Continuous Improvement of Safety Professionals' Core Proficiencies

摘要

While our profession continues to use BLS frequency rate calculations in our definition of "measurable reduction," we must and have expanded our understanding to include relevant financial, actuarial, statistical and business terms with the concept of measurable reduction of accidents. Another challenge to the safety professional centers on the notion of a "steady reduction" of accidents, which implies continuous improvement in safety processes and programs. Achieving successes in these areas not only requires the safety professional to continually upgrade and refine technical skills surrounding the nature of accidents and emerging risk, but also requires the safety professional to maintain a broad base of skills at the ever-increasing pace of the business community. The number of schools offering safety curricula is increasing, and we continue to add bright new talent to the safety ranks. To effectively lead the profession, however, it is incumbent upon experienced safety practitioners to continually build their skills. Integrating the strength of experience of the tenured safety professional with new knowledge elements and skills will enable our profession to steadily and measurably reduce accidents.