What is CPD? Why CPD is essential for any Health and Safety practitioner? What are the ways by which H&S practitioner evaluate and develop his own competence?

What is CPD? Why CPD is essential for any Health and Safety practitioner? What are the ways by which H&S practitioner evaluate and develop his own competence?

CPD stands for continuing professional development. This is a type of action plan for growth of individual during his employment by way of identifying gaps in skills and action plan to improve those skills. It is true that always we cannot rely on individual expertise based on his education only. Today’s world is continuously changing world and every day we can see change in technological aspects related to health and safety.  Also same time H&S practitioner has to advise bottom line, middle line and top management personnel on H&S matters and this certainly make it essential for him to be updated and develop technical and personal skills. As time passes if individual is not in touch of his specific education theoretical and practical application of the same then there is a probability of loss of his expertise and not up to the speed (Not updated in health and safety aspects). So CPD provides a tool to monitor and encourage improvement to H&S practitioner. It works like a mirror for any individual and provides a clear cut improvement points to fill the gaps in an individual.

So for being a true Health and Safety professional one should be updated, evaluate and develop his own competence. 

Below ways are useful in identification of gaps, development of CPD plan, its implementation, review and periodic update:

-          Identification of gap activities

a)      Examples:  specific professional training gaps. It includes low awareness on particular subject like electrical safety, chemical safety, HAZOP study etc.

b)      How to deliver lectures awareness on particular topic by participating in specific topic seminar.

c)       How to design training program?

d)      Low awareness on identifying way of regular update in legal compliance. Sometime it found difficult with H&S practitioner to interpret the real meaning of legal requirement.

e)      Involvement fear with community.

f)       Lacking in Project working skill.

g)      Lacking in technical trainings including process knowledge.

h)      Not known to interpret leading and lagging health and safety performance indicators.

-          Actions for improvement

a)               Way of update in new development likes subscription to magazines, journals, books, blogs etc. Involvement in Exhibition for new initiatives awareness etc.

b)               Benchmarking with other similar industries health and safety professional.

c)                Benchmarking with other similar industries health and safety performance.

d)               Interaction with community in guidance of seniors.

e)               Deputation work in project activities at internal or external project work of the industry.

f)                Attend Behavior based trainings, technical trainings and personal improvement.

g)               Involvement in inspections, peer review and internal & external audit program. From inception to submission of report of the audit and inspection certainly help to improve the skills.

Next step is to execute these improvement points, update the action plan and review at least annually to find current gaps.

Benefits of the CPD to organisation:

It helps in improving morale of the workforce, availability of updated H&S practitioner, bench marking with other industries helps to identify position in terms of H&S performance, zero legal non compliance, no fines , social acceptability for H&S, high productivity, trained workforce etc.