ISFA Strengthens National Safety and Licensing Efforts with Key Hire in Southern California

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The International Surface Fabricators Association has hired Martin Bermudez, PE, CHMM, CEMSLA to lead its national safety and licensing efforts. The hire is based in Southern California – a strategic choice given that California is currently the most active state on silica regulation, with Cal/OSHA reviewing Petition 609 to restrict engineered stone.

Bermudez brings a combination of professional engineering credentials, hazardous materials management certification, and environmental compliance experience – a skillset that is directly relevant to the technical, regulatory, and enforcement challenges facing fabrication shops today. His hiring signals that ISFA intends to deepen its technical capacity on safety and licensing, not just add advocacy capacity.

Why this hire matters for fabricators:

• California is the regulatory bellwether for silica policy in the US – having a senior safety lead based there positions ISFA to engage early and often
• The combination of PE and CHMM credentials means Bermudez can speak credibly with both regulators and shop owners
• ISFA is treating safety and licensing as a single integrated function, reflecting the reality that shops need both
• This hire follows the NSI’s expansion of silica safety advocacy and research, showing that multiple industry associations are investing in the same direction

For fabrication shops in California and beyond, the message is clear: industry associations are building the infrastructure to support you through the coming regulatory changes. The question is whether individual shops will use those resources or wait until enforcement arrives.

For fabricators in states where silica regulation is less advanced than California, this hire serves as an early-warning signal. ISFA is investing where the regulatory pressure is highest, and that investment creates expertise and resources that will eventually benefit shops nationwide. The question for fabrication businesses outside California is whether they will wait for regulation to arrive in their state or begin preparing now using the tools and guidance being developed by associations like ISFA and the https://silicafreesurfaces.com/nsi-silica-safety-advocacy-2026/NSI.