Caveat: My professional safety experience is entirely within academia, so my answers are limited to that sector and the bullet point version of those answers.

> >What is the definition of a "center-of-excellence"?
> 
An excellent safety program continuously evolves to meet emerging risks as well as improving management of ongoing risks. The ethos within the program balances community and individual safety and productivity while supporting the mission of the organization.

> >With your definition, would you apply it to a campus, an academic department, or, an EH&S department?
> 
Within the campuses I have experience with, academic departments vary too widely in the types of hazards they manage and the strategies they use to have a single campus-wide definition of an excellent safety program. However, a EH&S department needs to provide campus-wide leadership that supports the various safety programs in a coherent way.

> >Do you feel that naming an EH&S Department as a "center-of-excellence" should be based on trailing (reduction in injury rate) or leading (number of PI led safety discussions with their research group) indicators?
> 
Both. Based on experience in the Lab-XL project, I believe that 4 carefully chosen indicators need to be used, based on the goals of the program and which respond to roles of the stakeholders. These indicators should be expected to evolve over time as the program develops. Some indicators may be department specific if a need arises that justifies the extra resources involved in tracking additional indicators.

- Ralph 

Ralph Stuart, CIH 
rstuartcih**At_Symbol_Here**me.com

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