Let me ask you a few questions: Does adding letters after a person’s name make them more important? What did that person go through to achieve those letters? If someone has XYZ after their name and another person also has XYZ after their name, are they equal? Did one of them have more hurdles to jump over than the other?

These are all interesting questions that aren’t asked very often.  Many people see these letters, but do they understand their true meaning?

In the functional safety world there are MANY types of personnel functional safety experts certified by many different organizations that have their own set of “Letters.”  Are they all created equaled? That is for you to judge.

The great news is that most programs were created with the intent to help strengthen a person’s knowledge in functional safety. However they were not all created equal. Luckily, there is a whitepaper that explains that differences between such programs. 

Did you already pass one of these courses/exams?  Where did your specific certificate/certification end up in the whitepaper? Did you see anything interesting?

After reading the whitepaper please comment or offer suggestions in regards to these programs!  Feedback is one of the best ways to improve and to make programs stronger.