Health & safety in the arena

The change of venue comes as a result of the event's growing success and allows its expanded exhibition to be housed all on one floor. The event offers visitors a free conference programme, organised by the British Safety Council, and will see the addition of Safety Dialogue Live Panel debates.

The conference programme covers a wide range of the most relevant topics affecting the health and safety industry and is delivered by some of the most respected figures in the sector. Opening the conference is Kevin Myers, deputy chief executive, Health and Safety Executive, who will talk on the ‘Progress of the Latest Health and Safety Developments’. 

Focusing on measuring safety culture is Sarah Cudmore, an industrial psychologist at Cudmore Consulting: "My seminar is aimed at any manager in an organisation – operational managers as well as health and safety professionals – and will provide an overview of what safety culture is and how it can be measured, in order to understand, actively manage, and thereby improve performance. I’m hoping to make safety culture a more tangible topic for people; to help them feel more confident about what safety culture is and how it can be improved in practical terms,” commented Sarah.  The presentation offers visitors the opportunity to think about what they would want to measure in a business, thereby providing a ‘thinking tool’ they can take back and use in their own organisations.

On day two of the event, the seminar delivered by Kevin Bridges, partner & chartered safety and health practitioner, Pinsent Masons LLP, entitled ‘Health and Safety – Looking back at some Landmark Judgments’ will explore some of the most significant cases in the last 12 months and consider their impact, both in terms of how prosecutions in future might be defended and what they mean for business. Kevin will also look at the impact the guidance issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council has had on the level of fines in corporate manslaughter and health and safety cases involving a fatality. 

Bridges explains: "I intend to explain why the pattern over the last three or so years has generally been for the courts to impose higher fines for serious breaches of health and safety laws resulting in death than before, a trend which has been approved on a number of occasions by the Court of Appeal. Employers are unable to insure against these fines, which can have a devastating impact both financially and in terms of public relations." 

As well as the British Safety Council conference program there are other, more practical, seminars taking place across the two days. 3M’s seminar, for example, will focus on designing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and making sure the effectiveness of the PPE selected is validated for the individual. 

Something new and exciting for this year’s event is the 'Safety Dialogue' Live Panel. This offers visitors the opportunity to engage with lively debates surrounding the most significant issues, and this year the panel of experts will focus on the issues surrounding Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) and specifically Face Fit testing for masks. 

Health & Safety North is supported by the British Safety Council, Safety Groups UK and recently announced that 3M Safety Solutions is to be the lead sponsor. The event is also officially endorsed by the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM). 

The regional event has also teamed up with NQA, a leading assessment, verification and certification body, giving one lucky visitor the chance to win a free iPad Mini. To be in with a chance of winning, simply visit the Health & Safety Events' website and register for free for the North event: healthandsafetyevents.co.uk.