AIHA, ASSE Sign Cooperative Agreement
"In order for us to ensure protection for workers, it is imperative that all organizations with shared interests work together. We must pool our resources – people, power, knowledge, and skills – to present a united front against threats to worker health and safety and to promote the field of industrial hygiene," said AIHA President Deborah Imel Nelson.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE, to be renamed the American Society of Safety Professionals in mid-2018) announced Oct. 10 they have pledged to work together on "all matters of mutual interest to reach their common goals."
Their announcement said the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week listing several areas of collaboration:
- Working together on issues of mutual interest before federal and relevant state legislative and regulatory entities
- Publishing new technical publications
- Collaborating on the development of new standards
- Promoting and providing exposure for women in safety and industrial hygiene
- Participating in events with the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability
- Advocating for national occupational safety and health research
- Building on existing collaboration between AIHA local sections and ASSE local chapters
"In order for us to ensure protection for workers, it is imperative that all organizations with shared interests work together. We must pool our resources – people, power, knowledge, and skills – to present a united front against threats to worker health and safety and to promote the field of industrial hygiene," said AIHA President Deborah Imel Nelson, Ph.D., CIH. "I am proud to stand with our friends at ASSE and announce our new partnership."
"When organizations with common objectives team up, the results are far more impactful than working independently," agreed ASSE President Jim Smith, MS, CSP. "AIHA is a natural partner for ASSE, and we're looking forward to all that we can accomplish together in creating safer and healthier workplaces in every industry."
The two organizations said they agree that for them to succeed and make positive contributions to worker health and safety, regular communication between the two organizations and their members is necessary, so they plan to build on current collaborative efforts, ensuring that their members and the general public have positive views of the new partnership.