8.3 Professional Responsibilities & Continuing Recertification

Professional Responsibilities & Continuing Recertification

Achieving the Occupational Hygiene and Safety Technician (OHST) certification is a monumental milestone in a safety professional's career, but it represents the beginning of a commitment, not the end. The field of occupational health and safety is extraordinarily dynamic, characterized by constantly evolving regulatory frameworks, emerging technological hazards, and advancements in industrial hygiene practices. To maintain the OHST credential and ensure public trust, professionals must demonstrate a lifelong commitment to learning, ethical behavior, and adherence to the stringent professional standards established by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP).

1. The Recertification Cycle and the Imperative of Lifelong Learning

The BCSP recognizes that a certification is only valuable if it reflects current, up-to-date knowledge. Therefore, the OHST certification is not granted for life; it is valid for a strict period of five years. At the culmination of this cycle, certificants are required to demonstrate through a formal process that they have remained actively engaged in the safety profession and have pursued continuing education to stay abreast of modern safety engineering and health protocols.

Continuance of Certification (COC) Points

To successfully recertify, an OHST must accumulate a minimum of 20 Recertification points (frequently referred to as Continuance of Certification or COC points, and historically known as Continuing Maintenance Points or CMPs) over the course of the five-year cycle. This points-based system is designed to be flexible yet rigorous, ensuring that the certificant is engaged in a diverse array of professional development activities rather than relying on a single source of learning.

2. Comprehensive Methods for Earning Recertification Points

The BCSP provides a highly detailed rubric outlining how points are awarded across various categories. A well-rounded OHST will typically earn points through a combination of the following activities:

• Active Professional Practice: Certificants can earn points simply by working full-time in a professional safety role. Typically, a certain number of points are awarded per year of full-time professional safety practice (e.g., up to a maximum cap, such as 10 points per cycle, though specific BCSP rubrics should be consulted for exact current values). This acknowledges the learning that occurs through daily application of safety principles.
• Continuing Education and Training: This is a major category. Points are awarded for attending industry conferences (like the ASSP Professional Development Conference or AIHA AIHce), participating in targeted seminars and webinars, or completing relevant college or university courses in occupational health, safety engineering, or environmental science.
• Professional Development and Additional Certifications: Achieving higher-level or complementary certifications (such as the Certified Safety Professional [CSP] or Certified Industrial Hygienist [CIH]) yields a significant number of COC points. Completing structured certificate programs also qualifies.
• Service to the Safety Profession: The BCSP highly values giving back to the community. Points are awarded for volunteering on safety standards committees (like ANSI or ASTM), serving on the executive board of a recognized professional society (such as local chapters of ASSP or NSC), or formally mentoring junior safety professionals.
• Publications, Research, and Presentations: Contributing to the profession's body of knowledge is rewarded. Writing peer-reviewed articles for safety journals, authoring chapters in textbooks, or delivering technical presentations at major professional conferences all earn substantial recertification points.

The Mandatory Ethics Requirement: A Non-Negotiable Standard

Recognizing the complex moral landscape of the safety profession, the BCSP mandates a specific focus on ethics. It is not enough to simply earn 20 points in technical subjects. All certificants are strictly required to earn a minimum of 0.5 points specifically in the category of ethics during every five-year cycle. This requirement ensures that certificants regularly pause to review the BCSP Code of Ethics, reflect on their ethical obligations, and study contemporary ethical dilemmas in the workplace. Ethics points can be earned through dedicated courses, conference sessions specifically labeled as ethics training, or employer-sponsored ethics seminars.

3. The Affirmative Duty: Reporting Disciplinary Actions and Convictions

Maintaining the OHST certification requires ongoing evidence of good moral character and professional integrity. The BCSP acts as a regulatory body for its certificants, and as such, certificants have an affirmative, legal duty to report certain adverse events to the Board.

Critical Events That Must Be Reported

An OHST is required to notify the BCSP promptly—typically within 30 days of the event—if they are subject to any of the following:

• Criminal Convictions: This includes any felony conviction, regardless of its nature. It also explicitly includes any misdemeanor conviction related to the practice of safety, environmental compliance, fraud, dishonesty, or moral turpitude.
• Professional Discipline: Any suspension, revocation, or formal disciplinary action taken by another credentialing organization (e.g., the American Board of Industrial Hygiene [ABIH], the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management [IHMM]) or a state licensing board (such as a Board of Professional Engineers).
• Severe Regulatory Violations: Receiving significant, personal citations or civil penalties issued by regulatory agencies (like OSHA, the EPA, or the DOT) that directly reflect on the certificant's professional competence, gross negligence, or lack of integrity.

Failure to self-report these events is treated as a severe, independent violation of the Code of Ethics. It demonstrates a lack of transparency and can result in the immediate suspension or permanent revocation of the OHST certification, independent of the underlying offense.

4. Proper Use and Protection of the OHST Designation

The "OHST" designation is a registered trademark owned exclusively by the BCSP. It is a mark of professional distinction, and certificants are obligated to use it correctly to protect its immense value and prevent public confusion or misrepresentation.

Strict Guidelines for Usage

• Active Status Only: The designation may only be used by individuals whose certification is currently active, fully paid, and in good standing.
• Formatting: The designation should immediately follow the individual's name in professional contexts (e.g., Jane Doe, OHST or John Smith, MS, OHST). It should not be used as a noun or incorporated into a company name in a way that implies BCSP endorsement of a corporate entity.
• Immediate Cessation Upon Expiration: If a certification expires due to failure to meet COC requirements, failure to pay annual renewal fees, or if it is suspended or revoked for ethical violations, the individual must immediately cease using the designation. This includes removing "OHST" from business cards, resumes, email signatures, LinkedIn profiles, corporate biographies, and all other professional or marketing materials. Continuing to use the designation while inactive is considered fraudulent and can lead to legal action by the BCSP.

Case Study in Professional Responsibility: The Lapsed Credential

Scenario: Mark earned his OHST five years ago but failed to track his COC points. When his recertification deadline arrives, he realizes he only has 10 of the required 20 points and zero ethics points. His certification officially expires. However, Mark is applying for a new job as a Safety Manager and decides to leave "OHST" on his resume and LinkedIn profile, assuming he will figure out how to get the points later and that the new employer won't check.

Analysis: Mark has committed a serious ethical and professional breach. By continuing to use the OHST designation after it has expired, he is misrepresenting his professional credentials to a prospective employer, violating the BCSP rules regarding trademark use, and violating the core ethical principle of honesty. If discovered, the BCSP could bar him from ever recertifying, and the employer could terminate him for resume fraud. Mark's professional obligation was to accurately report his status, immediately remove the designation, and formally petition the BCSP for an extension or reinstatement process.

Summary Table: Comprehensive OHST Recertification Requirements

By actively, honestly, and rigorously engaging in the recertification process, OHST professionals continually demonstrate their unyielding commitment to excellence, ensuring they possess the current knowledge necessary to provide the highest level of protection to the workers, environments, and communities they serve.