Kimberly Culley, Ph.D.

Dr. Kimberly Culley is a forensic human factors expert specializing in sociotechnical systems safety, safety management systems (SMS), organizational risk, warnings, and accident causation in complex, high-hazard environments as well as routine situations. Her work focuses on how human performance, organizational culture, engineered systems, and risk controls interact to influence event evolution—particularly where latent systemic conditions degrade safety defenses over time.

Technical Focus and Methodology

Dr. Culley’s work integrates:

• Human performance analysis (attention, workload, fatigue, situational awareness)
• Organizational and safety culture assessment
• Systems engineering principles
• Root cause and causal factor analysis
• Safety management system evaluation
• Warning adequacy and risk communication analysis
• Corrective action effectiveness and sustainability

Her approach aligns with contemporary systems accident models that examine how layered defenses fail when latent organizational weaknesses interact with active human errors. She routinely evaluates whether administrative controls, engineered safeguards, training, procedures, supervision, and feedback mechanisms were sufficient, properly implemented, and reasonably foreseeable in mitigating risk. 

Relevance to Forensic Practice

For areas of practice such as human factors, premises liability, construction, product liability, transportation, and accident reconstruction matters, Dr. Culley provides expertise in:

• Foreseeability and risk recognition
• Adequacy of warnings and instructions
• Safety management system design and implementation
• Organizational negligence and risk tolerance
• Human-machine interface and automation design
• Fatigue and performance degradation
• Cultural and supervisory contributors to unsafe conditions
• Root cause versus surface-level explanations

Her analyses help distinguish isolated operator error from systemic safety breakdowns, clarify how risk was communicated and managed, and evaluate whether reasonable and industry-aligned controls were in place and effective. Dr. Culley’s experience bridging operational practice, systems engineering, and forensic investigation positions her to support multidisciplinary expert teams in complex cases where human behavior, organizational decision-making, and engineered systems interact to produce loss events.

Professional Background

Prior to joining Aperture LLC in September 2025, Dr. Culley served as the Chief Human Factors Engineer for the United States Navy Submarine Force. Over more than a decade, she operationalized human factors principles within submarine tactical guidance and training, contributed to the development of Submarine Force and Navy-wide Safety Management Systems, and implemented a formal Causal Factors and Root Cause Analysis program that was later adopted by Navy Surface and Aviation communities.

She served as the Human Factors Subject Matter Expert in multiple high-profile mishap investigations, including:

• The collision between USS Fitzgerald and MV ACX Crystal
• The collision between USS John S. McCain and Alnic MC
• The grounding of USS Connecticut on a seamount
• Navy-wide physiological episode reviews
• A Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) collision
• Strategic Weapons System adverse events

Across these investigations, her analysis emphasized not only operator performance, but also supervisory practices, training adequacy, warning design, fatigue, communication breakdowns, automation integration, cultural norms, and risk management processes that shaped decision-making under operational pressure.

Continuous Improvement and High-Reliability Operations

In addition to her military work, Dr. Culley has served as a Continuous Improvement and Performance Excellence consultant supporting high-consequence operations, including sites operating under the National Nuclear Security Administration. Her work in these environments focused on:

• Identifying latent organizational conditions (e.g., normalization of deviance, weak reporting cultures, risk under-communication)
• Evaluating issues-management and corrective action programs
• Strengthening feedback loops and risk visibility
• Ensuring investigations addressed systemic contributors rather than solely frontline error
• Driving measurable, sustained behavioral and organizational change

Credentials and Specialized Training

Dr. Culley holds a Ph.D. in Human Factors and maintains dual professional certifications:

• Certified Human Factors Professional (Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics; BCPE #2206)
• Certified Systems Engineering Professional (International Council on Systems Engineering; INCOSE #06741)

Her additional training includes:

• Advanced NTSB Cognitive Interviewing for Accident Investigators
• U.S. Coast Guard Crew Endurance Management Systems Expert Certification
• U.S. Navy Problem Solving Practitioner Certification
• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Safety and Health
• OSHA 30-Hour in Construction Safety and Health
• EPA 24-Hour Hazardous Waste Operations & Emergency Response (HAZWOPER)
• International Association of Arson Investigators 29-Hour Fire Investigation Multi-Program
• Emergency Responder Safety / Institute US Dept of Transportation / Federal Highway Administration 10 Hour National Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Training Certificate
• RESPONSE Software Training – Driver Research Institute
• Public Health, Emergency Responder, and FEMA Emergency Management coursework
• Safety and OSH training and certificates to include hazard identification, confined space, lockout / tagout, fall safety and ladders, bucket truck / boom truck / forklift / skid steer loader safety, biohazards, ergonomics
• Pedestrian, motorcycle, bicycle, and roadway safety and design principles

She has been awarded the Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award (2021, 2025) and the Secretary of the Navy Safety Excellence Award (2019). She has also recently held Top Secret-SCI and Q clearances through the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.

She has authored or co-authored over thirty publications in an academic textbook; Navy Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures doctrinal publications; classified Department of the Navy reports; and peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, which have been cited over 180 times.