The Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) Designation

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The Canadian RegisteredSafety Professional
(CRSP)Designation

• Certification Overview
• Version 3.0/2004

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Certification Overview

• This presentation outlines the steps required to
  be granted the
• Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)
  designation.

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Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)

• A Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)
  is an individual who has, through peer review,
  met the formal education, related experience and
  examination requirements for certification
  established by the Governing Board.

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Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals
(BCRSP)

• National Certification Body
• 1976 - Consumer Corporate Affairs (Letters
  Patent)
• Governing Board (15 CRSPs elected by members)
• Accountable to the Federal government and
  membership (CRSPs)
• Responsible for evaluation, examination (CRSPEX),
  registration, discipline, maintenance

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Introduction

• The Canadian Registered Safety Professional
  (CRSP) designation has become extensively
  recognized as the national standard of
  certification for ohse generalists in Canada.
• Although there are a variety of agencies that
  offer designations in ohse related fields, most
  concentrate on specialized disciplines to the
  exclusion of other related fields (eg. ROH, CCPE,
  CEA).

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Certification Overview

• Minimum eligibility criteria
• Application process
• Interview requirement
• Examination (CRSPEX)
• Certification Maintenance

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Minimum Eligibility Requirements Formal Education

• High school graduation or equivalency
• Equivalency is considered if an applicant has
  obtained a Department/Ministry of Education High
  School Equivalency Certificate or has completed
  one year (10-12 credit courses) of college or
  university program (any discipline).

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Minimum Eligibility Requirements OHSE
Experience/Employment

• Current full-time employment with ohse position
  duties greater than 50 (minimum 900 hours/year)
• A minimum of three years full-time ohse
  experience immediately prior to making application

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Guide to Registration

• Certification Overview
• Self Study Guides
• Examination Blueprint
• Application form
• (available in either hard copy or CD-ROM format)

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Certification Process

• Candidate submits application
• Qualifications Review Committee assessment
• Regional Screening Centre (RSC) interview
• Examination (CRSPEX) administered at RSC
• Governing Board approves successful CRSPEX
  candidates
• Governing Board confirms CRSP designation

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Application

• Complete three Factors on application (Formal
  Education, Professional Development, Related
  Experience)
• Attach supporting documentation
• Professional Practice Questionnaire and three
  Professional Reference Questionnaires required
• Submit to the BCRSP with 350 non-refundable
  application fee (increasing to 450 January 1,
  2005)

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Application Factors

• Factor 1 - Formal Education
• Factor 2 - Professional Development
• Factor 3 - Related Experience

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Formal EducationApplication Evaluation Criteria
Factor 1 Formal Education (maximum 100 points)
Level OHSE Related Value
Secondary school diploma No 10
One year college certificate or university diploma or provincial journeymans certificate No 20
College diploma or university undergraduate degree or interprovincial journeymans certificate No 40
Post graduate degree No 50
One year ohse college or university certificate Yes 60
Two year college diploma (or post diploma certificate) in ohse Yes 70
Three year college diploma or university undergraduate degree in ohse Yes 80
Post graduate degree in ohse Yes 100
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Professional DevelopmentApplication Evaluation
Criteria
Factor 2 Professional Development (maximum 100
points)
Note The time limit for claiming
ohse-related professional development
activities is five (5) years.
Activity Value
Ohse courses/seminars/ conferences of a minimum one day (6 hours) duration 1 point/day
College/university ohse credit course 10 points/course
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Related ExperienceApplication Evaluation Criteria
Factor 3 Professional Practice (maximum 100
points)
Full-time ohse related experience Value
Minimum 36 months (3 years) 50
37-60 months (3 years - 5 years) 65
61-84 months (5 years - 7 years) 80
85 months (7 years) 100
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Application Evaluation Criteria

• A minimum of 150 points from all three Factors
  are required for an applicant to proceed to the
  Regional Screening Centre interview.
• Candidates must obtain a minimum of 10 points in
  Factor 1 (Formal Education) and 50 points in
  Factor 3 (Professional Practice) in order to be
  eligible for certification.

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The Qualifications Review Committee (QRC)
Assessment

• Application, supporting documentation,
  professional practice questionnaire, professional
  reference questionnaires reviewed
• Minimum of 150 points required for application to
  proceed to Regional Screening Centre interview

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The Regional Screening Centre Interview

• Coordinated through 31 Regional Screening Centres
  across Canada
• Purpose to meet with the candidate to
  verify/clarify application information and
  discuss any issues raised by the Qualifications
  Review Committees assessment
• Recommend/Not Recommend candidate proceed to the
  CRSPEX

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Examination (CRSPEX)

• Set by Examination Committee with contracted,
  external psychometrician
• Scheduled twice annually (May October)
• Location Regional Screening Centres
• 3 ½ hour, multiple-choice examination based on
  the Examination Blueprint

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Examination (CRSPEX)

• Candidates have two years to write the CRSPEX for
  the first time
• Unsuccessful candidates may have up to three
  supplementary writings over the two years
  following their first writing
• Candidates may apply for a one-time, one year
  extension (100 fee applies) for either stage of
  the CRSPEX writing, but not both

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Examination (CRSPEX)

• Administered annually in May and October through
  the 31 Regional Screening Centres across Canada
• Based on Examination Blueprint
• 10 domains (123 competencies, the competencies
  expected of entry-level practitioners)

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OHSEs Multidisciplinary Interfaces
Occupational Hygiene
Fire Prevention and Protection
Safety Techniques Technology
OHSE Systems
Law and Ethics
Accident Theory
OHSE PROFESSION
Ergonomics
Risk Management
Health Promotion
Environmental Practices
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Examination (CRSPEX)

• Based on Examination Blueprint
• 190-210 operational questions
• up to 25 experimental questions
• questions may be either case-based (10-30) or
  independent questions (70-90)

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CRSPEX Competency Categories

• Accident Theory (AT)
• 6 competencies or 5 of the set competencies
• Environmental Practices (EP)
• 8 competencies or 6 of the set competencies
• Ergonomics (ERG)
• 8 competencies or 6 of the set competencies

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CRSPEX Competency Categories

• Fire Prevention and Protection (FPP)
• 13 competencies or 11 of the set competencies
• Health Promotion (HP)
• 7 competencies or 6 of the set competencies
• Law and Ethics (LE)
• 13 competencies or 11 of the set competencies

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CRSPEX Competency Categories

• Occupational Health Safety and Environment
  Systems (OES)
• 21 competencies or 17 of the set competencies
• Occupational Hygiene (OH)
• 18 competencies or 15 of the set competencies

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CRSPEX Competency Categories

• Risk Management (RM)
• 5 competencies or 4 of the set competencies
• Safety Techniques and Technology (STT)
• 24 competencies or 19 of the set competencies

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Weighting of Competencies by Category

• Accident Theory (AT) - 4-6 of questions
• Environmental Practices (EP) - 4-6 of questions
• Ergonomics (ERG) - 4-7 of questions
• Fire Prevention and Protection (FPP) - 7-12 of
  questions
• Health Promotion (HP) - 3-5 of questions
• Law and Ethics (LE) - 11-15 of questions

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Weighting of Competencies by Category

• Occupational Health Safety and Environment
  Systems (OES) - 13-20 of questions
• Occupational Hygiene (OH) - 14-20 of questions
• Risk Management (RM)
• 2-4 of questions
• Safety Techniques and Technology (STT)
• 18-26 of questions

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Competency Groupings

• Group 1 (31 competencies) Critically important
  (35-45 of the CRSPEX)
• Group 2 (30 competencies) Very important
  (25-35 of the CRSPEX)
• Group 3 (30 competencies) Important (15-25 of
  the CRSPEX)
• Group 4 (32 competencies) Somewhat important
  (5-15 of the CRSPEX)

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Approval

• Governing Board approves list of successful
  CRSPEX candidates
• Board Chair advises each successful candidate of
  certification
• Permanent registration number assigned

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Confirmation

• Confirmation requires signing and having
  witnessed the Boards Code of Ethics
• Registration certificate, card and registration
  manual issued to new CRSP

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Certification Maintenance

• First cycle may be 1-5 years, all subsequent
  cycles are 5 years
• CMPs awarded for Professional Development
  Activities
• CRSPs responsible for records retention
• CRSPs randomly selected for audit (must provide
  supporting documentation for all CMPs claimed)

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Certification Maintenance

• Applies to all practicing CRSPs
• Must earn a minimum of 25 CMPs over 5 years
• Maintenance period begins January 1 following
  year in which designation granted
• Worksheets provided

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Certification Maintenance

• Academic Activities
• Continuing formal education, course
  development, teaching/training, professional
  development, advanced degrees
• Examination and Additional Pursuits
• CRSPEX re-examination, related certification
  (CSP, CIH)
• Professional Pursuits
• Professional practice, related association
  involvement, committee work (regional/national),
  authoring papers, preparing CRSPEX questions

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Associated Costs

• Guide to Registration
• - Hard Copy (125)
• - CD-ROM (75)
• Application Fee
• 350 (increasing to 450 in 2005)
• Includes application processing and first
  writing of CRSPEX

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Associated Costs

• Supplementary CRSPEX Writings (maximum of three
  supplementary writings permitted) - 100
• CRSPEX Writing Extensions
• One-year, one-time writing extension (may be
  applied to initial writing or to supplementary
  writing but not both) - 100

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Associated Costs

• Reopen a closed file (applicant advanced
  successfully through the process but did not
  write CRSPEX) - 100 100 CRSPEX fee
• Reopen a closed file (wrote but did not pass
  CRSPEX, two year writing period expired)
• Must reapply

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Associated Costs

• Certification Reinstatement
• - Two years or less payment of back dues and
  confirmation of full-time ohse employment
• - Greater than two years reinstatement by
  CRSPEX only and confirmation of full-time ohse
  employment

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Associated Costs

• Current Annual Renewal Fee
• 125 (practicing CRSPs)
• 50 (non-practicing/retired CRSPs)
• (7 GST is added to all BCRSP fees)

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Certification Benefits

• Indicates that the individual has achieved a
  specified level of qualification as judged by
  their peers
• Provides a measure of self-development in an
  individuals professional career
• Results in more tangible benefits to the careers
  of practicing ohse professionals
• Enhances employability

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Summary

• Incorporated in 1976 as a not-for-profit
  organization
• 2196 ohse professionals certified since 1976
• 1600 on current roster
• Accomplished with no external funding

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Summary

• Pursuing ISO 17024 and 9000 accreditation
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Board
  of Certified Safety Professionals (U.S.)
• Increasingly an ohse employment prerequisite

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Contact Information

• Peter Fletcher, CRSP
• Executive Director
• Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals
• 6519-B Mississauga Road
• Mississauga, ON L5N 1A6
• 905-567-7198/1-888-279-2777 fax [phone]
• bcrsp_at_sympatico.ca www.bcrsp.ca