The Health & Safety Event 2017 - show preview

Professionals in the machine building industry will be particularly keen to visit the Safety Dialogue Theatre, sponsored by 3M and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), where a line-up of respected panellists will debate prominent issues in a series of lively discussions.

Organiser Western Business Exhibitions has expanded the event once again, adding new features to the programme and building more alliances with industry organisations to ensure a valuable visitor experience.

Co-location

The event shares its location with three other exhibitions that represent related industries - Maintec 2017, Facilities Management 2017 and the newly launched Fire Safety Event, which makes its debut this year - enabling visitors to maximise the value of their visit to the NEC.

New features of The Health and Safety Event include an exciting partnership with the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), which has chosen to stage the BSIF Safety Awards at the event for the first time. The BSIF will invite entrants in its Product Innovation Awards to pitch their products to a judging panel in front of a live audience before announcing the winners. As well as supporting The Health and Safety Event for the first time, the BSIF will also have a strong role in subsequent events - Scotland Works in Glasgow, May 2017, and Health and Safety North in Manchester, October 2017.

Conference programme

The British Safety Council has curated the main conference programme, which has been designed to support the continuing professional development (CPD) of delegates. Best practice guidance will be shared across key industry topics such as workplace wellbeing, personal resilience, embedding a health and safety culture, mental health and legal compliance, while the impacts of Brexit will also be explored.

The third seminar platform, Safer Logistics, sponsored by A-Safe and Toyota, offers a programme of seminars providing practical advice on overcoming safety challenges surrounding warehouse and forklift operations. Another area of discussion will be load integrity on HGVs and vans, and how the police, together with the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency, are being trained to carry out stop and inspect operations. Experts believe this will lead to more inspections and prosecutions going forward. Seminars will be led by both sponsors, as well as industry organisations - the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT), the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) and the Regulatory Body for Workplace Transport Training (RTITB). The BSIF and United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA) will also be lending their support. The aim of the Safer Logistics is to encourage managers in the supply chain to take a proactive approach to safety.

Ask The Expert

Meanwhile, the NEBOSH Education Pavilion, managed by the National Examination Board of Safety and Health, serves as a central point providing access to a multitude of training providers. This area of the exhibition, centred around a caf©, has an "Ask The Expert' feature and will also offer enhanced opportunities for networking.

In the main seminar programme, highlights include an overview of recent health and safety prosecutions. Chris Green, a partner at law firm Weightmans, will reflect on key points and precedents that have arisen from these cases so that attendees can draw valuable lessons to take back to their own employers and inform safety management. A year on from its introduction, he will pay particular attention to the impact of the sentencing guidelines over the past 12 months and what the prosecution trend could mean for businesses going forward.

He says: "Fines are substantially higher since 2016 as it's all based on the company's turnover, culpability and the risk of harm now. The session will give delegates more insight as to what that looks like in practice and, if they are ever facing these offences, what sort of figures to expect, how the HSE will approach it and what we will say in response as defence lawyers."

The second day kicks off with a fascinating case study from Sue Greatorex and Richard Byrne of BSS Industrial, part of Travis Perkins Plc. In this session, the commercial director and safety director will highlight the innovative work that BSS is undertaking to achieve effective collaboration with its key supply chain partners on health and safety. They will also reflect on the lessons the company has learned from engaging with its supply chain, in particular the benefits that all of the organisations involved have seen from this collaboration.

Industry showcase

As well as the free educational content at the event, the major draw at the Health and Safety Event is a fast growing exhibition area where the leading names in health and safety will showcase their wares. Major equipment vendors, service providers and distributors all have experts available to answer queries regarding products and services.

Tim Else, events director at Western Business Publishing and Exhibitions, which organises the event, says: "We continue to grow and expand this event. There are a number of new features and partnerships with the most influential organisations in UK health and safety. This year, we are particularly pleased to have established a new partnership with the British Safety Industry Federation, whose innovation awards promise to be a highlight. Other partners including the British Safety Council have developed a fantastic seminar programme that will give attendees unparalleled insight into current trends and developments, while the exhibition floor brings together the very latest technologies, products and services available to support professionals in the industry. It's an event that people responsible for health and safety cannot afford to miss."

For more information about the Health & Safety Event 2017 and to register online, go to www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk.