BCSP Blog

BCSP Certification Referenced in Institute for Credentialing Excellence Report

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:52:00 GMT

The Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) released a report this month titled A Look at the Value of Professional Certification. BCSP was happy to have its CSP certification featured in the new ICE report. BCSP has long emphasized certification's value, using the phrase "prove your value with certification" on brochures and conference material.

The report is part of a The Value of Certification Toolkit, a result of several years of work by ICE’s Research and Development Committee. It covers topics such as the increase in opportunity for certified individuals, related monetary reward, raised public opinion of companies that utilize certification, and companies' better compliance with regulations and the conditions of third-party payers.

The CSP was used primarily to illustrate the higher salaries of certified professionals compared to non-certified professionals, citing CSP's average annual salary being about $17,000 more than the salaries of those without certification.

The CSP, OHST/CLCS, CHST and STS certifications are all accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), an organization which is a component of ICE.

Why do You Work in Safety? Why did You Pursue Safety Certification?

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:34:00 GMT

People have started to recognize me from my posts to the BCSP Facebook page or the welcoming messages I send when they join the BCSP LinkedIn group. When this first occurred, at a conference, I was admittedly taken off guard. I've since started to enjoy being thought of as "the LinkedIn guy," because I've met so many friendly people and heard so many interesting stories as a result.

As the Board of Certified Safety Professionals' social media presence grows, more and more opportunities for safety professionals to share their stories have developed. We at BCSP are enthusiastically working on ways to further include you in defining the safety profession.

Beginning at ASSE's Safety 2012 Professional Development Conference, we will be recording videos of certificants sharing stories about how certification has helped them and their professional practice. We hope to begin doing this regularly.

I'd also like to start highlighting a safety professional who has achieved a BCSP safety certification on the BCSP blog and social media each month.

If you would like your share your story, reply to the LinkedIn post here with why you work in safety and why you pursued your safety certification.

I look forward to your responses.

Educational Opportunity Offered to CSPs

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:42:00 GMT

Oakland University, one of the select colleges offering a Qualifying Academic Program (QAP) as part of the BCSP's Graduate Safety Professional (GSP) designation process, now provides CSPs who would like to continue their education with a special offer.

Based on the fact that a CSP has knowledge of safety fundamentals, qualifying work experience, and has passed the comprehensive practice exam, Oakland University identified 22 credit hours, almost half of the course requirements for a declared major, for which a CSP may be awarded competency credit within their Occupational Safety and Health program.

These 22 credit hours are at a cost of $50 per credit, compared to the instate tuition rate of about $350 per credit and $800 per credit for out of state students. In addition, the remainder of our BS OSH degree is available online at instate tuition rates for out of state students.

This is of special relevance to CSPs who received their certification before BCSP required CSPs to have a college degree, but may also be of interest to individuals who would like to emphasize their knowledge on a specific subject of study offered by the university.

More details on the program can be found on the website for Oakland University's Occupational Health and Safety Program.

Honor Exceptional Safety Practice with BCSP's Award of Excellence

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:35:00 GMT

The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) is accepting nominations for the First Annual Award of Excellence, which recognizes the exceptional safety practice of individuals who hold CSP, OHST, CLCS and CHST certifications. All applicantions can be either self nominated or by peers. All nominating documents and details can be found on the BCSP website at www.bcsp.org/awardofexcellence.

The award ceremony will take place at the ASSE Safety 2012 Conference's Wednesday lunch, June 6, 2012 from 12:00-1:30 at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colorado. All award winners will receive their award medallions and long time certificants will receive recognition with distinctively designed pins.

BCSP will be accepting nominations until March 31, 2012 -- Nominate here.

New BCSP Board Members Meet in Champaign

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:42:00 GMT

BCSP hosted the new Board Member orientation January 23, 2012. Mark Friend, J. Terrence Grisim, and Bruce Guiliani visited the BCSP headquarters in Champaign, Illinois to prepare for their year in Board positions. Rixio Medina, Vice President of the Board, was on hand to lead the process.

The new Board Members met with staff to go over how they would interact with individual areas within BCSP. They were brought up to date on current Board activities. The majority of the visit consisted of reviewing the process of Board responsibilities including; legal, governance, certification, finance and budget, marketing and business development. The meeting was capped off with a lunch with the staff and a visit from the United Way of Champaign County acknowledging the contributions of the staff of BCSP.

From left to right: Mark Friend, Ed.D, CSP; J. Terrence Grisim, CSP, CDS, CPSM, ARM; Bruce Guiliani, CSP, CET, CIT; Daniel Fuqua, CSP, P.E., CPCU, ARM

Network and Earn Recertification Points with BCSP Tabletop Displays this Year

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:02:00 GMT

As part of your promotion of safety in 2012, consider taking advantage of BCSP's tabletop display system.

Tabletop displays are a great way get noticed, share your expertise and earn Recertification credit. A display is available to any certificate holder for use at chapter meetings, regional or local conferences, career fairs, and other safety-related seminars, meetings, and presentations. BCSP ships to and from any U.S. venue and provides literature -- all at no cost to you.

If you would like to request a display, fill out a Tabletop Display Request form and email it to Colan Holmes. As the schedule fills up quickly, we ask that you request materials six to eight weeks prior to an event.

Safety-On-The-Job Poster Contest for Kids

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:13:00 GMT

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) is hosting its annual ASSE kids' poster contest, in which children ages 5-14 illustrate the importance of safety through artistic expression. Contest winners receive prizes and are recognized in Washington, D.C. during the opening events of North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) week, May 6-12, 2012.

Contest rules, as well as the top placing posters from 2011, can be found at ASSE's Kids Safety-On-The-Job 2012 Poster Contest webpage.

Young safety advocates have until February 14, 2012 to submit their designs -- it's time to start drawing! BCSP looks forward to seeing the contest winners' new ideas, always presented in such brilliant colors.

Happy Holidays from BCSP

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:55:00 GMT

BCSP has been spreading cheer throughout the community this year.

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

Yesterday, Anne Price, Kathie McMaster and Rose Amacher delivered presents staff had purchased for several young children to the local crisis nursery.

All of us at BCSP enjoy working on these projects together. It's part of our wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year.

See our goofy holiday photo on the BCSP Facebook Page.

Connect with BCSP on Google Plus

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:54:00 GMT

Google Plus (Google +, G+) is the newest social network to cover a broad scope, becoming available for personal use in the summer of 2011. Google made business pages available in November 2011, and BCSP was quick to adopt the new platform by creating the Board of Certified Safety Professionals Google Plus Page.

The new social network looks similar to Facebook, but it distinguishes itself with a number of unique features - especially with regard to content management. Users add connections, people or organizations from which content originates, to "Circles" of their own creation. Much has been written about how Circles make the management of individual users' privacy easier, but Google Plus also allows users to easily control the content they receive. Profiles or Pages contain only content which originates from them and a users "Stream", composed of content posted by those in their Circles, can be easily switched between the content of different Circles.

The process of determining who you share with and who shares with you makes it possible to use the same social network for business that you use for recreation.

Further, if a business chooses to do so, it can not only use Google Plus to communicate with its customers, but really get to know what it is its customers would like to share as well.

Connect with the Board of Certified Safety Professionals Google Plus Page and check out the latest social network.

Customer Service and Community Service in the Month of October

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:19:00 GMT

The first week of October was Customer Service Appreciation week. Board of Certified Safety Professionals' Customer Service staff enjoyed good food and fun activities, making root beer floats and participating in scavenger hunts. Each day had a theme. In the course of several days Customer Service traveled through different decades, from the '50s to the '80s. Clothes became more colorful and hair exploded from ribbons to become dos of giant proportion.

One day was dedicated to wearing pink. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and BCSP staff have traditionally raised money to support research for a cure. This year was no different. A few staff members even participated in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5k walk.

Everyone took part in raising money throughout the office and, one week later, we were all in pink.

Pursuing a Doctorate in Safety Just Got Easier

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:32:00 GMT

Safety professionals have a new option for attaining a doctorate in safety.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors this month approved Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Doctor of Philosophy in Safety Sciences program.

“IUP’s program is unique in that it is designed to be a very comprehensive offering, not just focused on one or two aspects of the safety curriculum and not focused on an engineering curriculum,” Dr. Chris Janicak, IUP professor of safety sciences and coordinator of the safety sciences graduate program, said. “It also is unique in its delivery method.”

“This program will help to fill the need for safety educators, which is growing throughout the nation.”

The most current workforce projections by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2008-2018 estimate that employment in occupational safety will increase by about 11 percent.

“A recent study by the American Society of Safety Engineers identified the lack of a doctorate in safety or a safety-related field as the number one reason for safety programs not being able to fill faculty positions nationwide,” Janicak said.

Plans call for IUP’s program to begin in summer 2013.

“We have a goal of 20 in the first cohort of the program, and we have already had strong interest over the last several years in the program. It will be structured to allow students to take course work both online and on campus during the summer months, much like our current master’s program. We want to allow full-time working professionals to complete the degree without leaving their current jobs.”

The program is designed to prepare safety professionals with advanced skills in the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control and prevention of safety, health and environmental hazards in the work environment.

Graduates from IUP’s doctoral program will be able to conduct independent research and understand state and federal policy that involves safety, health and environmental issues, Janicak said. They will be knowledgeable about and involved in appropriate professional associations, and they will be able to teach safety, health and environmental content to adult audiences in industry or education.

Thomas Adams, Executive Director of BCSP, Answers Questions on BCSP's Acquisition of the CET/CIT Certifications

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:17:00 GMT

BCSP's acquisition of the CET/CIT certifications, which were formerly owned by the National Environmental, Safety and Health Training Association (NESHTA), is an event that impacts many people. Thomas Adams, BCSP Executive Director, volunteered to answer a few important questions which should give everyone a better idea of what this event means.

Has BCSP acquired the CET/CIT certifications?

ADAMS: Not yet. We have signed a memorandum of understanding with National Environmental, Safety and Health Training Association (NESHTA) that says it is our intention to acquire the certification and NESHTA’s desire to let BCSP make the acquisition. From now until January 2012 we are in a due diligence period where we are working out the details of how the certifications will function once they are part of the BCSP family of certifications.

Does that mean the acquisition will happen by December 31st of this year?

ADAMS: Yes, barring something unforeseen. The plan is for NESHTA to operate the certifications through June 30, 2012, although BCSP will assume governance responsibility on January 1, 2012.

If I am thinking of taking the CET or CIT exams, should I wait until BCSP is in control of the exam?

ADAMS: Do what is best for your career. At this time, our goal is for there to be a seamless transition in ownership. The application to take the CET/CIT can be found on the NESHTA website at www.neshta.org.

If I have the CET or CIT currently, to whom do I pay my renewal fee?

ADAMS: You should pay the fee to the organization that sends you the invoice. Any unaccrued fees will be paid by NESHTA to BCSP at the time of the acquisition. You will not be invoiced twice.

All other BCSP certifications are accredited by NCCA or in the case of CSP by ANSI. The CET/CIT exams are accredited by CESB. Do you expect that to change after the acquisition is complete?

ADAMS: Yes, it is BCSP’s intention to have the new certifications accredited by NCCA as quickly as the rules will allow.

You have mentioned BCSP and NESHTA’s programs being accredited several times. Why is that important?

ADAMS: There are lots of certificating bodies in the SH&E field, over 300 in fact. What most of those have in common is that they are not accredited. An accredited certification program meets high, recognized standards set nationally (NCCA) or internationally (ANSI) that assure the public that the certifying bodies standards meet or exceed established norms. That accreditation assures employers and the general public that its certifications are of the highest quality available.

Will there be an ongoing relationship between NESHTA and BCSP?

ADAMS: Yes, NESHTA will become the 8th sponsoring organization of BCSP.

Why did BCSP decide to acquire the certification?

ADAMS: The BCSP Board, after conducting due diligence and after 3 years of discussions, concluded that there is a great need for these certifications than the current numbers of certificants would indicate. BCSP’s ability to market the certifications both to its’ current certificants and others is much greater than NESHTA alone. Lastly, BCSP feels that the CET and CIT are high quality certifications and will make a good fit for the BCSP family of certifications.

LinkedIn Recognizes the Value of Certification

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:51:00 GMT

LinkedIn recently gave its users the option of displaying certifications on their profiles.

To add certifications, all a user must do is go to their profile and click on the "Add Sections" button, located directly above the Summary section on the standard profile. The first option currently listed on the resulting pop-up is "Certifications".

I wrote LinkedIn customer service to find if it would be possible to search for individuals based on their certification in the future. They replied that, while they did not currently offer that ability, they would forward my email to the planning and development team.

How might we encourage LinkedIn to enable such a search option? You can join the discussion on this new feature by visiting BCSP on LinkedIn.

Recent News in Photos

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:48:00 GMT

One of the most popular links included in the BCSP Second Quarter 2011 enewsletter takes readers to photos from our new building's dedication.

The photos tell quite a story. They cover our moving into a new headquarters, show the CSP certification's accreditation by ANSI and feature many important people from BCSP's recent news.

You can see these pictures in the photos section of BCSP's Facebook page.

Alexis' Last Day

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:48:00 GMT

Today marks Alexis' last day with us at BCSP.

We had a lunch together in the library and sent her off with gifts: a yoga mat, for her commitment to our health as part of the wellness committee, and a gift card for the purchase of all the things to make her new house a home.

May she enjoy the cool weather and scenic view of Colorado as much as we enjoyed the time she worked with us.

Farewell, Alexis.