At this time of year we tend to look back over what has been accomplished in the time passed since the last New Year. For me, this looking back includes not only the general events of calendar year 2011, but also the events significant to me as I served as President of BCSP.

I'm sure you are aware of some of BCSP's milestones.

We moved into our new building, which is not only beautiful and efficient, but adds something desirable to the Champaign community while providing a great work environment for our staff.

Through the very hard work of staff, the CSP was re-accredited by ANSI. ANSI accreditation is the hallmark of quality, and the CSP's accreditation by ANSI marks it as the gold standard of safety-related certifications. CHST, OHST, CLCS and STS continue to be leading certifications as well. All of these certifications are "going global" as our U.S.-based certificants work abroad, and as the certifications become known and respected around the world.

BCSP is working with related organizations around the world to bring about transportability of credentials - it is not an easy task, but we are making progress. We are partnering with ASSE and other organizations on joint projects and thus enhancing our influence and presence in the safety world. At the ASSE Professional Development Conference (PDC) in June, BCSP will be sponsoring an "Award of Excellence" luncheon as part of the PDC offerings. You can find out more about that in this enewsletter.

I often think of what I am grateful for this time of year. I am grateful to each of you, for what you bring to BCSP, what you add to the profession and the part you play in accomplishing a better, safer world. We do incredible things together. I am grateful to our staff at BCSP. I do not know a more gifted, hard working, dedicated staff than these folks. They are not just dedicated to the work at BCSP, they are dedicated to safety. Safety is in their bottom-line view of their work. They are our partners.  

I am grateful to our Board of Directors. I have never worked with a group who accomplishes more than they do. We ask a lot of these volunteers - and they deliver. These men and women are dedicated to BCSP and the SHE profession. But most of all, they are dedicated to each of you and what your certifications mean to you. They are dedicated to ensuring that our certifications are the best they can be; that they remain the gold standard; that they are respected and sought after around the world. My deepest thanks to each of these people, my colleagues and friends.

I wish you, your families, and your colleagues a joyful, safe, fulfilling holiday season and New Year. Take pride in who you are, what you have accomplished and what your efforts bring to our world. We make a positive and lasting contribution.

• Joseph A. Branco, CSP, CUSA
• Gary Catapano
• J. Terrence Grisim, CSP, CDS, CPSM, ARM 
• Lonnie Logan    
• David F. Matthes, CSP, CSHM  

Three of the five who received the award were Certified Safety Professionals (CSPs) and each had a reason they thought themselves and their fellow certificants were well represented. 

Joseph Branco, CSP, CUSA was recognized for outstanding achievements in the Utilities Division, where he was involved with the Electrical Transmission and Distribution Strategic Partnership.  

"I was honored to be nominated and selected by a group of my peers," said Branco. "There have been many great safety professionals that have received this award and I am proud to be part of that group."

Reflecting on the reason he was joined by other CSPs at the presentation of the awards, Branco said that those who have the certification have it because they have shown their knowledge and ability. "It is no wonder there are so many."

Terrence Grisim, CSP, CDS, CPSM, ARM attributes his receiving the award as recognition for volunteer work he has done throughout his career in safety. Grisim served on several committees in NSC and is currently the Vice Chair of the Legal Services Branch in the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), where he also serves on the Business of Safety Committee and the Standards Development Committee.

"It is one of the highest honors one can achieve in the safety profession and the highest one given to a safety professional by the National Safety Council," said Grisim. "It was a very humbling and emotional experience being on stage and receiving a standing ovation from about 4,000 of your colleagues."  

For Grisim, the reason CSPs were awarded as they were, was that there exists among them recognition of the importance of their professionalism. 

David F. Matthes, CSP, CSHM was recognized for his work in the Construction Division.  

"I was surprised and pleased to be considered for recognition," said Matthes. "It is exciting to be honored by such a prestigious peer group." Matthes said he admired the work done by the CSPs he associated with early in his career. "I knew from this association that to have a CSP next to your name had meaning," he added.

"When the opportunity came along for me to apply, I jumped at the chance. Those who care enough to obtain the certification are also the ones whose caring is recognized by the industries we serve."  

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has announced the appointment of Thomas Adams, Board of Certified Safety Professionals' (BCSP) Executive Director, to its Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee (PCAC) - the committee responsible for the operational aspects of ANSI's Accreditation Program for Personnel Certification Bodies.

ANSI invited Adams to the committee based on his leadership in BCSP's certification activities, including maintaining ANSI accreditation for the CSP credential and National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCAA) accreditation for paraprofessional-level certifications.

"Tom will prove to be an excellent member of the committee" said Margaret Carroll, BCSP President. "His appointment to PCAC reflects BCSP's strong, knowledgeable commitment to meeting rigorous accreditation standards."

"It is a real privilege to be invited to sit on the accreditation committee," added Adams.

Adams is one of four individuals to be selected to serve on the committee.

"ANSI is pleased to welcome these outstanding leaders in the credentialing field to our Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee," said S. Joe Bhatia, ANSI president and CEO. "Having such experienced and strong expert participation at this program's policy level underscores our commitment to offering the most comprehensive personnel certification accreditation process in the United States."

The PCAC is responsible for the policy, procedures, and accreditation decisions relating to the accreditation of personnel certification bodies, specifically:

• accrediting personnel certification bodies in accordance with ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification Systems of Persons, and IAF Guidance to ISO/IEC 17024;
• recommending policies to the Conformity Assessment Policy Committee (CAPC);
• creating procedures to support the approved policies;
• receiving recommendations for accreditation from ANSI-approved assessors; and
• hearing first-level appeals regarding accreditation decisions and/or complaints regarding a certification body.

Membership on the PCAC reflects a balance of personnel certification stakeholders to include representatives from various types of occupational and professional certification bodies, test-development experts, government, consumer and public interest organizations, and other individuals concerned with third-party personnel certification activities.

For the first time in its history, BCSP will be sponsoring an awards luncheon to honor certified individuals' contributions to the safety profession.

The June 6, 2012 ceremony will take place at the ASSE Safety 2012 Professional Development Conference in Denver, Colorado. Top certificants representing the CSP, OHST, CLCS or CHST certifications will receive an Award of Excellence in recognition of outstanding leadership, knowledgeable expertise in their work, and voluntary commitment to advancing the SH&E practice in the field.

The deadline for applications is March 31, 2012.

For further details, visit www.bcsp.org/awardofexcellence.

Rixio Medina, CSP recently donated $3,500 to start The American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) Safety Professionals and the Latino Workforce (SPALW) professional education grant.

"The number of Spanish speaking workers have increased significantly in the U.S. and will continue to increase in the years to come," explains Medina, who serves on the foundation's fundraising committee. "They are also experiencing an alarming number of fatalities, occupational injuries and illness."

Medina referenced a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) study that revealed fatal injuries among the Latino population accounted for 15 percent of the total fatal work injuries, with a fatal work injury rate of 3.7 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, while the fatal work injury rate for all workers is 3.5 per 100,000 FTE workers.

"SPALW believes that more qualified Spanish speaking safety and health professionals are needed to help address this situation and to that end established a Professional Education Grant through the ASSE Foundation," Medina said. "With this Grant, SPALW will assist Spanish speaking safety and health professionals to pursue additional training and professional certification that they couldn't obtain otherwise due to financial limitation."

Donations can be made at the ASSE Foundation website.

BCSP requires that all degrees from colleges and universities outside the United States be evaluated for U.S. equivalency by one of five National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES®) members.  

Degrees currently being evaluated by BCSP's previous evaluation service will not be affected by the change, but all future evaluations must be performed through the new service.

NACES provides applicants with a larger selection of payment and submission options. As the number of people with non-U.S. degree's who are applying for certification increases NACES will also prove efficient.

To complete the evaluation process, applicants with degrees from institutions outside the U.S. should visit BCSP's webpage on education standards, where they can find instructions on how to submit their degree for evaluation.   

On the most basic level, BCSP certifications are represented by the outstanding work performed by those who have achieved them. How can we ensure individuals who have not worked with a BCSP certificant understand the value of certification though? That requires outreach.

BCSP provides certificants with several ways to share information about certification that benefit both the safety profession and the outgoing certificants.

LinkedIn - BCSP's LinkedIn Group brings together certificants and others in the safety profession. Users can assist aspiring safety professionals by providing them with advice as well as make professional connections through public discussion or private messages. LinkedIn recently added an optional certification section to user profiles as well.

Tabletop Displays - Those who prefer to connect with others directly have the option of requesting BCSP tabletop displays for conferences or other gatherings. Tabletop exhibitors benefit by meeting many other people interested in safety and gain recertification points for exhibiting. Contact BCSP Communications Specialist Colan Holmes for more information. 

Mentoring - The Mentor Program rewards certificants who refer others to BCSP certifications in the interest of the mentee's professional development. BCSP maintains a list of mentors and provides committed mentors with logoed merchandise.

BCSP has been spreading cheer throughout the community this year.

We donated to the Honor Flight program, contributed to the fight against breast cancer, began gathering donations for our local food bank and are working on a project for United Way.

All of us at BCSP enjoy working on these projects together.

Our Executive Director, Thomas Adams, shares a little about why we have been so active in a powerful interview he gave after our donation to Honor Flight:

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year.

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Have you ever found yourself needing additional Recertification points?

Now, those who have CSP, OHST, CLCS, CHST or STS certifications can earn credits toward their Recertification by reading articles offered by Workplace HR & Safety and taking an associated quiz.

For each eLe@rn quiz passed, BCSP offers Recertification points equal to 0.01 times the number of questions on a quiz. 

eLe@rn sends two quizzes per month by email, plus one bonus quiz in December. The eLe@rn system automatically generates your score and confirmation. It's that easy.

Get started by signing up online. An annual subscription is $150. 

Questions? Contact Amy Lehr or call +1 800-793-4209.   

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CSP 2011 Anniversaries