Page 46 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2018

SAFETY 2018 PREVIEW
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Safety and Security in Sunny San Antonio
A particularly relevant session this year is the June 6 General Session, a panel discussion about preparing for workplace violence and active shooter incidents. TBY JESSICA DAVIS
he Safety 2018 Professional Development Conference & Exposition takes place this month in San Antonio, Texas. Sponsored by the American Society of Safety Engineers, Safety 2018 is set for June 3-6, with post-conference cours-
es scheduled for June 6-9. The conference and exposition will take place at the Henry B. González Convention Center, which is lo- cated downtown on the banks of the world-famous San Antonio River Walk, just a few blocks from Alamo Plaza.
As members are no doubt aware, the society is changing its name to the American Society of Safety Professionals during this event.
San Antonio Attractions
San Antonio is the second-largest city in Texas. Average high and low daily temperatures during June are 92 and 72 degrees Fahr- enheit, respectively. One of the city’s best-known attractions is the River Walk, or Paseo del Rio, a park and network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story below the city streets. The scenic River Walk is home to many restaurants, as well as leisurely tours by river boat.
The convention center is not far from the historic downtown district, as well, for those who would like to “remember the Alamo.” The 4.2-acre complex at Alamo Plaza houses exhibits on the Texas Revolution and Texas history, as well as the Alamo Gardens.
Visitors can explore San Antonio by using the Greater San Antonio Region’s VIA Metropolitan Transit system. VIA’s VIVA service line has stops at popular attractions and landmarks, in- cluding different historical missions and museums such as Mis- sion San Juan and the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Safety 2018 Educational Program Highlights
The educational program is divided into 24 tracks that include fire protection, oil & gas/mining & mineral resources, health care/wellness, environmental/hazardous material, ergonomics, transportation, and safety management.
Some noteworthy sessions in the educational program are “Common Warehouse Hazards and Protection—Preplanning to Prevent a Disaster” (June 4, 3:15-4:15 p.m.), “Crystalline Silica: Us- ing Science to Simplify the Rules” (June 6, 1:45-2:45 p.m.), “Fake News and False Systems Kill People and You May Have Them in Your Company” (June 5, 10:30-11:45 a.m.), “The Fatal Flaws in Your Active Shooter Response” (June 4, 4:30-5:30 p.m.), and “Opioid Cri- sis: Emerging Risk to Responding Personnel” (June 5, 3-4 p.m.).
Safety 2018’s brochure highlights keynotes by speakers that in- clude Polly LaBarre (Opening General Session, “A Maverick Manu- al for Success,” starting at 7:30 a.m. June 4); Mike Walsh (“Reinvent- ing Leadership for the Age of Machine Intelligence,” starting at 7:30 a.m. June 5); Chris Helder (“The Power of Influence . . . Master the Customer Experience,” the BCSP Awards of Excellence Luncheon speaker starting at noon on June 6); and Ryan Estis ( “Unleash Your Inner Superhero: Keys to Achieve Breakthrough Performance,” the
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Closing General Session starting at 3 p.m. June 6).
A particularly relevant session this year is the June 6 General
Session, “The Before and After Summit: A Safety Professional’s Guide to Prepare for, React to, and Address Workplace Violence Events.” ASSE’s brochure for Safety 2018 states that active shooter situations are reaching an epidemic level in the United States and that safety professionals must be prepared for what could happen in their workplaces. This is a panel discussion taking place from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m.; the panel will include experts from the FBI, local law enforcement, and employee assistance.
The June 5 Plenary Session from 1-2 p.m. is structured as a town hall, and will continue last year’s plenary session on the his- tory of behavior-based safety and its evolution by focusing on how to operationalize the discussion and put it into action. “Town Hall Debate Part II—Operationalizing It!” will feature a panel of safe- ty executives including Al Johnson of Cargill; Laurie Shelby, VP of EHS at Tesla Motors’ and Ellis Jones, senior director of Global EHS&S at Goodyear.
If you miss a session or want to revisit a presentation at a later date, you’re in luck. Registration for Safety 2018 now includes free recordings of all concurrent sessions whose speakers give ASSE permission to record them, with video and slides synced to audio. Registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to access these recordings a few weeks after the end of the conference.
Networking and Social Learning
More than 5,000 occupational safety and health professionals will be bringing their experience and expertise to Safety 2018, which makes it a great opportunity for networking and learning from oth- ers. The conference and exposition offer a number of ways to meet other professionals, including key issue collaboration sessions, the
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