Society Operating Guidelines

Section 10.4: Risk Assessment Committee Operating Procedures

I. Role and Accountability

The Risk Assessment Committee supports ASSP's vision that occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals be recognized as an integral part of an organization’s risk management process.

II. Committee Membership

• Committee members shall be appointed by the vice president, professional affairs, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. The committee shall not exceed seven members.
• Committee members serve a three-year term and may not be reappointed. Appointments are structured to allow for staggered terms.
• The chair shall be designated by the vice president, professional affairs.  the term of the chairs is one year, renewable for a maximum of three consecutive years.

III. Committee Operations

A. Meetings

• Method: The committee will primarily meet by telephone conference/webinar.
• Schedule: The schedule of meetings shall be drawn up by the committee chair and agreed to by the council members.
• Quorum: A quorum exists when at least one-half of the members of the committee are present at a meeting, one of whom must be the committee chair. If a quorum is present, a majority vote of members present shall be decisive when a vote it taken.
• Committee Business: Official committee business may be transacted at meetings, conference calls and by ballots. The committee will work with other committees and councils as necessary to meet ASSP's needs and objectives.
• Minutes: Minutes will be prepared for each committee meeting.

B. Budgeting and Finance

The committee operates within the Society budget, including travel, meeting and staff support expenses. Committees are funded through specific budget actions of the Board of Directors.

Addendum I: Specific Committee Actions

The committee chair has the authority to establish subgroups or task forces when necessary. Such subgroups or task forces will be given a specific charter and time period for resolution of issues and shall be promptly discharged upon completion of assignments.

1. Making recommendations of how to improve risk-related training and education for OSH professionals so they can:

• Better understand the risk decision-making process.
• Improve core risk assessment competencies.
• Get better access to real-world, practical experiences and applications.

2. Facilitating contributions to the development of new evidence-based risk-related policies, processes, and solutions to:

• Better leverage the expertise of the OSH community in identifying and quantifying risk.
• Advance risk-related OSH regulatory and legislative initiatives related to the management of OSH risks in the workplace.
• Identify relevant research topics to increase the understanding of OSH-related risks.

3. Informing ASSP’s risk assessment-related activities
4. Supporting dissemination of risk-related information and tools relevant to the OSH profession:

• Reviewing and making recommendation based relevant risk assessment-related research.
• Collaborating with external stakeholders to promote an exchange of ideas.

Approved By/Date: Board of Directors | 1/2023
Replaces Edition Dated: 12/2019
Next Revision Due: 1/2026