Program | Safety+

Symposium Schedule

Friday, September 15

8:00am – 5:00pm SGE Training

Saturday, September 16

8:00am – 5:00pm SGE Training
8:00am – 5:00pm Kennedy Space Center Tour ($$)
Registration closes on Thursday, August 31st.
2:00pm – 5:00pm Safety+ Registration

Sunday, September 17

7:00am – 5:00pm Safety+ Registration
8:00am – 2:00pm VPPPA Scholarship Golf Tournament ($$)

8:00am – 12:00pm Workshops

Confined Space

Did you know that 89% of confined space fatalities occurred with jobs authorized by supervisors, and 80% of fatalities happened in locations that have been previously entered by the same person who later died? You may be able to enter an enclosed space, but could you get back out safely? This training will help you understand the hazards associated with confined spaces and the procedures your employer has in place to protect you and those around you. It can make the difference between life and death!

Upon course completion, you’ll be able to:

Understand the hazards associated with confined spaces and the procedures your employer has in place to protect you and those around you.
Analyze and address the dangers of a permit-required confined space.
Understand the risks of confined space entry to properly mitigate them.

LOTO

OSHA created the lockout/tagout standard to cover the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment in which the “unexpected” energization or startup of the machines or equipment or release of stored energy could cause injury to employees. Come learn how to develop and implement an energy control program, or lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) for the protection of workers while performing servicing and maintenance activities on machinery and equipment.
This course will address the types of hazardous energy, how to detect hazardous conditions and the various ways to implement control measures for controlling hazardous energy. Additionally, this course will provide strategies and best practices for developing and implementing energy control programs. At the end of this course, the attendee will understand the written isolation procedures, training of authorized and affected employees, and periodic inspection of energy control procedures.

8:00am – 4:00pm Workshops

DiSC Leadership Training – Are You an Eagle Leader or a Parrot? ($$)

Everyone is a leader and an influencer, but the question is: how do you do both well? In this presentation, we’ll help you identify how you typically work, learn and communicate. You’ll come away from the session with a better understanding of how to read others, improve your communication and grow your influence! Each of us have a dominating style: Eagle, Parrot, Dove or Owl.

Define the four typical performance styles
How to flex your performance to better communicate and get results
Understand your best qualities and how overusing those strengths can be unproductive

VPP Application Workshop ($$)

Description Coming Soon.

What’s New in DOE VPP?

This workshop, intended for employees at DOE sites, offers an overview of what’s new in the DOE-VPP program.

12:00pm – 1:00pm General Lunch
12:00pm – 4:30pm Daytona International Speedway Tour ($$)

1:00pm – 5:00pm Workshops

PSM 101

VPP and PSM are complementary safety and health management systems (SHMS). How can VPP PSM sites combine the two programs, leverage strengths, and increase overall safety and health success? You will hear from industry professionals that have experience in combining the two programs successfully. In addition, OSHA expert Jackie Annis will share perspectives on OSHA requirements and her working knowledge of SHMS as it relates to PSM and VPP.

VPP Re-Approval Workshop ($$)

The VPP Re-Approval workshop is a half-day course designed to assist VPP Star sites in preparing to undergo the re-approval audit. We’ll cover an overview of timeline and expectations during the re-approval process, common pitfalls to be cautious of, and how to best ensure your site is set up for success. Whether you’re preparing for your first re-approval or your sixth, it is vital to never grow complacent and to always strive for continuous improvement with regard to your safety and health management system.

Industrial Hygiene

Did you know, more than 40% of your VPP program involves industrial hygiene? IH aspects can be difficult to identify and may require special expertise, since they can be more long-term in nature and do not usually have immediate measurable health effects on employees. During this training we will discuss the integrated steps of the VPP management system and how Industrial Hygiene needs to be addressed.

The trainers for this session are CIHs, CSPs, as well as National Speakers who are professionals currently working at OSHA VPP Star Worksites and have national responsibility.

While VPP programs are touted for their safety achievements, they need to make sure that health problems do not spoil the party!

5:00pm – 6:30pm VPPPA Annual Meeting of the Membership Opening Reception

All Safety+ attendees are invited to the Annual Meeting of the Membership to take part in the business of the Association. Hear directly from your Board of Directors about what VPPPA has been up to this past year, initiatives for the year going forward, the Treasurer’s report, and other Association updates. Members can also help in setting policies and making decisions through the election of member representatives who will sit on the Board of Directors. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard!

After the meeting, you’ll have the chance to connect and mingle with fellow participants whom you’ll be interacting with throughout the week. Join us at the Opening Reception for hors d’oeuvres and beverages.

Monday, September 18

7:00am – 4:00pm Safety+ Registration
8:00am – 9:00am Keynote
9:00am – 10:30am Safety+ Exhibit Hall Grand Opening & Breakfast
9:00am – 4:00pm Exhibit Hall
10:30am – 11:15am OSHA Mega Session

11:30am – 12:20pm Workshops

Recordkeeping Roulette

Workshop Description

Do you feel like you are playing roulette when you have to decide whether or not to record an injury/illness at your site? It can often feel like a guessing game. What columns do I check? How many days do I count? Do I even have to record it? What about calling OSHA? Yikes!

Even if recordkeeping is not your job, this session will help you categorize what happens at a site and understand how it impacts VPP applications and participation. We’ll use case studies to play the game of “Recordable or Not?” to cover the trickiest scenarios and discuss any recent updates.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify the difference between recordable and reportable incidents
Describe the difference between OSHA recordkeeping and workers compensation reporting
Apply OSHA’s decision tree for recordability
Utilize the Letters of Interpretation for assistance in defining recordability

Speaker

Cindy Lewis, Director/OSHA Challenge Administrator, UAMS COPH Office of Professional Development & Program Evaluation

Are Contractors the Weakest Link?

Workshop Description

Are contractors the weakest link in your safety and health program? It can be easy to blame contractors for their mistakes and incidents, but during our root cause analysis, do we truly investigate our contractor program? In this session, we’ll discuss contractor onboarding processes, site requirements, and job scope. Attendees will walk away with the tools and strategies needed to really look at the whole picture of an incident, rather than just chalking it up to contractor error.

Learning Outcomes:

Review your contractor’s process when they arrive at your facility
Practice holding the proper individuals accountable when investigating incidents
Identify barriers in contractor onboarding

Speaker

Gilberto Aceves, Safety Specialist III/VPP Coordinator, NRG Energy

Worksite Analysis – Hazard Analysis on Job Tasks – What is the Best Method?

Workshop Description

In this session, we will discuss methods of performing Hazard Analysis on job tasks. We have all seen many ways to do this, the Job Safety Analysis (JSA), the Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), or even the Job Safety and Environmental Analysis (JSEA). In this Breakout Session we will discuss the ways to properly perform a Hazard Analysis on Job Tasks and review some examples. If you have an example you are proud of, please bring it to our workshop to discuss.

Learning Outcomes:

Recognize the need for systematic risk management
Examine level setting for hazard identification
Identify other uses for Risk Assessments
Practice performing Hazard Analysis on Job Tasks

Speaker

Scott Genta, Vice President of Operations, Safety Management Services, Inc.

Exploring New Territory: Subtle Barriers to Near-Miss Reporting

Workshop Description

Developing and implementing an effective and impactful near-miss program requires you to do more than “think outside the box.” In some cases, you have to throw box away entirely. Join Jean Ndana for a discussion on unconventional techniques, tactics and routines that transformed an underperforming near-miss program at one unionized manufacturing plant. Attendees will learn to identify subtle barriers to near-miss reporting, explore a new definition of what constitutes as a near-miss, and chart a path that inspires and empowers workers to take action.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify barriers to near-miss reporting
Assess elements of an effective near-miss program
Illustrate how strong relationships and workplace alliances with the maintenance team impacts the near-miss program

Speaker

Jean Ndana, Senior Regional HSE Manager, CSP, CIH, CHMM, Bull Moose Tube

Four Generations – One Workforce

Workshop Description

Today’s workplace features Baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and the latest Gen Z. Working together when generational and life stage behaviors are vastly different creates a setting that can lead to confusion. Each generation has much to offer, but our collective life experiences can lead to miscommunication, frustration, and a break down in workplace day-to-day operations. When communication is vastly diverse across different generations, breakdowns, and ultimately accidents in the workplace could happen. This session will include a review of real-world workplace issue involving these 4 generations working together. We will talk about what went wrong, what went right, and ultimately how to get these groups communicating effectively.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify when an issue is a generational conflict
Analyze how each generation communicates
Illustrate how to incorporate younger generations in the workforce

Speaker

Chelsie Creps, Environmental Scientist, RSI Entech

11:30am – 12:30pm DoD General Session (for DoD personnel only)

12:30pm – 1:20pm Workshops

Developing an Effective Electrical Safety Program: Best Practices in Applying NFPA 70E

Workshop Description

Most workers are well aware that electricity can be dangerous, but not everyone truly understands how and where the largest exposures exist. This presentation is designed to provide an increased awareness of why an effective Electrical Safety Program is so important, as well as equip attendees with the tools necessary to mitigate this critical workplace risk. By the conclusion of this session, attendees will know how to leverage NFPA 70E, OSHA and industry best practices to create an effective Electrical Safety Program.

Learning Outcomes:

Evaluate trends and statistics illustrating why there is still a case for change and need for an effective Electrical Safety Program to improve worker knowledge in electrical hazard identification, mitigation and controls for both host employers and contractors.
Review common electrical hazards and worker challenges found in both general industry and construction settings.
Explain general compliance regulations (OSHA) and industry consensus standard (NFPA 70E), as well as hear from industry experts on how to understand and apply key elements required for an effective Electrical Safety Program.

Speaker

Jeremy Presnal, Senior Vice President, EHS & Workforce Development, Shermco Industries

Opioids in Your Workforce

Workshop Description

The opioid epidemic now takes more lives each year than all motor vehicle accidents. This devastating statistic heavily affects our workforce. Many workers are using and abusing opioid medications, impacting the safety and wellbeing of themselves as well as fellow coworkers. Understanding the effects of these medications as well as the impact to the employer is key to both identifying the problem and helping prevent injury. This presentation will explain how the epidemic affects the workplace, the current landscape of what workers are taking including fentanyl, and breakdown the legal ramifications of dealing with an addicted worker.

Learning Outcomes:

Analyze the current opioid use statistics
Understand the effects of opioids as it relates to workers
Explain how fentanyl has become the leading cause of death

Speaker

Thomas Hysler, Chief Medical Officer, Health and Safety Council

Safety GameTime – Using Games to Educate, Challenge and Inspire our Team

Workshop Description

Who doesn’t enjoy a fun game? The answer is obvious and points to the hidden power of using games to connect in an expected and effective way with our team members. When used strategically, these games can raise safety awareness, challenge us to lift our team’s safety performance, and inspire us to commit our ‘energy’ to create a safe environment for all. In this presentation we will play games! After each game, we will work together to develop an understanding of the hows, whys and outcomes of each game type. We will explore how we can use the games to target areas in which we want to enhance our team’s understanding, and we’ll have fun seeing opportunities to use these games to challenge our team to raise our level of safety excellence. By observing the unique teaming dynamic the games foster, we’ll reflect on how we can channel this into building teams inspired to think in new ways to reduce safety risks. Join us in a fun, interactive, dynamic presentation that will forever change how you think about ‘playing to win’!

Learning Outcomes:

Demonstrate use of games to create a more effective learning environment
Discuss how games can encourage collaboration on your team
Illustrate how games can motivate your team members to engage more effectively in your EH&S Program
Explore how games can facilitate positive safety behavioral change

Speaker

Jeffrey Stolz, Operational Excellence Manager, RTX, Matthew Marucci, CSP, EHS Manufacturing Support Manager, RTX, Jaime Harper, EHS Manager, RTX

Leveling up Your Safety and Health Program

Workshop Description

This workshop will focus on new OSHA tools to help businesses create and improve safety and health programs. Through interactive activities, you’ll share your experiences and insights on the key challenges OSHA should address in this effort. You’ll also learn about opportunities to give in-depth input to help OSHA through this development process.

Speaker

OSHA

How to Create a Scalable and Sustainable Solution for Reducing MSD-related Injuries

Workshop Description

MSD related injuries generally top most employer’s list of workplace injuries. Only through an effective root cause analysis can employers mitigate risk and control these injuries. In this presentation, attendees will be introduced to a number of effective measures for creating a scalable and sustainable solution for controlling MSD related injuries. Body mechanics, posture and functional health, key contributors to MSD issues, will be reviewed with solutions for education and ergonomic analysis for risk mitigation.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify contributing factors that may lead to MSD injuries
Define ‘root cause analysis’ and understand how to use the findings for effective risk mitigation
Illustrate how body mechanics, posture and functional health contribute to MSD injuries
Create a roadmap for MSD Injury Intervention

Speaker

Julie Parkhill, VP Employer Sales, ATI Worksite Solutions

1:30pm – 3:00pm Lunch in Exhibit Hall

1:30pm – 3:00pm SGE Luncheon

Join your fellow SGE’s as we discuss the future of the program, where it’s headed and how we’re getting there. Have an active voice in the shaping the future of SGE’s!

3:00pm – 3:50pm Workshops

How Wearable Safety Tech Can Supercharge HOP Initiatives While Reducing Incidents & Claims

Workshop Description

Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) principles are an essential component to safety management in today’s world. There is more focus on using social sciences to build systems in the workplace that are more error tolerant, while also understanding how humans really perform, and how we can create a learning culture. It may seem counterintuitive, but with the right approach, wearable technology can be an enhancement to culture and strengthen HOP efforts.

Join Tom West of MākuSafe for a discussion on why the basics of HOP are so critical to effective safety management, and how wearable technology can enhance these approaches in addition to reducing claims by 50%-90%!

Learning Outcomes:

Describe the 6 Principles of Human and Organizational Performance and their benefit to industrial safety programs
Explore how wearable tech can focus on hazard and risk identification rather than focusing on the individual or personal information
Identify how to use wearables to build capacity and create a positive culture and mindset

Speaker

Tom West, Vice President, MakuSafe

Predicting Occupational Fatalities: The Six Common Fatality Factors

Workshop Description

After having investigated and reviewed many fatalities, we have identified the six common factors that are typically in play prior to a fatality event. Organizations that can recognize and appreciate these factors can predict and advert future fatal events. This session will discuss each of the six factors in detail focusing on the typical situations for each and how these factors are not effectively recognized or appreciated in most organizations.

We will also discuss actual fatality cases that support these factors, as well as how organizations can build resilience and predictability through these factors.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify organizational factors that are part of the fatality path
Diagram examples of fatalities that have occurred because of these factors
Discuss methods to improve their organization’s predictive health based on these fatality factors

Speaker

Peter Susca, Principal, OpX Safety and Mike Dwyer, HSE Director, ArcelorMittal

Overview of the VPP Modernization Process

Workshop Description

Continuous improvement is one of the key principles of the VPP that applies to VPP participants and OSHA. As a result, OSHA is constantly seeking ways to improve VPP, improve the customer experience, make the system more user friendly, and improve efficiency. OSHA has a variety of good reasons to modernize VPP:

VPP is 40 years old and a very successful program but could be improved.
VPP is based on Safety & Health Program Guidelines published in 1989. OSHA published new Safety and Health Program Recommended Practices in 2016.
SHMS consensus standards have been developed and more employers are using them.
Due to its popularity, VPP has outgrown OSHA’s capacity to process applications from all the sites that are interested in participating.
Techniques for managing workplace safety and health have evolved.
Using technology to augment current capacity presents opportunities to enhance and expand the program.

This workshop will present OSHA’s newest effort to modernize VPP, expand the program, and enhance its ability to protect workers. An executive from OSHA’s Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs will describe the goals of this important project, its overall approach, and progress.

Speaker

OSHA

Our Greatest Opportunity: Building Psychologically Safe and Ready Workforces Through Positive Leadership

Workshop Description

The global pandemic taught us of the importance of the well-being of our workforce, both inside and outside of our workplaces. Today’s workforce is also becoming more and more complex. Many companies’ employees span five generations, with each having a different communication style. Companies are also increasingly using contingent workforce (contractor, temporary staffing) to supplement their labor strategies, creating additional gaps and barriers in critical areas such as communications. This is creating a greater need to further define the resources and boundaries needed for an effective safety management system in a joint-employer environment.

Even after the pandemic, the stress placed on business systems continues today as technology has advanced, supply chains are interrupted and standardized schedules are disrupted. The old, transactional-based, formal methods for mental health and psychological safety aren’t effective. In the past, these methods provided help and resources but didn’t build supporting networks within employee communities that prioritize relationships and foster interpersonal connections, which are vitally important to creating positive risk communications we depend on for good, safe work to occur.

This presentation will show professionals how to integrate the socially transformative elements of psychological safety within our work systems while finding a unique opportunity to advance the benefits of reducing risk and error in the workplace alongside greater business outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

Define Psychological Safety
Review Case Studies to explore outcomes from mental health/fitness index 
Discuss the Role and Importance of Safety

Speaker

Scott DeBow, Principal: HS/E Advisor, Avetta

4:00pm – 5:00pm Regional Business Meetings

Region I

This meeting presents an ideal occasion for all attendees within your region to come together. You’ll hear updates from your Regional Board, engage in discussions about ideas for the 2024 Regional Conference, addressing challenges within the health and safety industry, and exploring avenues through which your Region can offer support. This is a unique opportunity for your voice to be heard by Regional leadership or to discover how you can actively participate at the local level.

Region II

Region IV

Region VIII

Region IX

4:00pm – 5:00pm Labor & Management Open Forum

5:00pm – 6:30pm VPPPA Regional Networking Reception

This event offers a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, perfect for connecting with fellow safety professionals from both within and beyond your region. It’s a fantastic opportunity to expand your professional network and meet your esteemed Regional Board Members. To make identifying your region easier, we kindly request that you wear the complimentary T-shirt you received during badge pick-up at the registration area. Each T-shirt is color-coded according to your respective region, ensuring seamless networking and camaraderie.

Furthermore, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be available, adding to the enjoyment of the event.

Tuesday, September 19

7:00am – 4:00pm Safety+ Registration
7:00am – 9:00am Air Force Breakout
7:00am – 9:00am Navy Breakout
7:00am – 9:00am Marine Corps Breakout

6:30am – 8:30am Safety+ Health and Wellness Expo

Sponsored by

6:30am 5k Fun Run/Walk

Start your morning with a 5k fun run/walk! Join your fellow morning enthusiasts for a jaunt around Orlando World Center Marriott and get your blood pumping to kick start your day of learning! The event will begin at the Fairway Terrace which is located behind Falls Pool, the main pool, and next to the first tee box of the Hawks Landing golf course.

Sponsored by

7:30am – 8:30am Workshops

Condition the Spine, Don’t Bubble Wrap It

MSD Injury Prevention with Movement Prep and Recovery

The spine is meant to bend and twist but it’s not meant to bend, lift and twist with crappy posture and a deconditioned body. Material handling, imbalanced duty belts, and heavy, awkward lifting is commonplace for many first responders. Unfortunately, so are low back strains and pains. Providing realistic back safety education that includes movement based injury prevention tools can lower the risk of injury, and in the case of an injury, decrease the time it takes to get back to usual work. Physical pain can easily start a relationship with mental frustration so Lori will provide perspective and simple steps to care for your low back tweaks and get you on track for future awesome movement.

Objectives:

Enjoy a memorable and repeatable movement exercise to decrease risk of low back injury
Be able to develop a simple plan for early reporting of aches & soreness
Recognize that most low back pain is super frustrating but not emergent

La Blast

LaBlast^® Fitness is a partner-free dance fitness workout created by world-renowned dancer and fitness expert Louis van Amstel (as seen on Dancing with the Stars). It’s accessible for all levels – from the absolute beginner to the experienced dancer. LaBlast^® takes you through a diverse mix of famous ballroom dances set to your favorite music, everything from pop and rock to hip-hop and country. Experience the full array of dance styles from Jive to Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz to Lindy Hop. Whether you want to tone your body, maintain a healthy lifestyle, learn to dance, or just have a great time, LaBlast^® offers something for everyone.

Yoga

Chair yoga is a gentle practice in which postures are performed while seated and/or with the aid of a chair. It is a great form of yoga for beginners or anyone who wants to focus on a gentle practice. Chair yoga increases flexibility, strength and body awareness. When standing poses are included in a Chair yoga class, the chair is used to help with and improve balance. Chair yoga may also include breathing techniques and meditation to promote focus, mental clarity and relaxation.

8:00am – 1:00pm Exhibit Hall

9:00am – 9:50am Workshops

Beyond the Buzzword – What Being Proactive in Safety Really Means

Workshop Description

Responding to incidents is a critical capability for any organization. Caring for those impacted, restoring or modifying equipment that is involved, and returning to normal operation is important. Learning from any incident offers the opportunity to make the changes necessary to prevent the incident from occurring again. However, in addition to being capable in our response, it is even more important that we are proactive in preventing incidents from occurring in the first place.

This presentation will focus on what being proactive really means, as well as how seeing the reality of our environment and work that our people do is key to taking the actions necessary in advance of an incident occurring. This highly interactive session will examine how being visually literate helps us to see hazards in the workplace that have become so familiar we no longer see them – until the incident occurs. Through engaging exercises, we will examine the linkage between visual literacy and common safety processes including hazard recognition, prevention through design, and serious injury and fatality prevention.

Learning Outcomes:

Utlize visual literacy to enable a high level of critical thinking and lead to a proactive safety culture
Understand how simple tools can be used to advance our capability to see the reality of the world around us and take meaningful actions
Engage with communication strategies to relay information in an objective manner to accelerate action and impact
Practice the Art of Seeing Art to move away from just looking and seeing and into the habit of describing, analyzing, and interpreting what we see

Speaker

Doug Pontsler, Chairman and Managing Director, COVE: Center of Visual Expertise

How to Win Friends & Influence People for the Safety Professional

Workshop Description

One of the greatest challenges that safety professionals have is influencing others to change. Influence challenges can range from persuading employees to adopt safety practices to guiding executive management to give actual support to the safety programs. In this session, leaders will learn strategies to connect, collaborate, and guide others in order to reduce risk and create a safe and resilient workplace.

Learning Outcomes:

Recognize how human relations principles build trust to guide others
Identify actions that lead to a “Want to” choice for safety instead of a “Have to” choice
Examine lessons learned and how Dale Carnegie principles can be applied to safety professionals

Speaker

Colin Brown, Director of Business Advancement, Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), Merle Heckman, Master Trainer & Consultant, Dale Carnegie

Dog Bite Prevention – Bulli Ray – Training Employees To Protect Themselves From Dog Attacks!

Workshop Description

Attendees will learn how to prevent dangerous situations involving dogs, as well as how to respond when it is not avoidable. While in the class, attendees will be taught a full spectrum of dog bite safety, from the psychology of the dog, how to avoid attacks, self defense methods, and how to use effective self-protection devices. This interactive class will demonstrate frequently encountered situations to ensure you know what to do to protect yourself.

Learning Outcomes:

Review Canine Statistics
Demonstrate Self-Defense Methods on dog bite safety
Employ strategies to deal with a pack of dogs

Speaker

Cynthia Ballenger, COO, Bulli Ray – Dog Bite Prevention Training

It’s Not Rocket Surgery, It’s Brain Science! Understanding the Complexities of Safety

Workshop Description

Recent years have stretched safety professionals beyond anything we’ve seen in most of our lifetimes. Having finally emerged from near-constant change managing the pandemic response, we are now faced with evolving economic and employment trends affecting worker safety. Another area that cannot be overlooked is the impact these pressures have on human factors – the people elements of systems and conditions – which influence performance and reliability both positively and negatively. This intermediate to advanced level session will provide safety and operational leaders with an understanding of how the functionality of the human brain—both consciously and subconsciously—can contribute to an increased likelihood of injury. But more importantly, we will discuss how the “way we’re wired” can be used to positively influence safe behaviors, thoughts and actions. As an example, the process of habit formation is often oversimplified or misunderstood. By reviewing the science behind habits, we can help employees develop and practice habits that can prevent unintentional at-risk behavior and resulting injuries. Examples of these habits include developing proper lifting techniques, glancing in the direction of travel before you move, or even taking specific actions to ensure you’re using PPE regularly on and off the job. Beyond habit formation, we can also learn to recognize certain precursors of some of the human factors that influence our actions.

Learning Outcomes:

Compare, contrast and articulate how our conscious and subconscious minds perform certain tasks.
Reduce the negative “blame the worker” mindset by understanding and distinguishing the difference between unintentional actions and deliberate, intentional risk.
Separate truth from fiction as it relates to habit formation, resulting in the ability to create learning opportunities to develop key safety-related habits to reduce personal injuries 24/7.

Speaker

Danny Smith, Senior Safety Consultant, SafeStart

Document! Document! Document!

Workshop Description

Rule 1: Document everything.

Rule 2: Review and implement Rule 1 continuously.

Documentation is the proof that you are doing what you say you are doing. So, what needs to be documented? How much is too much, or too little? Is electronic documentation acceptable? We’ll cover the answers to these questions as well as give anyone starting their journey toward VPP a guideline to start collecting the documentation that you need to be successful at your VPP site visit.

Learning Outcomes:

Define the ways to document safety and health training and activities
Explain why documentation is important to the VPP and SHMS
Conduct an assessment of the site’s documentation processes
Develop plan to improve documentation processes

Speaker

Cindy Lewis, Director/OSHA Challenge Administrator, UAMS COPH Office of Professional Development & Program Evaluation

10:00am – 10:50am Workshops

“Can you Dig It” (Safely?)

Workshop Description

2022 was a deadly year for working in trenches in the US, with fatality rates more than doubled from the previous year. Was there a common thread or theme in those fatalities we can learn from? Let’s review what it takes to work in trenches safely and dig into the reports to identify the gaps that led to so many tragedies.

Learning Outcomes:

Highlight statistical information
Review trenching and excavation regulations
Identify safe work practices
Analyze selected fatality reports
Recognize key points of failure

Speaker

Chris Carlsen, Director of Training, Roco Rescue

Using Safe + Sound Campaign to Supercharge Worker Engagement

Workshop Description

Join us for a panel presentation to discuss how worker engagement can enhance and improve your safety and health program. Hear how companies are leveraging Safe + Sound Week in their efforts to emphasize safety and health all year long. Learn about tactics and strategies that have successfully been used to reach workers throughout organizations.

Speaker

OSHA

Lead Exposure in Aged Infrastructure

Workshop Description

Lead is used in a wide variety of consumer and industrial products, but it is also a hazardous material. Given the aged infrastructure of many facilities and/or vessels, the likelihood of a lead paint presence is probable. As such, thought should be given to workers’ health and safety when dealing with fumes created by hot work that could potentially contain lead. This presentation will discuss best practices for industrial hygiene planning, as well as tactics to introduce into work procedures when conducting hot work on materials with lead paint or previous lead paint contact. It will discuss PPE usage, engineering controls, and administration controls, as well as the development of a specific program to control exposure. In addition, we will review a case study of hot work conducted on a marine vessel dry docked at a facility. The outcome of this presentation should bring advanced awareness to hot work activities beyond the typical safety concerns, and provide key areas to discuss prior to conducting work.

Learning Outcomes:

Discuss best practices for Industrial Hygiene planning
Identify instances for PPE usage, engineering controls, and administration controls
Explore the development of specific programs to control exposure in multiple industries

Speaker

David Bland, IH Project Manager, CTEH

Who’s Your Most Valued Resource?

Workshop Description

Description to come.

Speaker

Jack Griffith, Director from a Site with a Collective Bargaining Agent, VPPPA National Board, Brad Gibson, Director from a VPP Contractor/Construction Site, VPPPA National Board

PSM and VPP Working Together

Workshop Description

Come listen to industry experts and OSHA discuss the relationship between VPP and PSM. We’ll explore how the two programs can work together at your site to improve your safety and health management systems.

Learning Outcomes:

Compare VPP and PSM Elements
Identify processes to improve systems in own jobsite

Speaker

Nathan Obaugh, Senior Engineer, NuStar Energy LP

11:00am – 11:50am Workshops

NFPA 660: Changes to the Standards and What You Need to Know

Workshop Description

NFPA 660 is combining many other industry and product specific standards under one document with the Combustible Dust Consolidation Plan. Join NFPA technical committee member Bruce McLelland to discuss industry impact and implications for safety professionals.

Learning Outcomes:

Share NFPA objective with changes from 660 and historical context
Discuss how industry specific standards will change
Understand how this will affect future site considerations

Speaker

Bruce McLelland, Business Development Director – Explosion Protection, Fike Corporation

Effective Procedure Writing Tips

Workshop Description

In this presentation, we’ll discuss everything you need to know to feel comfortable developing and updating your safety procedures. From deciding what procedures are necessary, to how to maintain them, and how to effectively implement training surrounding them, this presentation will walk you through every step.

Learning Outcomes:

Define what a procedure is
Identify what procedures are needed
Pracitce developing effective procedures
Examine common pitfalls of procedure training

Speaker

V Earl Brown, President & CEO, Industrial Psychologisits, Inc

Exploring the Power of Leading Indicators

Workshop Description

The presentation for the VPPPA Safety+ Symposium will delve into the crucial topic of safety and health metrics and the significance of leading indicators. The aim of the workshop is to highlight the importance of safety and health metrics, address the shortcomings of relying solely on lagging indicators (such as OSHA rates), review the existing research on leading indicators, and discuss the advantages of incorporating leading indicators into a safety and health management program. There will be time for those attending to share experiences they have had using leading indicators – success stories or sticking points in implementing leading indicators or utilizing lagging and leading indicators together in their safety and health programs

Speaker

OSHA

On-Site Hand Safety Program

Workshop Description

Hand injuries are the Number1 preventable industrial accident, whether you’re looking at manufacturing, construction, oil & gas, you name it. But if they’re preventable, why are hand injuries so common? Kate will discuss how to build a hand safety program that addresses gaps in safety controls to reduce and eliminate preventable hand injuries.

Learning Outcomes:

Discuss how to make it easier for your employees to comply with glove policies.
Identify the biggest barriers to glove use and assess how to overcome them
Examine worker mindset and how to encourage team buy-in on your hand safety program
Analyze how the working environment affects hand safety

Speaker

Kate Crespo, On-Site Hand Safety Program, Superior Glove

Seven Secrets of Root Cause Analysis

Workshop Description

Few organizations understand or properly handle the human performance aspects of accidents. Systemic weaknesses often encourage or even force excellent, well-trained workers to disregard rules, policies, and safeguards just to get their job done. Neglecting the vital discipline of Human Performance will ensure you see repeat failures and ineffective corrective actions. You will not survive if training, procedures, and discipline are your standard.

Learning Outcomes:

Discuss the importance of structure and repeatability to accident investigations
Identify principles of a good event timeline
Define “root cause”
Practice developing effective corrective actions

Speaker

Justin Clark, Strategic Advisor and Program Manager, System Improvements

12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch in Exhibit Hall

1:00pm – 1:50pm Workshops

How to Build Trust and Expertise with After Action Reviews (AARs)

Workshop Description

After Action Reviews (AARs) help save lives, build trust, and share priceless, unwritten human expertise. Safety-driven teams in the military, emergency fire & rescue services, and other high-hazard industries have used these psychologically safe, semi-structured, post job debriefs for over 40 years. Join us in this fast-paced session to learn how to lead AARs for your team. You’ll get to DO a brief, real-world After Action Review, too.

Learning Outcomes:

Practice leading an After Action Review (AAR)
Identify and avoid eight common mistakes
Demonstrate 3 points of evidence on how effective After Action Reviews are

Speaker

Jake Mazulewicz, Director, JMA Human Reliability Strategies, LLC

History of the World in Six Poisons

Workshop Description

Join David Campos and Hyte Johnson for a history of the world, told through the lens of 6 historical poisons and toxins. This presentation will review the impact general dust, chimney dust, mercury, radiation, lead, and asbestos have all had on regulation and policy throughout history. Prepare to be challenged to consider future impacts of occupational exposures. Will you be able to identify and respond to the next major occupational health concern?

Learning Outcomes:

Understand major policy development as a result of significant toxicologic exposures.
Identify how risk assessment processes can further the capacity to identify and respond to emerging issues

Speaker

David Campos, Sr. Manager Environment Health & Safety, Raytheon Missiles and Defense

Rulemaking 101: Making Your Voice Heard

Workshop Description

Help make a difference! The rulemaking process gives stakeholders an opportunity to make their voices heard. OSHA relies on public comments from stakeholders and experts in safety and health to develop rules that make the workplace safer. In this session you will the learn the steps of the rulemaking process, ways to engage/ engagement opportunities in the rulemaking process, and how to make an effective comment.

Speaker

OSHA

Developing Essential, Engaging, and Effective eLearning

Workshop Description

The energy industry has suffered from training delivery that has not kept up with digital innovations, nor helped learners receive compliance training through digital learning methods. Safety Essentials, a new standard in compliance safety training, effectively weaves engaging e-learning techniques with traditional safety compliance information in a way that is easy for the learner to absorb and remember, helps the learner scaffold understanding, and allows the learner opportunities to comply with safety compliance requirements from anywhere. Safety Essentials uses analogical scaffolding through explainer videos, a proven, and successful learning technique, vibrant, challenging and engaging animations that provide variety and engage the learner through the Cognitive Affective Theory of Learning with Media (CATLM) and Media Richness Theory (MRT), and encourages the learner to continue their learning journey through annual enhancers that help develop the learner’s understanding rather than just recycling information for them again. All of these techniques have been proven through peer-reviewed studies across various domains and have been applied to the energy industry and the industry’s PSM requirements with this course. This presentation will outline what makes this course more effective so that others can utilize the same techniques in their course development, review the peer-reviewed studies that inspired the use of these techniques, and provide data and analysis from multiple internal qualitative and quantitative surveys that the organization has performed.

Learning Outcomes:

Explore updates and innovations in e-learning technology and use
Discuss learner perceptions and experiences using the new technologies and techniques used in the course
Inspire the audience to think of other innovative ways that e-learning courses can be utilized within their industry

Speaker

Richard Hannah, VP of Learning and Innovation, HASC

Are Job Hazard Analyses a Waste of Time? Conversation Analytics for Improving JSAs, Leadership and Evolving Culture

Workshop Description

Safety professionals have a unique opportunity to impact their organizations’ leadership, culture, & incidents. Unfortunately, many companies overlook the importance of a simple conversation on achieving these goals. Job hazard analyses (JHA) are conversations between supervisors and their crews meant to ready employees by planning work, aligning goals, and controlling hazards. Although these JHAs are often done, very few are done well and are commonly perceived a waste of time by employees.

In this interactive session, attendees will discover how a combination of video and natural language processing will turn JHA conversations into valuable data for assessing leadership and cultural gaps. These conversation metrics enable safety managers to assess how well frontline leaders are engaging their workers, and then promote effective conversations that empower teams to better identify hazards, build trust, and efficiently respond to project demands.

Presenters will share analytics from over 30,000 JHA conversations to show how leadership metrics can significantly impact safety performance, including 50% reduction in worksite injuries as well as better operational outcomes. Attendees will learn a practical framework for merging leadership improvement with daily planning efforts that ensures stronger operational leaders who live by their organization’s values and expected behaviors on a daily basis. Through a real life case study with DPR Construction, attendees will learn that by improving conversations and organizational planning, safety professionals can build the bridge needed to successfully integrate safety into everyday operational activities and lead the change to securing exceptional project outcomes and a healthier workplace.

Learning Outcomes:

Explain how conversations versus checklists are proving to be better indicators of the health of your organization’s frontline leadership
Illustrate five best practices for achieving impactful planning conversations that engage, are inclusive of different cultures, build trust and inspire operational leaders to learn and improve.
Discuss how leadership metrics can be used to create a benchmark of performance that ensures stronger operational leaders and provide opportunities for cultural change at your organization.

Speaker

Barry Nelson, President & CEO, FactorLab, Lane Smith, Corporate Safety Director, Freedom Solar Power, Jose Garza, National EHS Leader, DPR Construction

2:00pm – 2:50pm Workshops

Atmospheric Hazards Within Confined Spaces: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You

Workshop Description

With today’s portable gas meters becoming more advanced, confined space entry personnel are becoming more relaxed, assuming that since the meter is more advanced, it will provide better protection. While this may be true to some extent, the meter is only as good as the user’s ability to understand what it’s telling them. During this presentation, we will emphasize a risk-based approach to evaluating and understanding the chemical hazards you are working around. Attendees will determine what “unknown” hazards may be present, what it means from an atmospheric testing standpoint, and how to properly decide whether it’s safe to enter a confined space. A risk-based approach emphasizes the importance of empowering all personnel involved within a confined space entry operation with the knowledge, skills, and abilities that allows the personnel to adjust as the situation changes using facts, science, and circumstances. Attendees will be able to understand the importance of never underestimating the “unknown”.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify potential atmospheric hazards within confined spaces
Evaluate various gas detection technologies
Perform risk assessments during confined space entry operations

Speaker

Drew Hinton, President/CEO, Arrow Safety, LLC

All on the Same Team – A Look at VPP and Contractors

Workshop Description

This session will delve into the importance of strong host employer/contractor relationships, training, and communication at VPP sites. Looking at the requirements for VPP participation, contractors are clearly an important part of a successful safety and health management system. Host employees influence contractors and contractors influence their host sites. This workshop will provide insight on the effects of strong contractor training, planning, and communication to ensure that everyone goes home safe and a little wiser to prevent workplace hazards. We will discuss how to ensure that everyone is working together to achieve the same goal of safety and health excellence on the job.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the importance of contractor relationships to their safety and health management system
Gain insight on effective onboarding of contractor employees to ensure clear communication of responsibilities

Speaker

Brian Black, KY VPP Administrator, KY Education & Labor Cabinet

Annual Self-Evaluations, VPP Online, and Continuous Improvement

Workshop Description

An interactive discussion session focused on Annual Self-Evaluations and the VPP Online platform.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify best practices for use of the platform.
Unlock potential of the platform beyond the ASE
Reinforce continuous improvement as a year-round tool

Speaker

Peter Spence, AuditSoft and Chris Williams, VPPPA

Safety Innovation in the Workplace: Technologies for Industrial Safety Management

Workshop Description

Over the past 5 years, new technologies and innovation have been introduced to industry at a staggering rate. In 2020, the National Safety Council reported that 53% of surveyed safety professionals disclosed using new health and safety software or mobile apps. Companies are pursuing new technologies and often frontline employees are left dealing with the learning curve and trying to fit these technologies and new processes into their currently workplace and safety systems. This session will discuss many of the new technologies, as well as strategies to implement them in an effective way that not only benefits your site, but also increases transparency of data to the frontline workers.

Learning Outcomes:

Develop skills to better communicate information to frontline employees through new safety technology and innovation.
Obtain knowledge in the future technologies/capabilities of gas detection, work permitting, electronic databases, joint-jobsite visits, and auditing for an effective worksite analysis.
Bring innovative solutions back to your workplace to creative achievable safety solutions and promote a positive safety culture.

Speaker

Shaine Babineaux, Sr. Safety Consulting Manager, Draeger, Inc.

Advancing Industrial Hygiene which is 40% of Star Certification

Workshop Description

Industrial Hygiene is over 40% of the OSHA VPP Audit Process with advanced requirements of Occupational Assessments, Pandemic Response, Ergonomic Requirements of Hybrid Work Environments, and Health Responsibilities for Employees and Neighboring Community Members. The future of Industrial Hygiene is evolving quickly with the new 5th Edition NIOSH Methodologies along with Biological Exposure Determinants. This exciting time for Industrial Hygienists (IHs) and Occupational Health Physicians (OHs) help minimize risks associated with exposure to health hazards presented by work activities. Join us in discussing the improvements in science and technology that will increase the ability to control and reduce risks and may also enable IHs/OHs to identify some risks that were not recognized in the past.

Learning Outcomes:

Review VPP Star Audit Process and the importance of having an effective hygiene program
Integrate Occupational Health Hazard Assessment, Multiple Audits of PPE, Employee Monitoring, and Statistics into one seamless IH Program
Prepare to update and protect your VPP Star team with IH tools.

Speaker

Brenda Tolson-Markas, Senior Researcher of Industrial Hygiene, Genetics, and Biological Excellence, Certified Environmental Management, Ltd. And CIH Enterprises, Inc.

3:00pm – 3:50pm Workshops

Saving Lives One Threat at a Time: Are You Ready?

Workshop Description

There is no better weapon against violence than knowledge and awareness. Join nationally recognized motivational speaker and board certified Workplace Violence and Threat Assessment Specialist, Dr. Steve Webb as he highlights what YOU can do to make a difference in a world of decadence and how his “Learner Mindset” empowers you and your employees to take a stand against violence because no matter where you work or play, it is no longer about longitude or latitude – it’s about attitude!

Learning Outcomes:

Understand that protecting ourselves and those within our organizations is evolving
Learn ways in which organizations can create a culture of connectivity rather than complacency
Recognize that effective leadership is a function of motivation and preservation of life both within and outside of the organization functions.

Speaker

Steve Webb, Founder/Speaker/Trainer, Safe Secure Systems

SGE Workshop

Workshop Description

Pending.

Speaker

Madeline Martinez, OSHA

Using Behavioral Insights to Shift the Culture of Safety

Workshop Description

In this session, we will explore the powerful role of behavioral insights in fostering a robust safety culture. By understanding the psychological factors that influence human behavior, we can effectively design interventions and strategies that promote safe practices and mitigate risks. Join us as we delve into the intersection of behavioral science and safety management, discovering practical approaches to cultivate a culture where safety is ingrained in every aspect of an organization.

Speaker

OSHA

Are You SAFE or Are You Just COMPLIANT?

Workshop Description

When it comes to Flame-Resistant (FR) and arc rated (AR) clothing, regulations hold every safety professional’s feet to the fire. Specifically, with OSHA 1910.132. The regulation clearly states that training on PPE is required for those within the petroleum, electrical, oil & gas exploration and other types of industries where there is a danger of the worker being injured by a variety of short duration thermal exposures, and that training must include FR/AR clothing.

One of the greatest challenges today is around arc flash protection and the decision to implement a daily-wear vs. a task-based solution. What’s not so clear to safety professionals is: How do I train on when to wear, what to wear and how to wear their AR clothing? What is my responsibility as an employer when it comes to the proper selection, specific to implementing a daily-wear or a task-based approach to arc flash protection at your facility? When balancing push back from employees with the need to drive beyond compliance, safety professionals are challenged with opposing solutions, so what tools can assist in making a culture of safety vs just compliant.

Learning Outcomes:

Review of OSHA 1910.132
Compare and Contrast Compliant practices with Safe Practices
Discuss pros and cons of daily wear programs compared to task-based.

Speaker

Derek Sang, Technical Training Manager, Bulwark Protection

4:00pm – 5:00pm OSHA Listening Session

Safety as a Core Value: Turning Conversation into Action

The session will provide a forum to understand needs, challenges, and best practices for adoption of safety and health as a core workplace value in an effort to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities by increasing worker participation in safety and health programs. Conversation will cover a number of topics, including:

Connecting safety and health programs with a positive workplace safety culture.
Understanding how employers include safety in a strong organizational culture.
Identifying barriers and challenges to improving safety and health in the workplace.
Reducing injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
Learning how organizations succeed in promoting a culture of workplace safety.

4:00pm – 6:00pm VPP State Plan Managers

All VPP State Plan Managers are welcome to join us for this open discussion. This is the perfect opportunity to share new innovations implemented in your state, seek recommended solutions to obstacles you’re currently facing, and hear from your colleagues across the country. You are in control of where the conversation will go.

Wednesday, September 20

7:00am – 10:00am Safety+ Registration

8:00am – 8:50am Workshops

Artificial Intelligence in Anti-Collision and Pedestrian Safety

Workshop Description

Embrace technology to enhance your anti-collision and pedestrian safety programs. In this session, we’ll first take a look at key statistics pertaining to injuries caused by industrial vehicle collisions with pedestrians, and then we’ll detail how artificial intelligence and deep learning have been leveraged to eliminate similar accidents.

Attendees will also learn how embedded IoT can be used in conjunction with AI pedestrian proximity detection to deliver data to HSE managers to better understand what occurs on their worksite and how that data can be used to implement operational changes. And if that all sounds too good to be true, attendees will also have a chance to demo existing solutions to see for yourselves how technology can enhance your safety and health management system.

Learning Outcomes:

Explore how Artificial Intelligence has been leveraged in industrial settings in the past 13 years
Discuss the evolution of safety solutions into artificial intelligence and deep learning
Utilize artificial intelligence pedestrian detection solutions to provide data of pedestrian detections to HSE managers through an online heat-map

Speaker

Rick Banasiak, Key Account Manager, Blaxtair Inc.

Delivering Powerful Safety Feedback

Workshop Description

Learn how to connect and build relationships even when delivering safety feedback. In this session, we will explore the steps to delivering powerful safety feedback in an interactive and experiential environment. You will walk away with an implementable action plan (compass) for having successful, growth-producing conversations. This is one of the most transformative sessions on managing, communicating, and building relationships through delivering feedback. It is time to transform uncomfortable conversations into opportunities for growth!

Learning Outcomes:

Recognize the importance of priming themselves for effective feedback and practice clearing out the “schmutz” that gets in the way
Explore ways to deliver feedback with more clarity and openness while also asking questions that open the space.
Practice the closing of a feedback conversation that ensures forward movement and growth.

Speaker

Ryan Bouda, Leadership & Culture Specialist, LEAP Training & Coaching

SMS Program Overload, Quality Over Quantity

Workshop Description

Join Dr. John Wells for a point-blank discussion on the pitfalls of safety management system overload. Without consideration of program demand, companies can weaken the effectiveness of their existing programs by adding new programs without a focus on quality over quantity. In so doing management creates resentment for safety rather than engagement of the employees. “SMS Overload” without limitations ultimately impacts the culture and the original goal of proactive participation and employee ownership.

Learning Outcomes:

Redefine SMS goals
Identify signs of system overload
Understand the differences in short- and long-term initiatives
Strategize how to streamline or integrate SMS’s

Speaker

Dr. John Wells, Assistant Professor, Program Lead, Athens State University

Situational Awareness for Women: Why Are We So Vulnerable and What Can We Do About It?

Workshop Description

Situational Awareness: Knowledge and living prepared are two key pieces to help thwart violence. Women, however, do not need statistics to convince us that the world can be a dangerous place for us regardless of our age. When we are out and about, or traveling/walking alone, there is increased risk of muggings, assault, robbery, purse snatching, carjacking, even sex-trafficking. There is also domestic violence and workplace violence. This session will depict some of the human emotions that we hold and how being knowledgeable and prepared is a whole lot better than being helpless and panicked. This session will underscore the need to be risk-averse for our personal safety, and actions we can take to thwart violence.

Learning Outcomes:

Explain the basics of Situational Awareness, what it means, how it impacts our lives
Examine the Color Codes of Awareness
Assess how being situationally-aware in the workplace can help to thwart harassment and bullying from the inside culture, while keeping us alert to a perpetrator who may wish to enter the workplace to intentionally do harm.

Speaker

Claire Knowles, Partner, Nagele, Knowles and Associates

9:00am – 9:50am Workshops

Operational Readiness: Introduction to Pre-Startup Safety Reviews

Workshop Description

Operational Readiness ensures that processes that have been shut down are verified to be in a safe condition before starting up. Some processes may be shut down only briefly, while others may have undergone a lengthy maintenance/modification outage. Other processes may have been shut down for administrative reasons, such as a lack of product demand or as a precautionary measure. In this workshop, we will discuss building blocks for the safe startup of a process. These steps will include type of startup, risk assessment, system checklist, and training. By the end of this workshop, attendees will have an overall understanding about the steps needed for safely starting the unit.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand when a Pre-Startup Safety Review is necessary
Review the steps of Operational Readiness
Communicate the need for a Safety Review before start up

Speaker

Tekin Kunt, Director, EMEA, PSRG

Safety & Trust: What’s the Secret Sauce?

Workshop Description

Pending.

Speaker

OSHA

Employee Safety & Health On-Boarding & Involvement Best Practices

Workshop Description

This session will provide best practices and examples of onboarding and engaging employees at all levels within management and labor in the Safety & Health Management System from day 1 of employment. Best practices for onboarding include formal new hire safety and health orientation, including innovative methods, such as individual meetings with Safety culture enhancements implemented in the new-hire orientation process to allow employees to become familiar with other processes/facilities and support projects outside of their normal assignments. The presentation will provide other specific examples of employee involvement within the work areas for new and existing personnel, such as conducting audits/inspections, participating in employee safety committees, conducting non-routine and routine risk assessments, submitting safety suggestions/hazard reports, participating in incident investigations, conducting S&H training, providing safety topic suggestions, supporting site-wide safety and S&H community services events.

Learning Outcomes:

Illustrate various methods that employees at all levels can be effectively engaged in the S&H Management System
Underscore the importance of management commitment in employee involvement
Create a vision for employee on-boarding and engagement processes for your work site.
Explore with new hire on-boarding enhancements centered around safety and health program involvement.

Speaker

Michael McDaniel, Site General Manager, Aerojet Rocketdyne

When is Rope Access Safe to Perform?

Workshop Description

Rope access and rope descent systems are a transportation method used by workers to perform variety of tasks as diverse as window cleaning to rescue operations by fire fighters throughout the USA. When should it be considered safe and when it is not safe?

Learning Outcomes:

Learn what training and qualifications OSHA requires to perform rope access work safely.
Identify the equipment OSHA requires to perform rope access work safely.
Understand anchorages OSHA requires building owners to have in place before a rope descent system can be used at their property.

Speaker

Gus Strats, President/CEO, Summit Anchor Company, Inc.

What Does It Look Like to Add Technology to Your Injury Prevention Processes and Is It Right For Your Organization?

Workshop Description

When considering all the hidden costs and consequences of workplace injuries, it is paramount that organizations have the insight to address them. Solutions such as those harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) can identify and quantify ergonomic risks in near real-time and have the power to automate the measurement of an employee’s movements, and the frequency at which they occur, identifying hazards exceeding preset thresholds. For example, Imagine a visual, second-by-second angle of movement evaluation without having to use a protractor or make an educated guess! Videos from app-based AI technology allow safety professionals to gather big-picture data over a longer period of time.

But what do these programs look like in action, and do they just add another layer of complexity to injury prevention processes requiring time-consuming training, or are these technologies able to be implemented quickly and effectively? The answer to this question lies in the type of technology chosen, identifying the exact problem being addressed and if specific technologies can help, as well as how willing organizations are to commit to the solutions. This session will provide an opportunity for hands-on experience using technology for injury prevention, understanding whether solutions such as video processing or wearables are right for your organization, what data they generate, and what it means to implement across an entire workforce.

Learning Outcomes:

Utilize different forms of technology for injury prevention
Distinguish the difference between different available technologies
Identify which technology best assists with different hazards to aid in engineering control decisions
Establish how to quantify risk reduction post-control implementation

Speaker

Heather Chapman, Principle of Paradigm Safety, U.S. Account Manager, Soter Analytics

10:00am – 10:50am Workshops

Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls in 5-Easy Steps

Workshop Description

Slips, trips and falls are a leading cause of workplace injuries and routinely cost businesses billions of dollars each year. However, preventing same-level falls can be confusing or seemingly impossible. As the President and Founder of the National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) Russ Kendzior will present 5-easy steps that most employers can use to prevent accidental slips, trips, and falls.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify causes and contributing factors that lead to same-level falls.
Learn how to audit your walkway’s slip resistance and identify hazardous conditions
Understand the importance of floor selection and maintenance
Define “Slip Resistant”
Review of the walkway safety industry standards, codes, and laws

Speaker

Russell Kendzior, President, National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI)

ANSI Standards Update

Workshop Description

Pending.

Speaker

TBD

The Value of Venting: Encouraging Employee Feedback for Improved Safety Outcomes

Workshop Description

Continuous improvements in safety are only possible through continuous feedback. Employees can provide invaluable feedback on the gaps in your SMS but only if they feel safe and empowered to do so. In this session, we will look at the importance of both psychological safety and the impact of supervisor communication skills on safety outcomes. In addition, Tim will introduce a human factors framework that will help organizations learn how the human and technical systems connect to produce more reliable outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify the connection between psychological safety, employee feedback and safety outcomes
Observe gaps in feedback loops, which in this presentation are referred to as learning loops.
Organize approach to identifying gaps in systems and humans together for better collaborative outcome reliability.

Speaker

Tim Page-Bottorff, Senior Safety Consultant, SafeStart

Workplace Violence: Are You and Your People Prepared? (This Is The “WHY” You Should Ask Yourself This Question)

Workshop Description

The biggest financial and PR disaster your organization could face is a shooting incident. Close behind this would be a highly-publicized bullying case that led to a suicide or a sexual harassment incident. While the probability of a shooting is low, the probability of bullying and harassment incidents are much higher, and you need to be able to address all these potential incidents. Lawsuits, OSHA fines and bad press are expensive and devastating to businesses. Are you prepared? This session will provide you the answer….whether you and your people are prepared should Workplace Violence raise its ugly head in your workplace.

Learning Outcomes:

Outline what is needed in a Comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Program for your business (and why).
Discuss the Penny Metaphor, representing the physical and the psychological sides to Preventing Workplace Violence
Evaluate new ISO standards say about the additional need for De-escalation training

Speaker

Richard Knowles, Partner, Nagele, Knowles and Associates

11:00am – 12:30pm Closing lunch

Speakers

2023 Safety+ Symposium Call for Workshops is Now Closed.

Speakers will be notified of acceptance by February 7.

This year’s focus is on hands-on, highly interactive, and in-depth presentations. Our core content tracks include, but are not limited to:

Worksite Analysis
Management Leadership & Employee Involvement
Safety & Health Training
Hazard Prevention & Control

Interested in presenting with VPPPA year-round? Please submit a webinar proposal.

Safety+ Slide Deck Template

Questions? Contact conference@vpppa.org.