I successfully completed the first certification program in 2019. At that time, I was a full-time staff member in 3M’s legal department with a split assignment focusing on product representation and regulatory reporting obligations under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Not being a full-time product safety professional at that point, I was intimidated by the prospect of taking such an intensive course covering so many aspects of the consumer product safety field. Although I carried some self-doubt related to my knowledge level, I saw the program as a great opportunity to deepen my understanding and learn best practices related to managing a product safety incident from start to finish.
I learned so much about product safety through the program. By design, the program covers 5 different knowledge areas required of product safety professionals: Culture and ethics, Risk assessment and hazard identification and reduction, regulatory compliance, product investigates and human factors, and product recall. I was not expected to be expert in all of those disciplines, but it was expected that I would be an expert in at least one, and that I would have a general knowledge among the remaining fields of knowledge. In my case, I had a good understanding of the regulatory compliance aspect, but I was seeking to better understand the art of conducting risk assessments and other relevant knowledge areas.
As a result of my participation in the program, I grew personally and professionally. Beyond deepening my understanding of the product safety field, I gained confidence in my abilities as a product safety professional. I entered the program feeling isolated in the product safety world, and by the time I achieved my certification, I felt more connected to the industry through my interactions with my class members and the program staff. Given my initial hesitation and intimidation, I feel this program is a large contributor to my success as a product safety professional today. At this point, I feel more passionate than ever about product safety and hope to eventually migrate to the field on a full-time basis. I particularly look forward to continuing to share my learnings across 3M’s various divisions and drive consistency in the way that we approach the different disciplines within the product safety field.
