Safe Harbor
ASSE's PDC & Expo return to the Baltimore waterfront this month for the first time since 1999.
ASSE you real soon.
Baltimore is known as a "City of Firsts" for good reason. In 1743, its Maryland Jockey Club became the first professional sports organization in the United States; in 1774, the city opened the first post office system in the country; in 1816, it became the first city to illuminate streets with hydrogen gas; and in 1920, its Rustless Iron & Steel Co. became the first factory to manufacture stainless steel. And that's just scratching the surface.
This month, the American Society of Safety Engineers and some 4,000 of its closest members will congregate in the historic city for the first time this millennium when the society's annual Professional Development Conference & Expo convenes June 13. Long recognized as one of the strongest U.S. safety shows, the event will take place at the Baltimore Convention Center in the heart of downtown "Ravenstown" with outings planned throughout the surrounding Inner Harbor area.
Golden Opportunity
Safety 2010 will feature some 220 educational sessions in 22 tracks covering everything from ergonomics to emergency management and including the new-this-year Executive Track. It is designed for supervisors, managers, and others who may have only a peripheral involvement with safety at their work sites. On Monday, June 14, Andrew Winston will take the main stage to kick off the conference with his keynote presentation, "Finding the Gold in Green," an encapsulation of the ideas found in Green to Gold, the best-selling guide he co-authored with Daniel Esty on what works and what doesn't when companies go green. Winston, also the founder of Riverside, Conn. based Winston Eco-Strategies, speaks worldwide about how companies can use environmental strategy to innovate, create value, and build competitive advantage.
Later the same day, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, will headline the Plenary Session, which might appropriately be titled "OSHA Speaks." Fresh from hosting the March 4 "OSHA Listens" public meeting and the April 7 online chat about the Department of Labor's Strategic Plan, Michaels is expected to share his insights on what safety professionals have expressed as their key concerns regarding the regulatory, standards development, and compliance assistance eff orts of the federal government. Organizers say the OSHA chief also will respond to questions from the panel's moderator.
Keynoting on Tuesday will be FORTUNE magazine's senior editor at large Geoff rey Colvin, who will present "The Upside of the Downturn: Management Strategies to Prevail in the Recession and Thrive in the Aft ermath." The author of The Upside of the Downturn and Talent is Overrated will share how successful leaders respond in a crisis, focusing on specific tactics leaders can use in tough times and how they can position themselves and their businesses to be strong.
Wednesday's featured speaker will be Joe Malarkey, delivering his unconventional address, "Choose to Lose." ASSE describes the presentation as, "Nonsense? You bet! He ties it all together with an important message: You can't let the chance of failure prevent you from taking the steps to succeed."
Attendees earn 1.8 CEUs for the conference, which includes a lunch on Wednesday (1.7 CEUs without lunch). ASSE has made application to ABIH for CM Points and to IHMM for CMPs.
Gravity Hurts
In conjunction with Safety 2010 and in partnership with ASSE, the International Society for Fall Protection is hosting the 2010 International Fall Protection Symposium on June 16-17 at the convention center. Organized around the theme of Progress through Collaboration, the event will focus on fall incidents as a subject of global concern, with presentations and panel discussions covering a range of fall protection topics. A strong lineup of 14 education sessions for the two days includes "Fall Protection for the Emerging Wind Energy Industry" by Joseph Feldstein of WindSAFE and "Gravity Damages People: Is the Solution a Technical or Social Process?" by Roger Kahler of The InterSafe Group Pty. Ltd.
Expo Hours
OH&S will be providing full coverage of Safety 2010, posting news stories daily from the event and hoping to visit with you at Booth 1709 on the expo floor during these exhibit hours:
- Sunday, June 13, 3 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
- Monday, June 14, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, June 15, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, for more information, go to ASSE's dedicated show site,
www.safety2010.org.
This article originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.