AIHA's Value Strategy Manual Debuts At PCIH
Strategy demonstrates the impact of health and safety programs
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) will share its newly completed Value Strategy Manual with a group dedicated to advancing the industrial hygiene profession at the Professional Conference on Industrial Hygiene (PCIH), October 9–12, 2010, in Fort Worth, TX.
The Academy of Industrial Hygiene sponsored the project team and worked to transform the 2008 Value of the Profession Study into a resource for practitioners. That resource, the AIHA Value Strategy Manual, outlines the processes and procedures needed to evaluate environmental health and safety (EHS) programs and initiatives to determine their impact on worker health and an organization's business. Additionally, there are sample checklists, spreadsheets, and other tools to aid in practitioners in conducting their own value assessment.
"The value proposition represents the sum total of benefits for the organization and answers the decision makers' question: ‘What is in it for me?' This has been one of the more difficult questions for industrial hygienists and EHS professionals to answer using language familiar to, and arguments pertinent to, executive level decision makers," said Bernard D. Silverstein, CIH, chief editor of the manual.
In its 14 chapters, the Manual will take you through the seven steps of the AIHA Value Strategy and provide you with approaches, examples, and tools. From the familiar, such as risk assessment and hazard identification, to the (perhaps) foreign, such as financial and nonfinancial benefits quantification, the manual lays out the process needed to develop and present the business case to stakeholders and decision makers.
Prior to the PCIH launch, AIHA will host a free webinar on Thursday, September 23, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. ET to talk about the Value Strategy. This informational webinar will provide attendees with tools that will better enable them to gain support for health and safety interventions, be part of a decision-making team, achieve organizational goals, and continue to protect worker health.
To join the webinar and automatically be dialed in, go to https://lobby.mc.iconf.net/gcc/lobby/start_meeting.asp?ba=6&strLogin=4805313&strCC=US. If you would only like to listen to the webinar by phone, dial 866-309-0490. If prompted, enter the meeting number: *4805313*. (Be sure to enter the * star key before and after the meeting number). The webinar is estimated to last one hour.
There will be a luncheon discussion on Tuesday, October 12, at PCIH moderated by Bernard D. Silverstein, CIH. Silverstein will briefly describe the AIHA Value Strategy and invite discussion among participants specifically addressing the following questions: Are your IH programs aligned with corporate goals and objectives? Do you prepare cost-benefit analysis to support your projects? Can small business and NPO benefit from this process? Do you have a seat at the table with corporate management?
"When relying solely on technical and scientific rationale and answers, industrial hygienists and EHS professionals cannot make a convincing business case," said Academy President Donna M. Doganiero, CIH. "If we are not perceived as providing as great a value as someone else down the hall, we will not be provided with the resources and support we need to do our jobs."
Interested buyers can visit AIHA's Marketplace and order the manual online or contact AIHA Customer Service at (703) 849-8888 and request the stock number. They can also be purchased at the AIHA Booth 113 in the Expo at PCIH.
SOURCE: The American Industrial Hygiene Association