It’s fun to think about the future isn’t it? As kids, we imagine what life will be like when we “grow up,” as we dream of futuristic cars and similar flights of fancy, or ponder what career we will pursue. As adults, we wonder about things such as where we will be in 5 years, what our kids will do and the next great breakthrough in technology.
As president during ASSE’s 100th anniversary year, I have thought often about what the future holds for ASSE. What issues and topics will SH&E professionals and our Society face during the next 5, 10 or even 20 years? How does our work today ensure ASSE’s continued growth and prosperity?
Scenarios about the future are many, but one thing is certain. To advance ASSE’s mission and vision, we need your active participation. Whether it’s volunteering at the chapter, region or Society level, contributing articles to Professional Safety and the practice specialty publications, participating in projects such as the Body of Knowledge, or engaging in dialogue with colleagues at conferences, webinars and through social media, you drive ASSE.
Last year, I posted this question on ASSE’s LinkedIn site: If you had to choose a single area of focus for ASSE in the next 10 years, what would it be? The question was intentionally open-ended to allow for diverse responses. I wanted to encourage idea exchange and critical thinking that would generate feedback about future strategic directions for ASSE.
You exceeded those hopes through more than 110 responses that exhibited tremendous breadth and depth of thought. ASSE members clearly have a passion for the SH&E profession.
Let me share just a few examples:
•Mario Varela, M.S., M.B.A., CSP, stated, “There is a need to lure new membership from active SH&E professionals, as well as from engineering, SH&E, science and related disciplines. Also, it is important to generate more interest [among] high-school students to pursue the SH&E profession.”
•Todd Loushine, Ph.D., P.E., CSP, CIH, agreed with the need to attract high-school students to SH&E degree programs. He added, “I would like to see more support for faculty/researchers at universities.”
•Similarly, Jim Leemann, Ph.D., said, “There is a need to figure out how to encourage undergraduates to pursue curricula that will prepare them to become safety professionals.”
Many comments addressed certification and licensure. Currently, states do not require safety professionals to be licensed, but through BCSP, the profession has established its own process to provide a means of professional competency.
In his response to my question, Barry Spurlock, CSP, outlined a case for moving beyond the certification/qualification mentality toward licensure. But David Anspaugh cautioned, “Business over the next 10 to 20 years [will] change so drastically and rapidly that the need for safety professionals will become a luxury as opposed to an essential element unless we totally rethink what our contribution is going to be to the enterprise. The more we concentrate on certifications and licenses, the greater the luxury we become.”
Other popular topics included corporate social responsibility, sustainability, promoting risk assessment as a value-added activity, business of safety and continuing/improving marketing of the SH&E profession.
ASSE also will continue to pursue strategic alliances, partnerships and delegations to support its vision and mission. For example, ASSE’s Human Resources Branch reached out to the Society for Human Resource Management to propose a partnership between the two organizations. On the international front, a People to People delegation is planned for Brazil during November 2011, following our successful delegation to China in November 2010.
The year 2020 is less than 9 years away. ASSE is committed to providing products and services to support you and help advance your careers, which, in turn, will advance the SH&E profession. We also will keep an eye on the future to ensure that we add value to our stakeholders and position ASSE and the SH&E profession for growth and prosperity into 2020 and beyond.
To advance ASSE’s mission and vision, we need your active participation. You drive ASSE.
Connect with ASSE's 100th President Trish Ennis
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Celebrating Safety & Our Profession
ASSE was formed in October 1911, just a few months after the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire claimed the lives of 146 garment workers in New York City. These workers perished due in large part to unsafe working conditions, locked exit doors and inadequate fire escapes—all of which could have been prevented.
Much has changed for the better in occupational safety and health in the past century, including the continued growth of the SH&E profession. Yet, despite our progress, more than 3 million U.S. workers suffered workplace injuries or illnesses and more than 4,000 lost their lives in 2009. That’s 12 people each day. Clearly there’s more work to be done.
As ASSE celebrates its 100th anniversary and we reflect on a century of protecting people, property and the environment, I urge you to participate in North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, May 1-7, and Occupational Safety and Health Professional (OSHP) Day, May 4. NAOSH Week and OSHP Day are just two of the many ways that ASSE, its members and partners have raised awareness of the importance of being safe on the job. These observances also are a great opportunity for each of us to help others understand the SH&E profession and the important role we play in keeping people safe at work.
Your efforts over the past few years in supporting NAOSH Week, OSHP Day and the annual Safety-on-the-Job kids’ poster contest have made a major difference in many lives. This year, we received 2,000 entries in the kids’ poster contest. The winning entries are featured on the NAOSH Week poster and participants will be honored at NAOSH Week kick-off events in Washington, DC, in a few weeks.
With your help, we can make NAOSH Week better than ever. No effort is too small or too big. You can distribute the NAOSH Week poster in your community, hold safety days, or use the ASSE Safety Suitcase to teach children about working safely and the SH&E profession. Whether it’s through community outreach, hosting events or providing information to stakeholders worldwide, you can help prevent tragedies by proactively spreading the word about the importance of working safely.
NAOSH Week is approaching fast. Be sure to visit www.asse.org/naosh11, where you will find many resources, including a draft proclamation, statistics, idea starters and suggestions for planning activities in your community or workplace. Here are just a few quick ideas: Host a safety meeting or SH&E breakfast at work; create safety tables or bulletin boards in your workplace or local library; or sponsor a food drive in honor of NAOSH Week and OSHP Day. You can also work with state and local government officials to obtain proclamations in honor of NAOSH Week.
These are just a few ways that you can participate in NAOSH Week. Through your dedicated involvement, we will continue to reach millions of people with our important workplace safety messages. The more members who participate, the more employees, managers, CEOs, regulators and legislators we will reach. Join us!
Much has changed for the better in occupational safety and health in the past century, including the continued growth of the SH&E profession. Yet, despite our progress, more than 3 million U.S. workers suffered workplace injuries or illnesses and more than 4,000 lost their lives in 2009. That’s 12 people each day. Clearly there’s more work to be done.
As ASSE celebrates its 100th anniversary and we reflect on a century of protecting people, property and the environment, I urge you to participate in North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, May 1-7, and Occupational Safety and Health Professional (OSHP) Day, May 4. NAOSH Week and OSHP Day are just two of the many ways that ASSE, its members and partners have raised awareness of the importance of being safe on the job. These observances also are a great opportunity for each of us to help others understand the SH&E profession and the important role we play in keeping people safe at work.
Your efforts over the past few years in supporting NAOSH Week, OSHP Day and the annual Safety-on-the-Job kids’ poster contest have made a major difference in many lives. This year, we received 2,000 entries in the kids’ poster contest. The winning entries are featured on the NAOSH Week poster and participants will be honored at NAOSH Week kick-off events in Washington, DC, in a few weeks.
With your help, we can make NAOSH Week better than ever. No effort is too small or too big. You can distribute the NAOSH Week poster in your community, hold safety days, or use the ASSE Safety Suitcase to teach children about working safely and the SH&E profession. Whether it’s through community outreach, hosting events or providing information to stakeholders worldwide, you can help prevent tragedies by proactively spreading the word about the importance of working safely.
NAOSH Week is approaching fast. Be sure to visit www.asse.org/naosh11, where you will find many resources, including a draft proclamation, statistics, idea starters and suggestions for planning activities in your community or workplace. Here are just a few quick ideas: Host a safety meeting or SH&E breakfast at work; create safety tables or bulletin boards in your workplace or local library; or sponsor a food drive in honor of NAOSH Week and OSHP Day. You can also work with state and local government officials to obtain proclamations in honor of NAOSH Week.
These are just a few ways that you can participate in NAOSH Week. Through your dedicated involvement, we will continue to reach millions of people with our important workplace safety messages. The more members who participate, the more employees, managers, CEOs, regulators and legislators we will reach. Join us!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Spreading the Word About ASSE & SH&E
Consider that there are about 6.8 billion people in the world, including 312 million in the U.S. How many know about the SH&E profession and ASSE? It is hard to tell, but we know it’s many more than knew in 1911 or even in 1991. Through various public, media and community relations programs, the SH&E profession and ASSE have been in the news often in the past 20 years.
One key way that ASSE reaches the public and key decision makers is through print, electronic and social media, as well as through various partnerships and programs. The goal of these efforts is to provide factual information about our profession and Society. These efforts are successful thanks to you. We tap into your expertise to develop key messages and provide the facts on many SH&E issues.
Our profession is extremely diverse as are ASSE’s messages and targeted communications. ASSE continues to develop communications not only to meet the needs of the members, but also to target the right medium for the right message and to look ahead to provide new stories to the media. ASSE and the SH&E profession have been featured in a wide range of outlets, from the New York Times and Forbes, to CBS News and CNN.
Thanks to our proactive strategy, we are able to connect reporters with our expert members on a wide range of SH&E topics. Such representation leads to greater recognition and respect for our profession and ASSE. We also work with ASSE chapters to link local experts with their local media, and provide tips and guidance to members on how to communicate most effectively with the media and other interested parties.
But public relations is much more than working with the media. It involves developing and building relationships with communities, businesses and decision makers to reach new audiences and advance the positive image of ASSE and our profession around the world.
It also involves working with other organizations to educate the public, including children. One great example of our public outreach efforts is the Safety Suitcase, which members use to teach young people about workplace safety and the SH&E profession. Other examples include North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, the annual NAOSH Week Safety-on-the-Job kids’ poster contest and Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day. You can learn more about these activities at www.asse.org/naosh11.
Our public relations efforts have also led to a wide range of informational brochures covering topics such as roadway safety, young worker safety and eye safety, and an online teen safety educational game (www.dontbeazombieatwork.org). We also issue nearly 500 news releases each year, covering the full spectrum of occupational safety and health issues and concerns. You can learn more about all of these efforts at www.asse.org/newsroom.
Our latest endeavor is the new Celebrating 100 Years of Safety video. The video traces the evolution of the modern occupational safety and health movement, highlighting some of the most pivotal times in American history as well as key events in ASSE’s history. I encourage each of you to view the video at www.asse.org/ASSECenturyofSafety.
As a result of our multidimensional approach to public relations, we are promoting workplace safety, gaining recognition, and educating stakeholders about what SH&E professionals do to help ensure that people return home from work safely each day. Get involved today and help us spread the word about ASSE and our great profession.
Our public relations efforts are successful thanks to you. We tap into your expertise to develop key messages and provide the facts.
One key way that ASSE reaches the public and key decision makers is through print, electronic and social media, as well as through various partnerships and programs. The goal of these efforts is to provide factual information about our profession and Society. These efforts are successful thanks to you. We tap into your expertise to develop key messages and provide the facts on many SH&E issues.
Our profession is extremely diverse as are ASSE’s messages and targeted communications. ASSE continues to develop communications not only to meet the needs of the members, but also to target the right medium for the right message and to look ahead to provide new stories to the media. ASSE and the SH&E profession have been featured in a wide range of outlets, from the New York Times and Forbes, to CBS News and CNN.
Thanks to our proactive strategy, we are able to connect reporters with our expert members on a wide range of SH&E topics. Such representation leads to greater recognition and respect for our profession and ASSE. We also work with ASSE chapters to link local experts with their local media, and provide tips and guidance to members on how to communicate most effectively with the media and other interested parties.
But public relations is much more than working with the media. It involves developing and building relationships with communities, businesses and decision makers to reach new audiences and advance the positive image of ASSE and our profession around the world.
It also involves working with other organizations to educate the public, including children. One great example of our public outreach efforts is the Safety Suitcase, which members use to teach young people about workplace safety and the SH&E profession. Other examples include North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, the annual NAOSH Week Safety-on-the-Job kids’ poster contest and Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day. You can learn more about these activities at www.asse.org/naosh11.
Our public relations efforts have also led to a wide range of informational brochures covering topics such as roadway safety, young worker safety and eye safety, and an online teen safety educational game (www.dontbeazombieatwork.org). We also issue nearly 500 news releases each year, covering the full spectrum of occupational safety and health issues and concerns. You can learn more about all of these efforts at www.asse.org/newsroom.
Our latest endeavor is the new Celebrating 100 Years of Safety video. The video traces the evolution of the modern occupational safety and health movement, highlighting some of the most pivotal times in American history as well as key events in ASSE’s history. I encourage each of you to view the video at www.asse.org/ASSECenturyofSafety.
As a result of our multidimensional approach to public relations, we are promoting workplace safety, gaining recognition, and educating stakeholders about what SH&E professionals do to help ensure that people return home from work safely each day. Get involved today and help us spread the word about ASSE and our great profession.
Our public relations efforts are successful thanks to you. We tap into your expertise to develop key messages and provide the facts.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Safety 2011 - An Event for the Ages
Building skills and knowledge, and making connections. That's what is most important to ASSE members, according to a recent independent survey. How can you best achieve these goals? By taking advantage of ASSE's professional development offerings. Under the guidance of the Council on Professional Development, ASSE's education events address trends and utilize technology to meet member needs. Our goal is to get you the right information at the right time. For example, at the fall symposium, attendees learned new perspectives on human error and its critical role in workplace safety and health. Recent virtual symposia have taken a look at healthcare worker safety, safety in the petroleum industry and transportation safety best practices.
Through such events, ASSE delivers expertise to help you stimulate your thinking and build your knowledge. In addition, the Society offers seminars in the Certificate in Safety Management and the Executive programs, as well as exam preparation workshops and topical webinars.
The crown jewel of ASSE's continuing education efforts is our annual professional development conference and exposition. You've probably seen the ads urging you to "make no small plans" when it comes to Safety 2011. That's because this year's conference will be our largest ever.
Safety 2011 will be held in Chicago, June 12-15, and it will be the centerpiece event of ASSE's 100th anniversary year. Safety 2011 will offer far more than any other ASSE conference.
You can expect more of everything—from expanded educational sessions and networking opportunities, to seminar programs and technical tours—as well as events to celebrate the Society's anniversary. The special 100th Anniversary Gala at Chicago's Navy Pier promises to be a night of excitement, camaraderie and entertainment.
What else can you expect at Safety 2011? On Monday, June 13, you'll hear the 100th anniversary State of the Society speech. Keynote speaker Daniel Pink will share innovative ideas about changing the world of work. There will also be recognition luncheons for practice specialties, chapters and regions, as well as a special plenary panel session with leaders from OSHA and NIOSH.
On Tuesday, you will learn about ASSE's vision for the next 100 years. Nancy Goodman Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Kommen Foundation, will share her inspiring story about how one person can make a difference. Also back for Safety 2011 is the Executive Summit, which is a great opportunity to learn how corporate executives view safety and the SH&E profession. Throughout the conference, you will be able to choose from expanded educational tracks, including special tracks for executives, presentations on business skills, and sessions covering various technical and managerial topics. New to Safety 2011 is a track on corporate social responsibility, as well as a special track highlighting the history of safety and the SH&E profession.
And let's not forget the technical tours, put together by local ASSE chapters. During the tours, you are able to observe different workplaces and gain new ideas to apply to your safety management challenges. You can select from more than a dozen tours, including the Deep Tunnel Facility, Museum of Science and Industry, Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy, Soldier Field, U.S. Cellular Field and Willis Tower. New this year are two youth technical tours at Soldier Field and U.S. Cellular Field for those age 15 to 18.
These are just a few highlights of our profession's premier educational and networking event. Safety 2011 is an event you simply can't miss. Make plans to attend. I look forward to seeing you in Chicago this June!
"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." Lloyd Alexander
Through such events, ASSE delivers expertise to help you stimulate your thinking and build your knowledge. In addition, the Society offers seminars in the Certificate in Safety Management and the Executive programs, as well as exam preparation workshops and topical webinars.
The crown jewel of ASSE's continuing education efforts is our annual professional development conference and exposition. You've probably seen the ads urging you to "make no small plans" when it comes to Safety 2011. That's because this year's conference will be our largest ever.
Safety 2011 will be held in Chicago, June 12-15, and it will be the centerpiece event of ASSE's 100th anniversary year. Safety 2011 will offer far more than any other ASSE conference.
You can expect more of everything—from expanded educational sessions and networking opportunities, to seminar programs and technical tours—as well as events to celebrate the Society's anniversary. The special 100th Anniversary Gala at Chicago's Navy Pier promises to be a night of excitement, camaraderie and entertainment.
What else can you expect at Safety 2011? On Monday, June 13, you'll hear the 100th anniversary State of the Society speech. Keynote speaker Daniel Pink will share innovative ideas about changing the world of work. There will also be recognition luncheons for practice specialties, chapters and regions, as well as a special plenary panel session with leaders from OSHA and NIOSH.
On Tuesday, you will learn about ASSE's vision for the next 100 years. Nancy Goodman Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Kommen Foundation, will share her inspiring story about how one person can make a difference. Also back for Safety 2011 is the Executive Summit, which is a great opportunity to learn how corporate executives view safety and the SH&E profession. Throughout the conference, you will be able to choose from expanded educational tracks, including special tracks for executives, presentations on business skills, and sessions covering various technical and managerial topics. New to Safety 2011 is a track on corporate social responsibility, as well as a special track highlighting the history of safety and the SH&E profession.
And let's not forget the technical tours, put together by local ASSE chapters. During the tours, you are able to observe different workplaces and gain new ideas to apply to your safety management challenges. You can select from more than a dozen tours, including the Deep Tunnel Facility, Museum of Science and Industry, Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy, Soldier Field, U.S. Cellular Field and Willis Tower. New this year are two youth technical tours at Soldier Field and U.S. Cellular Field for those age 15 to 18.
These are just a few highlights of our profession's premier educational and networking event. Safety 2011 is an event you simply can't miss. Make plans to attend. I look forward to seeing you in Chicago this June!
"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." Lloyd Alexander
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The Business of Safety
We all know and believe that safety is good business. Yet, for many years, despite an identified need to demonstrate the value of safety in business terms, we had little information and only a few anecdotal stories to support the concept.
To address this need, ASSE established the Business of Safety Committee (BOSC) in 2004. The committee immediately began to collect and disseminate information through its website, found at www.asse.org/bosc. Since then, the resources housed on the site have grown exponentially. Topics include impact of safety, corporate social responsibility, good corporate governance, management perspective, performance metrics and SH&E staffing. I encourage you to bookmark the website and visit it often.
In addition, the Society offers many professional development opportunities to help ASSE members increase their knowledge in the business arena. For example, the annual conference features an executive summit that brings together a panel of corporate executives who share their thoughts on how SH&E professionals can influence management. Courses at SeminarFest and safety management symposia explore related topics as do articles published in PS.
All of these resources are designed to help us better communicate the value of the SH&E profession, which is critical to our continued success. As I wrote in “Time to Transform: Assessing the Future of the Safety Profession” (PS, November 2002), “SH&E practitioners who are problem solvers, have multiple skills and demonstrate results woven into the organization’s financial goals will be viewed by the corporation as a valuable asset.” ASSE has the resources to help you educate management and demonstrate that supporting SH&E efforts is a sound investment. I urge you to take advantage of these resources.
Beyond these many resources, however, more can be done. That’s why BOSC is focusing on two initiatives:
1) LinkedIn. During summer 2010, BOSC launched a LinkedIn group. It is becoming an excellent forum for exchanging ideas and information regarding business of safety topics. We anticipate that this forum will continue to mature over time.
2) Social responsibility. SH&E professionals’ jobs are morphing again as social responsibility takes hold. The draft ISO 26000 standard, Guidance on Social Responsibility, was released in mid-2010. BOSC members are reviewing it to determine how it will affect the SH&E profession. Their goal is to provide members with strategies and methodologies for addressing social responsibility and sustainability, as both disciplines provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate our value.
In related efforts, ASSE is exploring opportunities to engage with the Business Roundtable, an organization comprised of Fortune 500 executives, on topics such as return on investment, sustainability and risk assessment. In addition, the ASSE Foundation Research Committee has issued a request for proposals on topics relevant to the business of safety, and BOSC plans to deliver a webinar and is collecting topic ideas through LinkedIn.
Academia is addressing the business side of safety as well. For example, Oakland University’s Occupational Safety and Health Program has partnered with the university’s School of Business Administration to offer an M.S. in Safety Management. This program incorporates a solid foundation of core M.B.A. courses to help students develop management, analytical and communication skills, all of which are essential to helping business leaders recognize SH&E programs as a critical business need. The application of business skills, combined with safety-related case studies in risk assessment, loss control, risk management, and safety program planning, administration and management prepare future professionals to succeed in today’s multifaceted workplace.
ASSE will continue to explore opportunities to help SH&E professionals make sound management decisions as they facilitate workplace safety in a cost-effective way. Safety is good business.
ASSE offers a variety of resources and tools designed to help us better communicate the value of the SH&E profession.
“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”
Colin Powell
To address this need, ASSE established the Business of Safety Committee (BOSC) in 2004. The committee immediately began to collect and disseminate information through its website, found at www.asse.org/bosc. Since then, the resources housed on the site have grown exponentially. Topics include impact of safety, corporate social responsibility, good corporate governance, management perspective, performance metrics and SH&E staffing. I encourage you to bookmark the website and visit it often.
In addition, the Society offers many professional development opportunities to help ASSE members increase their knowledge in the business arena. For example, the annual conference features an executive summit that brings together a panel of corporate executives who share their thoughts on how SH&E professionals can influence management. Courses at SeminarFest and safety management symposia explore related topics as do articles published in PS.
All of these resources are designed to help us better communicate the value of the SH&E profession, which is critical to our continued success. As I wrote in “Time to Transform: Assessing the Future of the Safety Profession” (PS, November 2002), “SH&E practitioners who are problem solvers, have multiple skills and demonstrate results woven into the organization’s financial goals will be viewed by the corporation as a valuable asset.” ASSE has the resources to help you educate management and demonstrate that supporting SH&E efforts is a sound investment. I urge you to take advantage of these resources.
Beyond these many resources, however, more can be done. That’s why BOSC is focusing on two initiatives:
1) LinkedIn. During summer 2010, BOSC launched a LinkedIn group. It is becoming an excellent forum for exchanging ideas and information regarding business of safety topics. We anticipate that this forum will continue to mature over time.
2) Social responsibility. SH&E professionals’ jobs are morphing again as social responsibility takes hold. The draft ISO 26000 standard, Guidance on Social Responsibility, was released in mid-2010. BOSC members are reviewing it to determine how it will affect the SH&E profession. Their goal is to provide members with strategies and methodologies for addressing social responsibility and sustainability, as both disciplines provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate our value.
In related efforts, ASSE is exploring opportunities to engage with the Business Roundtable, an organization comprised of Fortune 500 executives, on topics such as return on investment, sustainability and risk assessment. In addition, the ASSE Foundation Research Committee has issued a request for proposals on topics relevant to the business of safety, and BOSC plans to deliver a webinar and is collecting topic ideas through LinkedIn.
Academia is addressing the business side of safety as well. For example, Oakland University’s Occupational Safety and Health Program has partnered with the university’s School of Business Administration to offer an M.S. in Safety Management. This program incorporates a solid foundation of core M.B.A. courses to help students develop management, analytical and communication skills, all of which are essential to helping business leaders recognize SH&E programs as a critical business need. The application of business skills, combined with safety-related case studies in risk assessment, loss control, risk management, and safety program planning, administration and management prepare future professionals to succeed in today’s multifaceted workplace.
ASSE will continue to explore opportunities to help SH&E professionals make sound management decisions as they facilitate workplace safety in a cost-effective way. Safety is good business.
ASSE offers a variety of resources and tools designed to help us better communicate the value of the SH&E profession.
“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.”
Colin Powell
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Students Are Our Future
By engaging students during their school years, ASSE provides a framework to help them expand their knowledge, develop competencies and get a start on becoming valuable corporate contributors.
As we approach 2011, more organizations are developing safety teams and applying behavior management to ensure a safe work environment. People must take ownership of and personal accountability for safety and health at their worksites. They must understand that they contribute to safety challenges and, therefore, must be part of the solution. Continuously improving a safety program requires the study of behavior with emphasis on understanding organizational and safety culture.
The complexities of such efforts require that SH&E professionals today and in the future have knowledge beyond a high school diploma. The day has passed when someone can simply be assigned SH&E responsibilities without a degree and related competencies. According to ASSE’s online directory of colleges and universities, 191 schools have degree programs that promote in some way increased SH&E knowledge and overall professional competencies. These programs provide an excellent opportunity for young people interested in becoming SH&E professionals.
As companies recognize the critical nature of our profession, job opportunities will continue to increase. This trend is driving an increase in ASSE’s student membership, which grew 21% this past year. ASSE currently has more than 2,500 student members in 60 student sections. Several ongoing ASSE initiatives support this growth, including the Safety Suitcase program, teen safety awareness program and the annual NAOSH Week observance, as well as the ASSE Foundation scholarship programs and the efforts of our student section academic advisors. These activities help educate young people about our dynamic profession.
The Society values the opportunity to help students launch their careers. By engaging students during their school years, ASSE provides a framework to help them expand their knowledge, develop the competencies they need to thrive in the workplace and get a start on becoming valuable corporate contributors. Chapters and members also play a role in nurturing our student members. Mentoring and internships add value to the learning experience and provide future SH&E professionals and Society leaders opportunities to expand their networks.
Over the past few months, I’ve had several opportunities to interact with our student members. I visited North Carolina State A&T University and the joint Tulsa-Oklahoma City Chapter meeting. Attendees included students from Oklahoma State University, University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University. I also participated in the National Future Safety Leaders Conference in Schaumburg, IL, which drew more than 120 students representing 24 colleges and universities, along with faculty advisors, ASSE leaders and members. Student participants learned, shared and networked with peers with whom they will develop long-term friendships as they prepare to enter the SH&E profession.
During these interactions, I’ve been impressed with the student’s overall knowledge and passion, as well as with their enthusiasm for SH&E. “I look forward to creating a safety culture employees want to participate in, not one they feel forced to participate in,” Julie Barbaro, Oakland University Student Section President, recently told me. “I want to positively influence people’s opinions about safe work practices. I hope my personable demeanor and passion for the safety field help to motivate others to be safe at work.” Alexa Celine Cherry, North Carolina A&T State University Student Section President, shared a similar vision. “I want to be the team player who helps solve problems with one common goal of a safe workplace. [I want] to make safety work at the workplace, through education, communication and listening.”
I urge all of you to support our student members. Make yourself available as a mentor, provide an internship opportunity and/or donate to the ASSE Foundation to support its scholarship programs. Today’s student members are tomorrow’s professional members. They will assume leadership positions throughout the business world and within ASSE. By actively engaging and supporting these young members we will advance our profession and the Society’s mission. Students are our future.
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
—William Butler Yeats
As we approach 2011, more organizations are developing safety teams and applying behavior management to ensure a safe work environment. People must take ownership of and personal accountability for safety and health at their worksites. They must understand that they contribute to safety challenges and, therefore, must be part of the solution. Continuously improving a safety program requires the study of behavior with emphasis on understanding organizational and safety culture.
The complexities of such efforts require that SH&E professionals today and in the future have knowledge beyond a high school diploma. The day has passed when someone can simply be assigned SH&E responsibilities without a degree and related competencies. According to ASSE’s online directory of colleges and universities, 191 schools have degree programs that promote in some way increased SH&E knowledge and overall professional competencies. These programs provide an excellent opportunity for young people interested in becoming SH&E professionals.
As companies recognize the critical nature of our profession, job opportunities will continue to increase. This trend is driving an increase in ASSE’s student membership, which grew 21% this past year. ASSE currently has more than 2,500 student members in 60 student sections. Several ongoing ASSE initiatives support this growth, including the Safety Suitcase program, teen safety awareness program and the annual NAOSH Week observance, as well as the ASSE Foundation scholarship programs and the efforts of our student section academic advisors. These activities help educate young people about our dynamic profession.
The Society values the opportunity to help students launch their careers. By engaging students during their school years, ASSE provides a framework to help them expand their knowledge, develop the competencies they need to thrive in the workplace and get a start on becoming valuable corporate contributors. Chapters and members also play a role in nurturing our student members. Mentoring and internships add value to the learning experience and provide future SH&E professionals and Society leaders opportunities to expand their networks.
Over the past few months, I’ve had several opportunities to interact with our student members. I visited North Carolina State A&T University and the joint Tulsa-Oklahoma City Chapter meeting. Attendees included students from Oklahoma State University, University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University. I also participated in the National Future Safety Leaders Conference in Schaumburg, IL, which drew more than 120 students representing 24 colleges and universities, along with faculty advisors, ASSE leaders and members. Student participants learned, shared and networked with peers with whom they will develop long-term friendships as they prepare to enter the SH&E profession.
During these interactions, I’ve been impressed with the student’s overall knowledge and passion, as well as with their enthusiasm for SH&E. “I look forward to creating a safety culture employees want to participate in, not one they feel forced to participate in,” Julie Barbaro, Oakland University Student Section President, recently told me. “I want to positively influence people’s opinions about safe work practices. I hope my personable demeanor and passion for the safety field help to motivate others to be safe at work.” Alexa Celine Cherry, North Carolina A&T State University Student Section President, shared a similar vision. “I want to be the team player who helps solve problems with one common goal of a safe workplace. [I want] to make safety work at the workplace, through education, communication and listening.”
I urge all of you to support our student members. Make yourself available as a mentor, provide an internship opportunity and/or donate to the ASSE Foundation to support its scholarship programs. Today’s student members are tomorrow’s professional members. They will assume leadership positions throughout the business world and within ASSE. By actively engaging and supporting these young members we will advance our profession and the Society’s mission. Students are our future.
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
—William Butler Yeats
Monday, November 1, 2010
The SH&E Body of Knowledge
This important effort to identify and share our profession’s body of knowledge can only truly succeed through the collective efforts of ASSE members and SH&E professionals worldwide.
I’d like you to think for a few moments about your personal body of knowledge. Consider the many things you’ve learned through education and experience. Now take a few moments to think about the SH&E profession’s body of knowledge—the complete set of concepts, terms and activities that define who we are and what we do. It’s a pretty broad collection of information and ideas, made more so by the fact that the SH&E profession draws from so many other practices.
That brings me to ASSE’s Body of Knowledge (BOK) initiative. This initiative is focused on creating a living reference that represents the collective knowledge of the SH&E profession—the competencies, standards and values that inform and guide the practice of safety. It is an effort that strongly supports ASSE’s strategic goals to define an accessible body of knowledge; reach out to the SH&E community on a global level; and improve the value of the safety profession.
Next year, ASSE will celebrate 100 years of knowledge creation. Within the next year, we will unveil the SH&E BOK website. It will provide a single point of entry to access information that can be used to advance the SH&E programs and processes needed to identify and control the hazards and exposures found in workplaces around the world. The BOK site will serve as a knowledge exchange platform for SH&E professionals, and it will be a comprehensive tool that supports ASSE members and SH&E professionals, and advances the practice of the profession.
Using the latest technology, the SH&E BOK will give us several platforms from which to network with others and share questions, ideas, opinions and answers. Knowledge exchange between members is how much of our BOK has emerged over the past century. This new platform will help organize that exchange and capture the creative power of ASSE members and the profession. It will provide a welcoming environment in which we will gain and share knowledge, which is an important component to a strong BOK.
The site will feature powerful search tools and filters to guide visitors to high-quality, vetted content, including articles, standards, white papers, webcasts, regulations, interpretations, conference proceedings, audio conference calls and other reference documents. When you access the BOK, it will be with the confidence that you are reviewing the best information from our profession each time you select a search term.
On a global stage, the SH&E BOK will bring together ASSE members and the profession to learn and share. It will enable us to define our competencies and explore our knowledge needs, and it will help us identify knowledge gaps along with the information needed to fill those gaps. By continuously capturing the vast knowledge of more than 32,000 members, we will increase the value of the SH&E professional while building awareness and understanding of the critical role we play in today’s work environments.
Think back, again, to your personal body of knowledge. You never really stop learning as each day brings new information and experience. The same is true for the SH&E profession. Our BOK expands each day, and you are the source of that continuous knowledge evolution. This important effort to identify and share information can only truly succeed through the collective efforts of ASSE members and SH&E professionals worldwide. The SH&E BOK requires strong member support. We need you to help build and endorse it, and we need you to identify, contribute and refine content. Start participating today by visiting http://www.asse.org/bok.
“None of us is as smart as all of us.”
—Ken Blanchard
I’d like you to think for a few moments about your personal body of knowledge. Consider the many things you’ve learned through education and experience. Now take a few moments to think about the SH&E profession’s body of knowledge—the complete set of concepts, terms and activities that define who we are and what we do. It’s a pretty broad collection of information and ideas, made more so by the fact that the SH&E profession draws from so many other practices.
That brings me to ASSE’s Body of Knowledge (BOK) initiative. This initiative is focused on creating a living reference that represents the collective knowledge of the SH&E profession—the competencies, standards and values that inform and guide the practice of safety. It is an effort that strongly supports ASSE’s strategic goals to define an accessible body of knowledge; reach out to the SH&E community on a global level; and improve the value of the safety profession.
Next year, ASSE will celebrate 100 years of knowledge creation. Within the next year, we will unveil the SH&E BOK website. It will provide a single point of entry to access information that can be used to advance the SH&E programs and processes needed to identify and control the hazards and exposures found in workplaces around the world. The BOK site will serve as a knowledge exchange platform for SH&E professionals, and it will be a comprehensive tool that supports ASSE members and SH&E professionals, and advances the practice of the profession.
Using the latest technology, the SH&E BOK will give us several platforms from which to network with others and share questions, ideas, opinions and answers. Knowledge exchange between members is how much of our BOK has emerged over the past century. This new platform will help organize that exchange and capture the creative power of ASSE members and the profession. It will provide a welcoming environment in which we will gain and share knowledge, which is an important component to a strong BOK.
The site will feature powerful search tools and filters to guide visitors to high-quality, vetted content, including articles, standards, white papers, webcasts, regulations, interpretations, conference proceedings, audio conference calls and other reference documents. When you access the BOK, it will be with the confidence that you are reviewing the best information from our profession each time you select a search term.
On a global stage, the SH&E BOK will bring together ASSE members and the profession to learn and share. It will enable us to define our competencies and explore our knowledge needs, and it will help us identify knowledge gaps along with the information needed to fill those gaps. By continuously capturing the vast knowledge of more than 32,000 members, we will increase the value of the SH&E professional while building awareness and understanding of the critical role we play in today’s work environments.
Think back, again, to your personal body of knowledge. You never really stop learning as each day brings new information and experience. The same is true for the SH&E profession. Our BOK expands each day, and you are the source of that continuous knowledge evolution. This important effort to identify and share information can only truly succeed through the collective efforts of ASSE members and SH&E professionals worldwide. The SH&E BOK requires strong member support. We need you to help build and endorse it, and we need you to identify, contribute and refine content. Start participating today by visiting http://www.asse.org/bok.
“None of us is as smart as all of us.”
—Ken Blanchard
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