- Adele Abrams: OHS Legislative & Regulatory Update (Advanced Track)
- SVEP, IBI, SST … oh my! OSHA launched a number of new enforcement initiatives in the Biden administration, as well as introducing new National Emphasis Programs, and working through a robust rule making agenda. In Congress, legislation impacting workplace safety and health ranges from abolishment of OSHA to enhanced worker protections.This session will explore the latest OSHA enforcement programs, such as the return of “public shaming” through the Severe Violators Enforcement Program and expansion of public-facing injury/illness data, as well as revisions to the “egregious violation” policy and changes to the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). New NEPs on heat illness prevention and fall prevention for general industry and construction will be explored. The presentation will also outline the latest regulatory agenda and what the 2024 election could mean for workplace safety and health.
- Justin Azbill: Transitioning Your Workforce to a Better Ergonomic Mindset (Intermediate Track)
- Changing the mindset of trade professionals by identifying with them on terms they relate is the key to hazard recognition and incident prevention. This session will identify ways to improve your ergonomic program, focusing on building the Ergonomic message into your Safety Culture.This session will identify technology within the power tool industry that can help limit repetitive type musculoskeletal injuries, the importance of weight and balance of tools used, and identify statistically significant data that helps drive the message with hazard recognition.
- Rebecca Klein: The Grammar of Safety (Intermediate Track)
- Learn how to communicate to the different audiences that we as safety professionals need to persuade. We need to communicate effectively with our bosses, when asking for money, for example. We need to communicate with our field workers when asking them to work safely. We need to communicate with our clients when explaining a CAP. We need to communicate effectively with OSHA and other regulatory bodies, with lawyers and with insurance companies with claims.Effective communication starts with knowing your audience, knowing what you want to say and knowing how to say it. It also helps if you have clear writing, good punctuation, and proper grammar.This will be an interactive class with lots of hands-on activities. Working on written communication in a fun way. Effective communication starts with knowing your audience, knowing what you want to say and knowing how to say it. It also helps if you have clear writing, good punctuation and proper grammar. This will be an interactive class with lots of hands-on activities. Working on written communication in a fun way.
- Mike Gillette: Building a Safer Future: NFPA and MCAA Join Forces for Electrical Safety (Beginner Track)
- This presentation is specifically tailored for members of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and is designed to provide valuable insights into electrical safety, highlighting key NFPA standards, while also introducing curated safety solutions offered by NFPA to drive safety within the MCAA community.The presentation will illustrate the potential hazards of non-compliance and the significant impact that adhering to NFPA standards can have on preventing electrical accidents, injuries, etc.. The presentation will also introduce a range of curated safety solutions offered by NFPA to support MCAA members in their efforts to enhance electrical safety. NFPA will showcase specific products, such as training programs, reference materials, and software tools, that can empower MCAA members to ensure compliance, train their workforce effectively, and implement robust safety protocols. Through demonstrations and testimonials, the presentation will highlight the practical benefits and measurable results that MCAA members can expect by leveraging NFPA’s safety solutions.The presentation will illustrate the potential hazards of non-compliance and the significant impact that adhering to NFPA standards can have on preventing electrical accidents, injuries, etc.. The presentation will also introduce a range of curated safety solutions offered by NFPA to support MCAA members in their efforts to enhance electrical safety. NFPA will showcase specific products, such as training programs, reference materials, and software tools, that can empower MCAA members to ensure compliance, train their workforce effectively, and implement robust safety protocols. Through demonstrations and testimonials, the presentation will highlight the practical benefits and measurable results that MCAA members can expect by leveraging NFPA’s safety solutions.
- Jessica Bunting & Babak Memarian: CPWR Resources to Improve Safety and Health in Construction (Advanced Track)
- CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training is a non-profit with a focus on reducing occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in the construction industry. The organization accomplishes that through a variety of research, training, and service programs, and has produced countless resources to improve industry awareness and adoption of solutions. Among those resources are programs and tools aimed at helping employers improve workplace safety climate and related safety management policies and procedures such as pre-job and pre-task planning and training of workers.In this session, CPWR presenters will highlight several of these tools and the research that contributed to their development. The Safety Climate-Safety Management Information System (SC-SMIS) builds on many years of work, providing a mechanism for employers to measure their company’s safety maturity and develop a plan to improve along eight leading safety climate indicators. Attendees will learn how to use the SC-SMIS to kick off or expand a company’s safety climate improvement journey, followed by an overview of some new resources that can be used to improve planning processes to enhance worker safety. Dr. Babak Memarian will review a project on Pre-task Planning, which has successfully identified factors that increase task difficulties and exposure to hazards in electrical construction and recommended interventions at the planning stage to reduce those factors. Using their findings, the project team has also identified best practices for Pre-task Planning across trades and developed a checklist to evaluate existing Pre-task Planning or job hazard analysis procedures. Another ongoing research project on the use of “nudges” to improve safety-related decision making has led to the development of a new Struck-by Prevention Planning Program, currently being pilot-tested. Jessica Bunting will provide an overview of that program as well as the background research that went into it.
- Joey Krys: Fall Protection for the Mechanical Contractor (Beginner Track)
- The presentation will cover means and methods when selecting the proper fall protection anchorage points for the mechanical contractor. Roof work and overhead solutions will be discussed which will include active and passive fall protection solutions. The new ANSI Z359.14-2021 SRL standards that went into effect August 1, 2023 will also be discussed. The new ANSI standard in regards to the EM385-1-1 Military requirements will also be covered and clarified.