Allison McDonald is a human factors and system safety specialist, and is the founder of SystemiQ. She started her career in organisational psychology, and has specialised in human factors and safety for the past 20 years. Allison has extensive experience in the integration of human factors in safety management systems and safety critical operations, and has applied human factors methodologies within a systems engineering framework to support major projects.

Before establishing SystemiQ, Allison worked within industry, applying human factors principles within the rail and aviation operational environments, and enjoyed being able to make a positive contribution to the safety and effectiveness of operational systems within these organisations. Within the rail industry, Allison developed and implemented the first rail adaptation of LOSA (Line Operations Safety Audit), and introduced non-technical skills training for safety critical roles. Allison’s leadership roles with two major airlines in Australia and the Middle East focused on human factors, operational risk management, and safety culture. More recently, she has supported many airlines to implement contemporary competency-based approaches to pilot training, which has brought opportunities to work with a diverse network of professionals from major airlines across the world.

Allison’s approach to human factors is both pragmatic and evidence-based, supporting our clients by translating human science into practical operational solutions. She particularly enjoys being able to contribute to the development of systems that work effectively for the people who interact with them. Allison has a passion for contributing to the development of human factors professionals of the future, and regularly provides mentoring and coaching to Masters level students as part of her affiliation as Adjunct Associate Professor in Organisational Psychology with the University of Queensland.