EHS Career Trends/Certification

A Strong Finish to This Year, A Strong Start to Next

Yesterday, we talked about some ways in which you can evaluate what you’ve done in 2014 and use it to position yourself well for whatever you might encounter in 2015. Today, we’ll take a look ahead to the coming year and think about what you can do now to prepare. 

Give yourself a good running start in January by taking these steps now.

Dot the i’s, cross the t’s

In February, it will be time to post your OSHA 300 summary. Is your Log 300 up to date? Take some time in December to enter any information that’s still sitting in your inbox—and track down any missing pieces. While you’re at it, you may be able to make a list of things that will need to be addressed in the new year. What sorts of injuries have you seen in 2014? Was there anything that had the potential to be more serious than it was? Was there anything that would be straightforward and inexpensive to resolve? Make a list, prioritize it, and you’ll be ready to tackle those projects in January.


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Look Ahead

Are you anticipating any changes in the coming year that will affect your health and safety program? Think about how you can prepare for:

  • Ownership changes. If your company changes ownership, you’ll want to be prepared in two ways: If things go smoothly, be prepared to bring the new owners up to speed on how your safety program is contributing to overall productivity and cost control, and how it could be even better. If things don’t go smoothly, have your resume ready so that you can make a transition of your own.
  • Facility changes. Is an expansion in the works? Retooling? Relocation? Think about how each of these will impact safety and health, both in the short term (will workers need to understand how to work safely around construction in the workplace?) and in the long term (is prevention-through-design an option?).

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  • Personnel changes. Will you be hiring more people, letting people go, or moving to temporary workers in the coming year? How will staffing and personnel changes affect safety, and what can you do to be prepared? Do you need to ramp up your training program, get to know your temporary agency and how they deal with safety, or make the case for keeping some essential personnel?
  • Career development. What are you going to do in the coming year to keep your skill set current, improve your knowledge, and make yourself more valuable? What conferences do you want to attend, what courses do you want to take, or what qualifications would you like to earn? Start planning your professional development now.

One way to make sure that you’re on top of your game is to use the resources at Safety.BLR.com®. Have you checked lately for resources that can make you look good?

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