Page 52 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2017

SAFETY 2017
WWW.OHSONLINE.COM/ASSE
ASSE’s Mile High Moment
This could be the most consequential annual conference for the society in many years.
ABY JERRY LAWS
s I have predicted elsewhere in this issue (page 4), the im- minent votes to change ASSE’s name to the American Society
of Safety Professionals is “sure to be one of the hottest topics of conversation for those of us who will be in Denver this month to attend the Safety 2017 conference.” With that decision in mind, this could be the most consequential annual conference for the society in many years—more than 20 years of attending these conferences for me and for many others whom I know in this profession.
So the Safety 2017 Professional Devel- opment Conference & Exposition (www. safety2017.org) should be a memorable meeting indeed. Taking place June 19-22 inside the Colorado Convention Center on 14th Street, the event boasts a superb educational program in a beautiful location. Denver’s average high and low temperatures for this month are 81 and 50 degrees Fahr- enheit, respectively.
ASSE’s brochure highlights the A Line, a fast rail service, priced at $9 each way, between Denver’s airport and Union Sta- tion downtown. It opened in 2016 and runs trains every 15 minutes between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., making the trip in about 37 min- utes. VisitDenver.org’s list of “must-see & do Denver” activities starts with its walk- able downtown and free shuttle buses on the 16th Street Mall and moves on to the Colorado State Capitol’s rotunda, the Den- ver Art Museum, the U.S. Mint on West Colfax Avenue, the Larimer Square down- town block of restaurants and shopping, and even includes the giant Blue Bear gaz- ing into the convention center’s windows. “By an amazing stroke of good luck, the 13th step on the west side of the Colorado State Capitol Building is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level—one mile high. In Denver’s rarified air, golf balls go 10 percent farther. So do cocktails. Alcoholic drinks pack more of a punch than at sea level. The Mile High City is also extremely dry, so it is a good idea to drink more water than usual,” the website informs visitors. “With less wa-
ter vapor in the air at this altitude, the sky really is bluer in Colorado.”
The ASSE House of Delegates meeting will take place June 19 at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Cen- ter, featuring President Tom Cecich, CSP, CIH, giving a report on the state of the so- ciety, and that meeting is followed by the Annual Membership Meeting.
Program Highlights
The educational program is divided into 22 tracks ranging from construction/mining and executive topics to oil & gas, sustain- ability, technical/engineering/standards, and transportation.
Shaping up as some of the most timely and useful presentations are ones about construction safety planning, the upcom- ing ISO 45001 standard on requirements for occupational health and safety manage- ment systems (this one, Session 520, starts at 10:45 a.m. on June 20 with an all-star list of presenters, including Kathy Seabrook, CSP, CMIOSH, an ASSE past president, and Victor Toy, CSP, CIH, who chairs the U.S. Technical Advisory Group on the standard),
wearable safety devices, medical marijuana, OSHA’s new walking and working surfaces rule, several sessions on fatigue, and new pending ANSI/ASSE construction safety standards, to name only a few.
The Key Issue Roundtable Workshops track’s sessions are worth a look. They focus on sit/stand workstations, safety climate and culture during economic downturns, dropped object prevention in the oil & gas industry, going paperless with safety, man- agement of fatigued driving, best practices to use when recreational marijuana use is legal in your state, and more.
The brochure promises keynote speak- ers that include author Tom Morris (“True Success: The Art of Achievement in Times of Change,” starting at 7:30 a.m. June 20), Mel Robbins (“From Successful to Satis- fied: How to Become the Leader You Want to Be,” starting at 7:30 a.m. June 21), Vinh Giang (“Strategy vs. Execution,” a luncheon speaker starting at noon June 22), and Jo- seph Hallinan (“Why We Make Mistakes,” the Closing General Session speaker start- ing at 3 p.m. June 22).
The June 21 Plenary Session from 1-2
48 Occupational Health & Safety | JUNE 2017
www.ohsonline.com
STEVE CRECELIUS AND VISIT DENVER