Coffee & Networking

"Pump up the jam, pump it up while your feet are stompin', and the jam is pumpin'."

Think of the following question: “You have five dollars, ten minutes, and no authority to write a new rule. What would you do to reduce one common workplace risk?”

Join us in the Lounge for a coffee and some networking/ergonomic fun before the conference officially kicks off! Please bring your own coffee, though...this is a virtual event! 🤣

Welcome

Scott and Jamie will officially open Safety Connect 2026 by welcoming attendees into three days built for uplifting Safety professionals who too often focus on everyone else before themselves.

Keynote: Governing AI in Safety: A Practical Ethics and Risk Framework for EHS Leaders

More than 60% of safety professionals say they are figuring out AI on their own. In organizations without a formal governance framework, that often means pilots launched without guardrails, tools adopted without a risk assessment, and decisions made without anyone asking who is accountable when the technology gets it wrong.

Drawing on 20 years in EHS leadership at global manufacturers including Nestlé and PepsiCo, Doha Mattar brings together two perspectives that rarely sit in the same room: hands-on AI application and the discipline of safety risk management. This keynote gives you a practical framework for governing AI in your safety program, covering the do's and don'ts, the ethical considerations, and the risks worth naming before they surface.

Because governance only works if people follow it, Doha also connects the framework to the culture and engagement side of the equation, showing how to bring leadership and the front line along with you.

• A simple governance structure you can apply to AI tools already in use in your organization
• A checklist of ethical and risk considerations to work through before your next AI pilot
• Language for securing management buy-in on responsible AI adoption
• Practical examples of what works, and what goes wrong, in real EHS settings

Hazards of Lithium Ion Batteries: An Open Discussion

During this session, we will review the hazards of Lithium Ion Batteries. We will look at the signs of how to recognize if a Lithium Ion Battery was to become unstable. In this session, I will also talk about some of the newer technologies with these types of batteries and discuss some of the potential standards on the safe storage and disposal of them. We will close out with an open discussion with questions and answers on this very important topic. Please join us for this session.

• Recognize the warning signs of an unstable lithium ion battery before it becomes a thermal event, and know what to do in the moments after you spot one.
• Understand what the newer battery technologies change about the hazards you are managing, and what they do not change.
• Apply the emerging standards for safe storage and disposal to your own site, including the practical questions that come up when you try.

OSHA Enforcement and Regulatory Update

President Trump is almost two years into his second term, and he has already put his stamp on the vast Executive Branch bureaucracy, including the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The pendulum is mid-swing after control at OSHA transitioned from the Biden/Harris Administration to Trump/Vance Administration. The picture has become clear what OSHA will prioritize over the remaining two years of the second Trump Administration.

In this session, Eric J. Conn, Chair of the national OSHA Practice at Conn Maciel Carey LLP, will review the current enforcement and rulemaking landscape at OSHA, and peek into the crystal ball to predict what employers can expect from OSHA over the balance of the Trump Administration.

• An update about key decisionmakers at the Department of Labor and OSHA
• OSHA’s latest enforcement policies and trends
• Status and future of OSHA rulemakings, including deregulatory efforts

EDGE Talks: Leading Without Authority

How Quiet Leaders Orchestrate Change at Global Scale

Some of the most influential leaders are rarely seen in the spotlight.

For decades, Ockert Dupper has worked at the intersection of worker safety, labour rights, development, and global supply chains. Through his work with the International Labour Organization and the Vision Zero Fund, he has helped bring together governments, employers, workers, and institutions to improve the health, safety, and wellbeing of workers around the world.

In this EDGE Talk, Malcolm Staves sits down with Ockert to explore the experiences and lessons behind a career dedicated to improving working lives through collaboration, influence, and collective action. Together they examine what it takes to create lasting change in complex systems and why some of the most effective leaders are those who quietly enable others to succeed.

How do you change the world when nobody works for you?

• Move a safety agenda without formal power, drawn from decades of work across worker safety, labour rights and global supply chains.
• Bring parties together who have no obligation to cooperate, using the convening approach behind the International Labour Organization and Vision Zero Fund work.
• Recognize the quiet form of leadership that actually shifts systems, and what it asks of you if influence is the only lever you hold.

Lunch & Speed Networking

Session description coming soon.

Decoding Compliance: How OSHA and NFPA 70E Work Together to Save Lives

Runs across both time slots

Navigating electrical safety can feel like deciphering two different languages. While OSHA provides the legal framework and enforcement mandates (the what), NFPA 70E provides the tactical, hands-on standard for safe work practices (the how). Failing to align the two doesn’t just risk costly citations—it puts lives at risk.

In this interactive virtual training session, we will demystify the critical link between OSHA subparts and NFPA 70E requirements. You will learn how to translate rigid federal regulations into an Electrical Safety Program (ESP) that keeps your team safe and your organization compliant. Whether you are a safety manager, engineer, or supervisor, you will leave with a clear roadmap to bridge the gap between legal theory and field reality.

• The Nexus of Compliance: Understand exactly how OSHA references and enforces consensus standards like NFPA 70E.
• Hazard Identification: Master the core requirements for Arc Flash and Shock Risk Assessments.
• Practical Implementation: Steps to establish an effective, OSHA and NFPA compliant Qualified Person training program.

What Attendees Will Receive (Key Deliverables)

To ensure your session provides long-term value beyond the presentation slides, here is a breakdown of the actionable tools and resources attendees will take home:

• The OSHA-to-NFPA 70E Alignment Matrix: A quick-reference cheat sheet mapping major OSHA electrical standards (like 29 CFR 1910.303 and .331-.335) directly to their corresponding NFPA 70E chapters.
• Access to the Presentation Deck: A PDF copy of the training slides.

Roundtable - Beyond the Next Job: Creating a Meaningful Career in Safety

Career success isn't defined by a single promotion or credential, it's built through continuous learning, purposeful experiences, and thoughtful career decisions. Join your peers for a conversation about the different paths available within the profession, lessons learned along the way, and how to prepare for future opportunities. From career journeys to leadership transitions, attendees will gain practical guidance they can apply to their own professional growth.

Roundtable - AI on the Jobsite: Hype, Hope, or Hazard

AI is showing up on jobsites faster than most safety programs can keep pace. It's in computer vision cameras, predictive analytics, wearables, automated inspections and AI-written JSAs. Vendors promise fewer incidents and sharper insight, and leaders are asking what their safety teams are doing about it. So which of these tools are delivering real value, which are just good marketing, and which could bring in new risks we haven't planned for?

In this interactive roundtable, Joe Stevenson of Terracon leads an open conversation among safety professionals about where AI fits in field safety today. We'll look at what's working in practice, where the technology falls short, and what questions to ask before it becomes part of your safety management system. That includes data quality, worker trust and privacy, over-reliance on automated alerts, and who is accountable when the algorithm misses something.

Come ready to share your own experience, whether you're piloting AI tools, being pitched them, or still deciding where you stand. You'll leave with a clearer view of the hype, a practical sense of the hope, and a better handle on the hazards.

Roundtable - Beyond the Resume: What Employers Really Look for in Safety Professionals

Technical knowledge may get your foot in the door, but what sets top safety professionals apart? Join safety leaders for a conversation that explores the competencies, behaviors, and business skills employers value when hiring and promoting safety professionals. Through real-world hiring experiences and practical advice, they'll discuss how communication, leadership, judgment, and the ability to connect safety to organizational success can differentiate candidates. Whether you're preparing for your next opportunity or looking to grow in your current role, you'll leave with actionable insights to strengthen your professional value.

• Know the competencies that separate top safety professionals from those who are merely technically qualified.
• Understand the behaviors hiring leaders actually screen for, from executives who make those decisions in construction and risk management.
• Position yourself for the role you want, with a clear view of what gets you past the door rather than just to it.

EDGE Talks: From Safety Culture to People Sustainability

Why Wellbeing, Inclusion and Human Performance Are Shaping the Future of Work

For decades, the safety profession has focused on preventing injuries and reducing risk. But the world of work is changing. Today's organizations face new challenges: mental health, burnout, workforce engagement, inclusion, retention, and sustainable performance.

As safety leaders broaden their focus from physical protection to human flourishing, a new question emerges: Can we sustain performance if we do not sustain people?

In this EDGE Talk, Malcolm Staves sits down with Janelle Bronaugh, Global EHS Director at Safran Electrical & Power, to explore the evolution of safety leadership and the growing connection between wellbeing, inclusion, human factors and organizational success. Together they examine why the future of safety may be less about systems and compliance, and more about creating the conditions in which people can thrive, contribute, and perform at their best.

Perhaps the future of safety is not about protecting work from people but creating workplaces where people can thrive.

• Widen the safety remit from injury prevention to human sustainability, covering mental health, burnout, engagement, inclusion and retention.
• Answer the question the profession is now facing: whether performance can be sustained without sustaining the people delivering it.
• Take a global EHS view of what this looks like in practice, from a director running it across a complex international manufacturer.

Ergo Moment - Powered by CIP Solutions

It’s time to shake it out!

Join CIP Solutions for a quick Ergo Moment where you’ll stretch, move, and recharge. In just 15 minutes, you’ll loosen up, laugh a little, and get your energy flowing so you’re ready to dive back into the sessions.

You're welcome to come on camera with us or stay off camera. This recharge session is for YOU, so Ergo your way!

• Take a 15-minute reset you can repeat at your own desk, built around stretching, movement and recharging.
• Learn the movements that counter a long day seated, in a format short enough to run with your own team.
• See how a micro-break lands as a culture signal, not just a physical one.

Nobody here works for me: Scaling change without owning the org chart

Most safety professionals are expected to drive change across teams they don't manage, in departments they don't run, and with budgets they don't control. The work happens through influence, not authority. In this session, Leslie McHugh shares what she has learned leading root cause analysis programs at United Airlines. That is one of the most complex, safety-critical and highly matrixed operations anywhere. She shows how to turn a single good idea into a practice that spreads across stations, shifts and functions, and why the people closest to the work are your strongest allies in making it stick.

Whether you're rolling out a new investigation method, a reporting tool or a change in culture, you'll leave with a practical playbook for building momentum when nobody reports to you.

• How to build credibility and buy-in across departments and leaders who have no obligation to say yes
• Ways to design change so frontline teams own it, carry it forward and keep it going after the launch
• How to use findings from investigations and root cause analysis to open conversations, not shut them down, and turn lessons learned into lasting improvements across the organization

Roundtable - Beyond the Title: Influencing Safety Through Communication and Leadership

Great safety professionals don't just identify risks they inspire action. Join safety leaders for an engaging discussion on how to communicate safety priorities, build credibility, and influence decisions at every level of an organization. Through real-world stories and practical strategies, they'll discuss how to speak the language of business, engage executives, and earn trust without relying on formal authority. Whether you're leading a team or influencing across departments, you'll leave with ideas to strengthen your leadership presence and drive meaningful safety outcomes.

• Communicate risk in a way that moves people to act, rather than simply documenting that it was identified.
• Lead without relying on your job title, using influence as the primary tool.
• Build credibility across the organization, from leaders working in a national laboratory and a global elevator manufacturer.

Edge Talks: Beyond Compliance- Moving the Needle

The Quest to Prevent Serious Injuries and Fatalities

Despite decades of improvement in safety performance, serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) remain one of the profession's most persistent challenges. At the same time, organizations have access to more data, technology, standards, and analytical tools than ever before. The question is no longer whether we have enough information, but whether we are using it to make better decisions and drive meaningful action.

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) recently launched its Standards-Based User Groups (SBUGs) to identify, validate and share practical practices that help organizations more effectively apply safety standards and ultimately reduce SIFs. ASSP is benchmarking safety culture and operational resilience through a Cultural Maturity Index.

In this EDGE Talk, Malcolm Staves sits down with Jennifer McNelly, CEO of ASSP, to explore how the profession is evolving beyond compliance towards a future built on data, standards, collaboration, and learning. Together they will discuss the growing focus on SIF and potential SIF prevention, the role of technology and benchmarking, and how organizations can turn insight into action to address the events that matter most.

We have more insight than ever before. The challenge now is turning that insight into lives saved.

• Understand why SIFs persist despite decades of improvement in overall safety performance.
• Use the data you already have to make better decisions, because the problem is no longer information, it is what gets done with it.
• Put ASSP's Standards-Based User Groups to work, and see how practical, validated approaches get identified and shared across organizations.

Day 1 - Reflection & Conversation

Session description coming soon.

Closing Keynote: From Performance to Impact: Advancing EHS in L'Oréal North America

Strong safety numbers are an important milestone, but they are not the finish line. In this closing keynote, Thiago Ramos takes us inside L'Oréal North America's EHS journey, sharing the performance trends that shaped the organization's priorities, the lessons learned along the way, and the actions now defining its path forward.

Operating across a diverse footprint of manufacturing, distribution, research, and corporate sites, L'Oréal has had to find ways to make EHS consistent without making it one-size-fits-all. Thiago will show how data, visible leadership, and genuine employee engagement work together to move an organization beyond tracking outcomes toward creating lasting impact. Attendees will see how the right indicators sharpen focus, how leaders at every level set the tone for safety culture, and how engaging employees as partners turns programs into everyday practice.

Whether you lead EHS for a single site or a multi-site enterprise, this session offers a practical, real-world view of what it takes to sustain performance and keep improving when the numbers already look good.

• How to use EHS data and performance trends to identify what matters most and prioritize action across a diverse operational footprint
• The role leaders at every level play in strengthening safety culture, and how visible leadership commitment drives sustainable performance
• Practical approaches to engaging employees as active partners in EHS, turning programs and policies into a shared, everyday practice

Day 1 Wrap up

Session description coming soon.

Safety Connect Lounge & Networking

Wrap up the day in the Safety Connect Lounge, a casual space to connect with speakers, peers, and new friends. Share your takeaways, continue the conversations, and enjoy prize giveaways along the way. It’s the perfect way to wind down Day 1 while building relationships that last beyond the conference.

Coffee & Networking

Are you ready for this? Day-2 coming in hot!

Let's go chase some waterfalls!

Describe your energy level this morning using a safety-related word or phrase. (Examples: Fully charged, needs corrective action, within acceptable limits, etc..)

Describe Day one in three words.

This or that, safety edition.

What is one thing you will do today to make Safety Connect valuable for you?

Maybe the wheel?

Join us in the Lounge for a coffee and some networking before Day 2 gets rolling! Again, please bring your own coffee and breakfast...this is a virtual event! 🤣

Welcome

Session description coming soon.

Keynote

Session description coming soon.

HSEQ leadership lessons, practical frameworks and personal reflections across complex organizations and major projects

During this conversational session, Nigel Dunning will share the HSEQ leadership lessons, practical frameworks and personal reflections that have shaped his approach to leading Health, Safety, Environment and Quality across complex organizations and major projects including one of Canadas most iconic infrastructure projects. Drawing on his career journey to Vice President, HSEQ at WSP Canada, he will explore how to build a clear vision that supports operational needs, translate that vision into a practical plan, set meaningful goals, align tactics with risk, and design an effective structure that enables teams to perform with clarity, discipline and care.

A central focus will be his experience as Health and Safety Director for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, a highly publicized, highly visible and operationally demanding environment where expectations were intense, risk was dynamic, and success required resilience, judgment, influence and strong relationships. He will reflect on what it takes to lead HSEQ in conditions where the stakes are high, the pressure is constant, and the organization needs both strategic direction and hands-on execution.

He will also draw from his current role leading HSEQ within WSP Canada, a large global consulting firm with a broad service offering, a diverse risk profile, and a geographically dispersed workforce and HSEQ team. This perspective will examine how to create consistency without rigidity, maintain connection across distance, and build a function that supports the business while challenging it to continuously improve.

The discussion will also address the personal dimension of leadership: how to balance the “all in” mindset often required in major projects and senior roles with the need to protect wellness, family life and personal sustainability. Nigel will share that you may find your “calling” when you least expect it and how career changes, moves and side steps only lead to opportunities to leverage skills and give a more rounded perspective to your role. Ultimately, this session is intended to offer an honest, humble, practical and reflective view of HSEQ leadership—how to lead with purpose, structure and courage while remaining grounded in the human realities of the work.

• Having a clear vision and plan is the foundation
• Spending enough time on your org. structure and role clarity is critical to success
• Finding your “thing” may come later in your life or when you least expect it. Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself in your career.
• Avoiding falling into the trap of being consumed by the work is paramount. Finding things that ground you in your personal life helps keep the balance.

Safety Shepherds - Bringing an ancient profession into the modern-day workplace.

Safety Leadership in an ever increasingly complex, fast-moving, global environment is more challenging than ever. In response to the call for leadership solutions which also satisfy the desire for morality, avoid ethical failures, and offer meaning and purpose, contemporary follower-friendly leadership theories and popular writings have proliferated. Unfortunately, theoretical fundamentals are often difficult to grasp and even more difficult to practice. It is in simplifying and clarifying complex human or organizational constructs that metaphors can be especially effective. The shepherd metaphor is one such illustration that while used to depict leadership for thousands of years, has lost many of its powerful lessons within non-agrarian societies of today

For most leaders, the nuances of shepherding are foreign and often only the comforting element of the shepherd imagery remains, but the depth of the metaphor and the need for leadership render shepherd leadership a model worthy of study. Individually, people are vulnerable and unfulfilled, so they seek to join the flock and follow a good shepherd. While self-direction and autonomy are applauded as progressive in today’s workplace: Other sheep respond to the voice of the shepherd, not the bleating of the flock supports the fundamental need for leadership by an individual not a collective.

• Apply the shepherd model to safety leadership in a fast-moving, complex, global environment where conventional command approaches struggle.
• Lead people rather than manage compliance, and see what changes in your daily practice when you take responsibility for the flock rather than the checklist.
• Put the approach to work on your own team, with the practical behaviors that translate an ancient idea into a modern workplace.

EDGE Talks: The Thinking We Outsource

Protecting Human Judgment in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is entering high risk work faster than any technology before it. It predicts, prioritizes, recommends and decides. It also makes it very easy to stop thinking.

Anthony Aarons has spent a career at an unusual intersection: frontline high risk operations, board and C-suite advisory, and the deep technology sector. That vantage point has led him to a warning the profession is only beginning to absorb, which is that the greatest risk of AI in safety critical environments may not be the technology failing, but human expertise quietly eroding while the technology appears to succeed.

In this EDGE Talk, Corrie Pitzer sits down with Anthony to explore what happens to judgment, expertise and accountability when intelligent systems become part of how risk decisions get made. Together they examine why AI risk cannot be delegated to a single function, what leaders need to understand before they trust the output, and how organizations preserve the human capability they will need most on the day the model is wrong.

The question is not whether AI can make better decisions. It is who is still capable of questioning them.

• Name the real risk of AI in safety-critical work: not the technology failing, but human expertise quietly eroding around it.
• Protect judgment where the machine predicts, prioritizes and recommends, so the decision still belongs to someone.
• See the problem from three vantage points at once: frontline high-risk operations, the board and C-suite, and the deep technology sector.

Lunch - Trivia

Session description coming soon.

Roundtable - Solo Safety Professional

Many safety professionals are the entire safety department. They write the programs, deliver the training, investigate the incidents, manage compliance and build the culture, often without a team, a budget line or a peer down the hall to bounce ideas off. Randy Milliron has lived that role and has shared his lessons on it with audiences at the NSC Safety Congress and at Safety Connect. This year he's turning the session over to the people who know the role best: you.

In this open roundtable, Randy introduces the realities of working as a solo safety professional, then guides a conversation among peers who do the same job. Expect honest discussion on how to prioritize when everything is urgent, how to earn influence without authority, how to stretch limited resources, how to get leadership and frontline buy-in, and how to avoid burning out when the whole program depends on you.

Whether you're a department of one, a small team covering a big operation, or someone who supports solo practitioners, bring your challenges, your workarounds and your wins. You'll leave with practical ideas from people in the same seat, and a network that makes the role feel a lot less solo.

Roundtable - 3M Fit Testing

A respirator only protects a worker if it fits. Fit testing is how you confirm it does, but running a program that is consistent, compliant and practical across a real workforce is harder than it sounds. Which method suits your operation, qualitative or quantitative? How do you handle different face shapes and sizes, facial hair policies, new hires, and workers who move between respirator models? And what do you do when a worker passes the test but doesn't wear the respirator properly on the job?

In this interactive roundtable, Kelli Paul, a respiratory application engineer with 3M, opens with the fundamentals of an effective fit testing program and then turns the conversation over to the room. Bring the questions you've been saving: common mistakes during testing, meeting OSHA and CSA requirements, getting the most from user seal checks, keeping records organized, and building worker confidence in the respirators they wear every day.

Whether you're setting up a program for the first time or tightening up one that's already running, you'll leave with practical answers from a respiratory expert, and ideas from peers who face the same challenges.

Tech Panel - Tech That Sticks: What Makes Safety Software Work in the Real World

Session description coming soon.

From the Inside Out: The Science & Safety of FR Base Layers

Flame-resistant outerwear gets the attention, the budget and the audit. What workers put on underneath it rarely does.

In an arc flash or flash fire, a non-FR base layer worn under compliant outerwear can melt, ignite or hold heat against the skin, turning a survivable incident into a life-altering burn. The science behind that is well established. The purchasing habits, dress codes and daily choices that lead to it are still common on North American worksites.

Kelly Franko, President of Seraphina Safety Apparel, walks through what actually happens at the base layer during a thermal event, what the standards do and do not require of the garments worn next to the skin, and how to close the gap in your own program. The session covers fabric behavior, fit, comfort and the practical reasons workers reach for the wrong layer — including the conversations that come up when the workforce is not all one size or one shape.

• Understand what happens to a non-FR base layer underneath compliant FR outerwear during an arc flash or flash fire, and why the injury pattern changes.
• Read your FR program from the skin out, so base layers and undergarments are specified rather than assumed.
• Write a dress code and a buying decision workers will actually follow, treating fit, comfort and wearability as part of the protection rather than an afterthought.

What the Injury Rate Doesn't Tell You: Why Industrial Hygiene Matters in Preventing SIFs

While total recordable injury rates have fallen steadily for decades, serious injuries and fatalities have remained stubbornly persistent.

In this brief panel discussion, Larry Sloan, CEO of AIHA, and Christina Roll of AXA XL explore why injury rates and serious injury and fatality (SIF) outcomes often tell very different stories, and what that means for organizations that still rely heavily on recordable rates to gauge safety performance.

They examine the difference between exposures that can kill workers, often referred to as “Stuff That Kills You” (STKY), and those that primarily generate recordable incidents and paperwork. Drawing on both occupational health and insurance perspectives, they discuss the risks each discipline sees, the blind spots each can help address, and where occupational health and safety leaders should focus when injury rates look good, but the potential for a fatality remains embedded in the work.

• Understand why declining recordable injury rates do not necessarily indicate a reduction in fatality risk, and what that gap reveals about your safety performance.
• Recognize exposures with serious injury and fatality (SIF) potential that may exist within work that otherwise appears well controlled.
• Gain insights from both occupational health and insurance perspectives and understand the risks each lens can identify that the other may overlook.
• Learn where to focus your attention when traditional safety metrics look strong, but high-consequence risks remain present in the work.

EDGE Talks: When the Numbers Look Good

Why Strong Performing Organizations Face the Hardest Climb

Most organizations reach a point where the systems are mature, the metrics are stable and the results are respectable. It is the moment many leaders have worked years to arrive at. It is also the moment the improvement curve quietly flattens.

For decades, Corrie Pitzer has argued that safety is not a state to be maintained but a capability to be continuously generated, and that the plateau is not a sign of success but a signal that the organization has run out of the very thing that got it there: discomfort with the status quo.

In this EDGE Talk, Corrie sits down with Chris Hutzler, Safety Director at Southern Company, to explore what it takes to keep raising performance in a high hazard, highly regulated industry where the fundamentals are already strong. Together they examine how leaders create the appetite for change when nothing appears to be broken, how frontline capability and adaptability are built rather than mandated, and what separates organizations that plateau from those that keep climbing.

The hardest safety challenge is not fixing what is failing. It is improving what is already working.

• Recognize the plateau for what it is, because mature systems and stable metrics are the point at which the improvement curve quietly flattens.
• Treat safety as a capability to be generated, not a state to be maintained, and understand why that distinction changes what you do next.
• Rebuild the discomfort with the status quo that got the organization to strong performance in the first place.

Ergo Moment - Powered by CIP Solutions

It's time to shake it out!

Join CIP Solutions for a quick Ergo Moment where you'll stretch, move, and recharge. In just 15 minutes, you'll loosen up, laugh a little, and get your energy flowing so you're ready to dive back into the sessions.

You're welcome to come on camera with us or stay off camera. This recharge session is for YOU, so Ergo your way!

• Take a 15-minute reset you can repeat at your own desk, built around stretching, movement and recharging.
• Learn the movements that counter a long day seated, in a format short enough to run with your own team.
• See how a micro-break lands as a culture signal, not just a physical one.

When Decision Makers Don’t Listen, Strengthen Your Influence with F.L.O.W.™

Safety professionals often know the risks better than anyone, but struggle to be heard by leaders and decision-makers. This session introduces the F.L.O.W.™ model, a simple but powerful framework that helps EHS leaders connect, reframe their message, and gain influence without formal authority. Through practical examples and reflection, participants will leave with a tool they can use immediately in their next leadership conversation.

• Diagnose why your risk message is not landing with leaders and decision-makers, even when your technical read is the best in the room.
• Apply the F.L.O.W.™ model as a repeatable structure for building influence rather than relying on being right.
• Convert influence into decisions, and take a conversation from acknowledged to actioned with the people who control the budget.

Is enforcement of regulatory non-compliance a driver for change?

Regulatory enforcement regimes have tightened significantly over the past three decades, but the relationship between enforcement and actual behavior change is far from straightforward. For safety professionals, especially at mid-sized organizations without large compliance teams, understanding why enforcement works in some cases and fails in others is critical to building a business case that leadership will actually act on.

In this session, Jillian Stacy, SVP Global Expert Services at Enhesa will unpack the following.

• How regulatory enforcement can be seen in terms of value creation, not only as a value protection driver
• How EHS and Sustainability Leaders can influence and unlock investment from their executive teams
• Who has ownership, responsibility and accountability for regulatory risks inside an organization and why cross functional collaboration can sometimes be the hardest element to get right
• Why enforcement pressure cascading through supply chains has become one of the strongest levers for change, especially for smaller suppliers and contractors

EDGE Talks: Sharing the Workplace with Machines

Human and Organizational Performance in an Age of Automation and Robotics

Human and Organizational Performance changed how the profession thinks about error, systems and the conditions people work within. But those principles were built for workplaces occupied entirely by people.

Laurie Shelby leads environmental, health, safety and security for one of the most automated manufacturing environments in the world, across a workforce of more than 130,000 people in automotive, energy and sales operations. Before Tesla, she held senior EHS leadership roles at Alcoa across mining, refining, smelting and rolling. Few leaders have watched the shift from heavy industry to advanced automation from closer range.

In this EDGE Talk, Corrie Pitzer sits down with Laurie to explore what happens to safety thinking when robotics, AI and humanoid systems become working colleagues rather than equipment. Together they examine how HOP principles extend into environments where machines and people share the same space and the same tasks, what serious injury prevention looks like at scale and speed, and how organizations build the adaptability to stay ahead of technology they have never worked alongside before.

We learned how to design work around people. Now we have to design it around both.

• Understand where HOP principles hold and where they strain once the workplace is no longer occupied entirely by people.
• Manage safety in a heavily automated environment at scale, drawn from running EHS across a workforce of more than 130,000 in automotive, energy and sales operations.
• Apply lessons from heavy industry to the automated plant, using senior EHS experience across mining, refining, smelting and rolling.

Day 2 - Reflection & Conversation

Session description coming soon.

Closing Keynote: The Establishment and the Edge

The National Safety Council was born out of an era of industrial catastrophe and has spent more than a century building the institutions, the standards and the gatherings the profession now takes for granted. Safety on the Edge was born out of a conversation between two practitioners who had grown frustrated with what those gatherings had become.

In this closing fireside chat, Lorraine Martin, Corrie Pitzer and Malcolm Staves sit down with Scott Cuthbert to look honestly at the conference circuit itself: what the established events contribute, what the contrarian ones exist to challenge, and whether an industry that warns its audiences about complacency has grown complacent on its own stages.

The conversation moves from the origins of both organizations to the state of safety thinking today, the ideas that get a stage and the ones that cannot, how European events differ from their North American counterparts, and what still justifies putting a thousand people in a room in an era of AI, virtual events and shrinking travel budgets. It closes on the conversation the profession keeps avoiding, and on what this generation wants the next one to carry forward or throw away.

Somewhere in the audience is the person who will be sitting in these chairs ten years from now.

• Understand what the established and the contrarian ends of the safety conference circuit were each created to solve, and whether those problems still exist.
• Judge the health of safety thinking by what is getting a stage today and what cannot get one, from three leaders who program events on both sides of the Atlantic.
• Take a clear view of where the safety function and the events that serve it are heading over the next decade, and what the profession should be prepared to discard.

Day 2 Wrap up

Session description coming soon.

Safety Connect Lounge & Networking

Wrap up the day in the Safety Connect Lounge, a casual space to connect with speakers, peers, and new friends. Share your takeaways, continue the conversations, and enjoy prize giveaways along the way. It’s the perfect way to wind down Day 1 while building relationships that last beyond the conference.

Day 3 - Welcome

Session description coming soon.

Keynote: AI Governance in Action: Your Data, Your Role, and What Actually Happens When You Hit Upload

Most safety professionals are learning AI the same way: on their own, in the gaps between everything else, with no policy to guide them. That is how proprietary documents end up in tools that train on them, and how a promising pilot turns into a problem nobody anticipated.

Todd Loushine teaches AI ethics and governance to the next generation of safety professionals, and he is building this session live, almost entirely with AI, so you can watch the work rather than just hear about it. He will demonstrate how to evaluate your program against standards like ANSI Z10 and ISO 45001 using AI, how to configure these tools so your company's information is not absorbed into a model, and where the real limits sit, including token caps, app availability, and what you actually have to pay for.

The session also tackles a question most organizations have not answered: who owns AI governance? Whether safety should be leading it, influencing it, or sitting on the committee is a conversation worth having before the decision gets made without you.

• A clear view of where AI oversight belongs in your organization, and how to make the case for safety's role in it
• Practical settings and habits that keep proprietary and personal information out of AI training data
• A live look at AI evaluating safety documentation against recognized standards
• An honest picture of what these tools do well, and where they still fall short

3M Product Showcase - Safety Helmets

3M Product Showcase - Type II Safety Helmet, the 3M™ DBI-SALA Safety Helmet X6000 Series

Terracon Product Showcase

Session description coming soon.

Momentum Solutions 360 - Product Showcase

Session description coming soon.

FyterTech Product Showcase

Session description coming soon.

Certainty Software Product Showcase

Session description coming soon.

Product Showcase - Coming Soon

Session description coming soon.

Lunch

Session description coming soon.

AIHA Product Showcase

Session description coming soon.

Sqwincher Product Showcase

Session description coming soon.

CIP Solutions Product Showcase

Session description coming soon.

Conn Maciel Carey LLP Product Showcase - OSHA MasterClasses and Boot Camps

Conn Maciel Carey LLP Product Showcase

Learn about the various OSHA-related training offerings the CMC can provide for your organization, such as a full day OSHA Boot Camp and partial day OSHA MasterClasses focused on Managing OSHA Inspections, Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting, Machine Safety (Lockout/Tagout and Guarding), Privileged Audits and Investigations, and other topics.

I help organizations reduce risk, strengthen compliance, and create safer workplaces through practical, business-focused safety solutions. As Founder and Principal Consultant of J. Smith Safety, I partner with construction, manufacturing, logistics, retail, government, maritime, and nonprofit organizations to develop safety programs that protect people while supporting operational goals. My background includes OSHA compliance and audit programs; injury and illness prevention programs; contractor safety management; safety leadership development; environmental health and safety systems; risk assessments and incident investigations; and regulatory compliance and training.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Over 35 years of experience in the EHS field. Retired one year ago after 20 years with the State of Ohio Division of Safety and Hygiene. I am currently a Commercial UAV 107 Drone Pilot. Owner of Haz-Drone Response LLC consulting in the EHS fields which includes Hazmat Instruction, Construction and General Industry consultations, Instructor for Great Lakes OSHA Educational programs through University of Cincinnati.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Mike Dalton is the Brand Manager for Kent Consumer Brands Americas, LLC, where he leads brand strategy and growth initiatives for the Sqwincher® hydration brand within the industrial sales channel. He is responsible for driving brand performance, developing market-focused strategies, and supporting sales growth across the industrial safety / workplace hydration markets. Mike is based in Columbus, Mississippi and is part of the company's Functional Hydration Brands. He plays a key role in advancing the Sqwincher brand position as the trusted hydration brand for industrial workers, helping customers improve workplace safety and wellness, productivity, and performance through effective hydration solutions.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Joe Stevenson is a Senior EH&S Consultant with Terracon Consultants, Inc. and a highly credentialed safety professional with more than 20 years of experience helping clients achieve compliance with environmental, health, and safety regulations across manufacturing, chemical, government, energy, and construction industries. His background includes leadership roles as an onsite EH&S Manager, Vice President of EH&S, Business Owner, and National Environmental Operations Director.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

I am a United States Air Force Veteran who served faithfully and honorably for 26 years and am now a Safety Professional with over 15 years under my belt with a variety of organizations, the most recent being the Director of OSH for the Self-Performing Companies of Manhattan Construction Group. I do not view myself as a director or any other specific title. I view myself as a shepherd for people. A Shepherd? Yes! Like a shepherd of old I lead, watch, care for, protect, provide and comfort my “flock”...my people. What people? Those that come under my sphere of influence. This is not a one-time phenomenon, but rather is constant, intentional vigilance, and on-going protection of my “flock”. Every day and at every opportunity to influence in a positive manner with intentional presence.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Kelly Franko is the Founder and President of Seraphina Safety Apparel, a woman-owned company redefining personal protective apparel for women in high-risk industries. A passionate advocate for safety, inclusion, and performance-driven design, Kelly launched Seraphina to address the long-overlooked need for flame-resistant undergarments and base layers engineered specifically for women. With a background spanning post-surgical garments and advanced wound care solutions, safety innovation, product development, and mission-driven entrepreneurship, Kelly partners with utilities, steel mills, petrochemical, and other industrial organizations to implement PPE programs that improve protection, comfort, and compliance. She is a sought-after speaker on advancing women’s safety in industrial workplaces and building scalable solutions that challenge the status quo. Kelly’s work is driven by a simple belief: when women are properly protected, they perform at their best, and everyone goes home safe.

Christina Roll has over two decades experience as an occupational, environmental, health and safety (OEHS) professional. Her areas of expertise include workplace risk assessments, ergonomics, industrial hygiene, government regulation compliance, and training. She has degrees in Safety Sciences from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, and is Certified Safety Professional. She has earned several awards including the 2023 American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Women in Industrial Hygiene “Aileen Yankowski Leadership Award”, the 2023 American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Women In Safety Excellence “Safety Professional of the Year”, and the 2023 & 2025 ASSP President’s Award.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Marieke Bleyenbergh is the founder of Be Human Be Safe, a company dedicated to transforming workplace safety through human-centric leadership. She is a practical and strategic advisor who has lived the operational side of high-risk industry. She loves to speak and inspire at events, as well as coach and develop EHS and operational leaders. With over 27 years of international experience in refining, petrochemicals, and specialty chemicals, Marieke has held senior leadership roles at Shell and AkzoNobel and recently served as interim CEO of Pryme Circular Cleantech, a publicly traded company in chemical recycling. Her expertise spans operations, supply chain, sustainability, and health, safety & environment (HSE), where she is recognized for combining technical depth with a strong focus on people and culture. She has worked extensively across Europe, the U.S., and Asia, giving her a truly global perspective on industrial safety challenges. Through Be Human Be Safe, Marieke helps organizations and leaders build trust, shift mindsets, and embed lasting cultural change. She is known for her engaging keynotes, practical frameworks, and ability to connect with audiences from the boardroom to the frontline. www.behumanbesafe.com

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.