Paul S. Adams, Ph.D., P.E., CSP, CPE

Dr. Adams is a Senior Consultant whose research, design, and consulting interests include the following:

• Occupational Safety Management and Program Assessment
• Ergonomics/Human Factors Engineering
• Role of Warnings in Industrial Accidents and Safety Management
• Machine Guarding
• Hazardous Energy Control (Lockout/Tagout)
• Personal Protective Equipment
• OSHA Compliance
• Industrial Accident Investigation
• Job Analysis and Design
• Merger and Acquisition Support
• Fire Prevention Management
• Industrial Process / Equipment Design Safety
• Material Handling
• Construction Safety

Dr. Adams has analyzed safety issues on a wide range of equipment in numerous industries; some examples include the following:

• Construction: Scaffolds, backhoes, mobile lifts, roof installation equipment
• Wood Products: Sawmills, pulpers, calenders, paper machines, yard cranes, log grapples
• Metals: Roll-formers, direct-chill casting systems, rolling mills, slitters, annealing furnaces, cleaning and degreasing systems
• Metal Fabrication: Welders, lathes, mills, power presses, painting systems
• Plastics: injection mold machines, blow molders, sheet molding with glass fiber reinforcement, extruders
• Chemicals: explosive manufacturing, asphalt systems, blenders and mixers, pouring, bagging and other packaging systems, beverage production and packaging
• Assembly: agricultural equipment, automotive components, wood cabinetry, office furniture
• Transportation: rail car unloading, truck docks, semi-trailer loading/unloading, railroad equipment and operations
• Printing

He has specialized knowledge in the manufacture of metals, plastics, pulp and paper, fiberglass, building materials, and assembled products, as well as in agriculture.

Upon completing his PhD, Dr. Adams served as an Assistant Professor in the Safety Program for the Department of Health Sciences at Illinois State University, where he taught courses related to fire prevention and protection, statistics, accident investigation, records and evaluation, industrial accident prevention, and ergonomics. In 1994, he joined the Corporate Occupational Health and Safety Department of Owens Corning at its World Headquarters in Toledo, OH. He served Owens Corning for six years as Leader, Safety Engineering and Ergonomics. Prior to receiving his PhD, he was a plant loss prevention engineer in metal manufacturing, stamping and fabrication plants, as well as in plants manufacturing plastics and explosives.

Dr. Adams serves as a Director on the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. He also serves on the NIOSH-ERC Advisory Board for the University of Michigan Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, and reviews research proposals for NIOSH grant applications. Dr. Adams serves as the Pre-Conference Seminar Chair for the Applied Ergonomics Conference, and has served on the Organizing Committee for this large national conference since its inception. He co-facilitated the National Safety Council Safety through Design course for several years.

Dr. Adams is a member of various professional societies, including the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), and a Professional Engineer.

He is the named inventor on three U.S. patents, and has numerous proprietary solutions to his credit.

Dr. Adams holds a Ph.D. and M.S.E. from the University of Michigan in Industrial and Operations Engineering. He also holds an M.S. from Central Missouri State University in Industrial Safety and a B.S.E in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University.