Do you have a passion for presenting on topics in EHS? Do you want to participate in an event dedicated to the advancement of the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) profession?
The <a href="https://www.bcspevents.com/event/2025risummit/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2025 Research and Innovation Summit</a> is your chance to share your expertise and present on the industry&#8217;s most pertinent topics. The biennial Summit is your forum as a leader, practitioner, researcher, or student to explore subjects and ideas that will drive the future of safety practice and the profession.
The 2023 Summit included more than 30 general sessions, panels, roundtables, and breakout sessions covering a diverse set of topics, including mental health and safety, risk and hazard analysis, environmental, social, and governance, and more! Research posters were also presented by students and can be further explored on <a href="https://shiftr2p.com/student-research-showcase" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SHIFT</a>, the BCSP Foundation&#8217;s academic research journal.
Want to share you expertise? Submit your actract today before the January 31 deadline!
<a href="https://www.cvent.com/c/abstracts/18831d41-8eaf-4511-94c8-e75a1c70c72d">Become a Presenter</a>

Present Your Research at the 2025 Research & Innovation Summit

Tickets are now available for the BCSP&#8217;s 2025 Research &amp; Innovation Summit!
To be held August 4-6, 2025, in Indianapolis, IN, the Summit provides groundbreaking discussion and hands-on learning with safety professionals, researchers, students, and partners passionate about advancing the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) field.
The Summit will feature pre-workshops, followed by two days of dynamic sessions, interactive panels, collaborative roundtables, and student-led poster presentations.
Some of the topics at the 2023 Summit included:
<ul>
<li>Young worker safety</li>
<li>Safety metrics and standardized technologies</li>
<li>Ergonomics</li>
<li>Distracted workers</li>
<li>Technology applications</li>
<li>Temporary workforce management</li>
<li>Standardization of qualifications</li>
<li>Effectively addressing incident causation</li>
</ul>
Tickets are currently on sale at a discounted price and can be purchased on our <a href="https://www.bcspevents.com/event/2025risummit/home">R&amp;I Summit page</a>. Don&#8217;t miss this opportunity to be a part of the future of EHS—reserve your spot today!
<h4>Interested in speaking at the Summit? </h4>
If you have a passion for presenting on EHS topics, apply today to become a presenter at the 2025 Research &amp; Innovation Summit. Join us as we explore topics that will drive the future of practice and the profession. <a href="https://www.bcspevents.com/event/2025risummit/home">Register today</a>!

Join Us for the 2025 Research & Innovation Summit

The latest issue of the SHIFT newsletter has been released!
The SHIFT newsletter features the latest news from SHIFT, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and from our industry partners in the field. This issue contains:
<ul>
<li>A SHIFT article on the perceived cancer risks, among others risks, that aircrew members face as a result of cosmic radiation</li>
<li>Information on attending and becoming a presenter at the 2025 Research &amp; Innovation Summit</li>
<li>Celebrating one year of The Hub</li>
<li>An article from NSC on using data and AI to gain insights into safety programs</li>
<li>Keeping pace with evolving fall protection safety standards (Grainger)</li>
<li>Transforming construction through automation and robotics (CDC)</li>
<li>Exploring approaches to keep AI-enabled workpalces safe (NIOSH)</li>
</ul>
We hope you enjoy this resource. The information it contains is designed to drive necessary and powerful change. By sharing information and ideas and turning research into practice, we can create a safer tomorrow.
<a href="https://myemail.constantcontact.com/SHIFT-Newsletter--Read-the-latest-EHS-research-and-news-from-SHIFT--NSC--NIOSH--and-CDC.html?soid=1102546528915&amp;aid=OmRq0AZBZyA">Read the newsletter.</a>

Enjoy the Latest Industry News with the SHIFT Newsletter – 6th Edition

The latest issue of the SHIFT newsletter has been released!
The SHIFT newsletter features the latest news from SHIFT, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, the BCSP Foundation, and from our industry partners in the field. This issue contains:
<ul>
<li>Examining the Factors Affecting Safety Performance in Industries</li>
<li>A Model for Assessing and Managing Workplace Ergonomics Risk Factors</li>
<li>The Hub: The Intersection Where All Safety Professionals Come Together</li>
<li>Student Research Call for Submissions</li>
<li>Data for Decision Makers: Finding Policy, Systems, and Environmental Solutions for Public Health Problems (CDC)</li>
<li>Keep Pace with Evolving Fall Protection Safety Standards (Grainger)</li>
<li>Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Safety (NSC)</li>
<li>An Urgent Call to Address Work-Related Psychosocial Hazards and Improve Worker Well-Being (NIOSH)</li>
</ul>
We hope you enjoy this resource. The information it contains is designed to drive necessary and powerful change. By sharing information and ideas and turning research into practice, we can create a safer tomorrow.
<a href="https://myemail-api.constantcontact.com/SHIFT-Newsletter--Read-the-latest-EHS-research-and-news-from-SHIFT--NSC--NIOSH--and-CDC.html?soid=1102546528915&amp;aid=lsLfPrF_5so">Read the newsletter.</a>

Enjoy the Latest Industry News with the SHIFT Newsletter

The BCSP Foundation&#8217;s Research &amp; Innovation Summit represents a convergence of committed individuals unified by a singular mission–ensuring the safety of people. Their careers are dedicated to this noble cause, exemplified by their participation in the Summit and by the valuable thoughts, concepts, and inquiries presented here.
The contents within the Roundtable Analysis encapsulate innovative ideas intended to stimulate contemplation on how this profession can evolve, adapt, and transform in sync with changing times. These topics will provide the framework for our Research &amp; Innovation Grants, ensuring that the ideas generated during Summit roundtable discussions are actively funded and researched.
This industry mandates a lifelong commitment to learning, and our inspiration is that the insights from the discussions will ignite fresh, reflective ideas that will provide us all with new, better, and safer ways to work.
<a href="https://bcspfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-RI-Summit-Roundtable-Findings-8.pdf">2023 R&amp;I Summit Roundtable Findings</a>

Research & Innovation Roundtable Findings Now Available

The third issue of the SHIFT newsletter has been released!
The SHIFT newsletter will be published twice each year and features the latest news from SHIFT, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, the BCSP Foundation, and industry news and trends from our partners in the field. This issue contains:
<ul>
<li>Construction Safety Personnel Qualifications: The Impact of Education, Experience, and Certificate Programs</li>
<li>Register for the 2023 Research &amp; Innovation Summit</li>
<li>Applications for Student Scholarships Open Aug. 1</li>
<li>Georgi Popov Named Editor in Chief of SHIFT</li>
<li>NSC: Improving Workplace Safety with Robotics</li>
<li>Driver Fatigue on the Job</li>
<li>Psychosocial Hazards Often Overlooked in Construction Industry</li>
<li>Understanding Emergency Service Capabilities</li>
</ul>
We hope you enjoy this resource; the information it contains is designed to drive necessary and powerful change. Together, by sharing information and ideas and turning research into practice, we can create a safer tomorrow.
<a href="https://myemail.constantcontact.com/SHIFT-Newsletter--Read-the-latest-EHS-research-and-news-from-SHIFT--NSC--NIOSH--and-CDC.html?soid=1102546528915&amp;aid=lrvycABcg4A">Read the newsletter.</a>

Enjoy the Latest Industry News with the SHIFT Newsletter – 3rd Edition

This article originally appeared in the January 2022 issue of &#8220;<a href="https://synergist.aiha.org/202201-safety-plan">The Synergist</a>,&#8221; the magazine of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
During my 23 years with the Austin Fire Department, in my time as planning section supervisor of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, and then in<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-697 alignright" src="https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Emergency-Response-300x195.png" alt="" width="300" height="195" srcset="https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Emergency-Response-300x195.png 300w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Emergency-Response-768x500.png 768w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Emergency-Response-40x26.png 40w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Emergency-Response-55x36.png 55w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Emergency-Response-100x65.png 100w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Emergency-Response.png 940w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> my career as public safety professional, I have realized that it is not enough for an organization’s emergency safety plan to conclude simply with the provision to call 911. However, many safety professionals have no idea of the operational implications of relying on public safety, particularly the fire and emergency medical services, to mitigate gaps in their safety plans. Any safety and emergency response plan must rely on an accurate assessment of the relevant emergency situation and fully address potential incidents that are present in the work environment.
The Roles of Emergency Services
For any emergency incident, it is important to define the roles of police, fire, and emergency medical services in the response. Under the Incident Command System, the lead agency in a multi-agency response is determined by the type of incident. If the incident is a crime or involves violence, law enforcement is the lead agency to address the response; the FBI is the lead agency for any terrorist incident.
For most, if not all, other types of responses, including fire, rescue, and hazardous material incidents, the fire service is the lead agency. EMS will rarely be the lead agency in response because their role is to manage patients that have been delivered to them by the fire service. Fire services and EMS will be involved in almost every rescue incident involving an injured employee at a worksite.
Take the example of a multi-car collision on a busy freeway at rush hour that results in several people trapped within cars—the fire service is the lead agency in this incident, responsible for extinguishing any fires and extricating victims. The role of the police is to manage traffic, and the EMS is responsible for triaging, treating, and transporting patients. The fire service’s incident commander should be located in the incident command post with the EMS and police incident commanders.
An examination of the components of such a response is necessary to determine what incidents each of the agencies will address and which will be attempted.
Components of Ordinary Fire Service Response
According to the National Fire Protection Association Code, the American Fire Service is designed to fight a structural fire in a dwelling with an area of 2,000 square feet or less with no basement exposure. The fire service is designed to address this type of incident, but not high-rise fires, industrial fires, or rescues. In particular, the fire service is not designed for any complicated rescue scenario occurring in an industrial facility or construction site.
The fire service response is ordinarily composed of four types of apparatus: the engine, ladder truck, quint, and ambulance.
Fire engine. The fire engine is the workhorse of the fire service, responding to all fires and medical calls and the first to arrive at rescue scenes. It carries 500 gallons of water, 1,000 feet of supply hose that can be hooked to a hydrant, and 400 feet of preconnected attack hose that is designed to fight a house fire, as well as a range of basic hand tools that might be used when attempting a rescue.
Ladder truck. In addition to the 100-foot aerial ladder, the ladder truck carries the hydraulic shears, colloquially called the “Jaws of Life,” gasoline-powered saws, and various hand tools. While the truck’s primary rescue capability is vehicle extrication, its crew’s role at a fire is to forcibly enter the fire building, conduct search and rescue, and then further open the building’s interior to expose hidden pockets of fire. Ladder trucks are most often housed with engines and will make medical calls if an engine is not available.
Quint. A hybrid of a ladder truck and engine, the quint carries as much water as the engine—but less supply hose—as well as a ladder, the Jaws of Life, and a gasoline-powered saw, but fewer hand tools, as the water pump occupies most of the storage space. The hand tools will are housed separately.
Ambulance. Most often, the EMS is part of the fire service, although many cities use a private ambulance service, and in a few, such as Austin and Seattle, the EMS is a separate agency. The EMS’ primary response capability is early cardiac intervention. It is preferable to treat any heart arrhythmia, such as tachycardia or fibrillation, on the scene of the cardiac incident rather than to transport the patient to an emergency room. Paramedics will also attempt to treat status asthmaticus (prolonged asthma attack) or status epilepticus (prolonged seizure) on the scene. For critical, life-threatening injuries, the EMS crew attempts to secure an airway, insert an IV, and then drive immediately to a hospital, where the definitive intervention occurs in the operating room.
Fire Service Special Operations
Fire services also attempt to deal with “technical” rescues requiring specialized equipment and skills. NFPA 1006, Standard for Technical Rescue Personnel Professional Qualifications, identifies nine rescue disciplines: rope rescue, surface water rescue, vehicle and machinery rescue, confined space rescue, structural collapse rescue, trench rescue, subterranean rescue, dive rescue, and wilderness rescue. To effectively address these incidents, specialized training and equipment is required. It is not feasible to maintain this training for every firefighter nor to equip every fire unit with the gear necessary, so the fire service uses established special operations units.
These special operations units carry the Jaws of Life, life rope—which can only be used once—and all the additional rescue equipment required to deal with the scenarios listed above. These units also respond to hazardous materials incidents and will carry the relevant equipment for those as well.
NFPA 1970, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural and Proximity Firefighting, Work Apparel and Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services and Personal Alert Safety System requires that in the case of a structure fire, all required personnel assemble on the scene within nine minutes from when a response is initiated. Special operations units are spread throughout a response area in order to arrive within the nine-minute time period.
The major flaw in this system is that these units are not waiting to be assigned solely to the rescue conditions above but are often also the units designated to respond to all fires, medical calls, and hazardous materials incidents within their response area. When a rescue condition develops inside the response envelope of any particular special operations station, it is likely that the unit has already been assigned to another call, meaning the next closest special operations station has to make the response.
In addition, special operations stations tend to be located in the core of a city and next to major access highways and arterial roadways. The nine-minute response time is based on ordinary traffic conditions, not the congested traffic conditions that a major city might experience during rush hour, which increases the arrival time of any particular special operations unit.
Challenging Rescue Scenarios
A typical rescue scenario associated with the construction industry can illustrate how constrained the incident timeline is for a successful rescue. For example, consider an employee whose fall is arrested by a harness in such a way that the employee is left dangling in the harness.
As explained in a 2015 article in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services, suspension trauma immediately starts a cascade of physiological events that can lead to the employee passing out with an obstructed airway. Death may result in healthy people within as little as 10 minutes. Even if the employee is removed from the harness before passing out, the metabolic process that occurs without oxygen present forces the muscles to shed large proteins that the kidneys cannot filter, resulting in renal failure. The blood that has pooled in the legs also contains potassium chloride that, if not managed carefully, could result in cardiac arrest when the tainted blood reaches the employee’s heart.
It would be extraordinarily challenging for fire service special operation and EMS units to arrive at the incident scene within the 10-minute window since the nine-minute response threshold addresses only the arrival of equipment on the scene and does not take into consideration equipment setup and deployment.
In addition to the difficulty of emergency services arriving in time to save an employee’s life, the rescue itself is often difficult. Consider another common rescue scenario that might occur at a construction site: trench collapse.
In March 2013, two workers were trapped in a collapsed trench in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. The worker who survived was buried up to his waist and rescued after 5.5 hours. It took nine hours to recover the body of the second worker.
Emergencies such as those described here, requiring a rapid response time, a difficult rescue, or both to save an employee’s life, mean that it is not reasonable for an organization’s safety plan to rely on a 911 call as a fallback.
Limits in the Training of Rescue Service Personnel
After graduating from the fire service academy, I was assigned to a special operations unit with the Austin Fire Department. I am certified as a rescue diver, swift water rescue technician, and master fire instructor. I also served as the field training officer for all three AFD shifts. (Fire departments typically organize personnel into three shift teams that rotate through 24 hours on and 48 hours off duty.) In my experience, it is almost impossible for the personnel assigned to special operations units to maintain proficiency in each of the nine rescue disciplines. In reality, these units are most proficient at the types of calls they respond to most often.
Table 1 breaks down the number and percentage of each type of call that AFD’s special operations division responded to within a two-year period. O rescue conditions, which means that special operations units were assigned as a precaution; wilderness rescue, often involving an injured or disabled hiker; still water rescue, such as assisting people on a disabled boat or a stranded canoeist; and hazardous materials. The other types of rescue responses each made up less than one percentage point of the total. Trench rescue responses do not appear at all.
&nbsp;
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="192">Call Type</td>
<td width="192">Number of Calls</td>
<td width="192">Percent of Total (%)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Hazardous Conditions</td>
<td width="192">4,250</td>
<td width="192">82</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Rescue Conditions</td>
<td width="192">299</td>
<td width="192">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Wilderness Rescue</td>
<td width="192">213</td>
<td width="192">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Still Water Rescue</td>
<td width="192">212</td>
<td width="192">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">HAZMAT Task Force</td>
<td width="192">87</td>
<td width="192">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Swift Water Rescue</td>
<td width="192">35</td>
<td width="192">0.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">High Angle Rescue</td>
<td width="192">29</td>
<td width="192">0.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">HAZMAT Alarm</td>
<td width="192">26</td>
<td width="192">0.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Search and Rescue</td>
<td width="192">20</td>
<td width="192">0.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Rescue Task Force</td>
<td width="192">8</td>
<td width="192">0.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Cave Rescue</td>
<td width="192">6</td>
<td width="192">0.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">TOTAL</td>
<td width="192">5,185</td>
<td width="192">100</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="192">Minus Hazardous Condition</td>
<td width="192">935</td>
<td width="192">18</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
 Emergency service calls made to the Austin Fire Department and responded to by special operations units broken down by type, number, and percentage.
Implications for Safety Planning
No plan is bulletproof. It is incumbent on safety professionals to recognize that however diligently they attempt to eliminate and mitigate safety incidents, they will occur. However, most safety plans do not cover the organization’s initial response to an incident before the arrival of emergency services. Understanding first responders’ capabilities, organizations must prepare a plan that bridges the 10- to 20-minute time period between the beginning of the incident, the arrival of emergency services, and the setup and deployment of appropriate resources. Safety, risk management, and industrial hygiene professionals’ safety planning should encompass the entirety of the incident event.
For operations in which an employee fatality may occur, safety precautions must take place before the operation begins and for every operation that the safety plan covers. This will not come about without substantial training, oversight, and cultural change in management. Organizational change can be hard, but the aftermath of an employee fatality is worse.
Returning to the examples discussed previously, OSHA requires rescue capabilities to be present at operations with confined space hazards but not for operations with employee fall hazards. In situations such as these, it is imperative that the organization has a rescue strategy because waiting for properly trained and equipped emergency services to arrive may take too long to save the employee. The only way to build this capability is for the organization to conduct correct training with the correct equipment—repeatedly. Skill levels diminish rapidly without repetition and practice.
While the training requirements to maintain basic firefighting skills are quite rigorous, the specialized skills needed to conduct special operations rescue are extraordinary. The result of this training, however, is that employees assigned to rescue feel confident in their abilities, and they can more rapidly and proficiently react to an emergency because they have mentally prepared for the incident through repeated training.
Collaborating with Local Fire Services
Nonetheless, certain rescue scenarios are beyond the capabilities or risk profile of an onsite rescue effort. In these cases, the organization should plan to meet and augment the response of emergency services. The best way to build this capability is to have fire services tour the facility or construction site. Generating such an event may be difficult due to the three shifts that typically comprise a fire service rotation. All three shifts should tour the facility, and the group should include every fire unit that would respond to a technical rescue. During the tour, areas requiring technical rescues should be identified.
There may be different nomenclature for technical rescues used by different fire departments, but whatever the term is, it should be included in all safety planning documents and in the first information relayed to the public safety answering point—that is, the 911 dispatcher. The 911 caller should be able to clearly request the appropriate kind of technical rescue at the facility or worksite’s street address. Including the term “technical rescue” prompts 911 dispatchers to redirect necessary resources more quickly than if they have to make the determination themselves.
On arrival, the fire service must be guided to the location of the incident. OEHS professionals should be prepared for the possibility of many units arriving behind the first. To reduce response time, it would be beneficial to choose a pre-identified staging area. Such planning is just as instrumental to the success of fire operations as it is to organizational emergency response efforts. With a more accurate understanding of the operations and rescue capabilities of the American Fire Service, professionals in charge of employee safety and wellbeing can devise safety plans and actions to ensure that if employees are involved in a rescue incident, despite the organization’s best efforts, every action is taken to ensure survivability.
MIKE BEWLEY, MBA, MA, CSP, [Mike Bewley spent 23 years in the Austin Fire Department, where he retired with the rank of Captain. While in the Austin Fire Department, Mike specialized in training for firefighter rescue, particularly in low occurrence/high-risk scenarios. Mike is currently the Safety Manager for the City of Austin Fire Department].
Send feedback to synergist@aiha.org.
&nbsp;
Resources
Journal of Emergency Medical Services: “Redefining the Diagnosis and Treatment of Suspension Trauma,” bit.ly/jemssuspension (June 2015).
Los Angeles Times: “Pacific Palisades Trench Accident Victim Dies, Second Man Rescued,” bit.ly/lattrench (March 2013).
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Understanding Emergency Service Capabilities

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-677 alignright" src="https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-214x300.jpg 214w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-731x1024.jpg 731w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-1463x2048.jpg 1463w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-29x40.jpg 29w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-39x55.jpg 39w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-71x100.jpg 71w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" />As an educator for more than 20 years, I witness each and every day the profound effect that education has on individuals, on society, and, specifically, our profession. What students learn in the classroom is foundational knowledge that will serve them for the rest of their lives. But learning must continue outside of the classroom. Innovation, the promulgation of ideas, isn’t a sedentary practice. It takes nurturing. It takes effort. It takes a commitment to education that far surpasses our schooling days.
In our profession, we must continue to be students. As technology, industries, and the general work environment change and evolve, so must we evolve. We do this by learning. By researching and experimenting with new ways to address familiar issues, we can prevent future risk.
Through SHIFT: Global EHS Research to Practice, we can give voice to those seeking to solve new issues and provide actionable improvements to long-existing risk. We can share ideas and innovate new technologies and processes. We can join as a community for the common purpose we all seek—protecting lives in the workplace.
As Editor in Chief of SHIFT, I hope to lend my experience in academia and expertise in the EHS field to help provide a valuable global resource designed to turn research into functional guidelines to be used in the field. Together, we can create a forum to disseminate new ideas and thought processes. We can achieve our goal of preventing injury. We can shift how we work and the means in which we learn.
I encourage you to join us in our mission of bringing together a global audience and sharing new and exciting ideas. Thank you for supporting SHIFT.

Letter from the Editor in Chief

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-677 alignright" src="https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-214x300.jpg 214w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-731x1024.jpg 731w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-1463x2048.jpg 1463w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-29x40.jpg 29w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-39x55.jpg 39w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356-71x100.jpg 71w, https://admin.shiftr2p.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PopovGeorgi_8356.jpg 1500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" />The BCSP Foundation is pleased to announce Georgi Popov, Ph.D., CSP, QEP, ARM, SMS, CMC, FASSP, FAIHA as Editor in Chief of SHIFT.
Dr. Popov brings over 20 years in academia with him to the Editor in Chief role, currently serving as professor and Chair of the Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences Department at the University of Central Missouri. Dr. Popov earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the National Scientific Board and an M.S. in Engineering Physics from Defense University in Bulgaria. In 2001, he graduated from the Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
&#8220;Georgi brings a tremendous amount of experience and an expansive knowledge base in both EHS and academic research to the Editor in Chief role,&#8221; said Managing Editor of Shift and BCSP Research and Product Development Director Angela Giotto, Ph.D., MPH, CSP. &#8220;His years of experience in academia will be a great resource in leveraging research into best practices. We are thrilled to welcome him and strengthen our mission of providing a high-quality and cost-free resource to serve as a guide to live and work safer.&#8221;
Dr. Popov began his career in Cambodia, serving as an environmental, health, and safety officer. His previous positions include air quality and lab director for Kingston Environmental Services, Inc., associate professor at Park University, adjunct professor at Central Missouri State University, HAZMAT specialist at HAZMAT Response Inc., and health and safety assistant at Taylor Cables Inc.
He has been involved with 14 different professional organizations and has received 13 honors and awards, mostly recently being named an ASSP Fellow and receiving the AIHA President&#8217;s Distinguished Service to AIHA Award. He has also been named a Fellow of AIHA and received the OEHS Career Professional Award, ASSP Outstanding Safety Educator, and the Safety Professional of the Year (SPY) award in 2017.
He has been published more than 50 times, including as editor and first author of the book Risk Assessment &#8211; A Practical Guide to Assessing Operational Risks. He is a frequent speaker at national, regional, and local conferences, and performs research in risk assessment, risk management, prevention through design, and industrial hygiene, among others.
The BCSP Foundation and SHIFT team are excited to work with Dr. Popov and continue to bring SHIFT readers applicable, reliable, and modern solutions to issues most critical to EHS professionals.

Georgi Popov Named Editor in ﻿Chief of SHIFT

Tickets are now available for the BCSP Foundation&#8217;s 2023 Research &amp; Innovation Summit!
To be held August 7-10, 2023, in Indianapolis, IN, the Summit provides a unique forum for individuals and organizations dedicated to the advancement of the practice and profession of EHS through active engagement in the performance and principles of research and innovation.
The Summit will feature pre-workshops, followed by three days of roundtable discussion sessions with a diverse slate of EHS industry experts.
Topics covered last year included:
<ul>
<li>Future Trends</li>
<li>Managing Risk in a COVID World</li>
<li>Mental Health and Safety at Work</li>
<li>Safety Leadership</li>
<li>AI for Construction Safety</li>
<li>Business Case for Safety</li>
<li>Construction</li>
<li>Total Worker Safety</li>
</ul>
Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased on our <a href="https://bcspfoundation.org/research-and-innovation-summit/">R&amp;I Summit page</a>. Lodging information is also available, with a link to a discount for attendees. To learn more about the Summit, a recap of the 2021 and 2019 Research &amp; Innovation Summits can be found <a href="https://bcspfoundation.org/research-and-innovation-summit/">here</a>.
<h4>Interested in speaking at the Summit? </h4>
If you have a passion for presenting on EHS topics, apply today to become a presenter at the 2023 Research &amp; Innovation Summit. Join us as we explore topics that will drive the future of practice and the profession. <a href="https://bcsp.submittable.com/submit/835e21b0-d5ab-42ee-8f5d-b2d78002acbc/2023-research-and-innovation-summit-abstract-submission">Register today</a>!

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As an educator for more than 20 years, I witness each and every day the profound effect that education has on individuals, on society, and, specifically, our profession. What students learn in the classroom is foundational knowledge that will serve them for the rest of their lives. But learning must continue outside of the classroom. Innovation, the promulgation of ideas, isn’t a sedentary practice. It takes nurturing. It takes effort. It takes a commitment to education that far surpasses our schooling days.
In our profession, we must continue to be students. As technology, industries, and the general work environment change and evolve, so must we evolve. We do this by learning. By researching and experimenting with new ways to address familiar issues, we can prevent future risk.

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Join the conversation and become a partner in our quest to make a difference in the global EHS community! Subscribe now for unlimited access to peer-reviewed, cutting-edge research and best practices at no cost to you.

Global EHS Research to Practice

A Letter From SHIFT's Editor in Chief

Enhancing OSH Performance: The Impact of ISO 45001

Rapid Screening of Benzene and Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil Samples Using Portable Gas Chromatography with Photoionization Detection

Aircrew Members’ Perceived Risk to Cancer and Other Adverse Health Conditions from Cosmic Radiation Exposure

Factors Influencing How Health and Safety Professionals View Their Roles and Responsibilities Under NAFTA and the USMCA

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Georgi Popov Named Editor in Chief of SHIFT

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Global EHS Research to Practice

A Letter From SHIFT's Editor in Chief

Enhancing OSH Performance: The Impact of ISO 45001

Rapid Screening of Benzene and Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil Samples Using Portable Gas Chromatography with Photoionization Detection

Aircrew Members’ Perceived Risk to Cancer and Other Adverse Health Conditions from Cosmic Radiation Exposure

Factors Influencing How Health and Safety Professionals View Their Roles and Responsibilities Under NAFTA and the USMCA

Recent Articles

Enjoy the Latest Industry News with the SHIFT Newsletter – 6th Edition

Join Us for the 2025 Research & Innovation Summit

Present Your Research at the 2025 Research & Innovation Summit

Georgi Popov Named Editor in ﻿Chief of SHIFT

Getting A Clearer Picture of What’s Inside the Average Rural Community’s Drinking Water in Southeast Nigeria

Managing Editor Letter

Research

Best Practice Guides

Subscribe

Georgi Popov Named Editor in Chief of SHIFT