Workshops
Workshops
Beyond Compliance: Where Safety Meets Leadership
Julia Vaughan
In today's work environments, safety can’t thrive on rules alone-- it demands leadership. This session goes beyond checklists and compliance to explore how true safety cultures are built through influence, accountability, and everyday leadership at all levels.
Participants will discover how to move from reactive safety practices to proactive leadership strategies that drive real results. Through engaging stories, practical tools, and interactive discussions, attendees will learn how to lead by example, communicate with clarity, and create a culture where safety is owned, not enforced. Learning objectives include:
1. Differentiate between compliance-based safety and culture-driven safety.
2. Understand why leadership is the bridge.
3. Identify key leadership behaviors that positively influence safety performance and reduce risk.
4. Create a personal leadership plan to support a stronger, more accountable safety culture.
Developing an Emergency Response Plan
Jeff Raymer, CSM, CSMC
This session provides content and detail of how to develop a comprehensive Emergency Response Plan for many types of emergencies including but not limited to inclement weather (tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning), fire response, emergency utility shutdowns, and active shooter / intruder. Learning objectives include:
1. Provide examples of the many scenarios along with response planning.
2. Use of flow charts to follow the emergency response process.
3. Identify muster points and muster point representatives.
4. Collaboration with local authorities and determining who will be the AHJ when an emergency occurs.
5. How to inform and involve the client.
Effective Rescue Planning for Confined Spaces
Kevin Yurt
This interactive session will guide participants through the essential elements of creating effective rescue plans for confined space entry, as well as inform them on the capabilities of outside resources. Attendees will learn the critical importance of pre-planning and the development of rescue strategies in their specific work environment. The session will explore risk assessments, roles / responsibilities, equipment selection, communication, developing a company specific rescue plan, outside agency capabilities, and rescue methods. Learning objectives include:
1. Understand regulatory requirements related to Confined Space Rescue.
2. Identify key components of an effective rescue plan.
3. Develop skills for conducting thorough risk assessments prior to entry.
4. Learn roles and responsibilities of rescue team members.
5. Explore rescue equipment.
6. Internal evaluation process and continuous improvement related to rescue planning.
Elevating Safety Culture with Employee Engagement
Christan Powers
Who doesn't love safety training? Yes, it is a necessity in any workplace, but does it have to be so (fill in the blank)? Dry? Long? Boring? Didn't we just do this training? Does this apply to me? Do I have to be here? Ah, music to our ears.... Speaking of music, as the universal language what better way to get the attention of anyone than with music... and videos, and real-life work-related pictures, and presented by your coworkers!? Employee engagement and ownership is fundamental to the success and sustainability of any organization. This presentation shares how Ancra Cargo uses all types of media, marketing tools, trivia, humor, food, goals, and an incentive program to train employees and also encourage them to get involved and boost morale in the workplace, especially with the safety culture. Presented to you from members of the Ancra Cargo safety team! Learn how to create or enhance your safety culture with those who know your workplace the best - your own employees! Tips include onboarding, teaching, ownership, validating, and creating an interdependent safety culture while in alignment with core values and having fun!
Emerging Safety Leaders: Leading in All Directions
Sammy Davis, PhD, CSP, GrlOSH
The future of safety leadership lies not just in technical knowledge but in the ability to lead with influence, clarity, and adaptability—regardless of position on the organizational chart. This engaging and thought-provoking session will guide emerging safety leaders through a multi-dimensional framework of leadership, emphasizing the importance of leading in all directions: up, across, down, and within.
Participants will explore how to lead their supervisors (leading up), collaborate effectively with peers (leading laterally), empower their teams (leading down), and cultivate their own growth (self-leadership). With a strong focus on the core dimensions of leadership such as culture, communication, strategy, ethics, and authenticity, attendees will leave with actionable insights that elevate their leadership impact and accelerate their development as influential safety professionals. Learning objectives include:
1. Leading Up
Discover strategies for influencing senior leaders through strong communication, alignment with organizational transformation efforts, and a deep understanding of development and cultural drivers.
2. Leading Laterally
Learn how to build trust and implement strategy among peers by leveraging multicultural perspectives, managing change, and fostering strong professional relationships.
3. Leading Down
Gain practical tools to guide and inspire direct reports through goal planning, developmental coaching, stewardship, and modeling followership principles.
4. Leading from Within
Explore the inner dimensions of leadership—authenticity, ethics, leadership style, and wisdom—to enhance personal effectiveness and credibility as a safety leader.
HSI Stop Life-Threatening Bleeding
The session teaches individuals the knowledge and skills necessary to respond confidently and effectively to severe bleeding emergencies. Whether caused by accidents, workplace incidents, or acts of violence, uncontrolled bleeding is a leading cause of preventable death in trauma situations. Hands-on training provides participants with essential techniques for recognizing life-threatening bleeding and delivering immediate care using tourniquets, wound packing, and direct pressure. Instruction follows national guidelines and best practices, ensuring up-to-date and evidence-based instruction suitable for the general public, workplace responders, and emergency volunteers. Topics addresses include:
- Identifying types and sources of bleeding;
- Assessing the severity of bleeding;
- Applying direct pressure correctly;
- Using commercial and improvised tourniquets;
- Wound packing techniques; and
- Coordinating with EMS and communicating effectively in emergencies.
Participants will receive a session recognition certificate from State Fire Rescue Training and Health & Safety Institute (HSI).
High Voltage Demonstration
Matthew Plum, CSP
This demonstration consists of several possible hazard scenarios when around high voltage electricity. Learning objectives include:
1. Dos and Don'ts when encountering or dealing with high voltage electricity.
2. Electricity from generation all the way to the home or facility.
3. Electrical potential, high voltage electricity hazards people face at work and at home.
4. Safe exit from a vehicle that has an energized high voltage line on the vehicle.
How to Prepare for Bad Things
David Oliver, EdD, CSP, CEM
When you open your smartphone, or see the news at six, the lead story is usually about a bad event. Shootings, fires, tornadoes, chemical incidents-- they all have common themes, they cause injury, death, catastrophic losses, and in many cases loss of institutional or individual credibility. Understanding the changes in risk due to the evolution of technology, changes in weather patterns, and the 24/7 nature of the news cycle is critical to today's leaders in safety and preparedness.
This session will discuss potential risks and how to quantify them in relation to your organization. Setting priorities beginning with protecting your people, but also accounting for business continuity, and protection of image. Emphasis is placed on practical approaches to planning, training, exercises, and hazard mitigation. Learning objectives include:
1. Develop a renewed understanding of common risks, and the application of straightforward risk assessment tools.
2. Explore examples of past events that were handled well vs those that were handled poorly from a leadership prospective and their outcomes.
3. Understand the importance of having a cross functional planning team to explore options for risk mitigation, preparedness actions, and response protocols.
4. Discuss the opportunities and challenges within organizations in today's technology rich environment.
Incident Command System Safety Officer
Melburn Dayton, PhD, CSP, CIT, REHS/RS, CHMM, AOT, MS
This session assists the Safety Officer (SOFR) in understanding the complexities and processes they may face when Incident Command System (ICS) is utilized. Although this is not an official policy document or intended to act as or replace policy, it is guidance for responders and safety personnel that requires application of sound judgement. The SOFRs primary responsibility is to develop and recommend measures to ensure personnel safety of both response personnel and the general public. The SOFR must anticipate, recognize, evaluate and control hazards as well as unsafe conditions and situations. The major responsibilities that are covered include readiness for deployment, readiness for tasking, managing and supporting personnel, incident safety, as well as planning processes, and transition to mobilization. Learning objectives include:
1. Understand the role of a SOFR
Identify the primary duties of the SOFR within the ICS structure, including hazard identification, risk assessment, and safety plan development.
2. Apply ICS Principles to Safety Management
Demonstrate how ICS principles (e.g. chain of command, span of control, etc.) integrate with safety operations during an incident.
3. Conduct Hazard and Risk Assessments
Evaluate incident scenes to identify potential hazards and assess risks to responders and the public.
4. Develop and Implement a Site Safety Plan
Create a comprehensive safety plan tailored to the incident including mitigation strategies, safety protocol, and communication strategies.
5. Monitor and Enforce Safety Standards
Demonstrate the ability to monitor incident operations, enforce safety regulations, and intervene when unsafe conditions or behaviors are present.
6. Document Safety Activities and Incidents
Record safety observations, actions taken, and incidents accurately using ICS forms for accountability and post incident analysis.
Kentucky Division of OSH Compliance Discrimination Program
Eddie Runyon, AA, BS
Organizations often attempt to capitalize on developing safety as a critical component of their organizational culture. However, when this is not executed well, workers can feel the need to express or report their concerns when they believe they are at risk and feel management has not been responsive to their concerns. This session addresses key elements of the Kentucky Division of Occupational Safety and Health Compliance Discrimination program. The session presents a broad overview of the discrimination branch, the investigation process as it relates to both employees and employers, employer and employee rights, and recent amendment to Kentucky Revised Statute 338.121 and the effect on discrimination investigations going forward. Learning objectives include:
1. Define the elements of whistleblower protections, including relevant regulations.
2. Delineate the steps in the investigative process.
3. Identify and develop documentation to ensure compliance with regulations from both employer and employee perspectives.
Making Safety a Fundamental Value
Mark French, Ph.D., MBA, CSP, ASP, SPHR, SSBB
Making safety a core value transforms the workplace into a secure, thriving environment where everyone is a safety hero. By championing safety, leaders inspire teams to embrace safe practices, turning everyday tasks into opportunities for teamwork and care. Let’s create a culture where safety is celebrated! Learning objectives include:
1, Leadership Drives Safety Culture
Strong commitment from leadership is essential to embedding safety as a core value, inspiring employees to prioritize safety in their daily actions.
2. Engagement Fuels a Safe Environment
When employees actively participate in safety practices, it creates a shared responsibility, fostering a safer, more cohesive workplace culture.
3. Safety is Ongoing, Not a One-Time Fix
Building and maintaining a culture of safety requires continuous education, evaluation, and improvement, ensuring it remains a top priority at all levels.
Overdose Response at Jobsites: Narcan + CPRAED
Chase Smith, TCC
This concise, action-oriented session prepares employees to recognize and respond to opioid overdoses in the workplace using Narcan (naloxone) while integrating essential CPR and first aid steps. Participants learn to identify overdose symptoms, administer Narcan, perform critical life-support measures, and activate emergency services—all within a one-hour, high-impact session. Learning objectives include:
1. Recognize an Opioid Overdose
Identify key signs.
2. Administer Narcan Safely
Where to purchase?
Demonstrate intranasal Narcan delivery (hands-on practice with trainers).
Understand workplace storage and legal protections.
Intranasal vs. Intramuscular Narcan
3. Take Lifesaving First Aid Actions
Risk Homeostasis
Mark Pergrem
Smart technologies, such as proximity alert systems, smartphones, and automation, are supposed to make us safer. So why do humans react to them by taking more risks? This session discusses studies that show the impact of technology: how we take more risks because of it, and how it can actually thwart safety efforts through risk homeostasis. Smart technology can also complicate risk assessment. Learn how these limitations can be overcome by the application of sound cognitive psychological principles. Learning objectives include:
1. Define risk homeostasis.
2. Describe the impact of risk homeostasis on safety efforts.
3. Describe effective methods to negate the adverse effects of risk homeostasis.
Safety: Wearing the Hat You Didn’t Ask For
Donny Prater, CSP, CPG
This session addresses the unique compliance challenges faced by organizations that rely on dual-role employees, such as HR or maintenance managers, to manage safety responsibilities. The session will explore how small-to-mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) can achieve regulatory compliance by integrating compliance-by-subscription consulting models. Participants will learn how to develop a compliance calendar, allocate retained monthly consulting hours, and build a manageable budget to support their in-house dual-role personnel. This hybrid model provides structure, accountability, and scalability, without overburdening internal teams, ensuring OSHA and other regulatory requirements are consistently met. Learning objectives include:
1. Identify the limitations and risks associated with assigning safety responsibilities to dual-role employees.
2. Explain how compliance-by-subscription models can support SMEs in achieving and sustaining compliance.
3. Learn how to develop a compliance calendar that integrates internal personnel with external consulting support.
4. Understand how to structure monthly retained hours and budgets to maximize value and outcomes.
5. Discover strategies for long-term compliance and performance improvement.
Suicide Prevention in the Construction Workforce
Kevin Sell, CPEA, CPSA, CHST, OHST, SGE
Suicide in construction is five (5) times more likely to occur than in general industry. This session walks the audience through a program from beginning to end, while answering the why's. The content's focus is to show why total human health matters and how we can change our workplace to be looking at employee risks from 360 degrees. This session also applies to other industries that have a blue-collar base. Learning objectives include:
1. Why we need to address mental health and suicide prevention.
2. How can mental health be woven into existing programs.
3. Understand the caring culture component.
4. How to become a best-in-class employer by adopting a mental health / suicide prevention program.
5. How the opioid epidemic plays a role in employee health / mental illness.
What Did I Come in Here for Again?
Keith Compton, EdD, CSP, CIT, EMT
Have you ever walked into a room and thought, “What did I come in here for again?” Memory lapses like these are common - and often harmless. But in the world of workplace safety, forgetting isn't just inconvenient; it can be catastrophic.
Safety professionals depend on workers to remember a wide range of critical information, from the correct personal protective equipment to wear, to the steps for responding to an emergency. When memory fails, the consequences can be severe.
This session examines why we remember some things and forget others, guided by Hermann Ebbinghaus's influential “Forgetting Curve”. Discussion includes the natural limitations of human memory and introduce practical strategies for overcoming them. From the power of storytelling to the effectiveness of repetition and reinforcement, the session explores how to help employees transfer vital safety information from short-term memory into long-term habits, building a safer culture in the process. By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the basic principles of human memory and how Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve impacts retention of safety information.
2. Understand common limitations on memory and our ability to recall information.
3. Apply strategies to improve memory retention, including storytelling, repetition, and reinforcement.
4. Develop methods to integrate this information into current safety training.
Work Injury Cost Reduction with Early Intervention
Kalen Morgan, MHS, OTR/L, CHT, CEASII
Escalating costs related to workplace injuries are a serious concern and a constantly growing expense for employers. Workers' compensation medical costs continue to rise at staggering rates, not to mention the indirect costs associated with job-related injuries. This session dives into the strategy behind early intervention and best practices for employee safety while simultaneously reducing workers' compensation expenses. Learning objective include:
1. Differentiate the concepts of injury management vs injury prevention.
2. Explain risk factors that may lead to injuries.
3. Identify value in carious injury management options.
4. Compare Work Risk Analysis and Work Task Analysis.
5. Distinguish early symptom intervention vs therapy.
6. Learn how to collaborate with injury prevention specialists to reduce the severity and costs associated with work injuries.