Getting in on the Act
March 1st 2008

The Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act 2007 will feature heavily on the agenda at this year's Safety & Health Expo, when it returns to the NEC, Birmingham from 13-15 May 2008. The act, which comes into force on April 6 2008, means companies can be prosecuted for manslaughter where there has been a gross failing in the management of health and safety. Prosecution under the act may result in a fine of up to 10% of annual turnover, meaning this issue is top of the agenda for health and safety professionals

RoSPA will be attending Safety & Health Expo 2008 with a full conference programme focusing on the new law. Lord McKenzie of Luton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, will give the keynote address on Tuesday 13 May in the Concourse Suite at the NEC.

The conference will provide a valuable opportunity for organisations to gain an understanding of the strategic importance and business benefits of better health and safety management, to assess their board's engagement in accident and illhealth prevention strategies and to look ahead to continuous improvement.

The act will also feature as part of a series of free seminars presented on the show floor of the exhibition. Wednesday 14 May in particular will focus entirely on new and existing legislation, in a specially devised programme developed specifically for those interested in health and safety law.

Event director, Adrian Newton comments, "The Corporate Manslaughter Act comes into force just one month before Safety & Health Expo, making it the perfect event for visitors to find out how it will affect their businesses. It is extremely important that companies take health and safety seriously, failure to do so can have devastating consequences – not only for the families of those affected but also for the businesses involved." This year Safety & Health Expo is launching a new feature area, called "Myths and Realities" that will challenge the "ban it" perception of the health and safety industry.

'Health and safety' regularly takes a beating in the press for banning traditional events and getting in the way of people going about their daily lives. The event will be the place for those interested in occupational health and safety to learn more about what risk assessment really means.

Within the Myths and Realities area visitors will be able to discover the difference between assessing risk sensibly and responsibly; and indiscriminately banning activities, to try to eliminate risk altogether.

The area will feature a climbing wall supplied by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) that visitors can scale and a "fact or fiction" quiz to find out which everyday items have or have not been banned. There will also be a driving simulator where visitors can see how well they perform whilst contending with daily distractions.

Safety & Health Expo is Europe's largest annual health and safety exhibition, and is officially supported by RoSPA, the BSIF and IOSH. The show will feature over 350 companies displaying a broad range of products and services to the health and safety market. Exhibiting companies will include St John Ambulance, Draeger Safety, Posturite, CAT Workwear, Speedy Hire, Goliath Footwear, Aearo, Scott Health & Safety and Bacou-Dalloz.

BSIF Safety Awards at Safety & Health Expo 2008 The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) Product Innovation, Service and Safety Excellence Awards will be held at Safety & Health Expo 2008. The awards celebrate and promote health and safety products and services which bring innovative design to occupational health and safety. This year the Safety Awards include an additional Safety Excellence category. Award winners will be announced at a high profile Champagne reception to be held on the first day of the exhibition. Additionally the winners and finalists will be displayed on the BSIF stand at Safety & Health Expo.

This year the three award categories are: Product Innovation: An award for products that are new and innovative and will contribute to improvements in occupational safety and health.

Service Excellence: An award for companies in the safety field offering exceptional service and innovative service solutions. Voted for by the entrant's own customers.

Safety Excellence: A new series of awards for 2008, based upon case studies, highlighting significant improvements in the occupational safety of a company's employees during 2007.

Winning entries must satisfy the panel of eminent judges that products or services will contribute to a significant reduction in workplace accidents or injuries, as well as demonstrating innovative design, an original adaptation of existing technology, or unique improvements in ergonomic comfort.

The awards will be presented by Sir John Cullen, president of the BSIF, chairman of the judges and former chairman of the Health & Safety Commission.

For further information on the show, please visit www.safety-health-expo.co.uk.

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