Publications Committee Standard Operating Procedures

Effective Date – January 1999

1 Policy Statement

1.1 The purpose of this policy is to define the protocol for all communications with the membership, to create a methodology to ensure that the membership receives a high quality technical Journal, and to provide guidelines and procedures for the selection, terms and responsibilities of members of the SESHA Publications organization.

2 Scope

2.1 This policy provides general guidelines for establishment and maintenance of the Publications Committee, outlines qualifications of members, and defines the method in which funding (both expenditures and receipts) shall be maintained for the SESHA Journal.

3 Organization

3.1 The Publications Committee is organized under the Board of Directors of the SESHA. It includes a Board Appointed liaison who coordinates the activities of the Journal, Committees and Subcommittees, and Editor in Chief. The liaison is a member of the Publications Committee. The liaison also provides oversight to the contractual obligations of Burk and Associates, Inc. (BAI). (See Organizational Chart at the end of this procedure.)

3.2 The Publications Committee acts as a central clearinghouse for Journal planning, coordination and scheduling.

3.3 The SESHA Management Service (BAI) is responsible for publishing the Journal, supervising paid staff, submitting and administering the budget, providing general editorial services, facilitating communications to members, and coordinating the release of Press information. The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors will approve Press Releases.

3.4 The Editor in Chief approves all decisions regarding Journal content, is responsible for establishing a publication schedule, ensures articles accepted are published in a timely manner, and informs authors of peer review conclusions, (including accept/reject decisions and publishing date).

3.5 The Editor in Chief keeps committee members informed of pertinent information and activities related to the Journal.

3.6 Reporting to the Editor in Chief are the Editorial Board, Peer Reviewers and Book Reviewers.

4 Eligibility for Committee Participation

4.1 Members of the Publications Committee shall be safety, health and environmental professionals that hold positions in industry, academia, or the public sector, and are members of the SESHA.

4.2 The Publisher, Managing Editor and Executive Management Association (BAI) will participate in Committee meetings.

4.3 Prospective committee members can be nominated by any current member of the publications committee and are approved by the Editor in Chief and Board Liaison. Qualified applicants will serve for a term of three years. This term is renewable.

5 Committee Responsibilities
5.1 The Publications Committee is responsible for:

5.1.1 Developing Journal strategy and focus.

5.1.2 Creating the publishing schedule.

5.1.3 Determining themes and topics for special/focused editions.

5.1.4 Creating Press Releases and similar communications to industry.

5.2 The committee shall designate a chair that shall establish meetings that are well defined and implemented in a manner consistent with SESHA policy. When needed, specific committee members shall be assigned responsibilities with appropriate action items, bench marks, and deadlines.

5.3 The committee chair shall designate an individual (normally the Editor in Chief) to scribe minutes of meetings for distribution to committee members and the Board of Directors.

6 Voting Privileges

6.1 In rare cases where a committee decision requires a vote, each committee member shall have one (1) vote. In the case of a tie vote, the chair shall cast a vote to reach resolution.

6.2 The Publisher, Managing Editor, and Executive Management Association are not eligible to vote.

7 Fiscal Management

7.1 Funding of SESHA Publications comes primarily from two sources: sale of advertising in the Journal and the annual SESHA organizational budget. Printing and publishing expenses shall be paid as required by the Board approved contract to the Publisher, and revenues from Journal advertising shall be returned to the Association operating budget. These activities are outside the jurisdiction of this procedure.

7.2 The Committee Chair shall submit a recommended annual budget no later than the 15th of May of each year for consideration in the Board of Directors annual budget meeting.

7.3 The Publications Committee shall expend no budgeted funds unless approved by the Committee Chair.

7.4 Unless approved in advance via the approved budget or in writing by the SESHA President, committee members are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses associated with committee meetings and related activities. Travel request must be approved in advance, and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

8 Staff Responsibilities

8.1 Editor in Chief. The responsibilities and authority of the Editor in Chief are:

8.1.1 Final authority and approval for all decisions regarding the Journal, including format, layout and content.

8.1.2 Clearinghouse for all articles, papers, notes, etc. submitted to the Journal for publishing

8.1.3 Facilitate the peer reviews process.

8.1.4 Oversight of the Publications Committee approved publishing schedule to the point where materials are transmitted to the printer.

8.1.5 Serve on the Publications Committee

8.1.6 Ensure Committee approved Journal activities are implemented

8.2 Managing Editor. The responsibilities and authority of the Managing Editor are:

8.2.1 Facilitate all activities necessary to make the materials ready for publishing after they have completed the peer review process.

8.2.2 Produce publication ready documents from materials submitted. This includes:

8.2.2.1 Making spelling, grammar and syntax corrections that do not change or misrepresent the authors original intent.

8.2.2.2 Allowing a one-time review of completed transcripts to the submitting Author. At least 5 working days must be allowed for this review. If necessary changes cannot be made in time for publishing, the article may, at the Managing Editors discretion, be removed from the Journal edition.

8.2.2.3 Ensuring all articles are ready for transfer to the printer/typesetter at the designated due date.

8.2.3 The managing editor has the specific authority to cancel inclusion of an article in a Journal edition if the required alterations, corrections or reviews are not completed by the appropriate deadlines. Cancelled articles may be resubmitted as a new item.

8.2.4 The managing editor shall facilitate obtaining columns, articles and other “front matter” for each issue.

8.3 Publisher. The Publisher has the following responsibilities:

8.3.1 Ensure that publishing deadlines and timetables are met.

8.3.2 Facilitate the printing and shipping process.

8.3.3 Manage the sale of advertising and associated layout and artwork.

8.3.4 Meet the terms of the Management Association (BAI) contract.

9 Peer Review

9.1 Peer Review, and the selection of reviewers shall meet the following requirements:

9.1.1 The Editor in Chief shall approve peer reviewers.

9.1.2 Peer review of SESHA Journal manuscripts shall be performed for those documents submitted and approved by the Editor in Chief. No manuscripts can enter the peer review process without specific direction from the Journal Editor in Chief.

9.1.3 All reviews shall be performed using the guidelines of the “Reviewer Manuscript Evaluation Worksheet” found in this procedure. This activity will also be coordinated by the Editor in Chief.

9.1.4 Peer Review will determine the adequacy of the article based on the requirements of this worksheet. The reviewer will not attempt to rewrite sections or change syntax or grammar.

9.1.5 Requests or recommendations for technical content change will be returned to the Author, who will determine if they should be made, and how to incorporate them. Alterations that are strictly editorial may be made by the managing editor with approval of the Editor in Chief, without returning the document to the Author.

9.1.6 At least two peer reviewers will evaluate each article submitted and accepted by the Editor in Chief. If there is significant disagreement between the two reviewers, the Editor in Chief will determine the proper action necessary. At the discretion of the Editor in Chief, a third reviewer may be assigned review of the manuscript. The Editor in Chief has final authority of publishing of manuscripts.

10 Deviations/Modifications

10.1 Deviations and or modifications to this policy require(s) written approval from the SESHA Board of Directors.

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