BCRSP Examinations

The CRSP® and the CRST® Examinations have four main purposes:

  • To promote high national standards of occupational health and safety;
  • To provide a mechanism for practitioners to validate their competence;
  • To identify, through a recognized credential, those practitioners meeting the national standards; and
  • To determine whether or not examinees are prepared to practice occupational health and safety, without risk to the public and to the environment.

CRSP® Examination Blueprint

The CRSP® Examination Blueprint was developed to guide those involved in the development of the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)® Examination and to provide the public (e.g., examinees, educators, administrators, employers) with practical information about the examination.

BCRSP CRSP Examination Blueprint 2020

CRST® Examination Blueprint

The CRST® Examination Blueprint was developed to guide those involved in the development of the Canadian Registered Safety Technician (CRST®) Examination and to provide the public (e.g. examinees, educators, administrators, employers) with practical information about the examination.

 

BCRSP Lexicon

The BCRSP lexicon provides definitions for health and safety terms that vary for each Province and Federal Governments. This is not a dictionary of safety terms, rather its purpose is to establish a common understanding of terms that have the same meaning to assist candidates in writing the CRSP® and CRST® examinations.

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BCRSP Examination Updates

BCRSP Examinations are constantly under review as the BCRSP ensures that the certification schemes remain the foremost certifications for OHS professionals  and OHS technicians and are reflective of current OHS practice. The BCRSP conducts a review of the competencies required of a CRSP® and CRST® at least every five years and updates the CRSP® Examination Blueprint and CRST® Examination Blueprint accordingly.

Examination Candidate Information

Please review the BCRSP Examination Candidate Handbook for more information on examination administration, scheduling procedures, identification rules, etc. 

Examination Pass Marks

The standard or pass mark is set in reference to the content and the difficulty of the examination questions. The standard is set by a panel of content experts from across Canada who work closely with the Board’s examination consultants, Assessment Strategies Inc. to ensure that the examination meets the applicable Examination Blueprint guidelines. The pass mark is set at a level that represents the performance expected of a competent safety professional or competent safety technician. The standard setting method used to establish the pass mark for the CRSP® and CRST® Examinations is the modified-Angoff method. Using this method, a panel of representative content experts from across the country and from various areas of practice reviews each examination question and produces ratings based on a common understanding of a competent registered safety professional who has met the eligibility requirements to write the examination. In addition to these ratings, a variety of relevant data (for example, information on the preparation of candidates, data on results from previously administered examinations) are carefully considered to ensure the standard that candidates must achieve on the examination is valid and fair. Based on this information, an appropriate standard or pass mark is set. This procedure is repeated for every newly-created examination form.

 

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An Article on the Angoff Method of Standard Setting prepared by ASI

Examination Format

  • The examination consists of multiple choice questions (see Examination Blueprint). 
  • There will be 190 to 210 multiple choice questions on the examination. 
  • Candidates will have three and one half (3 1/2) hours to complete the examination with no scheduled break provided.
  • The examination is written via Computer Based Testing at an authorized Pearson VUE host test centre.
  • Following recommendation to proceed to the examination, candidates have one year in which to write the examination during one of the prescribed examination windows (CRSP® windows are February, June, and October; CRST® windows are March and  August). Examination authorization letters are emailed to all eligible candidates. 
  • If a candidate does not appear to write an examination in the 12 month period (initial or supplemental), their application will be closed at the end of the writing period. 
  • Candidates who fail the first writing of the examination are permitted up to two supplementary writings over the next 12 months (within the prescribed windows). 
  • The one year supplementary writing period begins as of the failing of the first examination writing. 
  • Candidates rewriting the examination will be required to write the full 3 1/2 hour, multiple choice examination. 
  • Candidates failing all three (3) writings will have their files closed and must wait a minimum of twelve months before resubmitting a new application. 

Examination requirements are mandatory

The BCRSP examination requirements cannot be waived. 

Organisations that offer Examination Preparatory Courses

The BCRSP does not offer preparatory courses.  However, there are a number of organisations that offer Examination Preparatory Courses. While none of these courses is endorsed/accredited by BCRSP, nor is enrollment in any of these courses a prerequisite for pursuing the designation, BCRSP provides interested persons with contact information for these organisations.