Joint Symposium: Investigation Models in Practice — Forensic Engineering, WHS Critical Incidents, Ergonomic & HOP Learning Teams
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When a major incident occurs, where does reverse-engineering end and human performance begin?
The Forensic Engineering Society Australia (FESA), RMIT Safety and Health Innovation Network (SHINe), and the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society of Australia (HFESA) invite you to a joint interactive afternoon symposium at RMIT University.
Event Overview
Date: Wednesday, 18th November 2026
Symposium: 2:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Networking: 6:30 PM onwards (Finger Food at the Oxford Scholar)
Location: RMIT University, City Campus, Melbourne
Why You Should Attend
No single investigation framework holds all the answers for complex, high-consequence incidents. This symposium brings together specialists from forensic engineering, safety leadership, and human factors and Human Operational Performance to evaluate and contrast different investigation methodologies—specifically comparing traditional engineering and failure analysis models with modern paradigms like Human & Organizational Performance (HOP) and Learning Teams.
Rather than passive lectures, this event is designed around fast-paced method presentations, case studies, peer table discussions, and a multi-disciplinary panel debate. Participants will be industry leaders and mentors. This is a rare opportunity to sharpen the saw for this important part of our collective professional practice.
Program Highlights
Physical Failure & Engineering Analysis Models (2:15 PM – 3:30 PM) Short case studies on forensic reverse-engineering, Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), FMEA, and Bowtie/Barrier models.
Human Performance, HOP & Modern Safety Paradigms (3:30 PM – 4:45 PM) Exploring Work-as-Done vs. Work-as-Imagined, Learning Teams, HFACS, and task/interface ergonomics.
Comparative Panel & Cross-Disciplinary Engagement (5:00 PM – 6:15 PM) A structured debate pitting engineering precision against systemic human performance context to identify the strengths, limitations, and blind spots of each approach.
Presenters and Panel Members include:
Distinguished Prof. Helen Lingard, Mark Dohrman, Dr. Andrew Short, Julie Gratton, Dr. John Culvenor, Dr. Len Cubitt, Prof. Derek Viner, Dr. Margarita Vargas, Kelvin Genn, Geoff Hurst, and more.
Registration & Networking
Symposium Ticket: Free Entry with registration.
Symposium Networking: Networking tickets for a finger food can be purchased for $30, these are not mandatory. The networking event will be held at the Oxford Scholar across the road from RMIT immediately following the symposium. The $30 covers finger food, drinks are to be purchased by participants.
Note: Places are strictly limited so register early as we expect it to be fully subscribed.
We look forward to seeing you at RMIT for an afternoon and evening of lively debate and cross-disciplinary learning.
Location
RMIT University - Melbourne City Campus
City campus, 124 La Trobe St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia