Is your Ergonomics Service Provider Certified in North America?
If you don’t see the designation CCPE or CPE the answer is NO.
Just this week we have received 2 calls from companies with questions asking about Certified Ergonomists. Questions like:
- Do you have to be certified to call yourself an Ergonomist?
- What is the difference between a CPE and a CCPE?
- Should we be using consultants with the CCPE/CPE designation?
As the title Ergonomist is not a registered profession, anyone at this time can call themselves an Ergonomist, which means the title does not necessarily qualify the person to a level of competency or knowledge in the field. This creates a challenge for companies that want to be proactive and seek professional assistance. How do you distinguish between the vast number of consultants that are calling themselves Ergonomists? The answer: you need a consultant that is certified.
The Board of Certified Professional Ergonomists (BCPE American) and Canadian College for the Certification of Professional Ergonomists (CCCPE Canadian) both provide certification processes that are designed to help protect the employer.
Having gone through the certification process ourselves, we can attest to the stringent parameters and vast scope of experience that a candidate has to demonstrate in order to be considered for the CCPE/CPE (Canadian Certified Professional Ergonomist/Certified Professional Ergonomist) designations. Candidates require several years of work experience but the certification process begins with looking at how their education is relevant to understanding the core ergonomic principles. Once their education has been validated, the candidate must then provide work samples that represent a wide range of ergonomic projects to ensure they can speak to all aspects of the profession.
To better understand the qualifications of different persons you may encounter that are practicing ergonomics, consider the following hierarchy:
Whether to improve union-management relations by ensuring your data and ergonomic findings hold credibility, or to ensure that the recommendations and practices being proposed are from an individual with a wealth of experience applying ergonomic principles, a Certified Ergonomist is a smart and cost-effective decision.
Read more on CCPE: https://www.cccpe.ca/en
Read more on BCPE: https://bcpe.org/
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