Les Ainsworth has been involved in ergonomics for over twenty five years and has wide experience in the practical application of ergonomics and psychology to industrial inspection and the assessment of mental and perceptual workload.

During his career much of his work has involved studies of complex single and multi-person tasks using various task analysis techniques to identify the behavioural requirements for safe and effective human performance in process control tasks. He has provided advice to the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and foreign power utilities on the application of task analysis methods. He jointly authored the definitive text on task analysis.

He established Synergy as a specialist ergonomics consultancy in 1988 to provide services to a wide range of safety-critical industries. He now provides
advice on the integration of ergonomics in Safety Cases, in design and in humanfactors assessments.

Les takes a pragmatic and thorough approach to his practice of ergonomics.

Recent work has included participation in two major UK defence projects and a study on the impact of demanding upon workload and the adequacy of nuclear
refuelling UK nuclear facilities. In his spare time Les enjoys rock-climbing and skiing. In climbing circles he is noted as an author and desktop publisher for climbing guides in the Lancashire and Cumbria regions.