PDC 808: Interactive Field-Based Learning at a Live Worksite – NEW!
Thu, 6/4: 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM CDT
P808
Professional Development Courses (PDCs)
P808
Professional Development Courses (PDCs)
Room: Off-site Location TBD
CM Credit Hours: 7
Description
*Please note: PDCs are at an additional cost, and preregistration is required*
To register, please visit: https://aihaconnect.org/register
Industrial hygiene is a complex discipline that demands both technical expertise and the ability to navigate case-specific nuances. This complexity is widely recognized by professionals across academia, government agencies, private industry and consulting. The challenges industrial hygienists face are rarely straightforward—the devil, as the saying goes, is in the details.
A strong technical foundation is essential, but effectiveness also comes from professional experience. Increasingly, industrial hygienists must broaden their skill sets and collaborate across disciplines, working with engineers, safety professionals, communication experts and managers.
Traditional professional development courses often emphasize one aspect of industrial hygiene practice—reviewing technical concepts, introducing tools or guiding participants through structured activities. While valuable, these approaches may not allow participants to engage with the real-world complexity of workplace environments.
This innovative course is designed to bridge that gap. Rather than focusing narrowly on a single topic, it offers a full-day, immersive case study at an active workplace in New Orleans. Participants will begin by engaging directly with the worksite, then move through a structured process: understanding the nuances of the setting, considering broader implications for worker health and proposing actions, revisions and control strategies.
Instructors will guide participants through this progression using targeted activities, facilitated discussion and reflective exercises tailored to the strengths and needs of the workplace and occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. The value of this approach lies in its realism and practicality. By confronting actual workplace conditions, participants will practice and discuss the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that define effective industrial hygiene.
The course is designed to strengthen technical understanding while fostering collaboration, creativity and confidence in applying industrial hygiene principles to complex, dynamic situations.
*Registration includes boxed luncheon. **Power strips will not be provided.
To register, please visit: https://aihaconnect.org/register
Industrial hygiene is a complex discipline that demands both technical expertise and the ability to navigate case-specific nuances. This complexity is widely recognized by professionals across academia, government agencies, private industry and consulting. The challenges industrial hygienists face are rarely straightforward—the devil, as the saying goes, is in the details.
A strong technical foundation is essential, but effectiveness also comes from professional experience. Increasingly, industrial hygienists must broaden their skill sets and collaborate across disciplines, working with engineers, safety professionals, communication experts and managers.
Traditional professional development courses often emphasize one aspect of industrial hygiene practice—reviewing technical concepts, introducing tools or guiding participants through structured activities. While valuable, these approaches may not allow participants to engage with the real-world complexity of workplace environments.
This innovative course is designed to bridge that gap. Rather than focusing narrowly on a single topic, it offers a full-day, immersive case study at an active workplace in New Orleans. Participants will begin by engaging directly with the worksite, then move through a structured process: understanding the nuances of the setting, considering broader implications for worker health and proposing actions, revisions and control strategies.
Instructors will guide participants through this progression using targeted activities, facilitated discussion and reflective exercises tailored to the strengths and needs of the workplace and occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. The value of this approach lies in its realism and practicality. By confronting actual workplace conditions, participants will practice and discuss the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that define effective industrial hygiene.
The course is designed to strengthen technical understanding while fostering collaboration, creativity and confidence in applying industrial hygiene principles to complex, dynamic situations.
*Registration includes boxed luncheon. **Power strips will not be provided.
Course Outline
• Orientation & Context Setting
o Introduction to the workplace, its processes, and potential hazards
o Review of PDC objectives and expectations
• Observation & Information Gathering
o Guided walkthrough of the site
o Conversation with workers, safety professionals, managers, and engineers
o Review of OEHS data and material, if available
• Analysis & Reflection
o Group discussions to interpret information collected, consider implications for worker protection through industrial hygiene practice, and explore the interplay of technical, organizational, and human factors
• Action
o Teams will propose interventions, revisions and strategies to improve hygiene and health and safety practice
• Synthesis session
o Connecting lessons learned to broader industrial hygiene practice
o Introduction to the workplace, its processes, and potential hazards
o Review of PDC objectives and expectations
• Observation & Information Gathering
o Guided walkthrough of the site
o Conversation with workers, safety professionals, managers, and engineers
o Review of OEHS data and material, if available
• Analysis & Reflection
o Group discussions to interpret information collected, consider implications for worker protection through industrial hygiene practice, and explore the interplay of technical, organizational, and human factors
• Action
o Teams will propose interventions, revisions and strategies to improve hygiene and health and safety practice
• Synthesis session
o Connecting lessons learned to broader industrial hygiene practice
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion, the participant will be able to:
• Identify and characterize the unique complexity of a workplace from an occupational hygiene perspective.
• Interpret actual exposure and risk assessment data and field observations to support decision-making.
• Communicate with peers and other professionals involved in occupational and environmental health and safety to compare and assess alternative approaches.
• Apply and critically integrate options from the hierarchy of controls to propose effective and feasible risk management strategies.
• Operationalize lessons learned from the case study to improve research and practice in daily work.
• Apply the Anticipation, Recognition, Evaluation, Control and Confirmation framework in situations with complex or limited information.
• Document and leverage interactions with workplace stakeholders during reviews of occupational and environmental health and safety items and decision-making discussions.
• Review occupational and environmental health and safety items with site stakeholders.
• Identify and characterize the unique complexity of a workplace from an occupational hygiene perspective.
• Interpret actual exposure and risk assessment data and field observations to support decision-making.
• Communicate with peers and other professionals involved in occupational and environmental health and safety to compare and assess alternative approaches.
• Apply and critically integrate options from the hierarchy of controls to propose effective and feasible risk management strategies.
• Operationalize lessons learned from the case study to improve research and practice in daily work.
• Apply the Anticipation, Recognition, Evaluation, Control and Confirmation framework in situations with complex or limited information.
• Document and leverage interactions with workplace stakeholders during reviews of occupational and environmental health and safety items and decision-making discussions.
• Review occupational and environmental health and safety items with site stakeholders.
Prerequisites
Participants should approach actual workplace problems with an open mind, recognizing the specificity and uniqueness of each situation from an occupational and environmental health and safety perspective.
Value Added
The entire professional development course is a field-based experience designed for practical takeaways.
Business Case/IH Value Statement
The professional development course is designed to help attendees build both knowledge and hands-on experience to support making a business case for industrial hygiene.
Learning Aids
Laptop or Tablet/iPad
Scientific Calculator
Smartphone
Content Level
Introductory
Core Competencies
Risk Assessment
Work Environments, Occupations, and Industrial Processes
Keywords
Exposure Assessment
Hazard Communication
OHS Management systems, auditing, and compliance
Real-time detection services and direct reading instruments
Risk assessment and management
Session Availability
In-person
Specialized Tracks
Student and Early Career Professional Track
Targeted Audience
Professional
Transfer of Knowledge
Hands-on demonstrations and practicum