A show for everybody

Raise personal/departmental/company safety by attending NSC Congress & Expo

By Paul V. Arnold

A frequently used slogan at manufacturing plants is “safety is everybody’s job.”

The message: You don’t have to be the safety director to have a positive impact on plant safety. It’s part of your job, whether you’re a manager or blue-collar worker, and whether you’re in maintenance, production, engineering or purchasing.

You must work safe and be proactive about making your plant as safe as possible. If you notice a safety hazard or have an idea to reduce injuries and illnesses, do something about it.

But how do you gain knowledge about safety hazards or develop ideas to improve overall safety?

Start by attending the National Safety Council’s 90th Congress & Expo, Oct. 4-11 in San Diego.

You might ask, isn’t that event just for safety directors?

As NSC spokesman Joe Larkin explains, safety IS everybody’s job, and Congress & Expo is everybody’s safety show.

“This is for anybody who works inside a plant and needs to know about safety,” says Larkin. “We encourage any company that wants to upgrade its safety program to send a team of people."

The numbers bear Larkin out. Of the roughly 20,000 attendees at the 2000 Congress & Expo in Orlando, Fla., 4,200 were involved in occupational safety and health. But thousands of plant managers, nearly 1,000 engineering and design professionals and close to 1,000 labor union members also attended.

Reasons to attend
For several reasons, Larkin expects attendance to exceed 20,000 registrants for this fall’s Congress & Expo.

First is the fact that it isn’t the 89th Congress & Expo.

Last year’s event in Atlanta began 10 days after the Sept. 11 tragedies. With companies restricting travel for employees, the 2001 event drew 12,500 registrants.

“The people who missed out last year will be back,” says Larkin.

The second reason is a quality lineup of activities.

Keynote speakers include Mexican president Vicente Fox and Occupational Safety and Health Administration chief John Henshaw.

There are also more than 200 general sessions and dozens of seminars addressing some of your company’s most pressing safety issues. From ergonomics, confined spaces and machine safeguarding to developing safety teams and involving unions more in formulating safety initiatives, there is a session or seminar for you.

“Some of these are basic in nature, and others are intermediate or advanced,” says Larkin. “We also offer some in Spanish. This is the second year we’ve offered programs in Spanish to meet the needs of the changing U.S. workforce.”

One such Spanish language seminar is a train-the-trainer course on lift truck safety.

A third reason why Larkin anticipates a big turnout is this year’s exposition. More than 800 safety product manufacturers, suppliers and consultants will have booths at the San Diego Convention Center. Included in that group are many of the quality companies that advertise in this magazine.

The expo is a great opportunity to talk to company representatives about your safety problems and opportunities, and get a sneak peek at hot new safety products and personal protective equipment.

A final reason for the turnout will be, of course, sunny San Diego.

This article appeared in the Aug./Sept. 2002 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright, 2002.

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