The American Board of Industrial Hygiene: 60 years of progress

Figures & data

Figure 1. Industrial Hygiene Model of Practice Progression. Adapted from American Industrial Hygiene Association (2018).

Table 1. CM Category and Point Scheme. Adapted from American Board of Industrial Hygiene (2015b).

CM Category	CM Category Description	Min CM Points Req. (Contact Hr.)	Rate of CM Point Accrual	Max CM Points Awarded
1	Active IH Practice	0	For CIH: awarded on a sliding scale at maximum 3 CM points per 12 months of professional practice with minimum 50% IH Practice in job role; For CAIH: 2 CM points per 12 months with a minimum of 20% active practice in IH. No points awarded otherwise.	15
2	Technical / Professional IH Committee Service	0	1 point/year as chair or local section president; ½ point/year as a member or local section committee member, elected director or officer	5
3	Publication of IH Materials	0	2 points will be given for the primary author of a publication of an original paper in a peer-reviewed professional journal or book; 1 point will be given for coauthors. 0.5 point for the primary author of non-peer reviewed publications with no points awarded to coauthors. 0.5 point/review for editor or reviewer of a peer-reviewed journal article, column, or book chapter	No Max.
4A	Education (IH-specific)	10 (60)	0.167 point per technical contact hour*	No Max.
4B	Education (Ethics)	0.33 (2)	0.167 point per technical contact hour	1
4C	Education (General Management)	0	0.167 point per technical contact hour	5
4D	Education (Safety)	0	0.167 point per technical contact hour	No Max.
5	Teaching/ Presenting of IH	0	1 CM point for primary presenter, 0.5 point for coauthor for peer-reviewed presentations at national or international conferences ≥20 minutes. 0.5 point/static displays (posters) for primary author. 0.33 points/hr for live teaching/presenting and asynchronous teaching ≥20 min.	20
6	Recertification by Examination	40 (NA)	40/exam	40
7	Other Approved Activities (such as pro-bono activity, mentoring, successfully passing approved professional exams, etc.)	0	1 point/5 acceptable questions submitted for CIH exam. 1 point/40 hr of pro-bono work. Mentor to other IH professionals = 1 point/yr for each Mentee (6 hr minimum)	No Max.

Note: Ethics CM points can also be counted as IH-specific CM points.

“*A technical contact hour is the time spent in technical sessions. It includes technical presentations, lectures, break outs, Q&A, exams, event overview, event recaps, and discussions. It does not include the non-technical activities, e.g., meals, breaks, exhibitor time, networking, participant introductions, social tours, generic welcome speeches.”

American Industrial Hygiene Association. 2018. Core Competencies for the Practice of Industrial/Occupational Hygiene. Falls Church (VA): American Industrial Hygiene Association. p. 44.

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American Board of Industrial Hygiene. 2015b. Certification Maintenance Program Handbook. American Board of Industrial Hygiene. Lansing, MI; [accessed 2020 February 4]. http://www.abih.org/sites/default/files/downloads/CMHandbook.pdf.

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