Dr Valerie O'Keeffe
Senior Research Fellow in Human Factors
College of Business, Government and Law
Building on a background in applied health sciences (prosthetics and orthotics), Valerie has worked in a diversity of roles focused on human factors, ergonomics and workplace health and safety. Valerie's experience spans work health and safety policy development, consultancy, research, rehabilitation, training and education, and management systems certification where she has worked for SafeWork South Australia, SafeWork Australia, SAI Global and the former WorkCover Corporation.
As a researcher, Valerie's current project in the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute (AITI) examines human factors in the adoption of advanced technologies (including robotics, augmented reality, motion capture, wearables, and end user computing) in designing safe, healthy and sustainable work in digital shipbuilding, collaborating with BAE Systems Australia - Maritime.
Previous projects have focused on worker performance in healthcare settings including investigating nurses' health and safety decision making in the context of patient encounters and the influence of aged care workers' job quality and design on health and safety and client care. Valerie specialises in human factors and ergonomics including psychosocial and physical hazards aimed at workplace injury prevention and sustainable performance. She also researches management systems, and the regulation of and policy framework for the management of psychosocial risks at work.
Valerie's teaching focus is on sociotechnical systems, including human factors, ergonomics and organisational safety.
PhD (Social Psychology), UniSA
Master of Ergonomics, University of Queensland
Bachelor of Psychological Science, UniSA
Graduate Diploma Occupational Health, University of Adelaide
Graduate Diploma Social Science (Rehabilitation), University of SA
Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management, Flinders University
Diploma Applied Science (Prosthetics and Orthotics) Latrobe University
Australian Councillor, International Ergonomics Association, 2020
Fellow of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety, 2020
Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia, 2019
Emerald Publishing/EMFD Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research in Healthcare Management, 2015
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia David Ferguson Postgraduate Student Award, 2015
Valerie's teaching interests are human factors, ergonomics, safety management systems and psychosocial risk
Valerie has recently completed a two year term as General Secretary and Executive of the Board of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia and is currently serving as the Australian Councillor on the International Ergonomics Association.
Valerie is a Certified Professional Ergonomist of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia and a Certified Chartered Safety Professional of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety
Valerie is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Safety Science
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