Fellow

If you are a Registered Member, or are eligible for Registered Membership, and have made significant contributions to ergonomics over a period of at least ten years, you could become a Fellow and get all the benefits of membership. You can also apply for Chartered status. You could be an academic, consultant or human factors practitioner.

Check the eligibility criteria below.

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 detailed knowledge of all these areas:
  • Anatomy & physiology
  • The work environment
  • People & systems
  • Psychology
  • Methods & tools
  • I can find 3 referees, of whom at least 2 are Fellows of the CIEHF, and at least 1 of these Fellows 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 CPD submission as part of my application.
  • I will abide by your code of professional conduct.

Key points

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.

 

Chartered status

If you are successful in your application for Fellowship you could also gain Chartered status if you submit an acceptable CPD return at the same time.

If you are upgrading from Registered Membership and you already have Chartered status, you will not need to submit your CPD again and you will keep your Chartered status so long as your last CPD submission was accepted with 2 years of your application being processed.

Once you become a Fellow with Chartered status, you will be able to use the post-nominal C.ErgHF FIEHF. You will also 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.

Your application will need to show that you have met the requirements for eligible experience and mentored supervision in your early career, and that you have given information equivalent to that which could be provided by log books. These are the requirements for Registered Membership, so you should check these before you begin your application.

The application form will request and the assessors will examine:
– Your list of academic publications, published reports and books.
– Your detailed job history.
– The details of your work and responsibilities over the last 10 years.
– Any awards and recognition you have received.

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

Questions you might have

What exactly are the knowledge areas?

  1. Anatomy & Physiology, which includes:
    • anatomy
    • anthropometry
    • physiology
    • physiotherapy
    • biomechanics
    • physical capabilities
    • postural and biomechanical loading
    • physiological fatigue
    • disorientation
    • vestibular loading
    • musculoskeletal disorders
    • ageing
    • sensory and motor disabilities
  2. The Work Environment, which includes:
    • sound and noise
    • thermal environments
    • visibility and lighting
    • vibration
    • acceleration and g-forces
    • hyperbaric & hypobaric environments
    • circadian rhythms
    • physiological fatigue
    • physiological stress
    • audition
    • vision
    • other senses
  3. People & Systems, which includes:
    • human machine systems
    • knowledge elicitation
    • system design standards
    • systems theory
    • soft systems
    • systems evaluation and validation
  4. Psychology, which includes:
    • behaviour and attitudes
    • motivation
    • vigilance
    • mental fatigue
    • decision making
    • human reliability
    • human error
    • risk perception
    • learning and skills acquisition
    • mental workload
    • mental modelling
    • situation awareness
    • psychometrics
    • cognitive skills
    • psychological stress
    • global cultural variances
    • safety cultures
    • team work and groups
    • communications
    • group behaviour
    • organisational behaviour
    • organisational change
  5. Methods & tools, which includes:
    • experimental design
    • statistics
    • measurement techniques

How long will the assessment process take?

That depends on several things such as the quality and completeness of your 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. If all goes well, we hope to have your application processed within 6 weeks.

If my application is successful, what happens then?

Congratulate yourself! If your application is accepted, we will let you know straight away and you will be sent confirmation of the decision. You will also get a certificate and will be able to use the post-nominal FCIEHF, as recognition of your professional status.

What if my application is rejected?

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.

Once I’ve got my Chartered status, will I need to renew it or do I keep it forever?

Provided you maintain up to date acceptable CPD submissions each year and pay your membership subscriptions when they become due, then you will keep your status. If you let your CPD submissions lapse, then you may lose it.

How much does it cost?

£217 for a year. There is also a one-off application and assessment fee of £60.

I'm coming up to retirement, how will this affect my membership?

If you have been a member with us for  at least 10 years’ you can apply for Retired Member status. You will need to declare that you receive no financial income from practising ergonomics.

As a Retired Member, you will be able to:

  • pay a reduced subscription rate
  • continue with your grade of membership and benefits as before retirement
  • remain on the Register of Registered Members and Fellows (if applicable), and be identified as retired

The subscription rate for 2015 for a Retired Member is £36.

To apply, simply contact the Institute on 07736 893348 or email membership@ergonomics.org.uk.

How to apply

1

Gather all your documents

Compile your publications list and make sure your CV is up to date. If you are not currently a CIEHF member with Chartered status, you must also provide an up-to-date CPD submission as part of your application.

2

Contact your referees

Download the referee report form and email each of your 3 referees a copy. Ask them to email it directly back to us (details are on the form).

3

Complete the application form

Click on Apply now to download the application form and follow the instructions it contains.

4

Pay the application fee

Once we have received your application, we will issue you with an invoice for the application fee, together with instructions on how to pay. Once you have paid the invoice, we can begin the assessment process.

Become a Fellow of the Institute

Apply now