Ellis and Giles received their awards during ASSE’s annual Professional Development Conference (PDC) and Exposition – Safety 2010, in Baltimore, Md. The society fellow is the highest honor granted by ASSE, recognizing professional members who have displayed life-long excellence in safety and service. Nominated by their peers, region or chapter, candidates for the Society Fellow honor are selected based upon their work, involvement in ASSE and long-term contributions in advancing the safety profession.
Ellis is the president of Ellis Fall Safety Solutions LLC, Division of DSC. His company provides fall protection assessment, engineering, installation and workplace training on effective use of fall safety products. With over 39 years of experience in safety engineering, Ellis has spoken at leading industry association and society meetings, including ASSE conferences. He has developed coursework and materials for safety training courses, such as Competent and Qualified Persons for the OSHA Training Institute. Ellis has performed fall hazard assessments at hundreds of facilities and construction sites worldwide and has been retained as a fall safety expert in approximately 1,000 fall-related cases in the U.S.
As an ASSE member for 34 years, Ellis has been an active society member at the chapter and national levels. Ellis was president of the Lower Delaware Valley Chapter from 1995-1996 and strived to increase membership attendance at chapter meetings. He was selected as newsletter editor for ASSE’s Engineering Practice Specialty in 2005 and spent 3 years recruiting talented contributors for the newsletter, including those who composed articles to address key issues and attract attention of prominent CEO’s in the areas of safety planning and support. Ellis was awarded the 2006 ASSE Most Improved Newsletter Award for his efforts and also received the 2006 Safety Professional of the Year (SPY) in Engineering. He became the assistant administrator of the Engineering Practice Specialty in 2008.
When asked about Ellis’s qualifications for the honor of ASSE Fellow, sponsor, society fellow and distinguished ASSE member Earnest Harper, CSP, DABFE, DABFET, CFC, stated, “Dr. Ellis is truly a pioneer of safety. As an ASSE member, my safety career began in 1970 when the U.S. was still in its infancy regarding industrial work and safety engineering. It was in the harsh light of those difficult initial years of safety testing and development that I came to know and appreciate the many contributions Dr. Ellis made and continues to make in the field.”
He also commented, “Today, as a consultant and expert witness, fall injury cases included, Dr. Ellis remains my ‘go-to’ expert in several areas. Although I have come to call Nigel a friend and colleague, his experience, knowledge, extensive published works and willingness to share with other ASSE safety professionals is exemplary and he is very deserving of this high honor.”
Giles also received the prestigious President’s Award on Sunday, June 13, during the House of Delegates Meeting.
Giles is the vice president of Environmental Safety, Health and Security at URS Corp., is a certified safety professional (CSP), safety trained supervisor (STS) and a registered professional engineer (PE). With over 33 years of safety, health and environmental (SH&E) management and engineering experience, Giles has been an influential member of ASSE and has made many contributions to the profession. He was elected to the board of directors of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals for 2004 through 2010 and president during 2009. He is also a past chairman and member of the National Construction Safety Executives. Giles earned BS and MS degrees from Southern Illinois University (SIU).
Giles is a member of ASSE’s Snake River Chapter and has been extremely active at the national Society level. He received the 1994 ASSE Construction Safety Professional of the Year (SPY) award and has been a co-sponsor of ASSE Future Safety Leaders Conference from 2006-2010. Giles has been instrumental in supporting the activities of the ASSE Foundation (ASSEF) and has provided a scholarship and internship opportunity through URS Corporation since 2005. He serves as a foundation trustee and an ASSEF Golf Tournament Sponsor from 2007-2010 and created the Linda and Brad Giles Scholarship Fund in 2008 to further promote opportunities for higher education in SH&E. In honor of his achievement as an ASSE fellow, Applications International Corporation (AIC) made an $1800 contribution to the ASSE Foundation’s (ASSEF) Linda and Brad Giles Scholarship Fund. This will provide two scholarships for students in EHS.
Sponsor and ASSE Society past-president Samuel J. Gualardo, CSP, stated, “I have known Brad and followed his career for many years. Brad and I have served on the BCSP Board together and in that capacity, I witnessed numerous examples of his broad knowledge and dedication to the EH&S profession. He has made abundant contributions as a speaker, writer and volunteer. He exemplifies the qualities necessary to be recognized as a fellow by ASSE.”
Grund was presented the Thomas F. Bresnahan Safety, Health and Environment (SH&E) Standards Medal during the ASSE Council on Practices and Standards (CoPS) awards lunch. Grund is the chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z244.1 standard and has served on this standards’ development committee for 35 years.
Grund is receiving the award for his commitment to standards development and his achievements regarding the affirmation of ANSI standards. In addition to his many accomplishments with ASSE standards committees, Grund was an original member of the 1973 startup committee for the ANSI Z244.1 standard, “Control of Hazardous Energy Lockout/Tagout and Alternative Methods.” As a member of the core writing team, Grund was instrumental in drafting initial language of several sections of the standard and participated in development of the first 1982 “Standard for Personnel Protection- Lockout/Tagout of Energy Sources” and the 1987/1993 reaffirmations. Grund also served as committee member for the Z117.1 standard, “Safety Requirements for Confined Space”, and was elected chairman in 1993, leading the development of the 1995 and 2003 standards. He was instrumental in assisting ASSE interaction with OSHA during rulemaking for the promulgation of the 1993 CFR1910.146 confined spaces standard and received the ASSE President’s Award for his leadership during the development of the 1995 standard.
The award is named in honor of Thomas Bresnahan, a highly regarded and respected retired ASSE staff member and ASSE Society Fellow. According to CoPS, Bresnahan is recognized as the key individual that reinvigorated the ASSE standards development program and helped position ASSE for future growth.
When asked about Grund’s accomplishments, his sponsor, ASSE member Mark Eliopulos said, “I’ve known Ed for over 30 years. He has been an advocate for the development of standards through trade associations and nationally. Ed took many leadership roles to guide the development process and involved diverse interest groups to accomplish goals. He is a deserving recipient of this award for his career contributions to the development of much needed safety standards.”