Health & Safety '11 South coming soon

The first in the series of Health & Safety events for 2011, Health & Safety '11 - South is being held at Sandown Park Racecourse on 1-2 March 2011. Along with event partners 3M, Ansell, Arco and Dupont, Health & Safety '11 - South is supported by the British Safety Council and officially endorsed by the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management (IIRSM). Visitors to the event are given access to an educational seminar programme featuring some of the leading professionals in the UK, an extensive exhibition that includes the top providers of the latest products and services in the industry and parking - all free of charge.

Popular seminar programme
As always, the conference and seminar programme, which includes sessions organised by the event's official educational partner the British Safety Council, promises to be a valuable source of information for the health and safety professional and a popular attraction for visitors to the event.
The seminar subjects are topical and in tune with the issues that are affecting the industry right now, providing practical information and advice for attendees. A perfect example of this is the seminar by Dr. Paul Almond, senior lecturer at the School of Law, University of Reading, which will give a summary of Lord Young's controversial health and safety review - 'Common Sense, Common Safety' that was published in October 2010.
The presentation aims to summarise the key recommendations of the report before going on to critically evaluate the approach taken and the proposals made. It will conclude by looking ahead to assess the likely impact that the proposals would have in the future. For anyone with an interest in politics and practice of health and safety more generally, this will be a seminar not to miss as it will provide delegates with a much clearer overview of the 'Young Review', why it matters and what its publication will do to change the world of health and safety.

Focus on health & wellbeing
General health and welbeing in the workplace have, in recent years, been highlighted as major concerns for business and musculoskeletal disorders are the second highest cause of working days lost after mental health issues. To address this topic, Samantha Kee from Kee Anatomy Training will deliver her seminar titled 'Good Health and Well-Being in the Workplace = Good Business'. The presentation looks at the health and cost benefits of involving the workforce in the prevention and management of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. Three scenarios will be discussed to illustrate how management can design a working environment that allows an 18 year-old apprentice, a 63 year-old man who is about to retire and a 4 foot 11 inches woman to work safely.

It is Samantha's belief that if industry is going to effectively manage the impact of musculoskeletal disorders then the workforce must play an integral role in the design and development of health and safety working practices. Delegates to this seminar will also gain a clearer understanding of the impact that non-work activities can play on worker productivity and quality of working life.

Drama-based presentation
Something slightly different this year is the unique drama-based presentation entitled 'Safety Leadership and Culture' which will be delivered by Shaun Curry and Harry Gallagher from Drama Based Learning. The session promises to be interactive, practical, memorable, powerful, effective and enjoyable and Shaun and Harry say their style of drama-based safety programmes effect a long-term change in attitude - not just a short term change in behaviour and help to build lasting positive cultural change.

Legal update
In addition, Kevin Bridges and Zöe Betts from Pinsent Masons LLP will give a legal health and safety update with their presentation entitled 'The significance of setting the right tone at the top'. It will give an insight into potential new risks facing businesses as a result of developments in health and safety law in recent years. It will also include Lord Young's review, Corporate Manslaughter, the new sentencing guidelines, trends in fines, personal liability of directors and senior management and some simple legal preventative measures organisations can take as part of an incident response protocol.

Each year the Health and Safety Events work in partnership with the UK's top safety product and service providers, as well as the leading safety industry organisations to provide an exhibition and conference programme that is second to none. These elements combine to ensure that visitors to the show are offered a truly valuable experience in terms of knowledge gained, the opportunity to network with other professionals in health and safety and meet the industry's most respected organisations. Health and Safety '11 - South represents a great use of time for visitors from virtually any industry and at any level, not just health and safety professionals. With the outstanding combination of the seminar programme and the quality of the exhibitors, it makes this an event you don't want to miss.
Free parking is provided at the event and registering for the exhibition and seminars are also free. You can register online at www.healthand safetyevents.co.uk/safetyevents10/home" or by calling the event hotline on: 0870 4866816.