How many of you are responsible for
managing health and safety for your company and have no formal training? And how many of you with EHS responsibilities
wear several hats (environment, hygiene, safety, worker’s comp, first aid,
human resources, etc.). Some of you are
the even the plant manager and must juggle production along with trying to
understand and keep up with the federal, state or local regulations. Sure, you might have attended the OSHA 10 or
30-hour courses (once upon a time), if you are lucky. Some of you may have attended a focused class
on a particular hazard of interest (e.g., respiratory, fall protection,
forklift, etc.). But how many of you (us) wish we had a “convenient” and
“economical” means to sharpen our EHS sword of knowledge? If you are a genuine health and safety
professional (CSP, CIH), you are probably a member of one or more of the
national organizations (American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) or American
Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)) and try to attend one of their national
conferences held annually. However, I
did mention about economic, sometimes by the time you add up registration fee,
travel, lodging, and per diem, the weeklong conference can cost $2,500 or more. Plus, although I would love to go to a different
part of the country and attend a conference to sharpen my sword of knowledge, I
usually not able to completely enjoy the entire week due to commitments of
work. How many of you have attended a
weeklong conference only to find yourself spending break time and evenings
catching up on emails and writing reports?
Or ducking out in the middle of a session to take an ever so important
call for work?
Well, I wish to tell you about
another option that has been around for a long time, but possibly overlooked,
they are local EHS sections or chapters and groups. Both of the national safety and health
organizations (ASSE and AIHA) have local chapters throughout the country. You
can find out more about the section in your area by going to the national
organization’s web page (www.asse.org and www.aiha.org). Additionally, some areas have a local EHS
group not affiliated with either of the national organizations. They may be a
little more difficult to find but if you ask around to your equipment vendors
or local business chamber they may be able to point you in the right
direction. These groups consist of folks
from local businesses that have EHS responsibilities and meet once a month or
quarterly (lunch or dinner) to discuss timely topics. They may bring in recognized experts about a
topic from the local university or regulatory body. The fee to join these unaffiliated chapters
is usually very reasonable as they might need to maintain a web page or mail
out a newsletter periodically to keep members in the loop. The folks who organize the meeting and take
care of the communications are volunteers and members just like you (and they
will probably try to get you to help out).
These local chapters and sections
are an excellent way for you to get timely information, network with others who
are doing the same basic job as you and are probably having the same troubles
with their program as you, and possibly learn from each other's mistakes. The environment is one of fellowship and
networking. Through these local chapters,
you may find out about a local vendor of safety equipment you didn’t know
existed or a new piece of equipment that will enable you to quantify a
potential exposure. The meetings are
usually only and hour or so over a meal, so your interruptions from work are
fewer, and you get to focus more on the topic presented. Lastly, they are quite affordable as you
don’t have to go to every meeting (although you are strongly encouraged to do
so).
One more item that your local
chapter may provide is an annual professional development conference
(PDC). These are usually a day to a day
and a half in length held in the local area. The PDC is very similar to a
national conference but on a much lower scale and without the academic
influence. However, like the local
monthly meetings the local PDC is a great way to meet local folks doing the
same thing at their company that you are doing at yours, learn about timely
topics, and possibly get to see the local health and safety merchants that you
may deal with currently or didn’t know existed.
So when you are looking for
training or resources, please consider your local sections or chapters as a
viable part of your health and safety program, who knows, you might be the help
someone else needs. Ultimately, those of us with health and safety
responsibilities are trying to ensure all of those we protect go home to their
families as healthy as they came to work.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you found this Safety
Tidbit informative.
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