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INSTITUTE OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT
Occupational Safety Professionals Board
CERTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION PROCEDURE FOR
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY PRACTITIONERS: PROCEDURE DOCUMENT(as at April 2014)
The Institute of Safety Management (IOSM), from its inception, has had as a primary objective the “professionalisation” of not only its own members but of all Occupational Safety Practitioners.
IOSM believes that, by introducing a certification and registration process, it will progress significantly towards achieving the stated objective. It will also result in the achievement of another of IOSM’s objectives, that of regulating the professional and ethical standards pertaining to those who practice in Occupational Safety.
Employers and the authorities desire to see the profession under proper control, entailing potential statutory certification at a near future stage and the recognition of IOSM as a professional body by the SA Qualifications Authority in terms of the National Qualifications Framework Act(No 67 of 2008) will go a long way in achieving this.
The criteria for certification and registration have been designed and developed in accordance with the requirements of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) as prescribed by the SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
CRITERIA FOR CERTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION
Educational and Training Unit Standards have been developed by the SAQA appointed Standards Generating Body (OH&S) as a “road map” for Occupational Safety Practitioners to progress through the ranks of the profession, from starting off as an Occupational Safety Coordinator to Registered Occupational Safety Practitioner (ROSPrac) to becoming a fully developed and recognised Registered Occupational Safety Professional (ROSProf).
Providers of training will be required to offer courses meeting these standards and courses will have to be accredited by SAQA but, until this is in place, criteria based on educational qualifications and achievements in a Management, Science or Engineering field, acceptable to OSPB, and a suitable period of practical experience in the field of Occupational Safety and/or associated fields, will be accepted in the interim. It is believed that this combination of education and experience will enable Occupational Safety Practitioners to be classified into categories equivalent to the NQF levels 5 to 7 at some future stage.
CERTIFICATION CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA
Certification grades have been established with the minimum education and experience levels as follows:
Registered Occupational Safety Coordinator: (ROSCord)
Education: Requirement 1.
Grade 12 + NQF Level 3 Qualification ID 50062 or 77063, alternatively
Requirement 2.
The following accredited short courses:
H&S Reps (U/S 259622)
Supervisor SHE Training (U/S 259639, 259601)
Basic RA (U/S 120330)
Inspections (U/S 120333)
Incident Investigation (U/S 120335)
Fire Fighting (U/S 13961)
First Aid (U/S 120496)
OHS Act Training (U/S 120344)
Planned Task Observations (U/S 120337)
If the proof of the accreditation of the training is inadequate, a one hour assessment will have to be written.
Experience:1 year of experience (60% safety related) in the functions as described in the IOSM Unit Standards Register for Safety Coordinators. (Unit Standards Register available on can be emailed or posted on request).
If Requirement 2 above is utilised, one year of additional experience will be required.
ROSCords will have to maintain their certification through the prescribed Continued Professional Development system (Available on can be emailed or posted on request)
Registered Occupational Safety Practitioner (ROSPrac)
Education: Requirement 1.
Grade 12 (Matric) + 3 years further study or 360 NQF credits in Occupational Safety and a written assessment based on a case study.
Alternatively
Requirement 2.
Grade 12 (Matric) + all of the courses listed for the ROSCord above plus the following accredited courses:
SAMTRAC or equivalent (minimum U/S 244283)
OHSAS 18000 training (U/S 116785)
Advanced RA Training (U/S 244287, 244508)
Advanced Incident Investigation training (U/S 244518)
Advanced Legal Training (U/S 244514)
Management Training (U/S 15231or similar)
If the proof of the accreditation of the training is inadequate, a two and a half hour assessment including a written case study will have to be undertaken.
The two and a half hour assessment will also apply where years of experience were traded for qualification years (see Note 3 below).
Experience:3 years of experience in the functions as described in the IOSM Unit Standards Register for Safety Practitioners. (Unit Standards Register available on Emailed or posted on request)
Candidates will be assessed for competence to practice by means of a written assessment.
If Requirement 2 above is utilised, two year of additional experience will be required.
ROSPracs will have to maintain their certification through the prescribed Continued Professional Development system (Available on can be emailed or posted on request)
Registered Occupational Safety Professional (ROSProf)
Education:Grade 12 (Matric) + Relevant NQF Level 8 Qualification or equivalent SAQA recognised international qualifications and a panel interview based on a case study.
If the proof of the accreditation of the training is inadequate, an hour assessment plus the panel interview will have to be undertaken.
Experience:5 years of experience in the functions as described in the IOSM Unit Standards Register for Safety Professionals. (Unit Standards Register available on
ROSProfs will have to maintain their certification through the prescribed Continued Professional Development system (Available on )
Note 1.ROSProf levelCandidates must be competent to practice in any branch of Industry.
Note 2.ROSCord is the entry level for registration and candidates who qualify for ROSProf first have to qualify at ROSCord and ROSPrac levels before being allowed to be assessed as ROSProf.
Note 3.At ROSCord and ROSPrac levels, two years of experience, as defined above, may be substituted for each year of formal education.
Note 4. Part time work in Occupational Safety will be prorated to full time to equate it to equivalent experience.
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Note 5. The above are minimum requirements for entry into the applicable level and give the practitioner, once having been registered at a lower level, the opportunity for growth and development up to a higher level/s.
Note 6. Occupational Safety includes the associated specialist fields e.g. mining, aviation transport, agriculture etc.
Note 7. Additional Requirements:
All applications must be accompanied by:
A current CV
Certified proof of Qualifications
Written proof of experience claimed in the form of a Service Record/s issued by the applicant’s present and/or previous employer/s and signed by the applicant’s immediate supervisor (past and present)
A Job profile of the current position held
A Letter of reference from the applicant’s employer confirming the details of his/her application.
PLEASE NOTE:
1.Applications for Certification and Registration will not be processed unless
the application forms are completed IN FULL and unless complying with all the aboverequirements.
- Applications will only be received by post or Email: NO FAXED APPLICATIONS ARE ALLOWED.
3. Candidates who have not confirmed that they will be attending the assessments will not be accommodated on the day of the assessment
4.A candidate who has confirmed that he/she will be attending an assessment and does not arrive for the assessment may be charged an additional fee if he/she wishes to write at a later date.
REGISTRATION
Once applicants have successfully completed the above formalities and have paid the appropriate fees, the OSPB will issue a certificate indicating the category awarded and place them on the Register. (see below)
UPGRADING
Any registrant who is of the opinion that his/her education and/or experience have been sufficiently upgraded to warrant a change in categorisation may apply for review. The procedure and fee structure will be the same as for that of a new application.
REGISTER
OSPB will keep a register of registrants that will, inter alia, contain the following details:
- Date of registration;
- Grade of registration;
- Summary of academic qualifications;
- Summary of experience in the field of Occupational Safety;
- Date and result of any upgrade requests.
Each registrant will be entitled to request a copy of the information recorded under his/her name in the Register. A fee to cover the costs of extracting and sending this information will be set by OSPB from time to time.
Any registrant who is dissatisfied with the information recorded under his name in the Register may appeal to the IOSM National Council. The decision of the Council on the appeal shall be final.
TITLE
Registered Occupational Safety Coordinators may append the term Registered Occupational Safety Coordinator (ROSCord) after their name.
Registered Occupational Safety Practitioners may append the term RegisteredOccupational Safety Practitioner (ROSPrac) after their name.
Registered Occupational Safety Professionals may append the term RegisteredOccupational Safety Professional (ROSProf) after their name.
No other terms, wording, abbreviations or acronyms other than those above are permitted. These terms only apply to natural persons and may not be applied to organisations or bodies associated with those persons.
DISCIPLINE
Registration may be cancelled if a registrant:
- fails to remit any prescribed fee/s.
- fails to submit the required annual Continuous Development return
- a disciplinary committee or panel as envisaged in the “Code of Conduct” finds that a registrant did not adhere to the said Code of Conduct.
REGISTRATION AUTHORITY
The IOSM Occupational Safety Professionals Board (OSPB) will be the authority in this regard.
Any dispute between the OSPB and an applicant for registration that cannot be resolved will be referred to the IOSM Ethics Management committee for mediation and recommendation to the IOSM National Council who will take the final decision.
For any additional information please contact:
The Registrar: IOSM OSPB, P O Box 13905, Witfield1467Tel. 011828 0930 Cell: 083795 3080
Email:
Reviewed by RTStrydom: January 2013
Reviewed by RT Strydom October 2013
Published by R Whittaker April 2014