Starting January 1, 2009, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) will begin to phase out the current editions of the two examinations leading to the Certified Safety Professional® (CSP®) credential. The “Safety Fundamentals” and “Comprehensive Practice” exams will be updated to better reflect what safety professionals need to know and the skills required for the tasks and functions of today’s practice, according to BCSP.

A validation study is a requirement of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) for certification accreditation. Content validity is also a requirement for the ISO 17024 standard. An extensive validation process analyzes examination content. BCSP’s last validation study took place in 1999. Periodic studies of safety practice, or job analysis surveys, result in new examination blueprints. The blueprints identify what should be covered on the examinations and how the content should be distributed.

The Safety Fundamentals examination blueprint changes reflect the foundation knowledge and subject matter needed for entry-level professional safety, health and environmental practice. The blueprint is divided among four main domains, each of which is further separated into several other subject matter topic areas.

The Comprehensive Practice examination blueprint changes address the continuing evolution of full-performance professional safety, health, environmental and security practice. The functional blueprint has three major domains in which candidates for the CSP credential must demonstrate their knowledge of global principles and practices.

Details about the blueprints, their respective domains, topics, tasks, knowledge areas, skill areas, frequently asked questions and examination cross-tables can be found at www.bcsp.org/changes.