Senior Consulting Engineer and Ergonomist

Bill Contoyannis is a qualified mechanical and biomedical engineer and ergonomist with extensive experience in rehabilitation engineering, human biomechanics and ergonomics. He is a skilled incident investigator specialising in risk identification and injury prevention.

He has been involved in a broad range of rehabilitation, assistive technology and more specifically prosthetics, orthotics and wheelchairs and has made a significant contribution to these fields including incident investigation, education, research, advice and continues to provide clinical support to a major health network.

His vast experience has led him to be a highly sought after consultant on matters including the design of products used in both the disability and general sphere. This has included the ergonomic and engineering design and assessment of wheelchairs, artificial limbs (and the components included in these) and patient lifting devices such as overhead support systems and portable patient hoists.

Some examples of Bill’s work:

• Assess the risks associated and safety of passengers sitting with their feet outside the carriage, and carriage door latching strategies and design carriage sills which allow children to safely sit with  their legs out on the Puffing Billy Railway
• Investigation of medical technology involving failure incidents and injury to patients (Various Australian government departments of health, coroner’s department and private health service)
• Ergonomics assessments of product designs for safety and compliance (beds, mattresses, office chairs, desks, as well as the built environment)
• Manual handling risk assessments (retail, warehouses, manufacturing production lines)
• Assessment of hand-held card readers for use with public transport smart card (State government).

Bill applies biomechanical principles to analyse and determine body forces, risk levels and causation of musculoskeletal injuries, as well as to determine the likely causes of a given incident. He provides expert opinion and regularly gives evidence at court on injuries pertaining to slips, trips, falls, lifting, manual handling and forces, and as a seasoned forensic engineer, Bill is well qualified to advise on systems of work, remedial measures and risk prevention.

Some examples of cases where Bill has provided expert opinion in court:

• Tregilgas v Victorian Workcover Authority
• Kljusuric v Gajjh United Pty Ltd
• Bucic v Arnej Pty Ltd
• Damjanovic v Kah Australia Pty Ltd
• Sampson v Thiess Pty Ltd & Anor
• Deal v. Father Pius Kodakkathanath (High Court)

Awards and Achievements:

• 2024: Awarded life Membership of the Australia Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Association
• 2003 – 2006: Chair of the National Committee of Rehabilitation Engineers, (Engineers Australia)
• 1993 – present: Instrumental in setting up REHAB TECH , a technology service, consulting and research unit originally at Melbourne’s Monash University’s Centre for Biomedical Engineering, and now a private entity.

Memberships, Societies and Associations:

• Member of Institution of Engineers, Australia (Engineers Australia)
• Engineers Australia College of Biomedical Engineers
• Member National Committee of Rehabilitation Engineers, (Engineers Australia) – (Past Chair)
• Member of Australia Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Association
• Member of International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Associate member of Human Factors & Ergonomics Society
• Member of Forensic Engineers Society of Australia (FESA)

As a Hall of Fame member of the Dohrmann Consulting team, Bill has been a trusted and valuable consultant for over 14 years. His industry reputation is built on a foundation of precise expertise, strong professional relationships, and an exceptional ability to share his knowledge and experience with colleagues and industry professionals. In his spare time, Bill enjoys travel, going to sporting events and restoration of old cars.