ARSC - Association of Reciprocal Safety Councils. This is a group of about 20ish safety councils that are primarily located along the Gulf Coast area, though we do have members as far away as New Jersey. The idea behind ARSC is to have these separate safety councils working together to form a cooperative network. This "reciprocal training" plan is the reason we, along with Houston and Nederland, recently changed our ID badges to the ARSC badges. This way, we have a standard card. Right now, Nederland, TX, Houston, TX and Baton Rouge, La (that's us) are the first to begin issuing the standard card. Other councils will begin doing this as well, but we needed to create the system' s infrastructure to get things going .

ARSC serves mostly the Gulf Coast and provides audit control and curriculum for the contractor and owner training accessible throughout this area. As members of ARSC we actively participate in the Board of Directors, Curriculum, Audit and Technical Committee meetings.

GBRIA - Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance. This association is comprised of the plant managers from the 60 or so chemical and petrochemical plants in the area. Their Mission is to develop and sponsor cost effective solutions to common issues for industry, its affiliates and communities. Since we are not a plant, we are NOT a member of GBRIA. We are ADMINISTATORS of the GBRIA-approved Basic Orientation Plus and Basic Plus Refresher Programs . (ARSC deems them reciprocal, GBRIA approves them , WE administer them )

Since 1992, we have been the administrator for the GBRIA contractor safety programs. This relationship has grown over the last years and now includes programs reciprocal across the Gulf Coast and throughout the country using ARSC programs. GBRIA's goal was to reduce the amount of redundant training required yet ensure standards. We implemented a new Basic Orientation Plus© in 2000, and in May 2001 began offering the revised and updated Basic Orientation Plus Refresher©. These two (2) programs are the only approved ARSC programs accepted for reciprocity throughout the Gulf Coast. We are required to conduct annual self-audits which are submitted to the ARSC Board of Directors in addition to a full third party audit bi-annually. In addition, all programs are audited and reported by a CPA firm. In May 2001, we also received approval to teach three (3) new reciprocal programs for GBRIA plants - Respiratory Protection, Firewatch and Confined Space (CBT).

AASC - American Association of Safety Councils. This is a relatively new affiliation for us. As many of you know, we seceded (as is the way of the South) from the National Safety Council a couple of months back. Along with us, many other NSC chapters left the organization as well. These former-NSC chapters got together and formed their own national organization

AASC members operate independent, nonprofit, community-based health and safety organizations serving over 7,000 businesses that employ hundreds of thousands of employees around the world. AASC councils provide education programs to over a million people each year in areas as diverse as driving safety, first aid, CPR, substance abuse, hazardous materials, confined space, flagging, forklift safety and many, many more. The mission of this organization is the enhancement of safety and health.

We joined AASC in December of 2000 in order to network with councils all over the country to share best practices and to learn of new and innovative programs and delivery media for presenting training. AASC councils tailor their programs to meet the unique and ever-changing needs of the communities we serve, but the most important commonality is our goal for reducing preventable injuries and fatalities.

How does this affect your SC membership? It is another way we work with dedicated organizations to improve our training and service to you and our community.

For more information on GBRIA, please contact Connie Fabré.