ISHN Chief Editor Dave Johnson is the latest subject of a Thought Leaders Project video produced by the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).

The project highlights the contributions of industrial hygienists – and those who report on them – and captures the stories of influential AIHA members.

“These stories, recorded live, offer snapshots of a profession and an association constantly adjusting to new challenges, new occupational hazards, and new technologies for protecting workers,” says the AIHA.

Each story presents a different perspective on the profession’s evolution and the efforts of industry leaders to navigate the changing field of industrial hygiene.

What's changed in industrial hygiene

With 31+ years at the helm of ISHN, Johnson is the industry’s longest-tenured editor. In his three-minute Thought Leaders Project video, he discusses how the tremendous influence OSHA had on industrial hygienists thirty years ago has diminished in the absence of new standards.

“It has gotten professionals away from the negative stereotype of being the OSHA compliance cop,” says Johnson, noting that it has allowed professionals to develop other skills and competencies and enabled them to build a business case for safety.

Quiet "sits pretty well with professionals"

Johnson said that no news is good news in safety and health. “No news means there’s been no West, Texas explosion, there’s been no BP explosion. So when things are going well in safety and health things are kind of quiet. No news is being made, and that sits pretty well with professionals.”

Johnson has a Bachelor of Science degree in magazine journalism from Ohio University. His accomplishments at ISHN include conducting state-of-the-industry White Paper reader surveys and launching the industry’s first magazine web site in 1995.

Click here to visit the AIHA’s Thought Leaders Project video page, where you can view videos by Johnson as well as by AIHA past president Allan Fleeger, CIH, CSP Global Product Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs Manager, ExxonMobil Chemical Company; Erica Stewart, CIH, HEM Environmental Health and Safety Manager, Kaiser Permanente and John L. Henshaw, MPH, CIHSenior Vice President and Managing Principal, Cardno ChemRisk, among others.

The Thought Leaders Project will run through May 2014.