Recent discussions in the OSH community about leading vs lagging indicators have been lively. Many OSH pros are thoughtfully considering how they can create indicators that effectively measure their organization’s performance and are learning to appreciate that it doesn’t mean throwing out lagging indicators altogether or that all leading indicators are created equal. In fact, while many OSH professionals say they appreciate the value of leading indicators, they confess to not really knowing what they or how to create ones that are meaningful to their organization. This presentation will explore the role of indicators in performance measurement, especially as it relates to an effective occupational safety and health management systems, and help attendees better understand how to put the pieces together.
Pam Walaski has been a dedicated occupational safety and health professional for more than 25 years. She is currently a Senior Program Director with Specialty Technical Consultants, Inc., and an adjunct faculty member for the Safety Sciences Program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Pam is a Professional Member of ASSP and is currently serving a 3-year term as a Director At Large. She recently joined the Avetta Supply Chain Fellows group.
Pam is a regular contributor to ASSP’s Professional Safety and her article of the same title as this presentation was published by ASSP in August 2020. She is the coordinator for the Occupational Safety & Health Management Systems Section for the 3rd edition of The Safety Professionals Handbook scheduled for publication in 2021. Her own book Risk and Crisis Communications; Methods and Messages was published by John Wiley & Sons in September 2011 and was also an editor on the Consultants Business Development Guide, published by ASSP in April 2015.
Pam has been a general session presenter at the ASSP Professional Development Conference every year since 2005. She also regularly presents at other ASSE-related events, State Safety Conferences (Alaska, Indiana, Ohio, and Oregon) and company safety meetings (Dominion Contractor’s Safety Summit, FirstEnergy Safety Peer Group Meeting). Pam was part of the development team and is one of the instructors for the ASSP Risk Assessment Certificate program. She also provides 1-day workshops on Risk Assessment as well as Creating and Developing a Risk Assessment Team.