image: Southwest Research Institute Lead Safety Engineer Matthew Herron, M.S., P.E., CSP, CPE, has been named the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Council on Practices and Standards’ 2023 Safety Professional of the Year. The award recognizes Herron’s outstanding achievements and contributions to ASSP’s Practice Specialties and Common Interest Groups communities.
Credit: Southwest Research Institute
SAN ANTONIO — November 27, 2023 —Southwest Research Institute Lead Safety Engineer Matthew Herron, M.S., P.E., CSP, CPE, has been named the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Council on Practices and Standards’ 2023 Safety Professional of the Year. The award recognizes Herron’s outstanding achievements and contributions to ASSP’s practice specialty and common interest group communities.
“I feel very fortunate and humbled to receive this award,” Herron said. “The safety profession is about protecting people, and I have a deep passion for that. One of the greatest rewards of being a safety professional is implementing processes and making improvements that can protect others.”
Herron has been an ASSP member since 2011 and currently serves as an advisory board member for the ASSP’s Engineering Practice Specialty and the Ergonomics Practice Specialty. ASSP practice specialty communities are virtual networks of ASSP members that share technical and professional content to solve common safety challenges.
Herron earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of West Georgia in 2006 and became a product test and calibration technician before discovering his calling as a safety engineer. He earned a master’s degree in industrial and operations engineering, with a concentration in occupational safety engineering and ergonomics, from the University of Michigan in 2011. Herron worked for Toyota and Lockheed Martin before joining SwRI in 2016.
At SwRI, Herron developed the Safety 360 Program, which empowers employees to proactively identify and report unsafe conditions and at-risk behaviors in the workplace as well as provide suggestions to correct these issues.
“One of the most essential elements of safety is building relationships,” Herron said. “Safety can be like its own little island with its own language, but we need to ensure we stay connected to the mainland. Our goal is to connect with people on a personal level to show that we care about them and reinforce the importance of safety in their work. To do this, we need be safety coaches, not safety cops.”
Herron also serves as the ASSP Regional Vice President for Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. In this role, he oversees 13 ASSP chapters and 12 student sections. Herron is also involved in organizing the region’s annual Student Leadership Conference (SLC).
“Helping shape the future of our profession is incredibly important,” Herron said. “Therefore, when planning our SLC, we aim to provide our students with the skills, resources and insights needed to successfully transition from the classroom and into a rewarding career as a safety and health professional.”
Herron received the award at the ASSP Safety 2023 Conference and Expo earlier this year.
For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/technical-divisions/mechanical-engineering.