Skip to content

CSP study path

Start here: How to take a Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) exam: pacing, the calculator and reading the question (6 min read)

PassCited's CSP written lessons, grouped by the domains of BCSP's CSP11 Examination Blueprint. Weights are the share of the exam BCSP gives each domain in the official blueprint (PDF). Within a domain, lessons are listed in a suggested order. Start with the heaviest domains, and take the 25-question diagnostic to see which domains need the most time.

This page lists only the blueprint topics PassCited has lessons for. Some blueprint subtopics are not covered yet, so use the blueprint itself as your full checklist.

Domain 1: Advanced Application of Safety Principles (25% of the exam)

  1. Prevention through Design (6 min read)
  2. Process safety management (15 min read)
  3. Pressure Relief Systems and Process Flow Diagrams (8 min read)
  4. Occupant Load, Floor Loading and Public Space Safety (9 min read)
  5. Hand and Power Tools, Industrial Robots, and Caught-In versus Struck-By Hazards (8 min read)
  6. Process hazard analysis under PSM (13 min read)
  7. Walking-working surfaces and fall protection (15 min read)
  8. Confined spaces and lockout/tagout (12 min read)
  9. Electrical safety-related work practices (14 min read)
  10. Excavation and working over water (12 min read)
  11. Exit routes and floor loading (13 min read)
  12. Fleet safety: driver hours, drug and alcohol rules (13 min read)
  13. Forklifts, slings and aerial lifts (16 min read)
  14. Rigging and fall clearance calculations (11 min read)
  15. Machine guarding, grinders and portable tools (14 min read)

Domain 2: Program Management (25% of the exam)

  1. Process safety management (15 min read)
  2. The Safety Case Approach and Risk Summation (7 min read)
  3. Safety and health programs, leadership and leading indicators (26 min read)
  4. Benchmarking, gap analysis and turning gaps into a plan of action (5 min read)
  5. Measuring and improving EHS culture (6 min read)
  6. Required written programs and plans (12 min read)
  7. Incident investigation and management of change (10 min read)
  8. System safety analysis: fault trees and FMEA (32 min read)
  9. Recordability and severe injury reporting (11 min read)
  10. Incident and days away, restricted or transferred (DART) rate calculations (11 min read)
  11. Management system standards and audits (ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO 19011, ANSI/ASSP Z10) (6 min read)
  12. Recordkeeping, retention and privacy (14 min read)
  13. Trade secrets and safety data sheets (13 min read)
  14. Contractor safety and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)'s multi-employer citation policy (7 min read)
  15. The business case for safety: injury costs, ROI, payback and NPV (6 min read)
  16. Management, leadership and motivation theories (6 min read)
  17. Leadership Styles, Influence and Communication for Safety Leaders (8 min read)
  18. The BCSP Code of Ethics and professional conduct (5 min read)
  19. Project management for safety: RACI charts and timelines (5 min read)
  20. Data analysis for safety: mean, median, mode, confidence intervals, probability and Pareto (5 min read)
  21. Risk matrix and fault tree probability (10 min read)

Domain 3: Risk Management (15% of the exam)

  1. The risk evaluation process and job hazard analysis (5 min read)
  2. Process hazard analysis under PSM (13 min read)
  3. System safety analysis: fault trees and FMEA (32 min read)
  4. Risk matrix and fault tree probability (10 min read)
  5. Personal protective equipment (PPE) hazard assessment and selection (13 min read)
  6. Exposure control methods (engineering first) (10 min read)
  7. Financial risk strategies: avoid, retain, share, transfer, prevent and reduce (8 min read)
  8. Contractor safety and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)'s multi-employer citation policy (7 min read)
  9. Hazardous materials compliance risk (18 min read)

Domain 4: Emergency Management (9% of the exam)

  1. Emergency response plans and incident command (14 min read)
  2. Emergency exercises and After-Action reviews (HSEEP) (16 min read)
  3. Emergency Plan Annexes: Severe Weather, Radiological, Terrorism, Utility and Cyber Scenarios (9 min read)
  4. Incident command and NIMS (13 min read)
  5. Fire prevention, detection and suppression systems (13 min read)
  6. Hazardous materials transportation (DOT) (14 min read)
  7. Workplace violence prevention (14 min read)

Domain 5: Environmental Management (6% of the exam)

  1. Trade secrets and safety data sheets (13 min read)
  2. Hazardous materials compliance risk (18 min read)
  3. Spill prevention and containment (SPCC) (11 min read)
  4. Hazardous and universal waste management (12 min read)
  5. Sustainability principles and practices (5 min read)
  6. Asbestos demolition and renovation (NESHAP) (12 min read)
  7. Aging Infrastructure and Climate Hazards: Integrity, Hazard Analysis and Release Prevention (8 min read)
  8. Hazard classification and toxicology (GHS) (12 min read)

Domain 6: Occupational Health and Applied Science (10% of the exam)

  1. Rigging and fall clearance calculations (11 min read)
  2. Exposure control methods (engineering first) (10 min read)
  3. Exposure, noise, containment and lifting math (12 min read)
  4. Air contaminants and silica (general industry) (10 min read)
  5. Occupational noise (12 min read)
  6. Heat stress and Hand-Arm vibration (NIOSH) (22 min read)
  7. Special Exposures: Abrasive Blasting, Spray Finishing, Compressed Air, Lasers, Nanomaterials and Indoor Air (13 min read)
  8. Hazard classification and toxicology (GHS) (12 min read)
  9. Applied science: radiation, ventilation, heat and force (11 min read)
  10. Public health and epidemiology fundamentals (6 min read)
  11. Dose-Response, LD50 and LC50, Ototoxins and CMR Hazards (11 min read)
  12. Anthropometrics, Visual Acuity and Fatigue Management in Workplace Design (9 min read)
  13. Forms of Energy, Weight, Work and Mechanical Stress (8 min read)

Domain 7: Training (10% of the exam)

  1. Designing and delivering safety training (18 min read)
  2. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training requirements (13 min read)
  3. Electrical and bloodborne pathogens training (11 min read)
  4. Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) training (10 min read)
  5. Learning Styles, Sensory Channels and Choosing Training Materials (10 min read)
  6. Training programs and the continuous improvement model (6 min read)
  7. Training Methods and Technology: Simulation, E-Learning, AI, Coaching and On-the-Job Training (12 min read)

Math practice

Workbooks of worked CSP calculation problems. Work each one before reading the solution.

  1. Certified Safety Professional (CSP) math workbook: injury and illness rates (6 min read)
  2. Certified Safety Professional (CSP) math workbook: noise (6 min read)
  3. Certified Safety Professional (CSP) math workbook: air contaminants and ventilation (6 min read)
  4. Certified Safety Professional (CSP) math workbook: ergonomics, heat and cold (8 min read)
  5. Certified Safety Professional (CSP) math workbook: construction, rigging and falls (7 min read)
  6. Certified Safety Professional (CSP) math workbook: radiation (5 min read)
  7. Certified Safety Professional (CSP) math workbook: statistics, probability and physics (5 min read)