BSOS Courses

Students will develop the necessary writing , study, research resource, and Blackboard navigation skills necessary to successfully complete occupational safety related curriculum. Students will also be introduced to the profession, terminology of the field, and basic hazard recognition.

Analytical and statistical concepts and procedures for the treatment of fire and safety related data. Includes quantiative and qualitative techniques, descriptive and inferental statistics.

Students in the Legal Aspects of Fire Protection and Safety course will examine the role of executive, legislative and legal decisions relating to personnel practices, employee safety, public protection and the legal responsibilities, liabilities, and authority of fire service practitioners. Other topics include: the firefighter rule and it’s ramification, the concept of negligence, using Westlaw for research and legal cases, the right duties and methods of protection for employees and employers, and the parameters of emergency vehicle operations.

In the Principles of Occupational Safety and Health course students explore the history of the development of occupational safety and health, the structure and functioning of OSHA according to the OSHA Act, methods of record-keeping, and receive an introduction to workers compensation. Other topics include: accident investigation, injury prevention, hazard control, workplace safety standards, compliance, employer’s responsibilities, and safety and health initiatives.

Review of OSHA standards with emphasis on compliance and liability reduction. Discussion of OSHA regulations including citations, penalties, inspections, and record keeping.

Dealing with hazardous materials is an important component of emergency response. In this course, students learn the 8-step process involved with responding to a hazardous materials incident and discover how to implement a course of action. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the Incident Management System and be able to identify the hazards associated with the transportation and fixed facilities storage of hazardous materials. Other topics include preparedness, response and recovery of materials, risk assessment, PPE, and decontamination procedures. (Prerequisite course: FSE 120)

Course designed to combine classroom-based education with practical work experience. Academic credit is provided for structured job experience.

Handson approach toward identification and control. Areas of study include noise levels, chemical land electrical hazards, air contaminants, and heat/cold stress. Control measures include administrative, engineering, and safeguarding methods. (Prerequisite: OSH 261 or departmental approval)

Focuses on ergonomics, man/machine interface and human efficiency. Study of work related stress, psychological factors, and Cumulative Trauma Disorders. Solutions are reviewed for common problems found in labor intensive operations.

Prerequisite: OSH 366.  This course is designed to introduce the occupational safety student to the process safety management standard, 29 CFR 1910.119, and cover complex management topics involved in managing processes of highly hazardous chemicals.

An in-depth analysis of the federal and Commonwealth of Kentucky’s OSHA requirements for construction safety.

The Workers Compensation course within the Fire Administration concentration is an in-depth study of the foundation of Worker Compensation law. Emphasis will be placed on the history and development of the program in America, as well as the evolution of the program. Students will be able to understand the basic theories behind the risks associated with employment, and the benefits available to injured workers. This specific issues that fire and safety professionals face on a daily basis will be examined.

System Safety Analysis is about the establishment of safety management systems. Students in this course will gain an understanding of safety as a system and learn how to diagram, report, and keep records of safety practices. Specific content includes the development of organizational and administrative structure to include policy formulation, management tasks, and impact evaluations within an encompassing loss prevention framework. Students gain an understanding of self-assessment programs and how different pieces of an organization’s structure interact with respect to job hazard analysis. They will also learn to analyze and perform a fault tree analysis. OSH 261 is a prerequisite for this course.

This course explores management and leadership principles applied to safety management. Principles, theories, and concepts of industrial safety and health system management with emphasis on organizational culture, risk assessments, and preventing serious injuries.  Strategies include effective roles for safety professionals, gaining meaningful employee engagement, and safety leadership.  Relevant case studies are included.  (Prerequisites: FSE/OSH 200, 262, and 366; or departmental approval.)

Formerly FSE 420. Prerequisite: FSE 225 or OSH 225 Review/analysis of laws affecting workplaces, including the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, RCRA and CERCLA. Additionally, study of these laws and related policies/practices will be covered as related to safety. Credit will not be awarded to students who have credit for FSE 420 or EHS 425

Prerequisite or Corequisite: OSH 412.  Students will learn how to apply adult learning and technical training strategies to occupational training programs for management and workforce safety related topics.

This course presents various methods and metrics utilized to determine the effectiveness of safety management systems and various hazard controls.  The course will teach students to distinguish the roles that lagging and leading measures play in determining the effectiveness of an organization’s safety programs and initiatives.  This course will teach students how to apply a balanced approach to measuring safety within an organization.  The course will first enable to students to become fluent in OSHA record keeping, OSHA injury rate calculations, and workers’ loss metrics (the traditional, lagging safety measures/indicators).  The course will then present cutting edge strategies and tools for developing leading measures that drive superior safety performance.  Measurement techniques, key safety management mathematics, and measurement interpretation will also be presented.

Students examine case studies, examine real life situations, combine knowledge they have gained from previous coursework, analyze and develop strategies, develop countermeasures, engage in strategic planning and policy development and training. (per-requisite OSH 492).

Basic principles of structure and properties of matter, chemical nomenclature and reactivity. Relates chemistry concepts to everyday life phenomena. Basic laboratory techniques, methods of separation, types of chemical reactions, solution preparation, titrations, household chemicals, and molecular modeling.

Principles of vulnerability and risk assessment including physical security surveys, integrated physical security systems, risk and threat identification, mitigation, threat analysis, criticality, and risk assessment. Comparison and analysis of various vulnerability and risk assessment methodologies.

A classroom and laboratory program designed to introduce personnel to problems and practices of motor fleet safety programming and regulatory requirements.

Prerequisite OSH 261 or OSH 361. This course explores the history of the development of marine safety and health and the functioning regulations. Emphasis is placed on OSHA 29 CFR standards and USCG Title 46 as resources.

The impact of the workplace on safety and health, and methods for avoiding work related illnesses. Emphasis will be on the evaluation and the control of the work environment to protect worker health. Prerequisites: BIO 121, CHE 111, 111L and EHS 280; or departmental approval)

Fire prevention begins with an introduction to fire and safety related codes, fire prevention methods, mechanical systems and engineering solutions for hazards. Students are given an in-depth look at the Life Safety Code and the function and testing of fire related building components. By the conclusion of the course students will recognize the need and responsibilities associated with fire prevention and how these responsibilities relate to the careers of Fire Inspectors, Fire Investigators, and Life Safety Education.

Gain a solid understanding of the theories and fundamentals of how and why fires start and spread, as well as how they are controlled. In the Fire Behavior and Combustion course, students will develop and enhance their knowledge of combustion reactions in solids, liquids and gasses. Students will demonstrate an understanding of English and System International (SI) measurements, the physical and chemical properties of combustion, terminology associated with fire and combustion, and demonstrate an applied knowledge of fire suppression and fire dynamics.

This course provides an introduction to fire protection systems and their relationship to control and extinguishment of fires. The study includes fire detection and control systems, including appropriate applications for each. Fixed and portable extinguishing systems of the following types will be studied: automatic sprinklers, standpipe, dry chemical, wet chemical, foam, and halogenated agents. (Prerequisite courses: FSE 101 and FSE 120)

Prerequisite: MAT 098 with a minimum grade of “C-” or a minimum score of 22 on the mathematics portion of the ACT or a minimum score of 530 on the math portion of the SAT or a passing score on the EKU MAT 107 Prerequisite Skills Test. Real and complex numbers, integer and rational exponents, polynomial and rational equations and inequalities, graphs of functions and relations, exponential and logarithmic functions, systems of equations, matrices. Use of graphing calculators. 3 Lec (1 Lab when taught in large lecture sections.) Gen. Ed. II or VII (QS)

Prerequisite or Corequisite: MAT 108 or a minimum score of 20 on the mathematics portion of the ACT or a minimum score of 510 on the math portion of the SAT or departmental approval. Fundamental ideas of mechanics, heat, and sound. Credit will not be awarded to students who have credit for PHY 201.(5 hours with lab)