APPENDIX

What the letters mean.

Every credential and specialty used on this site, in plain English — including what our verification proves, and what it doesn't.

Credentials

CSPCertified Safety Professional: A senior safety certification. Holders have a degree, years of professional safety experience, and have passed the BCSP exam. It is the broadest of the safety credentials.; We check this against the Board of Certified Safety Professionals registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.
CIHCertified Industrial Hygienist: The specialist in workplace health hazards — chemical exposure, noise, air quality. If your problem is something people are breathing or absorbing, this is the qualification you want.; We check this against the American Board of Industrial Hygiene registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.
CHMMCertified Hazardous Materials Manager: Certified in the handling, storage, transport and disposal of hazardous materials, including RCRA and DOT rules.; We check this against the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.
PEProfessional Engineer: A licensed Professional Engineer. State-issued, and the licence is state-specific — a PE in Texas is not automatically a PE in California.; We check this against the State Licensing Board (NCEES) registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.
CUSPCertified Utility Safety Professional: Utility safety: power lines, substations, and the specific hazards of electrical utility work.; We check this against the Utility Safety & Ops Leadership Network registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.
ASPAssociate Safety Professional: The step on the way to a CSP: exam passed, experience still accruing. A real qualification, but a more junior one.; We check this against the Board of Certified Safety Professionals registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.
OHSTOccupational Health and Safety Technologist: Focused on occupational health and safety technology — the hands-on, field side of the discipline.; We check this against the Board of Certified Safety Professionals registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.
CHSTConstruction Health and Safety Technician: Construction-site safety specifically — a different discipline from general industry safety.; We check this against the Board of Certified Safety Professionals registry — that the certificate is real and current. It is not a statement about the quality of anyone's work.

Specialties

Air Permitting & Sampling: Air Permitting & Sampling — also called air permits, air sampling.
Asbestos & Lead: Asbestos & Lead — also called asbestos abatement, lead paint.
Behavior-Based Safety: Behavior-Based Safety — also called BBS, safety culture.
Chemical Management (HazCom/SDS): Chemical Management (HazCom/SDS) — also called SDS, hazard communication.
Combustible Dust: Combustible Dust — also called dust hazard analysis, NFPA 652.
Confined Space: Confined Space — also called permit-required confined space, OSHA 1910.146.
Construction Safety: Site safety on construction projects — falls, excavations, cranes, and the trades working around each other.
Crane & Rigging: Crane & Rigging — also called crane safety, rigging.
Electrical Safety (Arc Flash): Electrical Safety (Arc Flash) — also called arc flash, NFPA 70E.
Emergency Response: Emergency Response — also called emergency planning, HAZWOPER.
Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001): Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001) — also called ISO 14001, EMS.
Environmental Permitting: Getting and keeping the permits that let a facility operate legally: air, water, and waste.
Ergonomics: Ergonomics — also called human factors, musculoskeletal.
Excavation & Trenching: Excavation & Trenching — also called trenching, excavation safety.
Fall Protection: Fall Protection — also called fall arrest, working at heights.
Fire Protection: Fire Protection — also called fire safety, NFPA.
Hazardous Waste (RCRA): Managing waste under RCRA — the federal rules for how hazardous waste is stored, transported and disposed of.
Hazmat & DOT: Hazmat & DOT — also called hazardous materials transport, DOT compliance.
Hearing Conservation: Hearing Conservation — also called noise, occupational noise.
Incident Investigation: Incident Investigation — also called root cause analysis, RCA.
Indoor Air Quality: Investigating and fixing the air inside a building — ventilation, contaminants, and the complaints that follow.
Industrial Hygiene: Identifying and controlling what workers breathe, touch and hear: chemical exposure, dust, noise, ventilation.
Laboratory Safety: Laboratory Safety — also called lab safety, chemical hygiene.
Lockout/Tagout: Lockout/Tagout — also called LOTO, energy control.
Machine Guarding: Machine Guarding — also called machine safety, OSHA 1910.212.
Occupational Health: Occupational Health — also called occ health, medical surveillance.
OSHA Compliance: Meeting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's rules — the federal baseline for workplace safety in the US. Usually the first thing a business needs help with after an inspection or a citation.
Process Safety Management: PSM — preventing catastrophic releases of hazardous chemicals in facilities that handle them at scale. Regulated in its own right, and the failures make the news.
Radiation Safety: Radiation Safety — also called health physics, RSO.
Respiratory Protection: Respiratory Protection — also called respirator program, fit testing.
Safety Management Systems (ISO 45001): Safety Management Systems (ISO 45001) — also called ISO 45001, SMS.
Safety Training: Training a workforce to the standard the regulations require, and being able to prove it.
Spill Prevention (SPCC): Spill Prevention (SPCC) — also called SPCC, spill control.
Stormwater (SWPPP): Stormwater (SWPPP) — also called SWPPP, stormwater management.
Sustainability & ESG: Sustainability & ESG — also called ESG, sustainability.
Water & Wastewater: Water & Wastewater — also called wastewater, water treatment.
Welding & Hot Work: Welding & Hot Work — also called hot work, welding safety.
Workers' Compensation: Workers' Compensation — also called workers comp, claims management.