Gaining in strength

What's different about this year's Event?

We have unprecedented support from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and I am thrilled to confirm that HSE chief executive officer Sarah Albon will be delivering a keynote address and speak on the changing face of the regulator as well as talk about HSE priorities and direction. We’re very excited that she has chosen our event to deliver this major public address to the health and safety industry. In addition, she will be undertaking a Q&A session in the new HSE Connect theatre, which offers a unique opportunity for duty holders to participate, engage and listen with the HSE – no other UK health and safety event offers direct and interactive access to the main government regulator.

Alongside the popular Safer Logistics Theatre, we have now added the Machinery Safety Theatre. On offer will be a suite of presentations looking at managing the risks and providing solutions for equipment and machinery safety covering areas such as sensors, digitisation and connectivity, machine guarding and robots/cobots.

We are also delighted to partner with HSE Recruitment who will be offering the Professional Development Zone, HSE Recruitment Network's team of advisors will be on hand to offer expert advice to advance your career and support your future growth as a health and safety professional. Featuring live onstage interviews and a series of training, workshops and content sessions, this interactive zone will equip you with the tools and techniques to unlock your potential. They will also be hosting the Parklands High School from Lancashire who recently won the Safety Groups UK Education & Innovation Award as a part of the LocHER project for an approach for students and apprentices to identify health and safety risks in their area of study; learn about them and showcase how they can protect their health and safety; and take that experience into the world of work. I think it’s exciting and encouraging to see how young people are engaging with health & safety issues and their attitude to risk and their enthusiasm to share this.

What sets The Event apart from other events that cover the sector? 

Well, a lot of things but it certainly helps that it’s hosted at the NEC, the most accessible best exhibition centre in the UK with unrivalled transport links.

We ensure that the companies exhibiting offer the best in terms of quality of service and product the emphasis is on quality and we are confident that the event showcases the best the industry has to offer.

As the UK’s leading trade body, the BSIF will be offering support and guidance on a number of occupational health and safety issues as well as promoting their key initiatives including the importance of buying from a Registered Safety Supplier (RSSS) which ensures equipment they offer meets the appropriate standards, fully complies with the PPE regulations and is appropriately CE marked. There will also be advice and examples of the dangers of buying cheap and counterfeit products with Trading Standards involved. On their stand there will also be product testing demonstrations and a series of presentations showcasing support for campaigns on Fit2 Fit RPE testing, Clean Air Take Care and It’s in Your Hands.

The Access Industry Forum (AIF) will be presenting new research and advice in the Knowledge Exchange Theatre on choosing the right equipment when working at height. Titled “What to choose? Don't be confused!” This new presentation and video will be making its debut in Birmingham and has been specially commissioned for The Health & Safety Event 2020. From ladders, towers and scaffolding to MEWP's, rope access and edge protection, it highlights the choices available for safe and effective working. This will be followed by a group discussion with a panel of AIF experts, the session will also include an update on the work and role of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Working at Height, and an insight into the latest initiatives from the No Falls Foundation, the UK's first and only registered charity dedicated exclusively to the work at height sector – still the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injuries.  

Can you tell us how far the exhibition has grown and how it looks in comparison to previous years? 

Currently the event is 27% bigger than 2019, which is great achievement, and it now offers visitors a wider spectrum of exhibitors and a wider range of products and solutions. 

It's also an event that has grown in its stature amongst PPE providers. We are presenting some of the leading brands, including Uvex, Bollé Safety, Moldex, JSP, Delta Plus, Crowcon, Diadora, Polyco, Du Pont and Beeswift. The event has captured the imagination and support of the industry and there is no doubt that the popularity of the NEC as a great venue to do business from helps.

Can you tell us which associations will be at the event and how they can help delegates? 

We are delighted to be hosting many of the key stakeholders who represent the health & safety industry including:

• Health and Safety Executive

• IOSH

• NEBOSH

• British Safety Council

• BSIF

• AIF

• BOHS

• UKATA

• Energy Institute

• Safety Groups UK

All of these organisations have stands and will be offering support, guidance and information designed to help health and safety professionals improve their efficiency, understand their compliance and legal obligations and to learn how improving safety and health culture is not only good for business but also for the well-being of employees.

These stakeholders have a variety of campaigns and messages that they wish to deliver into the public domain and its very important for health and safety managers to be able to get this information. Visitors will be able to take away information on training, best practice and future career developments.

We have an advisory group for the event and one of the key things that we want to provide is to leave the event feeling positive and armed with information that can benefit to their businesses and improve their workplace.

What are the core themes for this year’s event?

Health and wellbeing is a priority. There are lots of questions about it and how it fits into the health and safety managers role. There are companies offering advice and information about it, but I think there is uncertainty about how they can help employees and where their responsibilities lie.

Compliance and risk management is always popular at the Health and Safety Event as they are the key things that drive business. If you are doing it properly, it can help in terms of cost savings via insurance and liability as well as improving efficiency and can mitigate problems with bad publicity. Lots of companies come to the show because they want to talk directly to someone and ask questions that are pertinent to their business, rather than read general information from a website.

What is the key content on offer? 

The theatres will be fantastic with great content presented by a wide array of experts. From the main conference theatre curated by the British Safety Council, to the Lone Worker Theatre compiled by Nicole Vazquez of Lone Worker Live. The Knowledge Exchange (Sponsored by Southalls) is curated by HSM magazine. We are very proud of our partnership with HSM as it’s the leading independent magazine in the sector. Last year this theatre was the busiest of them all as it offer panel debates, where the questions are asked direct from delegates. 

Why should someone who hasn't attended The Event attend this year? 

The show has grown in strength and this is the key event for the health and safety industry with more than 200 exhibitors providing innovation. There will be a wealth of content with around 60 hours of CPD-accredited educational free seminars.

It’s also uniquely co-located with the Fire Safety Event, Facilities Event and the Security Event so in total there will be over 450 exhibitors and hundreds of hours of free content and visitors how register for the Health and Safety Event can gain free access to the other three shows. So, this is an event not to be missed and I hope to see as many of you there as possible on 28-30 April 2020 at the NEC Birmingham in Hall 12.

For more information, visit www.healthandsafetyevent.com