International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations

Dear Madam or Sir:

Establishment of an International Network of Safety and Health Practitioner Organisations (INSHPO)

Occupational safety and health issues and concerns are not limited by national borders. World-wide distribution of products and provision of services, migration of workers and the conduct of international corporate activities, lead to the reality that almost all occupational safety and health issues that generalist safety and health professionals face are international in scope.

Yet, in this climate, practising generalists often lack the facility to influence policy makers on a global scale, and establish international contacts and networks necessary to operate most effectively, and in a mutually supportive way. To address this deficit in the global community of safety and health related disciplines, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health in the United Kingdom (IOSH), the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) initiated discussions in 2001 on the concept of creating an organisation that provides an international network for generalist practitioners in occupational safety and health.

We are aware of your organisation as a professional society for such practitioners, as distinct from others such as occupational hygienists, occupational health specialists, ergonomists, etc. We are writing to invite you to consider joining INSHPO.

INSHPO members have established a governance structure and bylaws. They can be found, together with the details of current INSHPO members on its website at www.inshpo.org. They are based on models from other similar international organisations such as the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) and the International Association of Labour Inspectors (IALI).

If you welcome the opportunity to participate in an international network to advance the cause of protecting people's safety and health on a global basis, and giving expression to the concerns and best practices of generalist occupational safety and health professionals please contact, at your earliest convenience, Liz Harmon, Government and Professional Affairs Coordinator, or Dennis Hudson, Director of Professional Affairs at the American Society of Safety Engineers, 1800 Oakton Street, Des Plaines, IL 60018, USA. 847.699.2929.

We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you feel encouraged to contribute to this initiative.