Alan Hobbs is a leading educator and trainer in human factors and maintenance error management, specialising in delivering comprehensive "Human Errors in Maintenance" training programs to asset-intensive industries worldwide.
Dr. Hobbs has taught this intensive 2-day course to maintenance professionals across mining, oil & gas, manufacturing, aviation, rail, and natural gas sectors, helping organisations understand and mitigate the human factors that contribute to maintenance errors. Dr. Hobbs brings a unique combination of academic rigor and real-world experience to his training programs.
He serves as a Senior Research Associate with the San Jose State University Foundation, conducting collaborative research in the Human Systems Integration Division at Ames Research Centre, where his work focuses on human factors in maintenance, remotely operated systems, and human error implications for complex system robustness. His expertise is grounded in over ten years' experience as a human performance investigator at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), where he investigated aviation and rail transport accidents.
He is co-author with Professor James Reason of the influential book "Managing Maintenance Error," which serves as a foundational text for understanding maintenance-related human factors across industries. Dr. Hobbs holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and is a private pilot, bringing both theoretical knowledge and practical understanding to his role as an educator in maintenance human factors.
