ASSP Safety 2019: Expand Your Safety Education and Skill Set

The annual Professional Development Conference organized by the American Society of Safety Professionals attracts safety and health professionals from around the world. Besides featuring exhibitors showcasing the latest industry trends and product innovations, the show offers valuable networking opportunities and education programs that allow attendees to learn important safety and health information.

This year’s event, Safety 2019, held in New Orleans from Sunday, June 9, through Wednesday, June 12, is expected to attract more than 5,000 attendees from 40 countries, including exhibitors, presenters and safety professionals looking to expand their knowledge.

Jennifer McNelly, CEO of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), says education is a key part of the organization’s mission: “An important role ASSP plays is around professional development and making sure professionals have good information.”

McNelly, who began her role as ASSP CEO last August, spoke with Better MRO earlier this year about leading the 38,000-member organization. McNelly is a former president at The Manufacturing Institute, which is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Safety 2019 may be the largest event ASSP hosts for the year, but it’s not the only one. It also hosts events focused on leadership development—as well as “Seminarfest,” a week of educational courses held in Las Vegas.

In addition, ASSP hosts its own podcast to help safety professionals keep up to date—as well as the peer-reviewed Professional Safety journal.

Here are a few reasons to attend this year’s conference.

1. Hear From Industry Leaders and Safety Professionals

General sessions at the conference include talks by safety professionals and industry thought leaders, a town hall event and a panel discussion.

Speakers at this year’s conference include:

• Nicole Malachowski, a veteran combat pilot and motivational speaker, who will discuss creating a culture that challenges assumptions
• Peter Ricchiuti, a business professor at Tulane University, who will offer his perspective on today’s financial markets and economy
• Keni Thomas, a former Task Force Ranger, who will discuss leadership
• Ice skater Scott Hamilton, who will talk about finding your unrealized potential

This year’s plenary session town hall panel, “Where Do You Draw the Line? Navigating the Expanding Scope of the Safety Professional,” addresses the ethical dilemmas facing safety professionals and how to best execute the responsibility to protect workers.

In addition, a general session panel will discuss how the legalization of marijuana at the state level affects efforts to maintain drug-free workplaces.

 Keep track of all this year's ASSP event coverage on our MSC at Safety 2019 page. 

2. Expand Your Safety Education

Product innovations and changing safety standards mean that there’s always something new for safety and health professionals to learn.

Many of the courses at the annual Professional Development Conference and Seminarfest fulfill the Board of Certified Safety Professionals’ continuing education requirements for maintaining credentials for: ASP, CSP, CHST, OHST and SMS. ASSP members can also volunteer on ASSP committees and publish articles to earn continuing education credits.

This year’s Safety 2019 conference in the Big Easy will feature more than 20 hours of accredited education through concurrent sessions, as well as flash sessions, key issue collaboration sessions and social learning stations. Hours are accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training.

Concurrent sessions are broken down by experience level—basic, intermediate, advanced and executive—and categorized by 24 different tracks, including business skills and professional development, construction, emergency management, ergonomics, fire protection, healthcare/wellness, human behavior, industrial hygiene/health, regulatory issues, risk management/insurance, safety management and more.

From June 10-12, courses also include key issue collaboration sessions, conversations among professionals on topics such as best practices for managing safety during economic downturns and lone worker protocols.

For shorter bursts of information, the conference offers flash sessions—15-minute learning opportunities on topics such as heat stress, high-visibility apparel and grip sensors.

Think tanks are half-hour discussion-driven sessions focused on topics such as driving employee engagement and best practices for protecting temporary workers.

There are also three days of pre-conference courses, from Friday, June 7, through Sunday, June 9, and four days of post-conference courses, from Wednesday, June 12, through Saturday, June 15. An additional fee is required for the pre- and post-conference courses.

3. Attend Safety 2019’s Related Events

Related events add to the educational opportunities as well. This year’s conference also features an academic forum on June 12.

In addition, the International Society for Occupational Ergonomics and Safety (ISOES) Annual Conference takes place from June 12-13; ASSP conference attendees can attend the ISOES conference at a reduced rate.

On June 13, the ASSP, in partnership with the International Society for Fall Protection, is hosting a symposium on fall protection, featuring five concurrent sessions, a lunchtime keynote and a roundtable discussion.

4. Network with Other Safety Professionals and Uncover the Latest Safety Innovations

More than 5,000 occupational safety and health professionals attend the conference each year. What better opportunity to meet with others in your field, discuss hot topics and brainstorm solutions for tough safety challenges?

Besides meeting with exhibitors and attending educational sessions, conference attendees can also attend community receptions or visit a lounge set up just for networking among 27 different communities. The conference also offers a full-day retreat presented by Women in Safety Excellence.

The expo hosts over 600 safety services and supplier companies featuring cutting-edge personal protective equipment and technology advances—including new products that offer more worker options for fit and comfort while maintaining or often exceeding OSHA regulations and ANSI compliance standards.