or later. Get Adobe reader.
I need help!
If you have any queries and need help or further information, please contact us.
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