Institution of Occupational Safety and Health

Last updated
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
Formation1945
TypeProfessional Membership Organisation
HeadquartersThe Grange
Location
Membership
48,000+
Chief Executive
Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher
Senior Leadership Team [1]
Vicky Hilpert, Ruth Lake, Nicole Rinaldi, Marie Perry, Clare Reeve
BoT Chairman [2]
Peter Bonfield
Key people
President: Lawrence Webb, [3] [4]
Staff
180
Website IOSH

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is a global organisation for health and safety professionals, based in the UK.

Contents

Structure

IOSH is the chartered professional body for health and safety in the workplace. It acts as a champion, supporter, adviser, advocate and trainer for those who protect the safety, health and wellbeing of others.

IOSH has around 48,000 members, from over 130 countries. [5] This includes an extensive trainer network who deliver well known courses including Leading Safely, Managing Safely and Working Safely. Over 179,000 delegates attended IOSH training courses in 2016. [6]

History

IOSH was founded in 1945 when the Institution of Industrial Safety Officers (IISO) was formed as a division of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). The Institution gained its charitable status in 1962 and continues to operate as a not-for-profit organisation.

In 1981, the IISO was renamed as the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), and in 2002 was awarded a Royal Charter. From 2005, IOSH began awarding Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner status to recognise individual professionalism and commitment to continued learning and development. [7]

In 2011 along with other health and safety bodies in the UK, IOSH developed the Occupational Safety & Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) [8] to raise awareness and promote the use of certified health and safety consultants in the workplace.

IOSH's work

No Time to Lose

IOSH’s No Time to Lose campaign was launched in 2014 to highlight the causes of occupational cancer and help businesses take action. The No Time to Lose website provides a host of free resources and information on workplace cancer, and offers the opportunity to sign a pledge to make changes and support the campaign. [9]

Occupational Health Toolkit

The Occupational Health Toolkit (OH Toolkit) [10] is a free resource to help tackle common occupational health problems such as skin disorders, work related stress and non-work related conditions including diabetes and heart disease. The toolkit brings together information, guidance, case studies and training materials.

Guides and research reports

As part of their charitable work, IOSH produce a number of guides, such as Safe Start Up guides [11] which are designed to help small business with health and safety. IOSH also fund and produce a number of research reports. [12]

Consultations

IOSH regularly post consultations, where members can respond and have the opportunity to influence national and international policies. [13]

IOSH Blueprint

IOSH Blueprint is a framework designed to measure skills and competencies in occupational safety and health. [14] The tool is currently in a beta testing stage. IOSH members, and a number of select organisations, are using the self-assessment tool to identify training and development needs.

IOSH Training and Skills

IOSH Training and Skills [6] is a range of courses designed for different aspects of occupational health and safety. The courses are delivered by IOSH licensed trainers. Trainers must have suitable qualifications and experience before being approved to run IOSH courses. [15]

Managing Safely and Working Safely courses are also available in Arabic. [16] IOSH tailored courses are developed by licensed training providers to meet the demands of specialist industry sectors, roles or skills. [17] They are assessed and approved by IOSH to make sure they meet IOSH’s standards.

IOSH recently launched their own level 3 certificate, NCFE IOSH Level 3 General Certificate in Safety and Health for Business, which offers a more direct route to IOSH membership. [18]

Publications

IOSH membership grades Enhancing the OSH profession: an update (July 2023)

Student Member: Must be studying for an IOSH qualification or equivalent.

Affiliate Member will be changed to Affiliate Member: Option to upgrade to technical or certified with relevant qualifications and experience or to certified or charted via the experiential route with relevant experience.

Technical Member no change: Continue to maintain CPD in Blueprint at 30 hours per year.

Graduate Member will be changed to Certified Member: Continue to maintain CPD in Blueprint at 30 hours per year.

Charted Member: IOSH e-learning and assessment and continue to maintain CPD in Blueprint at 30 hours per year. New designation of charted safety and health professional.

Charted Fellow: IOSH e-learning and assessment and continue to maintain CPD in Blueprint at 30 hours per year. New designation of charted safety and health professional.



Membership and designations

Categories of membership depend on a combination of academic qualifications, experience and achievement.

Chartered fellow (CFIOSH)

Chartered Fellows of the Institution are entitled to use the designation Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner and the designatory letters CFIOSH. This is the highest grade. Chartered Fellows must have demonstrated an outstanding contribution to the discipline and profession of health and safety. All Chartered Fellows are required to maintain a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) record.

Chartered member (CMIOSH)

Chartered member of the Institution are entitled to use the designation Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner and the designatory letters CMIOSH. Chartered Member status requires approved educational qualifications, experience and should complete Initial Professional Development (IPD) Includes Skill Development Portfolio, Open Assessment and Peer Review interview. All Chartered Members are required to maintain a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) record.

Graduate member (Grad IOSH)

Members with Approved qualifications eg. NEBOSH Diploma, NVQ Level 6, MSc etc Will be awarded Graduate Member status of the Institution and they can use the designatory letters Grad IOSH. They are academically qualified to become Chartered Members, and are undergoing professional development.

Technical member (Tech IOSH)

Technical Members of the Institution are entitled to use the designatory letters Tech IOSH. They require approved educational qualifications like NEBOSH General Certificate, NVQ Level 3,NCRQ L3 etc, plus professional experience. They are required to continue in professional development.

Associate member (Assoc IOSH)

Associate level is for those who had attained level 3 Qualification. This don't require any professional experience but approved qualification to attain.

Affiliate member

Affiliate level is for those who have an interest in, or are employed in occupational safety and health but are not yet eligible to join at other categories of membership.

Student member

IOSH has recently launched a student membership category which lets OSH students join IOSH for free for the duration of their studies.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chartered Management Institute</span> Professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional diving</span> Underwater diving where divers are paid for their work

Professional diving is underwater diving where the divers are paid for their work. Occupational diving has a similar meaning and applications. The procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an inherently hazardous occupation and the diver works as a member of a team. Due to the dangerous nature of some professional diving operations, specialized equipment such as an on-site hyperbaric chamber and diver-to-surface communication system is often required by law, and the mode of diving for some applications may be regulated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association of Chartered Certified Accountants</span> Global professional organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chartered Institute of Environmental Health</span> United Kingdom professional membership body

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The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) is a UK based organisation for accountants who work in the public sector, accounting firms and other professional bodies where management of public funds are required. CIPFA are the only UK professional accountancy organisation who are dedicated to public financial management and they currently have approximately 14,000 members. They offer qualifications including a professional qualification for public sector accountants as well as a postgraduate diploma for people already working in management.

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References

  1. ↑ "Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team".
  2. ↑ "Board of Trustees".
  3. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-webb-iosh-president-5220421b/ [ self-published source ]
  4. ↑ "Presidential team 2022-23".
  5. ↑ "Annual reports". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  6. 1 2 "IOSH Training and Skills". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  7. ↑ "Standards and regulations". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  8. ↑ P. B. Beaumont, J. W. Leopold, J. R. Coyle (1982), "The Safety Officer: An Emerging Management Role?", Personnel Review, Vol. 11 Iss 2 pp. 35 - 38
  9. ↑ "About No Time To Lose | No Time To Lose". www.notimetolose.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  10. ↑ "Our OH toolkit". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  11. ↑ "Safe Start Up". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  12. ↑ "Books and resources". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  13. ↑ "Consultations". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  14. ↑ "IOSH: A blueprint for the future of OSH competenceHSE International". www.hseinternational.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  15. ↑ "How to get licensed". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  16. ↑ "IOSH Training Courses". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  17. ↑ "Tailored training courses approved by IOSH". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  18. ↑ "IOSH General Certificate". www.iosh.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
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