A Guide to Certification in Professional Ergonomics - Fundamentals and Assessment Tools for Occupational Ergonomics - page 1

1
A Guide
to Certification
in Professional
Ergonomics

1.1 Introduction . .............................. 1-1

1.2 BCPE Certification Requirements ............... 1-6

Criteria for Certification † Procedures for
Certification † Examination Administration † Scoring
Methods † Retaking the Examination † Written
Examination Approximate Weighting of Subject Areas

Dieter W. Jahns
Board of Certification in
Professional Ergonomics

1.1 Introduction

Some form of “quality assurance” effort is natural to most professions. This generally involves develop-
ment of credentialing in educational programs and or of individuals. Three types of processes are most

common: Accreditation is established for the regulation of instructional programs. It is voluntary and
generally developed and administered by an association of professionals within the field. Certification
involves a voluntary process of evaluation and measurement of individuals, which can then indicate
whether they have achieved a professional level of qualifications as judged by professional peers. It is
developed and administered by a professional association or a group specifically established for profes-
sional development purposes. Licensure, while it does credential individuals, is a mandatory process and
is administered by a political or governing body. When laws are implemented “to protect the public”
from unprofessional practices, it becomes illegal to practice one's profession without a license. Thus,
these processes are distinguishable by three aspects: (a) the recipient of the credential, (b) the credential-
ing body, and (c) the degree of volunteerism involved in obtaining the credential (Jahns, 1991).
In 1994, Dr. Carol Slappendel reviewed nine ergonomics certification

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registration programs in oper-
ation around the world. Her findings are summarized in Table 1.1 and Table 1.2. Since International
Ergonomics Association (IEA) Federated Societies are more oriented towards “information dissemina-
tion,” and not so much towards “control” of the profession as a guild structure, there is an increasing
trend for cooperative, yet independent credentialing agencies. In “open-market” societies there are
also opportunities for sham operators, which makes a supervisory role by IEA Federated Societies desir-
able. Examples of such efforts include the Association of Canadian Ergonomists (ACE), which prior to
developing and launching certification processes and criteria for Canadian ergonomists, recognized the

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