It's showtime for the South

The first in the series of Health and Safety events for 2011, Health and Safety '11 - South is being held at Sandown Park Racecourse on 1-2 March.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

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 nonwork activities can play on worker productivity and quality of working life.

Drama-based presentation Something slightly different this year is the 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.

The seminar is being delivered by Shaun Curry and Harry Gallagher of Macnaughton McGregor. Between them they have almost 30 years' experience of developing and delivering interactive drama based attitudinal safety training.

During this time they have developed training programmes for some of the world's leading companies including ConocoPhillips, Shell, Rolls Royce, Carillion and Rio Tinto Alcan as well as many others. They have developed and delivered programmes all over the world from Borneo to Trinidad, Kazakhstan to the Middle East, and the USA to Norway.

Their approach can distil the central message of the event and raise attendees' awareness of the salient issues in an interactive, thought provoking, enjoyable and ultimately memorable way.

Although the drama deals with some of the issues faced by supervisors and frontline managers, the wider context is aimed at anyone who is looking for effective training techniques in order to make a long lasting, positive impact upon the safety culture of their organisation.

A key feature of the seminar is the 'Interactive Case Study' which will demonstrate for front-line managers and supervisors how to present a positive and unambiguous safety message to the workforce in situations of deadlines and stress. The case study is set in a chemical plant and the central themes of tight deadlines, mis-communication and work pressure will be readily recognised by a wide range of organisations.

Shaun Curry from Macnaughton McGregor says of the seminar: "The central message of behavioural based safety is very simple - 'let's all be safe and look out for each other'. So why can it be so hard to get right? We are hoping to raise participants' awareness of the kinds of training tools available to them in the area of behavioural based safety. Tools that will increase ownership and promote long lasting positive attitudinal change.

We are also hoping that people will take away an enjoyable and memorable experience."

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.

ARCO, one of the UK's leading experts in workplace safety will be exhibiting at Health and Safety '11 - South, and in addition to this, their Director of Consultancy Services, Ken Smith will deliver a presentation at 9.05am on both days of the event, entitled: 'Safety is a Can-Do Business'. The seminar aims to challenge the misconceptions that health and safety can be restrictive to business and will highlight the benefits of doing it right. Legislation requires that you manage health and safety in all areas of business and therefore it should become a positive approach to good business management.

Toyota Materials Handling UK will be exhibiting at the Health and Safety'11 - South event. The key highlights of the Toyota exhibition stand will be the BT Pro Lifter hand pallet trucks, the BT high lifter hand pallet truck and the BT Mini Mover powered pallet truck.

In addition, Toyota Material Handling offers a manual handling guide available for free on request. This guide offers both employers and employees guidance on the safest ways to lift, stack and move items in the workplace. Toyota believes the guide will help employers to ensure they are meeting their legal obligations to protect their workforce from injury. A comprehensive assessment checklist will help businesses to measure and assess their current manual handling practices and identify areas for improvement.

Toyota offers a complete range of solutions to cover any application requirements. Products include:Hand Pallet Trucks, Powered Pallet Trucks, Powered Stackers, Order Pickers, Tow Tractors, Reach Trucks, Counterbalance engine and electric forklifts, Very Narrow Aisle.

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.