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About ASEM
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Prospective StudentsEvery professional is a lifelong learner. Complete the ASEM program and you will be trained to:
The program can be completed in 18 months (5 semesters), and the total current cost is approximately $23,000 (plus the cost of books and standards). According to the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) 2009 Salary Survey, any advanced degree can increase a safety professional's salary by $18,000 or more, depending on the field. The Survey also shows that a Master’s degree in the field of Safety Engineering results in a higher average salary ($122,917) than a Master’s degree in the fields of Industrial Engineering ($113,723); Industrial Hygiene ($103,889); and Industrial Safety, Occupational Safety, Safety Management, and Safety Science ($102,684).
Students will be able to earn their MEng in 18 months (5 semesters). All 11 program courses will be offered each term, according to student demand. For more information, see Curriculum. Current StudentsASEM students are enrolling from across the United States and around the world. Most have more than 10 years professional experience in the safety field in sectors ranging from the aeronautics and space sector (e.g., NASA) to the utilities sector (e.g., Energen). Admission Eligibility
Enrollment RequirementAdvanced Safety Engineering and Management (ASEM) requires students to enroll for the term of their admission. A student who is unable to enroll for the admitted term may request a deferral of up to two semesters. Requests to Defer Enrollment must be submitted to the ASEM program director prior to the start of the term of admission. If a request is not submitted and approved, a student's acceptance will be rescinded. He or she will be eligible to reapply for admission one year after the original date of acceptance. Getting AdviceGoing back to school can be both exhilarating and daunting. You are not alone. All of your questions and concerns can be answered by experienced adult education professionals: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it CurriculumThe curriculum is comprised of 11 courses (33 hrs). EGR 610 and EGR 614 are prerequisites for all other ASEM courses. EGR 610 must be taken during the first term; EGR 614 may be taken concurrently. Semester 1: EGR 610 Introduction to System Safety - Prevention through Design (3 hrs.) Semester 2: EGR 611 Hazard Analysis and Waste Elimination (3 hrs.) EGR 615 Leading through Climates of Change (3 hrs.) Semester 3: EGR 612 Engineering Risk: Assessment, Reduction and Liability (3 hrs.) EGR 616 Policy Issues in Prevention through Design (3 hrs.) Semester 4: EGR 613 Human Performance and Engineering Design (3 hrs.) EGR 617 Crisis Leadership and Safety-Critical Design (3 hrs.) Semester 5: EGR 618 Intrapreneurship and Calculated Risk Taking (3 hrs.) EGR 619 Capstone Project: Development of an Advanced Safety Engineering and Management Plan, Part 1 (3 hrs.) EGR 620 Capstone Project: Development of an Advanced Safety Engineering and Management Plan, Part 2 (3 hrs.) All courses are for 3 semester hours of credit. The table below shows recommended course loading and sequence to complete within 24 months with no more than 6 credits per semester; however, it is possible to finish in 5 semesters if EGR 619 and EGR 620 are taken together. EGR 610 must be taken in the first semester.
NOTE: Day and time of live classrooms are subject to change. Students are given some "free" live classroom misses and faculty will work individually with those who have an unavoidable work conflict to find a solution. EGR 610 Introduction to System Safety – Prevention through Design Best practice in any business sector requires the pursuit of a triple bottom line – protecting people, planet, and profit. This course provides an overview of system safety, in general, and Prevention through Design, in particular and explores their efficacy in helping companies achieve a bottom line that is socially, environmentally, and financially rewarding. Topics of inquiry include the processes of hazard analysis and risk assessment, the concept of "acceptable" risk, the safety decision hierarchy of controls, safety standards (the mandatory minimum vs. the voluntary best practice), safety as a cost control strategy, and the critical elements of a comprehensive, advanced safety program. Course content is presented within the framework of real-world case studies from a variety of industry sectors, including, but not limited to, manufacturing, utilities, and health care and includes several guest lectures by leaders in the profession. Students apply course content to their own business environment. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 610 forum is typically held on Sunday from 1:30-3:00 CDT. EGR 610 must be taken during the first semester. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview Hazards have the potential to cause harm to people, planet, and profits. Hazard analysis is a process that begins with the identification of a hazard and proceeds into an estimate of the severity of harm or damage that could result if the potential is realized and a hazard-related incident occurs (ASSE TR-Z790.001 – 2009). This course examines engineering techniques utilized to systematically and logically identify and analyze hazards in the workplace. These techniques include preliminary hazard list (PHL), preliminary hazard analysis (PHA), system hazard analysis (SHA), subsystem hazard analysis (SSHA) and others. Students work in teams to use these techniques to retrospectively analyze a real-world disaster. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 611 forum is typically held on Sunday from 1:30-3:00 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610 & EGR 614. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview
Engineering risk is defined both quantitatively and qualitatively as an estimate of the probability that a hazard-related incident will occur and of the severity of harm or damage that could result. This course provides students with tools to assess and reduce safety risks in their own company. These tools include risk assessment matrices, probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) measures, including event tree analysis, fault tree analysis, and other prevention through design concepts. The role of a structured, formalized decision analysis process in preventing serious injuries and fatalities is also explored. Students engage in a risk mitigation decision analysis project, which is specific to their company and/or business sector. Guest lecturers from diverse industries discuss their experiences in assessing and managing risk. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 612 forum is typically held on Sunday from 1:30-3:00 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610, EGR 611 & EGR 614. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview
Companies can miss important opportunities to eliminate waste if they rely primarily on training to prevent human error. This course explores the historical perspective on human error and serious injury. The course material will provide a solid understanding of the principles of occupational biomechanics and human tolerance to injury with focus on human anthropometry and mechanical work capacity. This course also includes studies of human reliability, static analysis of systems in equilibrium and mechanical systems’ design and performance. Due to the quantity of back related injuries and related lost time in the workplace, back pain and injury is studied along with the effect of vibration on the human body. Real-world case studies provide for application of the engineering hierarchy of controls: hazard elimination, hazard substitution, engineering controls, warnings, administrative behavior controls, and personal protective equipment. The course also examines the design aspects of ergonomics, the biomechanical engineering basis of injury prevention, and the long term economic consequences of seemingly minor injuries. In semester projects, students perform incident investigations using biomechanical and other data. After gathering and analyzing data to determine injury causation, they will identify and re-design error-provocative environments in their own workplaces. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 613 forum is typically held on Sunday from 1:30-3:00 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610 & EGR 614. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview
This course explores the economic, social, and political consequences of safety risk and considers provocative real world dilemmas: What is acceptable risk? Are the fundamental canons of engineering ethics contrary to the concept of acceptable risk? What is the worth of human life? Students will conduct critical reviews of corporate safety and ethics policies from market leaders in all major industries as well as their own company. Real-world case studies provide the framework for exercises in resolving conflicts of interest and avoiding the dilemma of “whistle blowing.” Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 614 forum is typically held on Sunday from 3:00-4:30 CDT. Prerequisite: EGR 610 or concurrent enrollment.
All progressive companies are moving toward greater sustainability – protecting people, planet, and profits. To guide their companies through these changes and integrate safety into the priorities at the executive level, safety engineers and professionals must have strong leadership skills. This course explores leadership best practices, including the eight steps of transformational leadership, change management strategies and the characteristics of High Reliability Organizations. The concept of “resilience engineering” is also explored. Guest lecturers from diverse industries discuss their experiences in managing change in today's global business environment. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 615 forum is typically held on Sunday from 3:00-4:30 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610 & EGR 614. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview
This course provides an overview of best practices in four major policy areas: (1) cost-benefit analysis; (2) corporate culture and the “HR Department”; (3) standards, codes, and regulations; and (4) strategic alliance development. Case studies are used to illuminate both the role of engineers and other safety professionals in shaping public policy on the local, national and international levels and the ethical challenges they encounter. The significance of an organization’s corporate culture in developing and implementing advanced safety management plans is also explored. Students conduct "gap analyses" of their company's policies by comparing them to best practices and identifying unintended consequences of poor safety policy in their own business and industry sector. Students will engage in discussion board posts on contemporary policy issues and participate in exercises related to federal rulemaking. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 616 forum is typically held on Sunday from 3:00-4:30 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610 & EGR 614. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview
Unique technical and leadership skills are required to avert or manage a crisis. This course teaches students those skills in an experiential learning environment. Case studies of real-world industrial and environmental disasters provide the framework for exploring critical human-machine interfaces; crisis communication; coping with people in recovery and developing and implementing a business continuity response. Guest lecturers from diverse backgrounds will discuss their experiences in managing crisis events. Students will engage in discussion board posts and develop a Business Impact Analysis report for their work environment or business unit. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 617 forum is typically held on Sunday from 3:00-4:30 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610 & EGR 614.
Intrapreneurs are innovative change agents inside an existing corporation -- insider entrepreneurs. This course prepares students to become and/or identify effective intrapreneurs within their own business environment. Topics include the history of intrapreneurial success inside technology-based corporations and the fundamentals of recognizing opportunity and launching a new, promising enterprise within an existing business. Students also learn to recognize and effectively manage intrapreneurial risk, including the safety readiness of technology for the market place and the corporate "immune response" to new ideas and inside innovators. Case studies of real-world intrapreneurial success and failure provide a framework for group discussion and student exercises. Live participation in a weekly 1.5 hour online forum is required. The EGR 618 forum is typically held on Sunday from 3:00-4:30 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610 & EGR 614. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview
Bringing to bear the competencies acquired through the program, students develop a proposal, outline, schedule and rough draft of a comprehensive, advanced safety engineering and management plan for their business unit/specialty area that is consistent with the ANSI/AIHA Z10-2005, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems standard. Judicious selection of the Capstone topic and of projects throughout the ASEM curriculum allows students to build on and use earlier course products to support their Capstone report. Live participation in a quarterly 1.25 hour online forum is required. The EGR 619 forum is typically held on Sunday at 4:45-6:00 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610, EGR 611, EGR 612, EGR 613, EGR 614, EGR 615, EGR 616 and EGR 617. EGR 619 must be taken during the penultimate or final semester. Return to Course Sequence, Return to Curriculum Overview
Students complete the development of their comprehensive, advanced safety engineering and management (ASEM) plan that was begun in EGR 619, including background information of the project, an ASEM plan (management and employee participation, planning, implementation and operation, evaluation and corrective action and management review), and rollout strategy. Students must submit completed report with detailed attachments, and orally present project highlights to the class in a live online classroom setting. Live participation in a quarterly 1.25 hour online forum is required. The EGR 620 forum is typically held on Sunday at 4:45-6:00 CDT. Prerequisites: EGR 610, EGR 611, EGR 612, EGR 613, EGR 614, EGR 615, EGR 616 and EGR 617. EGR 620 must be taken during the final semester. |
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