Third Quarter 2023

Message from the President of the Board

Bruce K. Lyon, CSP, SMS, P.E., ARM, CHMM

Throughout my career, I have always been impressed with the kindness and professionalism of my fellow safety professionals and mentors. It makes sense. People who pursue safety careers often do it out of a desire to help others and to make a positive impact on the world around them. It is a special group, and I am proud to be part of it.

A crucial piece of professionalism is ethical behavior, something BCSP has long recognized through our Code of Ethics. The eight standards in the code outline expectations for our credential holders to act responsibly, fairly, and with integrity. Now, to further enhance our credentials, we have added an ethics element to recertification. Beginning with cycles that started this past July, the process now requires credential holders to achieve 0.5 recertification points from ethics courses.

Ethical behavior should be of the utmost importance to every safety, health, and environmental (SH&E) professional, especially those who are credentialed. BCSP credential holders know our Code of Ethics goes beyond the basics to include a standard encouraging personal responsibility for advancing SH&E practice by actively sharing knowledge and skills.

That level of dedication was on full display this summer at the BCSP Foundation’s Research & Innovation Summit. This unique and innovative forum brought SH&E practitioners together to think deeper and more critically about some of the most pressing challenges in our field, including mental health, total worker health, and prevention through design, just to name a few. The benefit of such collaboration is immeasurable for the future of safety practice. We all left with knowledge we didn’t have before.

In truth, we can all impact the profession every day in our own small ways. I encourage you to actively share your knowledge and skills wherever you are. It can be as simple as helping a younger professional in their career by providing valuable mentorship and guidance. You never know the impact you can make when you are willing to share.

The people in this profession are truly special. Thank you for all you do each day. By continuing to act ethically and to display kindness and professionalism, we all move safety practice forward.

BCSP Board of Directors

President

Bruce K. Lyon, CSP, SMS, P.E., ARM, CHMM

Vice President

Ashok Garlapati, CSP, QEP, CFIOSH, FASSP

Treasurer

Jay R. Harf, PhD, CSP

Past President

Leslie Stockel, PhD, CSP, SMS

CEO, Secretary

Christy Uden, CAE, IOM

Directors

Teresa A. Cole, CSP

Mary Hjorth, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Bruce D. Hollcroft, CSP, ARM, CHMM

Daniel G. Hopwood, MPH, CSP, SMS, ARM

Patricia A. Kagerer, CSP, ARM, CPCU, CRIS

Regina McMichael, CSP, CIT

Donald A. Robinson, PhD, CSP, P.E., ARM-E

Mike Sutton, CFRE, CFRM

Recognizing Growing Certification Champions

BCSP's Certification Champions program honors organizations that invest in their safety cultures and employees through certification. Champions are recognized by level based on the number of credentials held within their organizations—Sapphire (5-24), Ruby (25-49), Emerald (50-99), and Diamond (100+)—and earn a wide array of benefits (PDF). Learn how BCSP can help you grow your safety culture by visiting the Workplace Safety and Certification page at BCSP.ORG.

BCSP is proud to recognize the following organizations that have attained a new level in the Certification Champions program for the first time this quarter (as of Sept. 22).

Diamond (100+)

Mortenson Construction, Solar & Emerging Renewables Group

DPR Construction

Emerald (50-99)

JE Dunn Construction

M.C. Dean, Inc.

Sturgeon Electric

Ruby (25-49)

Rutgers,

The State University of New Jersey

Sapphire (5-24)

The Branch Group

Burton Construction

SAIF

T.W. Frierson Contractor, Inc.

Wanzek

View All BCSP Certification Champions

Looking For a New Career or Your Next Superstar Employee?

The BCSP Career Center connects job seekers with prospective employers in the safety, health, and environmental industry at no cost!

Posting open positions for companies looking to hire individuals who hold our credentials is also free. This site is your direct route to qualified individuals!

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A Knowledge Pursuit

Lessons from Waheed Lawal's safety journey

Waheed Lawal’s interest in safety is out of this world. Literally.

As an EHS Engineer for Blue Origin USA, he works to ensure the safety of innovative rockets like the New Shepard, developed for space tourism. Blue Origin also has a mission to build next-generation space habitats and return to the surface of the moon.

Space is the latest stop in a career path that has already taken Lawal around the globe, from Qatar to Seattle, in industries from oil and gas to construction to manufacturing and now aerospace.

He previously worked on such notable projects as the modernization of the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, and Facebook’s Block 16 offices in Bellevue, Washington.

After earning a degree in geosciences and working in that field, Lawal learned of the Piper Alpha during an orientation class on oil and gas. The story moved something inside Lawal. It also rekindled the desire from his youth to pursue a safety path like his father.

“Throughout my journey, I have learned the importance of following my heart, seeking guidance from mentors, and continuously learning to add value to myself.”

-- Waheed Lawal, CSP, ASP, CHST

Read Waheed's Story

BCSP Credential Holder Directory

The Credential Holder Directory offers a database for verifying individuals' BCSP certification status.

The directory is searchable by name, company, location, and more, featuring digital badges and credential information for each credential held.

Visit BCSP's Affinity Products Page

As a BCSP credential holder, you have access to exclusive products! Design custom BCSP Apparel in the BCSP store. Get unique pins and rings.

Through BCSP's collaboration with the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®), certificants further qualify for a 20% discount on first-year financial planning services with CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional members.

Click here for more info!

BCSP Certifications Again Achieve Reaccreditation

The CSP has been ANSI/ANAB-accredited for 20 years

BCSP is proud to announce that all eight of its certification offerings have once again been granted reaccreditation by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) under ISO 17024 for organizations offering competence-based assessment.

As the largest multidisciplinary accreditation body in North America, ANAB provides services in more than 75 countries. Formerly known as ANSI, it first began offering accreditation for personnel credentialing in 2003. BCSP's Certified Safety Professional® (CSP®) was accredited that first year and has been in partnership with ANAB for 20 years.

Continuing accreditation serves as a testament to the quality and rigor of BCSP credentials. It signifies credential holders' achievements and qualifications adhere to recognized and respected global standards.

Exams Director Dave West Presents Predecessor with ISSS’s Highest Honor

BCSP Examinations Director Dave West, CSP, ASP, began a two-year term as president of the International System Safety Society (ISSS) on July 1, 2023. The ISSS held its 2023 Annual Summit and Training at the Hilton Portland Downtown in Portland, Oregon, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1.

Formerly known as the International System Safety Conference, this year's event drew over 240 attendees, twice as many as the 2022 version. The Annual Summit and Training is the world’s premier event for learning all about the practice of system safety. This year’s Summit and Training featured over 40 tutorials and nearly as many technical papers.

On Wednesday evening of the Summit, the ISSS held its annual awards ceremony. One of the highlights came near the end of the evening when West presented the Society’s highest honor – the ISSS Professional Development Award – to Dr. Rodney J. Simmons, CSP.

The presentation was especially notable considering Simmons was West’s predecessor, both as ISSS President (2015-2017) and as BCSP Technical Director (1997-2001), the position known today as Examinations Director.

Learn from Leaders with My Big Safety Challenge

Real People. Real Stories. Real Impact. Combining the safety expertise of BCSP with the leadership training mastery of Dale Carnegie to offer insight for tackling today's industry challenges.

Learn from the experiences of proven safety leaders to influence positive outcomes in your own organization.

Listen Now!

Share Your Safety Stories with Us

We want to tell your safety story. Whether it's a personal story of how you became involved with the safety profession, or a proud company safety moment, we want to hear from you!

If you have an interesting story to share, please contact [email protected] and a member of our team will reach out to you.

Your story could be featured on the BCSP social media channels, a promotional video, or many other avenues.

Sharing the Message of BCSP

Carl Heinlein, CSP, OHST, STSC, CIT, spoke to the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Safety Committee this August in Washington, D.C., delivering a presentation on certification.

Heinlein is a BCSP Ambassador, a group of two dozen credential holders who represent BCSP at events all over the world to raise awareness for the value of accredited certifications.

You can request a BCSP Ambassador to speak at your event by emailing [email protected].

BCSP also provides nine PowerPoint presentations, like the one Heinlein delivered in Washington, D.C., and multiple videos that can be used for groups. They are available through the Presentations and Outreach page at BCSP.ORG.

BCSP Ambassadors

Prep for Your Exam!

BCSP offers exam training, both online and in-person, through BCSP examCORE*. Visit examCORE.ORG for more information.

Online trainings include: CSP, ASP + CSP Connect, SMS, ASP, OHST, CHST, STS, STSC, and CIT. In-person training is currently available for the STS and STSC with more to come.

*To ensure impartiality, BCSP utilizes subject-matter experts for the development of the examCORE program and products who are independent from the certification examination development process.

Assess Your Knowledge

BCSP also offers Self-Assessments to help you determine your knowledge level in each subject area of an exam. Utilize the 100-question Self-Assessments to evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, and test-taking pace and plan your studying accordingly.

Unauthorized Use of Our Credentials

BCSP pursues cases of individuals claiming to hold our credentials without permission. We pursue those cases in which there is clear evidence of the unauthorized use and the individual has a clear responsibility, control, or knowledge of the use. Evidence may be a business card, resume, letter, website, or other publication.

Report Unauthorized Use

Find Unauthorized Use on the Credential Directory

Present on Behalf of BCSP!

Presentations on safety certification can be done for recertification credit! BCSP has many resources available for certificants to use during presentations, including pre-made PowerPoints, technical reports, and videos.

These resources can be found on our Presentations and Outreach webpage.

Become a BCSP Webinar Presenter

Do you have wisdom or best practices to share? Valuable insights to reveal? BCSP Webinars wants you as a presenter.

To express interest in presenting, please view and complete the Webinar Presenter Interest Form. List your areas of expertise and submit the form for consideration.

If you have further questions, please contact [email protected].

Looking Back on the 2023 R&I Summit

Collaborating for the future of safety practice

The BCSP Foundation held its third biennial Research & Innovation Summit in August, welcoming safety, health, and environmental practitioners, researchers, and educators to Indianapolis for four days of collaboration surrounding today's most critical issues.

The agenda featured keynote presentations on subjects including diversity, equity, and inclusion; sustainability; mental health; and the impact of emerging technologies on worker safety. Dozens of breakout sessions covered topics ranging from hazard assessment and ergonomics to digitalization, artificial intelligence, and so much more.

Missed the R&I Summit? Join us for the Virtual Version

If you weren't able to attend the R&I Summit in person, you can still experience the best of the live event from the comfort of your own home.

The BCSP Foundation recently announced the R&I Virtual Summit, offering 90 days of access to more than 30 recorded sessions from the Summit. You can even earn recertification points from participating.

Tickets are available for purchase through Oct. 31 ($299 general admission and $75 for students). Access to the recorded sessions will begin Nov. 1 and run through Jan. 31, 2024.

Purchase Virtual Summit Tickets

Recertification Now to Include Ethics

Attention BCSP credential holders.

The reputation of BCSP's credentials is rooted in the knowledge, skills, and conduct they represent. To continue and improve upon recognition of BCSP credentials' value, certification will now require 0.5 points from ethics courses every recertification cycle, starting with recertification cycles that began July 1, 2023.

This new requirement is detailed in Category 7 of the BCSP Recertification Guide, covering courses and seminars. It outlines the need for credential holders to achieve 0.5 recertification points in ethics per cycle.

Full details on recertification and points can be found on the Recertification page at BCSP.ORG.

Share Events With Us

Have an upcoming job fair, conference, or chapter meeting that you would like to share with readers? Would you like to invite a BCSP representative to attend an event? We would like to hear about it!

Submit information on upcoming events using our new Event Request Form.

Current Changes Index

Over the course of the year, a range of policy changes, procedure updates, and other modifications occur. We want to make everyone aware of these changes on a regular basis, as well as keep an archive of the announcements.

Visit the Current Changes Index page on our website to find the most up-to-date policy and procedure information.

GLS is Back in 2024!

Back by popular demand, BCSP has announced the return of the Global Learning Summit (GLS). The three-day event, focused on delivering quality, affordability, and accessibility, is scheduled for May 7-9, 2024.

BCSP will present high-level content through a virtual format from some of the top safety, health, and environmental practitioners in the industry. Attendees will have access to more than 100 hours of sessions, all for only $25 USD.

GLS is your opportunity to learn new skills, network with colleagues around the world, and earn valuable recertification points. The inaugural GLS in 2022 attracted more than 4,500 attendees from 56 countries and all 50 United States, creating more than 1 million user engagements.