Highlights from the 2014 NSC Congress & Expo

The Campbell Institute presents the Executive Edge tracks

The Executive Edge track is presented annually by the Campbell Institute, the global environmental, health and safety center of excellence at the National Safety Council. It brings together operations and EHS leaders from across all industries to discuss the issues that matter most to them. Below are summaries of the workshops featured this year during the 2014 NSC Congress & Expo.

Executive Edge Track A panel focuses on forward thinking

Safety professionals can approach their job in a couple of different ways.

They can wait and react after something goes wrong. Or, they can be proactive and try to get ahead of potential incidents by using big data analytics and other key methods.

The latter approach was the focus of Executive Edge Track Workshop A, “Predicting the Unpredictable: Leading Indicator and Risk Management Strategies on the Journey to Zero.” The workshop included presentations by EHS leaders, as well as discussions about how to manage and try to predict fatal incidents, environmental releases, natural disasters and other events by using advanced metrics and evaluating risk trends.

The workshop featured four top safety professionals:

• Tom Daniel, global EH&S leader, Owens Corning (panelist)
• Stephen Newell, executive vice president and founding member, ORCHSE Strategies LLC (panelist)
• Michelle Garner-Janna, director of corporate health and safety, Cummins Inc.(moderator)
• Erick Walberth, director of safety and environment, Schneider Electric (moderator)

More than 100 attendees signed up for the event.

Executive Edge Track B panel tackles complex questions

Plenty of obstacles exist along the “Journey to Zero.”

EHS professionals retire. Other employees accept new positions. Throughout the process, multi-national organizations often stretch across a dozen time zones.

Yet worker safety and risk reduction can thrive despite times of transition. EHS professionals discussed how to create and sustain a successful safety culture in a global setting during the Executive Edge Track Workshop B, “Powered by People: Global Talent and Succession Strategies on the Journey to Zero.”

The workshop included advice on ways companies can recruit, develop and retain highly qualified EHS professionals to promote safety both domestically and abroad. Part of the workshop also focused on succession planning and how companies can find the next generation of safety talent.

The session featured presentations by Mieke Jacobs, employee safety global practice leader for DuPont Sustainable Solutions, and Eva LaBonte, workers’ compensation program manager for Nike. Moderating the event were Rudy Hagen, director of strategic planning for Georgia-Pacific LLC, and Francene Scott-Diehl, EHS manager for SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment in Orlando, FL.