One month ago, BCSP held its First Annual Award of Excellence (AoE) Ceremony in conjunction with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Professional Development Conference, Safety 2012. It was my pleasure to lead in the historic moment, and an honor to meet the eight individuals whose commitment to safety brought us together that day. The 2012 AoE recipients are truly model certificants. 

BCSP certifications are, similarly, model certifications. The CSP's value was recently praised by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) in its report A Look at the Value of Professional Certification. At the same time, the OHST exam has been updated and the CET/CIT is beginning to have the look and feel of a BCSP certification. By maintaining quality, accredited certifications, providing a method for safety professionals to prove their value, BCSP is committed to advancing the field of occupational safety. And we are engaged in many new, exciting projects to that end.

In April, the BCSP Board of Directors met in conjunction with the Pac-Rim Work Safety & Health Conference, where we sponsored a breakfast and honored safety professionals and organizations active in the promotion of international safety. We took the opportunity to meet with Kathy Seabrook, CSP, CMIOSH, membership Chair of the ASSE International Practice Specialty group and ASSE Senior Vice President. The Board and I greatly appreciate Seabrook's sharing her experience and enjoyed meeting with her very much. Her insight provided some perspective on the strategic plan the Board adopted, which I am confident will serve us well over the next few years.

BCSP is also fully committed to working with members of the U.S. military to find ways we can assist service members in demonstrating their skills through certification. You can read more about our efforts in that field in this enewsletter.

Most recently, BCSP signed a collaborative agreement with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). As part of this partnership, we will be promoting effective prevention strategies through expertise, technology, clearly defined educational options, and increased awareness of safety as an occupation.

As we meet the goals in our strategic plan you can expect many more exciting developments.

Finally, I would like to congratulate BCSP Vice President, Rixio Medina, CSP, CPP, on becoming an ASSE Society Fellow. Serving on BCSP's Board with Medina, I can attest to his incredible efforts on behalf of the SH&E profession.

The First Annual Award of Excellence Ceremony was held June 6, 2012, at the ASSE Professional Development Conference in Denver, Colorado.

L/R: Carl Heinlein, BCSP Board President, Roger Brauer, and Terrie Norris, ASSE President

"One achieves little without help from many others," Brauer said. "I never sought an elected position or applied for any recognition I have received. I thank those who recognized my accomplishments."   

Award recipients' profiles and remarks can now be found on BCSP's Award of Excellence Ceremony webpage. 

Carl Heinlein, CSP, OHST, 2012 BCSP Board President, led the ceremony and presented the award recipients with engraved medallions bearing their accomplishment. Closing the ceremony was speaker Bruce Wilkinson, who gave a rousing speech on the importance of professional safety certification.

The 2012 ceremony marked the beginning of what is to become a prestigious annual tradition.

BCSP Award of Excellence Recipients on stage at Safety 2012

The U.S. Air Force recently surpassed its record for the longest period of time without a single on-duty ground fatality, keeping personnel safe for over a year as they performed more than one billion man-hours of labor.

"We surpassed this challenge because of our strong safety culture, the support and guidance of our supervisors and commanders, the actions of our safety professionals (past and present) and, most significantly, the diligence and dedication of our superior Airmen," stated Bill Parsons, GS-15, DAF, Air Force Chief of Ground Safety.

Parsons became the Air Force's Chief of Ground Safety in March 2011. He has 36 years' experience as a safety professional, with 17 years spent in the Air Force, more than ten years running his own international safety consulting firm, and several years just prior to his current post where he held various leadership positions in OSHA's national office.

Though the recent safety record occurred on his watch, Parson's emphasizes that safety is a team effort. "I learned a long time ago, as a safety professional with the Air Force and as a business owner, that I can't do anything myself," says Parsons. "I have to have the support of the staff and the folks in the field."

The Air Force Ground Safety Program is based on the guidelines found in OSHA's proposed Injury, Illness and Prevention Program (I2P2). This comprehensive approach ensures management leadership and guidance for the safety program, a qualified professional safety staff, job safety training and education for workers, a hazard identification and abatement process, a mishap investigation and reporting process, and more. Further, there is a systems safety process that allows for ensuring safety considerations in the design and purchase phase as well as throughout the life cycle of systems.

Over the last ten years, use of these guidelines and processes has cut the number of off-duty ground fatalities roughly in half and reduced on-duty ground fatalities by exactly 50 percent.

The Air Force Ground Safety Program performs excellently, and as long as the rate of mishaps continues to drop, Parson's states that its method of engaging service members will continue. The challenge at this moment is to maintain safety professional's performance as they continue to serve in the Air Force, as well as to provide them with a way to most effectively demonstrate their expertise if they decide to serve in civilian capacities.

"The better support we provide them with training and education, the better safety professional we're going to have," Parsons stated in an interview with Wingman Magazine. "We're moving forward on some initiatives to bring certification programs to all Air Force safety folks, both military and DAF civilians. We're going to make that happen. It's only going to help us prevent injuries, prevent fatalities, plus, it better prepares our safety professionals for that next step. The Air Force did that for me. Without the Air Force safety program, I would never have been able to work for OSHA. I would never have been able to have my own company. I would not be in the position I am today."

Certification is a powerful tool skilled professionals can use to showcase their expertise, and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) has been collaborating with Parsons to offer military safety professionals easy access to safety certification. Patrick Conroy, OHST, CHST, shares with Parsons a similar

L/R: Pat Conroy, Christy Uden, Bill Parsons, and Chris Gates

Air Force experience and a strong belief in the value of certification. The two brought together Christy Uden, BCSP Quality Assurance, and safety professional Chris Gates, CMSgt, USAF (Retired),for a series of meetings as part of this collaborative effort. BCSP has also met with the U.S. Coast Guard, and is prepared to share ideas explored with each branch of the military as opportunities arise.

"In carrying out any mission, whether that mission is part of protecting the country or protecting colleagues in a company or worksite, the team relies on the competency of its members," explains Conroy.

BCSP currently offers U.S. military personnel and veterans a family of safety certifications which meet the requirements necessary for reimbursement through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Active duty, Reserve Component personnel, and military retirees who are eligible under various entitlement programs (e.g., Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), Veterans Education Assistance Program (VEAP), etc.) may contact the DVA for reimbursement of associated examinations fees.

In the course of developing a method to offer accredited, highly-respected certification to military personnel and veterans BCSP will also be performing outreach. Look for the BCSP booth, #615, at this year's Department of Defense (DoD) Worldwide Education Symposium 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 23-27.

Visit us at the conference and connect with us through the BCSP eNewsletter or social media for the latest news and information as this effort develops.

John Howard, NIOSH and Carl Heinlein, BCSP

The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and the National Institute for

"BCSP is honored to be a partner with NIOSH and we welcome the opportunity to work together in our common mission of the advancement of safety and health," says Carl Heinlein, BCSP Board President.  

BCSP and NIOSH will utilize expertise in effective prevention strategies and technology as part of this collaborative effort. The partnership will also encourage students to pursue safety as a career, and advance their competency in that field.

As part of the agreement, BCSP and NIOSH will work cooperatively in:

• Developing and disseminating information on management systems and best practices for occupational safety and health, and career opportunities in safety and health through print and electronic media, including NIOSH and BCSP websites. 
• Strengthening recruiting efforts for students to enter occupational safety and health technical, undergraduate and graduate programs. 
• Participating in conferences, meetings and other key events where worker safety and health, and safety and health practitioners' professional development are addressed. 
• Promoting and facilitating the transfer of relevant occupational safety and health research findings and prevention-through-design (PtD) to practices and the body of knowledge of safety and health professionals.

The full agreement is available online here.

Read BCSP's 2011 Annual Report. 

The Certified Environmental, Safety and Health Trainer (CET) & Certified Instructional Technologist (CIT) certifications are swiftly becoming part of the BCSP family of certifications.

The training certifications' new logo is increasingly featured on BCSP materials, and the new CET/CIT process and applications, results of months of diligent preparation, can be found on BCSP's CET/CIT webpage. 

The process of fully integrating the CET/CIT is well underway. By the end of 2012, the certifications' will be wholly operated by BCSP.

Inquiries related to the certification may be made through the CET/CIT Inquiry form. 

The Occupational Health and Safety Technologist® (OHST®) exam began following the most recent set of knowledge required of SH&E technologists this July 2, 2012. 

The update, as announced last year, is the result of a validation study to determine the task, knowledge, and skills associated with the OHST practice.The OHST's latest blueprint and reference materials are available on the OHST webpage.

As part of the OHST update, the Certified Loss Control Specialist® (CLCS®) certification is discontinued. CLCS certificants, and those in process of achieving CLCS certification, can contact  Barbara Patterson, BCSP Manager of Customer Service, with questions.  

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the safety, health and environmental (SH&E) profession, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) bestowed upon Board of Certified Safety Professionals' (BCSP) Vice President, Rixio E. Medina, CSP, CPP, CMIOSH, their highest honor of Society Fellow.

Medina is the general partner of Rixio Medina and Associates, L.P., an international safety and security consulting firm specializing in the petroleum, refining and petrochemical industries. He has more than 34 years of experience in the SH&E profession.

Currently a member of ASSE Region III's Coastal Bend Chapter, Medina has been an active ASSE member throughout his career. He has been a CSP since he achieved the certification 1991.

Among Medina's most notable accomplishments are his efforts to develop a rapport and inroads to Latin America, his contributions to ASSE's Safety Professionals and the Latino Workforce (SPALW) common interest group, and his serving as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH).  

In 2012, Medina became the Vice President of BCSP, where he has contributed a great amount to the planning that is part of effectively advancing safety through quality safety certification.  

The announcement of Medina's receiving the Society Fellowship was made at an awards ceremony at Safety 2012, the ASSE Professional Development Conference.

Angela Kluth began work as BCSP's part-time Accountant on May 1, 2012. As a member of the Finance department, Angie will be assisting with the month-end financial procedures. These procedures include calculating journal entries and performing various financial reconciliations. Angie will also be involved in the preparation of various quarterly tax forms and the year-end financial audit.

Angie, a registered CPA in the state of Illinois, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois. After working as a public accountant and an accounting supervisor in Chicago, Angie moved with her husband, John, to Champaign. Shortly after moving to Champaign, Angie accepted a position with BCSP. She served as the Director of Finance and Human Resources from 1995 through 2003. In 2003 Angie left her position to spend more time with her children, Jake and Aly. Angie is excited to once again be a part of the BCSP family.

BCSP will be exhibiting at five more conferences over the course of 2012. If you are attending any of the following conferences, be sure to find our booth and introduce yourself. Certificants get unique items to share their achievement. 

Dantes Worldwide Conference
Booth #615
July 23-27
Las Vegas, NV

International System Safety Conference (ISSC)
Booth TBD
August 6-10
Atlanta, GA

Voluntary Protection Programs Participants Association (VPPPA) Conference
Booth #614
August 20-23
Anaheim, CA

 Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals (AHMP) Conference
Booth #402
September 9-12
Anchorage, AK

National Safety Council (NSC)
Booth #877
October 21-26
Orlando, FL  

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CSP 2012 Anniversaries