Embrace Risk-Based Occupational Safety and Health

Georgi Popov, PhD, CSP, SMS, QEP, ARM, CMC, FAIHA; Chair of Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences, University of Central Missouri

QAP, GSP… We love acronyms. Don’t we?

What is the significance of these acronyms? To begin with, graduates of Qualified Academic Programs (QAPs) are eligible to obtain a Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) designation. You must look no further than the BCSP Associate Safety Professional (ASP) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP) examination blueprints to realize this is a significant advantage. Even some of your professors are not eligible for the GSP designation, which waives the requirement of first attaining the ASP in pursuit of the CSP.

I’m a good example of this step-by-step approach. I had to study for and pass the ASP exam in order to be eligible to sit for the CSP exam. Now, I can share my experience with our students. In addition, all of our faculty members are CSPs. Some of us have multiple professional certifications and can therefore advise our students about the value of attaining them.

Fortunately, at the University of Central Missouri, we were able to quickly implement BCSP’s latest ASP examination blueprint into our curriculum immediately after it was published. Now, all of our programs are designated as QAPs. Three of our programs are ABET-accredited as well. We welcomed the latest shift toward occupational risk management, as emphasized in the ASP and CSP blueprints.

Our profession is moving from a compliance-based approach toward a risk-based approach. BCSP updated the exam blueprints to reflect this thinking.

There is a transformation taking place in the occupational safety and health (OSH) risk profession. Organizations are becoming more ‘risk-focused’ in their approach to achieving their business objectives and managing uncertainty. As a result, OSH risk professionals are recognizing the need to go beyond the traditional hazard-based and compliance-oriented measures and move toward a risk-based management systems approach. It is encouraging to see that some safety programs are adopting BCSP’s updated ASP examination blueprint.

I encourage all students and early career professionals to become agents of change and value creators for their organizations. Embrace risk-based thinking, take advantage of your GSP designation, and sit for the CSP exam as soon as you are eligible. 

In December, BCSP and the BCSP Foundation announced 32 recipients of Qualified Academic Program (QAP) Scholarships. The scholarships are awarded annually to deserving students enrolled in collegiate programs that BCSP has determined match the criteria needed to offer the Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) designation.

Additionally, BCSP and the BCSP Foundation provided Indiana State University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania with ABET accreditation/reaccreditation grants.

Congratulations to those two programs and to all 32 QAP Scholarship recipients listed below on their achievement.