Quick eligibility check

• I have made significant contributions to ergonomics & human factors for at least 10 years.
• I have had senior professional responsibility for at least 5 years.
• I have at least an intermediate level of proficiency for all competencies in the CIEHF Professional Competency Guidance.
• I can find 3 referees, of whom at least 1 is a Fellow of the CIEHF, and at least 1 works outside my organisation. (If I’m not from the UK, I can provide 3 referees who are of an equivalent standing in my own ergonomics/human factors society or related professional body.)
• I can provide (or have recently provided) an up-to-date Continuous Professional Development (CDPD) record as part of my application.
• I will abide by your code of professional conduct.

Professional competencies

A checklist of Professional Competencies has been developed by CIEHF as a guide to expected competencies for qualification as an ergonomist and human factors specialist. It is used in conjunction with a proficiency scale to show progress in breadth and depth of skills and expertise. See the guidance for this checklist.

The checklist forms part of the application for Fellowship to help demonstrate breadth (through the number) and depth (through levels of proficiency) of claimed competencies. If you are planning to upgrade to Fellowship, it might help you to complete the checklist as soon as you can. This will allow you to see any areas where you might need to fill any gaps. Use the checklist as a framework to identify your experience and highlight any pieces of supporting evidence you are providing with your application.

Note that you must have a minimum level of proficiency of 3 ('Intermediate') in each and every competence on the checklist.

Your experience

If you are not already a Registered Member of the CIEHF, your application must show evidence of your professional experience. You must provide at least one piece of evidence for each of the 5 areas of competency on the Professional Competency Checklist. You can still do this if you are already a Registered Member (or equivalent in another IEA-federated society), if you wish to highlight particular pieces of work that support your application.

Your professional responsibility

You should be able to demonstrate senior professional responsibility for at least 5 years covering a range of skills and abilities that are an integral part of professional and good quality ergonomics and human factors practice, for example:

• Project management, team or capability group leadership within an ergonomics and human factors context.
• Significant financial or management responsibility within an ergonomics and human factors context.
• In an academic environment, demonstration of your leading role in delivering, managing and developing approved ergonomics and human factors courses.
• Taking the lead in research programmes, supported by resulting evidence of publications and presentations.
• The active promotion, development and growth of ergonomics and human factors within an organisation, to ensure it is an integral part of processes, products and activities.
• The planning of ergonomics and human factors contributions to programmes and the control of their progress and outcome, by the integration of professional and appropriate inputs to multidisciplinary programmes.
• Being sufficiently familiar with the technical language and jargon used by those with different professional backgrounds and training disciplines within an organisation, to improve dialogues, understanding and the acceptance of ergonomics and human factors.
• The development and mentoring of the ergonomics and human factors team working with or for you.
• The ability to interpret and sometimes adapt ergonomics and human factors standards and specifications.

Your referees

You referees must know you well enough to form a robust opinion of your professional work and status. Their reports are an important part of your application and must show strong support for it.

Chartered status

All successful applicants for Fellowship will also gain Chartered status (or maintain it if you are already Chartered). Maintenance of Chartered status is dependent on suitable CPD activities being recorded each year. You will be able to use the post-nominal C.ErgHF FCIEHF and you will receive a certificate.

Assessment of your application

Two suitably qualified members of the Institute’s Professional Affairs Board will assess your application. They might ask you to submit additional information if there are any areas which need clarification.

The application form will request and the assessors will examine:

• Your detailed job history.
• The details of your work and responsibilities over the last 10 years.
• Any awards and recognition you have received.
• Your CPD record, if you're not already Chartered.
• Your list of academic publications, published reports and books (if you have one).

They will look for service to the profession of ergonomics and human factors and significant contributions to practice.

You will need to support your claim for eligibility with a 250 word summary, bringing your application together into a sound argument. This should not just be a list of the contents of your application but a coherent commentary that paints a picture of your professional development and achievements.

Note that a multi-authored report can be difficult to assess as evidence, so you must be explicit about your contribution to such a report.

During the assessment of your application, all assessors follow specific written guidance and complete a checklist to ensure they work consistently and we maintain an clear record of your application. You should read these too before you apply to understand what the assessors are looking for, how they do their assessment, and to give yourself the best chance of success.

Questions you might have