BLR’s Safety Summit 2018 kicked off on Tuesday, April 16, in sunny Orlando, and it has been a great conference for our attendees, exhibitors, and speakers.
SafeStart’s Tim Page-Bottorff presented an opening keynote focused on the Future of Workplace Safety. Bottorff described the work our attendees do in safety as a noble profession and expressed optimism for the future of safety. Afterward, Matthew Humphreville, an Industrial Hygienist with OSHA, explained to the audience current trends in OSHA enforcement, highlighting key areas and answering questions from attendees.
In the Performance Management & Engagement Track, ProAct Safety’s Chuck Douros provided a powerful 3-step safety coaching model:
- Focus
- Feedback
- Facilitate
Douros also encouraged safety supervisors to be AWARE when it comes to coaching their employees on safe behaviors: Announce, Watch, Ask, Reinforce, and Express concern. It’s a 90-second interaction that promotes safer behavior and provides a great opportunity for good coaching—in short, a brief but impactful conversation.
Later in the morning, Andy Hosman, Vice President of Operational Risk at Sphera, explained some current types of safety wearables, including the following:
- Health and Environmental Monitoring
- Augmented and Virtual Reality
- Real-Time Communication
- Exoskeletons
It was fascinating information for those looking to get a leg up on what Hosman described as EHS 4.0—essentially, the digital revolution in safety. It’s time for safety professionals to be ready for data and analytics-driven strategies with predictive risk management, global networks, and the industrial Internet of Things (IoT).
Also on Day 1 of the conference:
- Adele Abrams provided guidance on post-accident drug testing and safety incentive programs
- Breakout sessions on OSHA’s lockout/tagout standard, fall protection compliance, and the new NFPA 70E 2018 arc flash PPE requirements
- Patricia Reed and Francene Diehl discussed engaging Generation Z in safety training
- A panel discussion on organizational processes and their impact on safety with Regina McMichael, Adele Abrams, and Eric Conn
Representatives of Ingalls Shipbuilding pose with their Innovations in Safety Training Safety Standout Award at the Dinner with Sharks networking event.
After the day’s sessions had concluded, we recognized our runners-up and winners in our first ever Safety Standout Awards Ceremony. It was a great moment to celebrate the achievements of professionals and companies that have truly made an impact on workplace safety. To end the night, attendees went right across the street to SeaWorld®, where they enjoyed a dinner in the company of sharks. And this was all just on Day 1!
Day 2
After our attendees were awarded raffle prizes form our sponsors and exhibitors, Colonel Rick Searfoss delivered the opening keynote address on Day 2 of Safety Summit, entitled Safety Leadership—The Only Option. Those in attendance were given a unique look into the elite (and dangerous) world of NASA’s astronaut corps, and Searfoss related exciting stories of his missions, including the most complex science research space mission ever, mission STS-90 on Columbia. Col. Searfoss also shared what he has found in his experiences to be essential principles of safety leadership. It’s all about what he calls a 4P Leadership Performance Balance:
Col. Rick Searfoss delivers the opening keynote on Day 2 of BLR’s Safety Summit.
- Purpose
- People
- Program
- Perspective
The most important advice that Searfoss shared with the crowd of safety professionals was to ensure that within their organizations, safety is a “Mission that matters.”
Following the opening keynote, Regina McMichael provided tips for safety pros looking to get a seat in the C-suite. Then attendees were off to our Day 2 schedule of breakout educational sessions, including:
- Root cause analysis with Fran Sehn
- Leading safety indicators with Barry Spurlock, who also presented on employee engagement later in the day
- OSHA’s new silica rule for general industry with Adele Abrams
- HazCom compliance with Phil Mole
- Safety culture kickstarters with Francene Diehl
- Workplace violence prevention with Terri Howard
To end the conference, Dave Johnson gave an insightful closing keynote on disruptions facing the EHS industry.
We’d like to thank all of our attendees for being with us at this event, and we hope that you brought home some valuable information that will help benefit you, your organization, and all of its employees. Also, thank you to our sponsors—SafeStart, Bulwark, Dakota Software, Health and Safety Institute, FeelGood Inc., and Avetta!
If you missed out on this event, consider attending our Safety Culture event taking place this September in Atlanta, Georgia!
