Wednesday’s Speakers

Wednesday

8:00 a.m.

Plenary #10: Leading the Future of Safety by Learning from the Past

At the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), we recognize that a safe and healthful workplace is essential to our mission delivery. Safe work practices and a safe work environment are critical to employee wellbeing and to the conduct of world-class science. In fact, world-class science demands world-class safety. The essential elements for world-class safety are: leadership commitment; clearly documented and well-communicated roles, responsibilities, and requirements; employee participation in creating and implementing safe work procedures; and a robust safety management system grounded in continual improvement. As each of these elements strengthen and improve, so does the safety culture of the organization. In this presentation, I will discuss the development and evolution of each of these elements as part of the NIST journey that led to the safety management system, practices and culture that we have today.

Elizabeth Mackey
Chief Safety Officer, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Bio

10:00 a.m.

Breakout Session #11A: Prevention Through Engineering Design

A proven method to improve safety for any facility is to remain focused on engineering safety during the front-end engineering design (FEED) stage and on the maintenance of effective programs, procedures, and practices. This session will explore considerations in the development and application of new technology, the role of digital technology, and how organizations can effectively assess prospective new operating environments.

John Gambatese
Professor, Oregon State University

Bio

Monica Phillipart
Owner and Chief Executive Officer, Ergonomic Human Factors Solutions

Bio

Corrie Pitzer
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SafeMap International

Bio

Hector R. Siller
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of North Texas

Bio

Breakout Session #11B: The Role of More Effective Data Management

In this age of "big data," it is important to recognize the role of effective and innovative data management in improving safety performance. The pooling of data gives insight that benefits safety in many industry sectors, according to several reports and studies. For example, important lessons can be learned when near misses are included in safety event databases. To pool data effectively, common definitions are needed to facilitate the sharing of data and experience sharing. A related challenge is the double-reporting of events in different organizations (i.e., regulatory authorities, international associations). A more effective aggregation of data is necessary for disseminating knowledge on past events, obtaining a clear overall picture of the risk of possible safety event types, understanding the effectiveness of barriers, determining what constitutes a leading indicator, and analyzing trends with the objective of trying to anticipate the next major event.

Elizabeth Mackey (Moderator)
Chief Safety Officer, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Bio

Abdul Aldeeb
Head of Technology & Consulting, Process & Safety, Siemens Energy

Robert Orlean
President, Orlean Technical Solutions

Bio

W. Pratt Rogers
Mining Engineering, University of Utah

Breakout Session #11C: Risk Identification and Tolerance

The objective of this session will be to address processes for identifying and managing different types of risk that may present the greatest challenges in any work environment. Specific aspects to be discussed include understanding the value of risk matrices and risk registers; determining the integrity and effectiveness of barriers; and identifying the factors impacting risk tolerance at the individual and company levels. The session will address question such as: Does managing risk mean it is acceptable to cut corners if the likelihood of a problem is relatively low? Is your personal risk tolerance aligned with the company's level? What about at the workforce level?

Bruce Hamilton (Moderator)
Manager, Global Energy Solutions Group, Argonne National Laboratory

Bio

Ewan Alexander
Chief Operating Officer, Safemap International

Malcom E. Dunbar
Vice President, Environmental Health and Safety, Edward C. Levy Company

Bio

Norman Ritchie
Director, vPSI Group

Bio

11:30 a.m.

Closing Remarks and Recognition of Congress Organizers and Planners