Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.
Issue link: https://digital.thesafetymag.com/i/351662
February/March 2014 23 Another specialty is process safety. This is very interesting for people who are analytical or enjoy the background piece of how process impacts safety. "That's an evolution that continues to arise," says Ptolemy. "When I started, there was not a lot of work on process, but it's a huge component and people need to think about it when they're look- ing at career paths." Process safety positions look at the specifi - cations of equipment and the processes around them that may create hazards. "(For example): What's in this pipe? Where is the stuff in this pipe going? How is it maintained? What are the variables that are impacting safety of that process coming from the environment," says Ptolemy. "It's about looking at the process of what's happening and it might not include an employee." CERTIFICATION After working in the fi eld for a few years, receiving the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) designation is a good way to take a career to the next level, says Andrew Church, OHS offi cer at Nova Scotia Community College in Dartmouth, N.S. "The CRSP designation is the gold standard in Canada," he says. The portfolio, education and work experience required to get the designation speaks volumes to the type of professionals who hold the designation. This is why job ads often say: "Must have CRSP" or "Must be working towards CRSP," says Church. The designation is also very helpful for profes- sional advancement. "Defi nitely the CRSP would allow you to become a safety manager rather than a fi eld offi cer… it's an important thing to do if you want to be a safety pro- fessional long term," he says. MANAGEMENT Safety professionals in the mid-range of their careers often turn to leadership opportunities. "They should look for positions where they can lead people, take more responsibility for outcomes that are team driven instead of individually driven and this may mean hiring folks that are more profi cient at certain competen- cies than you are yourself," says Ptolemy. Taking on a management role may require expanding duties into workers' compensation and managing accom- modation for disability, says Tenkate. Professionals at this level will also be required to demonstrate effi ciencies and cost savings of health and safety systems, he says. "(You need the) ability to show value of what you're doing by putting a dollar value on it: 'By having this to ensure the health and safety of our workforce, it saves us X dollars,'" says Tenkate. "You need to advocate in the organization to show value and benefi ts of an effi cient and appropriate system." RELATED OCCUPATIONS There are also options for OHS professionals to branch into different but related occupations, such as occupational hygiene. "A practitioner in occupational health and safety could already be practising some hygiene… I could be doing air sampling or noise monitoring as part of my job," says Renzo Dalla Via, past chair of the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals in Mississauga, Ont. "To get into it in a fuller, more robust way, it's very possible." These professionals may be interested in looking into the Registered Occupational Hygienist (ROH) designation from the Canadian Registration Board of Occupational Hygienists, which may require addi- tional education or experience. Environmental management positions might be another option for occupational health and safety professionals wanting to further their careers. In many cases, companies only hire one individual for health, safety and envi- ronment, so it's likely OHS practitioners already have a good handle on environmen- tal issues, says Dalla Via. "If you're going to hire a health and safety practitioner, it's a pretty good bet that indi- vidual would be more than likely prepared, if not absolutely easily prepared, to take on the role once they have a sense of what's needed by the company and given some time to review some materials — that is very much a plausibility," says Dalla Via. CONSULTING The consulting route is another option. The Canadian Society of Safety Engineer- ing's Certifi ed Health and Safety Consultant (CHSC) designation may be of interest. After 40 years of full-time work in the health and safety profession, Dalla Via started his own environmental, health and safety consulting business. While he had "more than enough" of working for organizations, he was not ready to leave the workforce completely. "I wanted to use the experience and wisdom and mistakes I've made, lesson learned, so I've entered the consulting fi eld for no other reason than to extend the shelf life," he says. REACHING THE TOP For OHS professionals, the ultimate goal may be to become a vice-president of health and safety or even a chief safety offi cer. At this level, it's a matter of trust in the individual and whether the company can maintain a role of that stature. "It's not a technical issue anymore… it's no longer what I've done and what subjects I've learned and what knowledge I bring, but how much can I actu- ally function in that role to represent the company in a professional fashion in the fi eld and get the job done," says Dalla Via. "And it can easily be done by a health and safety professional who carries also that particular per- sonal trait." A company will often have someone in a vice- president role who has health and safety as his obligation, but is not necessarily from an OHS background, says Dalla Via. He might be someone who is well respected in the company, such as an engineer who had been a plant manager or an opera- tions manager. "That doesn't negate that once the role was made they don't funnel the health and safety person into it — that's often what will happen," says Dalla Via. "Eventually, once the corporation has a good sense that it's good, it's a V.P. position that's worth main- taining, then they will typically stream them up through the OHS role." Although not all companies have safety repre- sented at these high levels, the positions are there, they do exist and they are not beyond someone's reach, says Dalla Via. No matter what path they choose to follow, occupational health and safety professionals need to make sure they take charge of their own careers, says Ptolemy. "They need to really examine what they want to do," she says. "Don't just hope that something is going to come out and it will bite them on the fi nger: 'This is it, this is what you should be doing.' People need to do more exploration from their perspective." Faculty of Education Centre for Adult Education and Community Outreach