National Safety Congress Corrals the Crescent City
Good times will be a part of the NSC, and so will networking, educational opportunities, and a chance to see the latest products and services offered in the occupational safety and health industry. Over 850 companies, including Safety Online at Booth 826, will be exhibiting their products and services on Monday, Oct. 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Gerard Scannell, president of the National Safety Council, says of the conference, "Life saving becomes life changing as we design a week-long conference that gives you the blueprint to achieve your personal and professional goals." Them's fightin' words, as they say in the westerns, but the NSC lives up to the challenge.
Noted safety management expert Tom Peters will present the opening keynote address, on Monday, Oct. 18, at 8:30 a.m. Peters, author of "In Search of Excellence" and "The Circle of Innovation", will tell you why excellence and the power of the dream hold the keys to organizational safety and health in the next century.
Other Monday sessions of note include "Violence Prevention: No One Answer" at 10 a.m. Dennis Henigan, general counsel for Handgun Control Inc., Washington, D.C., Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, Michael Stephan Dorn, school safety specialist with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, and Michael D. Sise, trauma director of Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, will offer their opinions about the best approach to solve the increased violence problem in America. "Think Like a CEO!" will bring some of the top minds in business and safety at 1:30 p.m. to discuss their corporate value of excellence as demonstrated through safety and health performance.
Tuesday begins at 8:30 a.m. with keynoter Charles N. Jeffress, Assistant Secretary of Labor – OSHA. He will tell attendees what they can expect from his agency in the coming year. Following his remarks, at 9:30 a.m., behavioral safety expert Tom Krause, along with Nancy Lessin from MassCOSH, Jim Howe from the UAW, Jim Frederick, from the USWA, Mike Porter, corporate safety manager at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., and Geoff Covert, senior vice president at Kroger Co., will tackle "Behavior-based Safety: Get of the Worker's Back." During this session, the panel will challenge the basic assumption of whether the majority of occupational injuries and illnesses are the result of unsafe acts or unsafe conditions.
Also on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., noted environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discusses the potential for increased and more severe natural disasters and the hurdles they pose for citizens, industry, and policy makers. Is industry prepared, and what can be done to prevent devastation and loss of life? On the panel with Kennedy will be Joseph N. Suhayda, Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute, and Frank Hijuelos, from New Orleans City Hall.
Wednesday highlights include a 10 a.m. discussion of one of the hottest topics around: "Ergonomics: Is it Ready to be Regulated?" Marthe Kent, director of safety standards at OSHA, and Jacqueline Nowell, director of occupational safety and health, United Food and Commercial Workers, will take a look at the pros and cons of ergonomic regulations. At the same time, discover "New Solutions for Measuring Safety & Health Performance," with Stephen Newell, Organizational Resources Counselors, Tom Durbin, director of safety and workers' compensation at PPG Industries Inc., and Dee Woodhull, manager of safety, industrial hygiene and workers' compensation at United Technologies Corp.
Interested in highway and traffic safety? Then make sure you're available at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday for a keynote address by Ricardo Martinez, M.D., administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He will detail his goals for highway the NHTSA in the next century, as the agency makes injury prevention the priority of its efforts; works to provide science-based decisions; and streamlines the rulemaking process. At 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, "Work Zone Safety: Both Sides of the Barricades" will be examined by Stephen Richards, executive director of the Transportation Research Center, David F. Fosbroke, a statistician with the trauma investigation division of NIOSH, and Brian H. Murphy, vice president of craft personnel and safety director at SundtCorp.
Food safety, a topic much in the headlines these days, will be discussed by Jorge Hernandez, director of technical education at the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and Bob Earle, director of public health for the International Food Information Council, on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Avoid foodborne illnesses with techniques shared by these food safety experts. Learn key points of risk in assessing your potential vulnerability.
In addition to the blockbuster sessions offered on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, there are over 100 industry-specific technical sessions for the marine, mining, construction, manufacturing, utilities, chemical, pulp and paper, aerospace, food and beverage, material handling, rubber and plastics, and retail industries. Topics include regulatory compliance, research, commercial vehicle safety, training, youth safety, computer applications, disabilities and return to work, engineering, legal issues, emergency management, motivation, fire prevention, drug and alcohol abuse, equipment safety, risk management, quality management, and labor issues.
As if all that isn't enough, a number of special events are planned for attendees and their guests. The Congress Night Out on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m., will center on a concert by famous New Orleans natives The Neville Brothers at the Expo Center. A number of tours are available of the French Quarter, Garden District and nearby plantations and swamps. Other specialty tours include a "Haunted History Tour" of the city; a visit to the New Orleans School of Cooking; and a tour of the city's cemeteries, churches and chapels. And don't forget the city's many famous and fabulous restaurants, the antique shops along Rue Royale, the Jax Brewery, and beignets at Café du Monde.
For further information about the National Safety Congress & Expo, visit the NSC Web site at http://www.nsc.org.