Image Credit: Getty Images / Mininyx Doodle

When AIHA plans for the future, we typically focus on a three-year time horizon, long enough to ensure continuity across our various activities but short enough to allow flexibility to address new challenges. Since 2026 marks the midpoint of our current strategic plan, now is a good time to assess the work we’ve done toward our goals and what we’re aiming to achieve moving forward. My next few posts will review each section of our strategic plan, starting this month with the “Pursuit of Knowledge” domain, which covers AIHA’s educational activities.

Each domain is defined by a “success statement,” or a concise description of what we intend to accomplish. The success statement for the Pursuit of Knowledge domain is “AIHA will develop and disseminate cutting-edge educational and career enrichment resources to support OEHS professionals.” The plan identifies three objectives that support this overarching goal. Below, I’ve summarized the work we’ve done toward each objective in 2025 and what we expect to complete this year.

Objective 1: Research and identify the educational needs of OEHS professionals.

The key achievement for this goal was last year’s release of a new edition of Core Competencies for the Practice of Industrial/Occupational Hygiene. This publication provides guidance for those working at the IH technician, practitioner, and professional levels. Core Competencies is central to our educational offerings; for example, it is used to organize submissions for AIHA Connect, in the Content Portfolio Advisory Group evaluation process, and to identify topics for AIHA University webinars and professional development courses. In 2026, we plan to launch a feedback mechanism to gather input from members on the effectiveness of our education framework.

We’ve also made upgrades to the AIHA Marketplace. The advanced search now allows users to filter publications by product name, stock number, or description, and recent changes to the interface include a cleaner layout and faster navigation.

Objective 2: Develop educational materials using evolving adult learning styles for improved accessibility.

Our new Learning Pathways are designed for learners at three skill levels: technician, practitioner, and professional, the same levels around which the Core Competencies book is organized. Learning Pathways allow users to learn at their own pace from a wide variety of materials—not just PowerPoint slides, but also articles, research papers, interactive content, and recorded lectures. Our first Learning Pathway, on fatigue management, includes courses in recognizing and responding to fatigue (technician level), controlling fatigue risks in complex environments (practitioner level), and strategic approaches to fatigue risk (professional level).

In 2026, we are putting what we learned last year into practice by updating our content development guidelines to reflect feedback from members about their needs related to accessibility and learning styles. We’ve made it easier for AIHA Connect attendees to search sessions by delivery style and level of interactivity, and we’re adding new questions related to the session evaluation forms that will help us improve accessibility. We’re working on new Learning Pathways on waterborne pathogens and noise and hearing loss prevention. We will also explore potential accessibility improvements to the digital Synergist, The Synergist Weekly, Synergist Newswire, and the SynergistNOW blog.

Objective 3: Provide a breadth of educational and informational resources for OEHS professionals and their communities.

Our volunteers had a very busy and successful 2025, contributing to the release of four new publications, five updates of existing documents, and one new translation:

• Aerosolized Transmissible Diseases, a new guidance document
• Using AI to Enhance OEHS, a new guidance document
• Young Worker/Child Labor in the U.S., a new white paper
• Sound Level Meters, a new fact sheet
• Recommended Skills and Capabilities for Silica Competent Persons, an updated white paper
• Workers’ Rights, an updated white paper
• Engineered Nanomaterials in the Workplace, an updated fact sheet
• Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Waste Anesthetic Gases in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, an updated white paper
• FAQs about Spore Trap Air Sampling for Mold for Direct Microscopical Examination, an updated guidance document
• Focus on Construction Health: Building Safely in a World with COVID-19, an updated guidance document

Other highlights from last year include the launch of the alpha version of a tool for handling time-series data (see The Synergist for more information), the renewal of our partnership with NIOSH, a video contest that promoted excellence in OEHS communication, and publication of a Synergist article on ultrafine particles.

For 2026, our Content Portfolio Advisory Group has approved 11 proposals for development, including documents on the hazard and risk assessment of lithium-ion battery fires; wearable heat-related technology; risk assessment, management, and communication; strength through collaboration frameworks; and fungal metabolites in the indoor environment.

The Showcase for OEHS Education

You can learn more about AIHA’s strategic plan elsewhere on AIHA.org. But the pursuit of knowledge revolves around AIHA Connect, the showcase for the latest in OEHS education. This year’s conference will be held June 1–3 in New Orleans. Visit the conference website to review the program, learn about the host city, and register to attend.