A new naval program now enables safety professionals throughout the Navy and Marine Corps to receive a certificate attesting they have completed the competency development training necessary to perform their duties.

A panel comprised of senior safety managers from throughout the Navy and Marine Corps met on March 24 at the Naval Safety Center (NAVSAFECEN) to select the first recipients of the Naval Safety Professional (NSP) Level 1 certificate.

The first four professionals to receive the certificate are Joseph Maute, Naval Sea Systems Command; Gary Snyder, Naval Education and Training Command; Alexia Hertel, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command and Brian Hill, Commander, Navy Installations Command.

The NSP Level 1 certificate program establishes the minimum competencies required to perform safety professional duties and recognizes the safety professionals who have completed these requirements throughout the naval enterprise.

“Right now, we have a list of 10 classes that are required of all safety professionals – that's in OPNAV M-5100.23, but there was no certificate, no culminating program to say our safety professionals have demonstrated the required competencies necessary to be successful in any activity throughout the enterprise,” said Paul Leslie, career program manager for the Navy’s safety and occupational health specialists.

Leslie said not only will the certificate provide a tangible acknowledgment of the accomplishments of Navy and Marine Corps safety professionals, but it will also be universally recognized across the naval enterprise – anywhere in the world.

Maute, the first Navy safety professional to receive the certificate, said he’s been looking forward to this certificate, as he continues to seek out new skills and expand his knowledge and understanding of safety practices.

“I am constantly taking courses online and looking for a new degree or certificate programs where I might be able to learn something different; to drive forward and keep improving,” he said.

A safety specialist with Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, Maute has also obtained his Certified Safety Professional certification as well as the Army’s Career Program 12 (CP-12) Level 1 certificate. These certifications helped Maute meet many of the requirements for his NSP certificate.

Although the Navy’s NSP certificate program is similar to the Army’s CP-12 program, Leslie said the Navy program has several distinct differences from the Army program, including that the NSP certificate program is tailored specifically to Navy’s industrial footprint and it’s designed to be cost-neutral to the enterprise.

“Most requirements within our program can actually be met with little to no cost, other than labor, to your command,” Leslie explained. “There's no travel; all of the courses are currently available online. Due to COVID-19, we moved the nine instructor-based classroom courses online, so you can complete the entire process without having to leave your base.”

Additionally, the NSP program brings an added benefit of allowing NAVSAFECEN to reach out to individual safety professionals more often.
“Typically, the Safety Center doesn’t interact with the deckplate safety professionals daily,” Leslie said. “This program allows more interaction and helps us educate safety professionals on our role, mission and how we can assist by providing additional safety resources.”
Currently, the NSP Level 1 certificate program is in a pilot program stage, and Leslie said the Navy plans to seek accreditation with the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) ANSI National Accreditation Board. There are three certificate levels planned for the NSP program, with the first being the basic safety certificate. The second level will encompass advanced or specific hazard specialties, such as confined space program management and fall protection, and the third level will be tailored to the competency requirements of safety supervisors and managers.

Safety specialists interested in receiving their NSP Level 1 certificate can learn more about the program by visiting https://intelshare.intelink.gov/sites/nsc/Pages/CPM.aspx and downloading the program guide for a complete list of requirements.