The Health & Safety Event 2015 Preview

The three-day event will provide visitors with a diverse and
exciting educational programme, the opportunity to meet the industry’s most
respected organisations and the chance to network with other professionals.
Additionally, appealing to time pressured visitors from a range of industry
sectors, the event is taking place at the same time and in the same location as
Maintec, Facilities Management 2015 and Cleaning 2015. This co-location of
events ensures that any visitor will maximise the time they spend at the NEC.

Each year the event organisers work in partnership with the
UK’s top safety product and service providers, as well as the leading safety
industry organisations, to provide an exhibition and conference programme that
are relevant to today’s workplace. This year, IIRSM (International Institute of
Risk and Safety Management) will independently author the main conference at the
event and BOHS, the British Occupational Hygiene Society, will officially
support the event.

Comprehensive conference programme

The IIRSM conference programme will cover the latest risk
and safety issues with presenters who are recognised experts, able to deliver
insight and relevant experience across a wide range of industries.

In recognition of the event’s importance, the director of
Long Latency Health Risks Division at the Health and Safety Executive, Karen
Clayton will officially open the conference programme on the first day of the
event. This will be followed by a seminar looking at ‘Health Risks to
Construction Workers’, which will be delivered by Ian Strudley, head of Health
Risk Management Unit Construction Sector, Construction Division: HSE, and
Tracey Boyle of BOHS. The seminar will look at how the reduction in
occupational illness have not kept pace with improvements in safety management
in the construction sector. In the UK it is estimated that approximately 100
times as many people lose their lives from ill health caused by working in
construction compared to fatal accidents. HSE is encouraging the sector to do
more to ‘think health’.

Additionally, Emma Cundiff’s seminar ‘Developing a risk
management programme’ is a must in the calendar of any health and safety
manager or business director. Her seminar builds a bridge between Enterprise
Risk Management (ERM) and Occupational Safety and Health, which on the surface
are two worlds that are diametrically opposed. Emma believes that the skills
used in the two disciplines are similar and therefore the two worlds have
synergies that are advantageous to explore. Alongside Emma’s belief, there is
also very real movement in the market whereby those with responsibility for
safety and health are having other, aligned responsibilities ‘tagged on’ to
their role. Amongst these are ‘the environment’ and increasingly ‘risk management’.

Emma acknowledges that her seminar might not be to
everyone’s taste: “Health and Safety practitioners are used to being bounded by
the law whereas ERM is not,” she says. “Organisations that have a risk
management framework in place determine how much or how little risk they wish
to take, but with the knowledge of the extent and type of risk they are
taking. In my seminar I want to turn the
concept of risk, as it is usually recognised as a negative in nature, inside
out and look at how the likelihood of an opportunity risk might be maximised.”

Looking at the perennial concern of convincing the Board to
take health and safety more seriously is Owen Purcell, lead partner – Risk EMEA,
Ernst & Young LLP with his seminar on the third day of the event. Owen will
discuss how to bring health and safety and risk management on to the C-level agenda
and develop a compelling business case for ways to improve the risk management
and health and safety practices of your organisation. Owen brings a unique perspective
that will assist attendees in understanding the expectations and decision
making process at board level. The seminar promises to be engaging and will
include case study examples and guidance that can be easily interpreted to suit
any health and safety professional’s needs.

Safety Dialogue

As well as its role in the conference both the IIRSM and the
BOHS will take leading roles in other educational activities, including
providing panellists for the ‘Safety Dialogue’ discussions. ‘Safety Dialogue’
is a round table discussion involving a live panel during which experts discuss
the latest issues and open up the floor to questions from the audience.

Safer Logistics

Other free educational activities that take place include practical
seminars from the event’s partners and the newly introduced ‘Safer Logistics
Seminar Theatre’ and ‘Feature Area’, which promises visitors a wealth of
education and advice tackling safety hot spots in warehousing and logistics. The
aim of Safer Logistics is to encourage managers in the supply chain to take a
proactive approach to safety. Safer Logistics is sponsored by Toyota and
supported by partners such as the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA), the
United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA), and the Food Storage and
Distribution Federation (FSDF). Together they bring an unwavering commitment to
workplace safety and a great breadth of expertise. An example of the content
taking place around Safer Logistics at the event is a panel discussion, around
the use of sprinklers in the warehouse, and the new UKWA CEO, Peter Ward, will facilitate.

As well as the educational content of the event, the major
attraction is a substantial exhibition where the biggest names in health and
safety are situated. Major equipment vendors, service providers and
distributors all have experts available to answer direct queries regarding
applications.

Core areas are well covered at the exhibition with Personal
Protection Equipment (PPE) represented by such well known names as: 3M, a
leading manufacturer in the safety market offering an extensive portfolio of
PPE, and Bollé Safety, a globally-known specialist in the design and manufacture of
protective eyewear. Both will be launching new products at the exhibition.

The event is free to enter and it is highly recommend that
visitors register in advance for tickets, especially for seminar places as
these are extremely popular.

To register online visit www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk or call the event hotline on: 0870 4866816.

About the Health & Safety events:

The Health & Safety Events series represents a great use
of time for visitors from virtually any industry and at any level, not just
health and safety professionals. The venues are chosen for ease of access while
the educational content addresses the most topical and pressing safety issues.

Along with event partners, Arco, DuPont and NQA and title
sponsor 3M, the Health & Safety Events series is officially endorsed by the
International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM) and supported
by the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and Safety Groups UK. The 2015 series includes 3 events:

The Health & Safety Event – NEC Birmingham 24-26 March 2015 (Educational Partner – IIRSM)

Health & Safety Scotland – SECC Glasgow, 22-23 April 2015

Health & Safety North – Bolton Arena, 7-8 October 2015

You can register online at www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk or by calling the event hotline on: 0870 4866816.

Follow the event on Twitter @HandS_Events #TheHealthandSafetyEvent