Reuniting the OSH community

The Health and Safety Event is now well-established at the NEC in Birmingham, but what's different about this year's installment when it takes place on the 5 - 7 of April 2022?

Due to the pandemic, we are in a unique position of running the Health and Safety Event just seven months after the September one, but it's important for us to get the event re-established on its traditional timeline of April. We're looking forward to hosting three days of informative content alongside key innovators and providers of PPE products, services, training and software.

This year's Keynote Theatre will be completely different and on the first day the Health and Safety Executive is putting together a suite of sessions that will explore work-related stress and the effect the pandemic has had on workers. They'll also be looking into health and safety data and how new tools can provide health and safety managers with a means to help predict where potential issues could be. It will be interesting to see how this data can be utilized to make a safer and healthier work environment. 

NEBOSH will be providing a series of seminars on day two and The HSE Recruitment Network will be providing content for the third day and this will focus on career development. This will be an interactive session and is definitely something you don't want to miss.

The Safer Logistics Theatre, sponsored by Toyota Material Handling, will see industry experts discussing key topics and guidance on safety in warehousing and logistics. This will include training, manual handling, regulation, updates, emerging issues and trends and analysis. Involved in the program will be industry experts including the UK Material Handling Association CEO Tim Waffles, RTITB director of systems learning development, Alec Sampson, and Mentor Training manager Andy Cartwright. This is being chaired by Handling and Storage Solutions editor Simon Duddy who has over a decade of experience covering this market.

What do you think sets this particular event apart from others in the sector?

For the health and safety industry, its central location has always appealed and that’s a key USP of the event. The NEC is easily accessible by multiple transport networks - having both a train station and an international airport on site. Situated adjacent to the M42/M6/A45, it’s easy to get to by car. The NEC has got the biggest onsite car parking facility out of all the event arenas in the UK and this year parking is FREE courtesy of organisers, Nineteen Group.

What networking opportunities are there at the event?

At the end of the first day there will be a networking drinks reception sponsored by Trolex, which is open for both exhibitors and visitors. It provides a chance to relax after the first day, exchange ideas and catch up with people. This is what sets exhibitions apart – it's that face-to-face interaction and that in person contact that you don't get on Zoom or Teams.

On 6 April (day two), the Safety and Health Excellence Awards take place at the Vox and we are proud to be sponsoring it. It's a great evening of entertainment, celebration and good food and drink. More than 500 people will be attending the evening, which is hosted by Hugh Dennis. The awards play an important role of in championing excellence and the ceremony will encompass the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) Awards. The BSIF are a key strategic partner for The Health and Safety Event and their awards recognise the achievements their members have made in the last 12 months.

Can you tell us some of the brands that will be part of the exhibition this year?

We currently have almost 250 exhibitors. We have a brand that everybody knows but possibly don't realise they are active in the safety market – Skechers. They have an exciting range of health and safety footwear and they'll be exhibiting for the first time in the UK.

Other exhibitors include UVEX, DuPont, Diadora, Polyco, Honeywell, Bolle, Milwaukee and Drager so there really is a wide variety and a strong representation of some of the brands in our industry.

Our partnership with the BSIF is important and we want to make sure you buy safety products from approved sellers. The BSIF's Registered Safety Supply Scheme is something that we're fanatical about and we want to help the BSIF educate visitors about the importance of it.

The Knowledge Exchange is always the busiest theatre. Can you tell us what content is on this year?

The Knowledge Exchange, sponsored by Citation, is organised by HSM and is an open forum and will have three or four panelists who are specialists in their fields. There will be audience interaction and the rather than PowerPoint presentations, you will be able to enjoy an organic exchange between the experts and the audience. Louis Wustemann is hosting again this year, and with 15-years’ experience as a health and safety journalist he will make this informative and enjoyable.

Why should someone who hasn't attending the health and safety event before, visit this year?

At the event you will find a combination of great companies with an excellent reputation, so you can source products and talk to new suppliers, see what's innovative and network.

We also have the popular Lone Worker Theatre - presented in bite-size interactive sessions, experts, and those with practical experience will share their knowledge to provide best practice and ways to manage the key issues of wellbeing, safety, and security for lone and remote workers as we change our working practices post-Covid

Following on from the successful introduction last year, National Highways are supporting the Driver Safety Zone at this year’s Health & Safety Event. It will provide invaluable information and expert support to any safety professionals who are responsible for managing work-related road risk. Three days of high-level content will look at the legal requirements of current legislation, what industry-recognised good practice looks like, how to improve safety culture in relation to driving for work, and a look at what upcoming changes to official guidance will mean for businesses and their safety managers. The key theme for 2022 is ‘presenting those who drive for work as professional drivers’ alongside reinforcing the revised HSE/DFT guidance

If you register for the Health and Safety Event you will also get access to the collocated events – The Workplace Events, Fire Safety Event and Security Event. Across all of these shows you'll have access to more than 900 of the leading brands in those sectors offering the latest products and services and demonstrations of their kits and their software. You'll also benefit from hundreds of hours of CPD seminars available in all the leading industry associations across those sectors.

The Health & Safety Event takes place at NEC Birmingham on 5-7 April 2022. Register for your free pass at www.healthandsafetyevent.com