In today’s episode of the Dust Safety Science podcast, Leslie Stockel, who has been a Certified Safety Professional for over 30 years, talks about how to achieve that designation. She also discusses the history and purpose of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP)
Leslie has a Bachelor in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology at Oklahoma State, a Master’s in Engineering Technology Management, and is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Technical Communications at Texas Tech University. She’s also an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University and President of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.
The Board of Certified Safety Professionals, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a non-profit organization and certification body. It was founded in 1969 by a group of safety professionals who wanted to have an industry-standard certification for people working in the industry. There are currently 12 members on the Board – all highly credentialed, highly experienced and accomplished safety professionals in the industry.
According to Leslie, the BCSP offers a series of different certifications, all of which are accredited by ANSI.
“What that means is that the certification meets a standard of excellence, a standard of credibility that gives it its importance in the industry,” she says. “There’s something called the four Es of certification: Education, Experience, Examination and Ethics. For a certification to meet that ANSI requirement, it has to have all four of those components. And all of our certifications have those four components.”
The Qualified Academic Program
Back in the nineties, the BCSP instituted its Qualified Academic Programs.
“We went to colleges and universities and said, if your undergraduate or graduate program satisfies the blueprint that we offer for the ASP examination process, then you can be designated as a Qualified Academic Program or a QAP,” Leslie recalls. “And then students who graduate with your degree from that program can bypass the ASP examination and achieve a designation called the GSP or Graduate Safety Practitioner. And then, at that point, all they need is four years of experience, and then they can sit for the CSP examination. And so over the years we’ve sort of evolved into that model. We currently have about 50 colleges and universities that have QAP programs.”
Over the years, the BCSP acquired other certifications, such as the Occupational Hygiene and Safety Technician (OHST) and the Construction Safety Training Supervisor and then the Construction Safety & Health Technician (CSHT).
“We’ve modelled our certifications in a way that fits into a safety culture, depending on what it is that a person is doing, whether they’re a Field Technician, whether they’re a person who’s developing programs, or even at the executive level. We feel like we have something for everyone,” Leslie says. “The highest level, of course, is our CSP. That’s what we call our gold standard. But if you’re someone who does a lot of training and instruction, then maybe the Certified Instructional Trainer or CIT is the right certification for you. If you’re someone who spends a lot of time in the field and you’re a technician, then maybe the OHST or the CHST.”
Leslie added that there are other organizations that offer certifications and accredited certification. For example, the ACG has a process safety certification. Anyone thinking about studying with one of these organizations should learn more about these certifications and confirm that they meet the student’s goals.
“You’re going to spend at least a year studying and it’s going to take a lot of time. It’s not an easy examination for the ASP or the CSP,” Leslie says. “So before you do any certification exam, you want to thoroughly vet it and make sure that it’s going to provide you with the credential that’s really going to help you in your career.”
Certification vs. Certificate
Leslie explained that there are places that offer certifications and certificates, and the two are not the same. A person can take a series of courses at any type of organization, such as OSHA Education Centers, and when they complete the course, they get a certificate in that course. When they complete the series of courses, they get a certificate in occupational safety and health or construction.
“I think all education is good, and any time we learn more about any particular topic, it’s going to only enhance our abilities and career. But I just encourage people to know the difference between a certificate program and a certification and do your due diligence- make sure that you really understand where it’s coming from and what the requirements are. Let’s just say groups or organizations that will sell you a certificate. If you pay them a certain amount of money, they will sell you a certificate and you just want to be careful and don’t waste your money on things that are not going to add value to your career.”
Prospects After Graduation
There are different paths a student can take if they graduate with a degree from a qualified academic program. Upon graduation, they get what’s called a GSP designation, and then once they get the four years of required experience, they can sit for the CSP exam. Someone who graduates from a qualified academic program can bypass the ASP, although many people do take it and hold both ASP and CSP designation.
There’s also a third path: the transitional safety practitioner, which is more of a global type designation.
“We are growing really fast outside of the United States,” Leslie says. “And so there are a lot of programs and we’ve partnered with a lot of different organizations. We can map the blueprint to someone else’s program so those people can get what’s called the TSP. And then it works the same as the graduate safety practitioner. You can bypass that first level and then go ahead and sit for the CSP once you get the examination.”
Conclusion
At the end of the discussion, Leslie left a message for listeners who are thinking about becoming certified.
“I would just say that if there is someone listening in there contemplating certification, the first you want to go is the Board of Certified Safety Professionals website. We have all the different certifications and we outline the blueprints and the requirements for each one. We also have some other documents that guide you in determining what would be the best certification for you.”
If you would like to discuss further, leave your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also reach Leslie Stockel directly:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslierexstockel/
Website: https://www.bcsp.org/
If you have questions about the contents of this or any other podcast episode, you can go to our ‘Questions from the Community’ page and submit a text message or video recording. We will then bring someone on to answer these questions in a future episode.
Resources mentioned
Dust Safety Science
Combustible Dust Incident Database
Dust Safety Science Podcast
Questions from the Community
Dust Safety Academy
Dust Safety Professionals
Dust Safety Share
Organizations
Board of Certified Safety Professionals
Resources
Certified Safety Professional Designation
CSP Exam Blueprint Document
CSP References Document
BCSP Certifications a glance
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