Academic and Skill Requirements for the Practice of Safety

Having defined the Practice of Safety in Chapter 3, these two subjects will now be addressed  

Fortunately, the work of many others with regard to the knowledge and skill required for the practice of safety, done under the auspices of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), serves as valuable resources for the purposes of this chapter. A review of the history of that highly significant work is given here. 

EVOLUTION OF JOINT ASSE AND BCSP BACCALAUREATE CURRICULUM STANDARDS 

For many years, ASSE accredited college and university safety degree programs that met its standards. Over time, members of the ASSE Board 

In April of 1980, BCSP issued Technical Report No. 1 titled Curricula Development and Examination Study Guidelines. Ralph J. Vernon, Ph.D., CSP, was the author. That Report was issued in response to a perceived need to compile and publish data that would provide insight into the academic preparation and experience required by those who chose to attain certification as a safety professional and would take what was then a single-level BCSP examination. 

As a logical follow-up to the definition of the practice of safety given in Chapter 2, comments are made in this chapter on the knowledge and skills a safety professional is expected to have for the professional practice of safety. As research moved forward for this chapter, the content of Chapter 5, in which transitions occurring in the practice are reviewed, became more important. Knowledge and skill requirements for the practice of safety at a professional level are in transition and are expanding considerably. The following resources are used as the principal resources for this chapter. 

On the Practice of Safety, Fourth Edition. Fred A. Manuele. 

A brief survey of university professors made by this author The Certified Safety Professional Examination Guide, Third Edition (Revised) issued by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) in August 2006 

The Comprehensive Practice Examination Guide, Sixth Edition, issued by BCSP in April 2011 

Activity of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) over many years resulted in the arrangements made with ABET to accredit safety science degree programs that met ABET requirements. It is a mark of status and recognition for a university to meet those requirements and obtain accreditation. An audit team visits the school for the initial accreditation and on a 5-year schedule thereafter if continued certification is sought. Recommendations are made by the audit team, if necessary, for continuous improvement in the curriculum and the educational objectives for the program. 

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The knowledge and skill requirements to enter the practice of safety and to fulfill the requirements of professional safety practice are discussed in Chapter 5, Academic and Skill Requirements for the Practice of Safety. Those knowledge and skill requirements are, of necessity, exceptionally broad. 

Note the term a common body of knowledge. In the process of researching and writing Chapter 5, Academic and skill Requirements for the Practice of Safety, I concluded that the Curriculum Standards for Baccalaureate Degrees in Safety, jointly pubMshed by the Academic Accreditation Council of the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, estabhsh a rigor of education that adequately prepares one to enter the safety profession. 

This section was chosen because of its breadth—occupational injury and illness, environmental, the public, property damage, and product safety. BCSP makes its Comprehensive Practice Examination Guide available on the Internet as a free download. (Extensive comment is made in Chapter 4, Academic and Skill Requirements for the Practice of Safety, on the transitions that have taken place with respect to knowledge and skill requirements for safety professionals as represented by the major changes in the BCSP examinations.)... 

Why update a chapter on financial management for this book Knowledge and skill requirements for safety professionals are in transition and expanding. Chapter 4, Academic and Skill Requirements for the Practice of Safety, includes a review of the sixth edition (2011) of the examination guide for the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation published by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals... 

With respect to the order of chapters, it was suggested by professors who use the book that the chapters representing basics about the practice of safety be the leading chapters. So, the first four chapters are now On Becoming a Profession, Defining the Practice of Safety, Principles for the Practice of Safety A Basis for Discussion, and Academic and Skill Requirements for the Practice of Safety. ... 

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