PCC New Member Fact Sheet 2014

Permanent Conference Committee
New Member Fact Sheet
PCC SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
Mission Statement:
The Permanent Conference Committee (PCC), as a partnership between AIHA and ACGIH, will
ensure that AIHce is planned and organized as an effective forum for the exchange of ideas
focusing on the enhancement of the health and well-being of workers and the community.
Goal I:
To develop a program for AIHce that meets the professional and educational needs of the
profession by presenting programs that address the diverse and ever-changing demands of our
membership.
o Objective: Ensure that AIHce is of high quality and addresses current issues of the
profession.
o Strategies:
1. Develop the conference program by reviewing and accepting or rejecting
submitted abstracts and other technical program session proposals based on
established review criteria.
2. Review and recommend changes to the non-technical program, via
administrative staff, and AIHA/ACGIH boards, as appropriate.
Goal II:
Provide long-range planning for continuous improvement of the technical quality of AIHce.
o Objective A: Develop procedures for planning and developing technical programs,
including abstract submittal, abstract evaluation, session arrangement, presentation
of papers, and program evaluation.
o Strategies:
1. Provide assistance and guidance to session arrangers, moderators, and
presenters.
2. Develop evaluation tools and conduct evaluations of AIHce programs and
technical sessions. Use this information for continued improvement of any
future AIHce.
3. Respond to requests from AIHA/ACGIH boards and administrative staff about
the presentation/content of AIHce.
o Objective B: Provide equal representation of AIHA and ACGIH on the committee.
o Strategies:
1. Committee members are appointed to a four-year term.
2. Alternate the PCC chair between the fourth year AIHA/ACGIH members
annually.
3. Include as members the president-elect and vice president of AIHA and vice
chair and vice chair-elect of ACGIH.
PCC STRUCTURE
The PCC is composed of 12 members:
o four members from AIHA, appointed for a staggered four-year term
o four members from ACGIH, appointed for a staggered four-year term
o the President-elect and Vice President of AIHA
o the Vice Chair and Vice Chair-elect of ACGIH
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Updated: May 2014
Permanent Conference Committee
New Member Fact Sheet – continued
PCC LEADERSHIP
The PCC Chairmanship is held by the fourth year AIHA or ACGIH representative and rotates annually.
The PCC Vice Chairmanship also rotates annually, with the incoming second year AIHA or ACGIH
representative, as appropriate, becoming Vice Chairman.
AIHA President-elect and ACGIH vice hair serve as conference co-chairs for the upcoming conference,
overseeing the abstract review and technical program development. They receive support from the PCC in
abstract review and other conference tasks, and attend all PCC meetings. Their primary focus is the
upcoming conference program.
TIMELINE
Note: Items Requiring PCC Member Time have an asterisk
SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER:

Mid to Late September
Deadline for all session submissions (abstracts, EHS Crossovers, and roundtables).
Roundtable arrangers include funding requests at this time for PCC review.
Abstracts are processed via a series of deadlines that are adhered to strictly.
OCTOBER:

*PCC Conference Call #1 (1 hour)
Review guidelines

*PCC Review of Abstracts and Roundtables
The PCC is divided into five two-member rating teams; each assigned to review a
specific set of abstracts (ranging from 75 – 115 abstracts) to determine if all
requirements as listed in the Call for Presentations have been met and if all
information is current.
Reviews are conducted online. A brief series of scoring questions are used to assist
in this review. The PCC has determined that the more time and attention authors
give to meeting the requirements in the Call for Presentations and Call for
Roundtables, the better the submission and, consequently, the presentation. After
review and scoring, teams are provided with a list of discrepancies. Agreement within
each team (accept or reject) MUST be reached by the last day of the review.
The PCC will reject any abstracts which are found to be deficient in content and/or
form. Reasons for rejection must be noted and additional comments may be provided
at the discretion of the review team.
All PCC members review all the roundtable submissions prior to the Roundtable
Review Conference call (below). Review takes place online and each roundtable and
funding request will be discussed during the PCC Roundtable Review Conference
Call.
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Updated: May 2014
Permanent Conference Committee
New Member Fact Sheet – continued

*PCC Roundtable Review Conference Call #2 (4 hours):
Final approval/rejection decisions are made for submitted roundtables and funding
requests during this conference call, which lasts approximately four (4) hours. The
review is to determine if submissions have the qualities necessary for an AIHce
presentation. The conference co-chairs resolve any differences of opinion. The PCC
as a group will determine allocation of roundtable funding by pre-established PCC
criteria.
NOVEMBER:

Decisions about roundtables and funding requests are communicated to the
roundtable arrangers within one week of the conference call. Approximately two
weeks after completion of PCC abstract review, session arrangers receive their
review documents and abstract assignments based on the abstract author’s first topic
preference.

Deadline for roundtable arrangers to submit additional information required by the
PCC.

The conference co-chairs hear any appeals (now through the deadline for podium
arrangers to complete session arranging) and make final accept or reject decisions.
Appeals decisions are handled throughout the session arranging period (e-mail via
through the Conference Program Coordinator) and terminate on the last day of
session arranging

Deadline for Podium Arrangers to complete online session arranging.
DECEMBER
 *PCC Meeting at AIHA HQ (One Full Day):
Committee meets at AIHA headquarters to approve the technical program schedule
and plan future conferences. PCC members fly to Virginia the night before the
meeting. The meeting ends around 3 pm allowing members to fly out that same day,
if flight schedules permit. AIHA covers the travel costs for the Committee.
MAY or JUNE
 PCC Meeting (at AIHce – typically scheduled on Wednesday from 4-6 pm).
Kathie St. Clair is available to answer any questions you may have regarding the abstract submission and
review process. You may contact her directly at 703 846-0753 or by email at [email protected].
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Updated: May 2014

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