Safety Trained Supervisor
Quick Jumps: Eligibility and Examination + Choice of Examination + STS Review and Study Sources
The Safety Trained Supervisor (STS) Certification Program
The Safety Trained Supervisor (STS) certification provides a means for employers to verify safety and health knowledge of first-line supervisors and managers. The program requires applicants to meet minimum education and experience requirements and demonstrate knowledge of basic safety and health standards and practices.
- Are managers at any level.
- Are first line supervisors of work groups or organization units.
- Have a safety responsibility for a work group that is part of other work duties.
Safety Trained Supervisors are not safety specialists or safety practitioners. Typical candidates have a safety responsibility that is adjunct, collateral or ancillary to their job duties. Their main job duties are in a craft or trade, in leadership, supervision or management, or in a technical specialty. If safety responsibilities involve a greater portion of job duties, the role is more likely to be that of a safety technician/technologist or safety professional.
The typical STS helps an employer implement safety programs at the worker level through supervisory, safety committee or similar safety and health leadership roles. Safety tasks often include monitoring for job hazards, helping ensure regulatory compliance, training employees in safety practices, performing safety record keeping tasks, coordinating corrections for safety problems within or among work groups, and communicating with safety specialists or management.
The STS program is nationally accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
Eligibility and Examination
To gain eligibility for a STS examination, you must be of good moral character and meet the following three requirements:
- Have two years of experience in any industry or in the industry related to the version of the STS examination to be taken.
- Have one year of experience as a supervisor or safety leader of a work group. Examples are manager, foreman, crew chief, superintendent, or member of a safety committee. This experience can be concurrent with Requirement #1. If you are training to become a supervisor or safety leader and do not have the one year of experience, you can substitute two additional years of industry experience in Requirement #1.
- Have completed 30 hours of formal safety training through a single course or multiple training courses.
To achieve the STS certification, you must pass a Safety Trained Supervisor examination.
STS examinations are offered by computer at Pearson VUE testing center locations around the world every business day. The examination contains 100 multiple-choice questions and candidates have two hours to complete it.
Please refer to the STS Candidate Handbook for eligibility details, application instructions, examination blueprints, and information on testing centers.
Choice of Examination
STS-Construction
The STS-Construction examination program is the first of the STS programs and has been in existence since 1995. The program is intended for managers, first-line construction supervisors, superintendents, foremen, crew chiefs, and craftsmen who have responsibilities to maintain safe conditions and practices on construction job sites. Currently, we have more than forty-seven hundred individuals who actively hold the STS-Construction certification.
STS-General Industry
Starting in 2004, the STS-General Industry examination program features workers in pest control, lawn care repair and maintenance, facility services, health care social assistants, and administrative and support management. Those individuals who pursue this program generally work in transportation, utilities and manufacturing. This examination program requires a supervisor to demonstrate his or her understanding of the principles and practices of supervision in the context of safety.
STS-Petrochemical
The STS-Petrochemical examination program, which began in 2004, is intended for crew chiefs, supervisors and managers who handle safety in petrochemical environments. Usually, individuals who follow the STS-Petrochemical certification track remote site work with hazardous chemicals.
STS-Mining
Seeing a need to expand the STS line to include mining, BCSP created the STS-Mining program beginning in 2011. The program will emphasize safety and incident investigation within job sites and among work groups in the context of mining.
STS Review and Study Sources
Because candidates for BCSP examinations often ask where to locate review courses and study materials, BCSP maintains a list strictly as a courtesy. For a detailed list, click on the Review and Study Sources page. Additionally, BCSP has created a Library of Safety Practice containing the most up-to-date source material for every domain on the exams.
STS Sponsorship Program
Any organization such as a union, construction firm, project owner or government agency, can join the Sponsorship Program. Organizations who joined the program say it has given them a competitive edge and helped promote safety awareness and training. Read More.
STS Proven
Values and
BenefitsReview and Study Sources
Because candidates for BCSP examinations often ask where to locate review courses and materials, BCSP maintains a list strictly as a courtesy. Read More.
PDF Library - Application Forms
STS Candidate Handbook STS Application FormPDF Library - Professional Development Assistance
Application Fee Waiver Brochure Department of Veterans Affairs Pays the Costs of a License or Certification TestPDF Library - Blueprints & Study Guides
STS Mining Blueprint STS Construction Blueprint STS General Industry Blueprint STS Petrochemical Blueprint STS Exam Blueprint beginning July 1, 2013 Understanding and Interpreting Your Examination ScorePDF Library - Test Assistance
Self-Assessment Brochure and Examinations Order Form Computer-delivered Examinations through Pearson VUE Understanding and Interpreting Your Examination ScorePDF Library - Community
Certificate Replacement Order Form BCSP Professional Advancement Mentor Form Literature/Tabletop Order Form BCSP Code of Ethics Criminal Conviction PolicyIf you would like to use BCSP certification logos, see our guidelines on BCSP Logo Use.
The Value of Safety
If you represent an organization that would like to use BCSP certification to foster an effective, efficient, and engaging safety culture in your work, please visit our Business Development page The Value of Safety.
PDF Library - Using STS in Your Company
How to Use STS in Your Company Group Management Handbook