Houston: We Have a Problem

As a young safety professional, I had a choice to make: I could either pursue a Masters of Engineering degree or study for and attempt to pass the Associate Safety Professional and Certified Safety Professional exams. After weighing the pros and cons and looking at what each objective would take, I decided that the Masters degree was the route to success, and honestly, it looked a bit easier.

Fast forward 5 years in my career, and I had a MEng degree and 2 more kids than before. I decided it was time to circle back around to the elusive ASP and CSP exams and attempt to achieve the CSP designation. What an undertaking! If I only knew what the commitment had in store for me…

My first step was to take an in-person ASP prep course in Denver. After 3 days of reviewing math, I walked away from that course with nothing more than a few books full of questions and answers and a confused look on my face. I felt like the class really didn’t give me much direction!

An Idea is Born

One thing the course did give me was a list of 8 or 10 books to study (instead of the 100 or so provided by the BCSP!), so I set forth on a mission to read the books and take detailed notes. The books themselves, while good, were full of examples and fluff used to illustrate each fact or point presented. I felt like I was reading 1,000 words for each 50 I would need for the exam. There had to be a better way to approach studying for the ASP & CSP exams!

This problem sparked an idea: as I studied for the exams, why not write a study guide that would help others? I was taking notes anyway, I might as well. And just like that, Safety Exam Academy was unintentionally born. I began studying with the intention of learning the material and helping other safety professionals at the same time. The harder I studied, the more time I spent comparing resources and realizing that there truly wasn’t a solid study system in place anywhere. So, I developed the following objectives for the materials I was preparing:

• Develop the most comprehensive, straight to the point, study guide for the ASP and CSP exams on the market.

• Develop a set of companion flash cards for use on smart phones that can be reviewed in a professional’s free time anywhere.

• Build an online course for the ASP & CSP exams consisting of high-quality videos and lectures for those that prefer visual and logical learning methods. Provide podcasts of the lectures and mobile availability of all aspects of the courses.

• Provide a social network that encompasses modern technology for students to ask questions, share experiences, and view live Q&A sessions.

• Eventually, provide an in-person Safety Exam Bootcamp with a superior customer experience than the courses I attended. The Bootcamp should be designed in such a manner that when combined with the online coursework, study guide, and flashcards, a complete exam preparation system is in place that can be easily followed and provide safety professionals a high probability of passing the ASP & CSP exams on the first try.

Achieving the objectives outline above should result in a process anyone can follow to pass the Associate Safety Professional and Certified Safety Professional exams. This process will consist of:

• Optional: Take a pre-assessment exam if you wish to identify target study areas.

• Attend an in-person course which will target reviewing the most challenging aspects of the exam.

• Utilize the online courses to gain an understanding of each subject covered by the ASP & CSP exams. Take practice quizzes following each section and review materials, including the study guide, as necessary.

• While on your commute, in the gym, etc. utilize mobile materials such as the online courses, podcasts, and flashcards to achieve mastery of the ASP & CSP exam materials.

• Ensure you’ve adequately prepared for the exam by completing several practice exams and reviewing areas of deficiencies.

• Perform any last minute brush ups and a final review of the mathematics domain. Go pass the exam!

I hope this approach helps safety professionals who wish to pass the ASP Safety Fundamentals exam and the CSP exam. Studying in this manner has helped me tremendously. Keep an eye on www.SafetyExamAcademy.com and Amazon.com for the release of our ASP & CSP exam study materials throughout 2017 and early 2018! Our first book, The Complete Guide to the ASP Safety Fundamental Exam, is slated for release as a paperback on Amazon in June 2017, followed quickly by our second study guide, The Complete Guide to the CSP Exam, in August of 2017.

Online courses will follow quickly, with release dates in late 2017 for the ASP prep course and Q1 2018 for the CSP prep course.