Human Factors Ergnomics South Africa

The science of safe, productive work.

Africa’s specialist human factors and ergonomics consultancy – led by the President of the Ergonomics Society of South Africa, and trusted by the regulators who write the rules.

Certified Ergonomists Professionals

B-BBBEE Level 1

Honours & Masters Ergonomics Qualified

19+

years applying human factors / ergonomics

6

national standards and regulatory tools shaped

406

professionals trained in one rail programme

12+

peer-reviewed papers & conference presentations

wHAT WE DO

Every duty covered. Every domain of ergonomics.

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Ergonomics risk management & audits

Meet your annual legal duty and cut MSD, workloads and fatigue risk with defensible prioritised assessments.

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Compliance & regulations

Turn regulatory findings and directives into … actions – guided by people who helped write the instruments.

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Fatigue risk management

Evidence-based fatigue management programme for shift-based, safety-critical operations

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Incident & occurrence investigation

Systems-based human factors investigation that finds the causes audits miss – and prevents recurrence.

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Safety management systems

SMS development, review and permit support – by the team that helped craft the SMS Determination itself

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Human factors in design & technology review

Get people written into your specifications – equipment, control rooms, interfaces and new technology

Why Smart Ergonomics

We didn’t just read the regulations. We helped write them.

The SMS Determination. The national rail Fatigue Management Standard. The Safety Critical Grades Framework. The industry guidelines for the Ergonomics Regulations. Our team has contributed to each – so when we prepare your compliance case, we know exactly how it will be read.

2022 Appointed to the DoEL Ergonomics Regulations Technical Committee

2023 ESSA presidency – group-level fatality investigation SME

2024 Safety Critical Grades Framework published

2025 SMS Determination review – impala safety permit issued

Who we serve

Nine sectors. One standard of rigour.

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Mining

MHSA duties, DMRE instructions and deep-level realities

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Transport

Safety permits, SMS Determination and RSR standards

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Construction

Construction Regulations and MSD prevention on site

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Manufacturing

Productivity, quality and injury prevention on the line

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Healthcare

Patient handling, shift fatigue and critical workload

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Logistics & warehousing

Manual handling, driver fatigue and picking workload

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Government

Regulatory development, military human factors and public sector duty

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Facilities services

Cleaning, security and catering – regulated like everyone else

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Professional & office services

Office ergonomics risk assessments for desk-based workforces

Featured case study

Impala Rustenburg – railway operations

Impala Rustenburg’s railway transport department needed to strengthen its safety management system, review the ergonomics of equipment used in the railway operations, and secure as it’s railway safety permit from RSR.

Outcome: safety permit issues, July 2025.

“Fatality work is exceptionally challenging and throughout this process she demonstrated excellent technical and non-technical skills. I have no hesitation in endorsing her work.”

Insights

Thinking that shapes the field