This is my story of how I came into Human Factors, why I love working on medical devices, and why I have started Formara.

Early Love for Human Factors

I often say I earned a first-class in my Ergonomics (Human Factors) BSc because I enjoyed the subject so much. I genuinely loved the course.

I first heard about Ergonomics during my school subject ‘Design & Technology’ (one of my favourite lessons!). During my A-levels, I realised I loved human anatomy and physiology, and psychology. I visited Loughborough University for their human biology course, and with a twist of fate, I saw a prospectus for their Ergonomics course. It felt like everything clicked — anatomy, psychology, design, and human performance all combined into one subject. It was everything I was interested in without realising it could be a career.

From Defence to Automotive to Medical Devices

After graduating, I joined Lockheed Martin to design an Airborne Early Warning (AEW) system for the Merlin MK2 helicopter. It was a dream job. During my time there, I was lucky to work with some very experienced Human Factors specialists who gave a lot of their time and energy into mentoring me. Defence taught me rigour: requirements management, detailed documentation, and designing for ultra-specialist users. It also gave me experience in designing systems that were focused on efficiency. The operators needed to identify friend or foe quickly, and it didn’t matter if it took years to train them to use the system as long as they could achieve that critical task.

I then joined Jaguar Land Rover, which was a different world. Fast-moving, early-stage innovation, intuitive interfaces, state-of-the-art tech — designing for everyday users and safety at scale. It was also the place where I developed my love for user experience — thinking about satisfaction, comfort, and pleasure alongside performance and safety.

Then Smith & Nephew advertised for a position as a Human Factors Specialist because a device that had been recalled due to use error. A tiny design change — a new filter that clicked into position twice instead of once — meant service personnel unknowingly left it in the wrong position. Critical alarms failed. Patients suffered. Learning this shaped everything. The medical device industry needed Human Factors. The standards and guidance were just being formalised. It was a chance for me to make a positive impact on patient lives.

Over the next 7 years, we transformed how Smith & Nephew thought about usability. I set out to change the culture to one that was user-centred. We built processes, ran formative studies early, trained every relevant department, invited R&D and marketing into usability labs, and turned HF into an investment, not a tick-box.

Starting Formara

After nearly a decade at Smith & Nephew, I left to start a new Human Factors team for a company called Schlesinger Group (now known as Sago). I knew Sago well because I had used their services when running studies — they provided excellent facilities and participant recruitment. It made sense to me that they should bolt on a Human Factors service, and it was also a chance for me to learn how to set up and run a consultancy inside a larger business.

Instead, just a year later, Sago made me, and our whole team, redundant due to a change in corporate strategy. The good news was, I had trust from several clients who wanted to continue working with me. I found out I was being made redundant just two weeks after finding out my wife was pregnant with our first child. It was an emotional time — fear and excitement in equal measure. There’s never a “good” time to start a business, but for me this was the time.

Why I Do This

My “why” is personal. My mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when I was 20. She passed when I was 26. I saw how good medical devices could make a difference — and how bad ones could lead to errors and frustration in already desperate situations.

This influential time in my life made me appreciate what really matters: love, kindness and leaving the world a bit better than when you found it. I’m a firm believer that a company can operate with these values.

Now, as a parent, the mission feels urgent. My daughter, Daisy, deserves a future where healthcare is efficient, safe, and human-centred. That urgency drives me every day.

I also want to make a difference to my local area. I grew up in a deprived part of Essex, and I now live just outside of Hull (now my ‘home’ city), also a deprived area. I want to give other children the opportunity to make the best of their lives, which is why I support local schools and colleges by providing workshops and presentations to inspire them and widen their perspectives. I want to provide professional jobs to the area, and grow a team that feel supported and empowered to make a positive difference. I’m not just building a business, I’m building something that reflects who I am.

When Formara is at its best—when we're early to a project, when our research shapes design, when our input actually improves safety and patient outcomes—I feel pride. I feel joy. I feel like I’m living my purpose.

And that’s what keeps me going.
For my clients.
For my family.
And for the kind of industry I want to help create.

The Future I See

If Formara succeeds, I want to see two things in 10 years:

• Medical device companies investing in Human Factors not just for compliance, but for commercial success and better care.

• NHS procurement making usability a core part of buying decisions, driving the entire UK industry to design for real people. Who knows, maybe this can inspire other nations/healthcare providers.

When we design with care, we don’t just build devices—we build trust, dignity, and better futures.