Counting down to Health & Safety North

The event hosts a wide array of conference sessions, organised through the British Safety Council that cover industry ‘hot’ topics. 

On day one, Louise Taggart, a health and safety training and project delivery professional, will be delivering her presentation entitled ‘Michael’s Story – The Impact of not Managing Risk Effectively’. Louise will be telling the story of how her 26 year old brother – an experienced electrician, died tragically 10 years ago on a job site as a result of an electrical incident which, could and should, have been prevented.  During the presentation Louise will talk through the catalogue of errors in health and safety management that accumulated to prove fatal. Visitors can catch Louise’s poignant presentation at 11:10am on 7th October.

On the afternoon of the first day, Dr Louise Vassie, an Institute of Directors independent consultant and advisor, turns the focus onto the audience, encouraging them to ask some important questions about their own health and safety performance. With her 45 minute presentation entitled ‘Health and Safety Performance – How do you think you’re doing?’ Louise will cover how measurement of health and safety performance can provide an insight into how to do things more effectively.

On 8th October the conference hall is transformed into a court room with an interactive session from Pinsent Masons LLP who will be conducting a mock trial entitled: 'A Construction Industry Accident – Who's at fault? You Decide'. 

Split into two one-hour sessions, The Evidence at 11:15 followed by The Verdict at 13:15, the trial will demonstrate the stages of a health and safety prosecution, following a serious incident within the construction industry. The trial’s outcome will be left in the hands of the visitors attending Health and Safety North to decide. 

"The sessions will be good fun for everyone involved, but will also contain a strong message. We hope people will be engaged and that what they learn will be of use to them in their professional lives” said Katherine Brydon of Pinsent Masons LLP, the international law firm hosting the trial. "Fortunately most people attending the event will never be involved in a health and safety prosecution, but the mock trial will be a real eye opener and give the individuals attending an insight into how it unfolds, what a trial looks like and the consequences they could face if they don’t abide by the law.”

Practical seminars 

As well as the British Safety Council conference programme, the Health and Safety North event will also benefit from practical seminars hosted by event partners such as 3M, Arco and Dupont Personal Protection. Kicking off this programme on day one is Nikki Samme, marketing and portfolio development director from Alcumus. Her presentation entitled ‘A Guide to Business Continuity Planning using the ISO 22301 Framework starts at 9:10am on 7th October’. Nikki will bring to light some worrying statistics: 1 in 5 businesses suffer a major disruption of service every year and 1 in 10 of these businesses will cease trading as a direct result of this. With her presentation, Nikki looks to cover the growing demand for the international business continuity standard ISO22301 and this can be embedded into an organisation’s culture. 

In the afternoon, those concerned with the new arc flash standards IEC 61482-2, EN 61482-1-1 and EN 61482-1-2, will be able to hear Elaina Harvey, UK thermal specialist for Nomex and Western Europe electric arc end user specialist for Dupont Personal Protection, speaking on ‘How to Assess Electric Arc Hazards and Protect Workers’. As well as highlighting the new standards, Elaina will summarise the '4 P' approach to understanding and managing electrical arc hazards – Predict, Prevent, Protect and Publish. 

Join the debate 

In addition to the conference programme, a popular element of the event is the Safety Dialogue Live Panel Debate. The Live Panel offers visitors the opportunity to engage, share their experience and network with recognised experts on some of the most significant issues affecting the UK today. 

The Health & Safety North event is centred on an exhibition that includes trade bodies, manufacturers and distributors, training providers and consultants in the health and safety sector. 

To register online visit  HYPERLINK "https://www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk" www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk