The Gold Standard for Safety: Why You Should Care About CSPs

The CSP is the “gold standard” in safety certification according to the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), but what is a CSP and why is it important?

Here’s another question:

Why is it necessary for the fire department to maintain control of a fire scene after the fire is extinguished?

• The fire department is responsible for the prevention of looting of the scene.
• The fire department may be held liable for injuries to the curious.
• The fire department is responsible to allow the insurance people to do their claim investigation.
• Fire investigation personnel must have adequate time to properly investigate the fire.

The above is a sample question from the examination for the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) certification program. The CSP designation is one way the skills and knowledge of safety services professionals can be verified. The certification is awarded through the BCSP, which has more than 50 years of history setting technical competency criteria for safety, health, and environmental practitioners.

A person with a CSP certification must work in a job which involves at least 50 percent professional-level safety duties, like worksite assessments, hazard assessments and controls, risk evaluation, incident investigation, emergency response plans, and so forth.

They must also have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and at least four years of safety experience which is at least 50 percent preventative. They must have previously earned at least one BCSP-qualified credential, such as the Associate Safety Professional (ASP) designation. Then they must pass a CSP examination.

CTEH prides itself on its culture of safety, which we demonstrate both in the office and at clients’ job sites. For safety-specific jobs, our professionals must command knowledge of industry best-practices. That’s why we encourage our employees to obtain certifications like the CSP.

“To bring the best value to our clients, we incentivize our health and safety team members to complete safety certifications,” said Paul Hart, CTEH’s director of health and safety services. “We have 10 CSPs and six ASPs on our team, and that number increases each year.”

Our CSP and ASP staff work with companies in every industry to manage liabilities, train workforces, and reduce operating costs during emergency and scheduled projects. To learn more about what CTEH can do for you, click here.