Practical seminar and exhibition programme
February 1st 2009

Following on from the success of last year's practical seminars,new topics have been added to the programme for 2009

With over one million people a year in Britain suffering from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's), The Importance of Training Manual Handling from Frank Bayliss of Principal People is particularly pertinent. Frank will discuss the dilemma of training personnel to lift safely and avoid injury and will offer advice on how the training should be pitched to achieve the best effect given that manual handling covers such a vast range of activities in the workplace.

Musculoskeletal disorders can also be caused by cold working environments such as those experienced in the food industry.

Ivan Guinard of Ansell Healthcare Europe will therefore be considering how important gloves are to the food industry in helping prevent MSD's of the upper limbs, as well as cuts to hands, in his seminar entitled Protection and Productivity in the Food Industry.

Another interesting new addition to the event partners' seminar programme is Managing Safety - Simple Everyday Help for Managers and Supervisors by Nick Hutton of DuPont Safety Resources. Nick will provide some practical advice for managers and supervisors on how to manage safety on a daily basis.

As well as those outlined above, Mike Denton of 3M/Aearo will present a seminar entitled Hearing Protection, Real World Attenuation and Derating which will seek to review current discussions about the various different methods of derating hearing protectors to take account of 'real world' attenuation.

Mike's seminar aims to take a 'step back' and review all of the factors, enabling delegates to come to a rational decision.

Ian Samson of DuPont will be considering The Correct Method of Selection and Use of Chemical Protective Clothing. Ian will look at best practices in the selection of limited use protective garments and help delegates cut through the technical jargon that is often found in specifications for protective coveralls.

Comprehensive exhibition As well as the busy educational schedule more than 100 exhibitors, representing the top brands in health and safety, will be available in the continually expanding exhibition area. A wide range of disciplines is covered by the exhibition including everything from materials handling, to first aid, to height safety.

With the show's main sponsor being DuPont, and Ansell Healthcare Europe and Aearo Technologies as event partners, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is an area which is well represented with the breadth of PPE covered including everything from specialist protective clothing and gloves, to eye wear, ear plugs, Hi Vis garments and more.

For those particularly interested in hand protection for example, exhibitors such as BM Polyco, on stand 20, will be showcasing new additions to its economic Matrix range of gloves as well as its new Dy Flex Plus cut resistant glove.

Marigold Industrial on stand 68 will not only be showcasing its latest products for hand protection in tough working environments but will also be giving visitors to its stand the chance to win a VIP day at Sandown Park's prestigious Gold Cup horse race meeting in April. Best Manufacturing, on stand 57, will be demonstrating the benefits of its Zorb-IT range of gloves with "sponge nitrile technology" by inviting visitors to take the Zorb-IT Oil Grip Challenge. Also of interest in this area will be Derma Shield's risk free trial offer. Visitors to the Derma Shield stand (120) will be able to see a demonstration of the industrial skin protectant, pick up a free sample and sign up for the risk free trial.

Respiratory protection is, in all its different forms, also well represented with exhibitors like MSA (Britain) showing its range of respiratory equipment and gas detection solutions. Gas detection equipment is also offered by such well established companies as BW Technologies by Honeywell and Shawcity while Flextraction has a full range of dust and fume extraction equipment.

Innovative approaches to training The number of training and consultancy companies available to visitors continues to increase year on year with specialists such as Laidler Associates Consulting Service, which concentrates on machinery safety or Norwich Union Risk Services, which offers a broad range of services covering all manner of health and safety issues.

There are a number of options for easily distributable training materials from Scriptographic Publications, on stand 52, which will be exhibiting its general-safety booklets as well as its new online offering. The company's new on-line product enables employers to purchase only the number of viewings of Scriptographic training titles that they need, and allow staff to access them from internet enabled PC's wherever they are.

According to Michael Whitcroft, Managing Director of Scriptographic: "Cost savings are very important this year, and to be able to buy only the amount of training you require without wastage is going to be a priority for everyone." Another innovative approach to learning can be seen from Praxis42, health and safety consultancy and training provider, on stand 42 where the company will be demonstrating its new range of mobile learning (mLearning) solutions to meet the training needs of workforces that are increasingly mobile and disparate.

The training is similar to the eLearning concept being used by many organisations but the content is delivered to a mobile device such a mobile phone (3G enable, pocket PC, or a PDA. It can be deployed across all industries and all sectors where employees are able to access or share a mobile device and offers the ability for anyone to refresh themselves of important information as well as providing their initial health and safety training.

For preventing slips, trips and falls, visitors to Health and Safety '09 at Sandown will be able to find a wide array of product solutions such as anti-slip flooring, spill control and spill containment from exhibitors such as Safety Unlimited.

For working at height solutions, helping maintain safety and compliance in this area requires specialist equipment and advice which at Health and Safety '09 is on available from the likes of APlant, Scafftag and Pammenter & Petrie.

Regional Driver of the Year - Southern event Health and Safety '09 – South is also hosting the Southern heat of Combilift's Regional Driver of the Year competition once again with its forklift driver competition taking place on the first day of the event. Drivers will need to demonstrate their skills in controlling a standard C4000 Combilift model in all 4 directions around a challenging course, whilst picking up, manoeuvering and exactly positioning a variety of loads such as packs of timber and stillages. Also taking place outside, Principal People's fire training consultants will be generating some heat in the Sandown Park paddock during the event. The team will be demonstrating the use of extinguishers and inviting visitors to bring a blaze under control with hand held extinguishers. Principal People will be promoting the range of fire training services that it offers, from fire marshal training and evacuations to risk assessment and general consultancy.

Health and Safety '09 – South also provides visitors with the opportunity to talk to key industry bodies, professional and trade associations such as the Health & Safety Executive, the Asbestos Control and Abatement Division (ACAD) and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) and IOSH all of who are exhibiting. For a full list of exhibitors visit: www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk .

Registering for the event or a seminar is free. However, visitors are advised to do so in advance to guarantee a place. Registration is via: www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk or for those without internet access registration can be completed by calling the exhibition helpline on: 0870 4866816.

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