The Health & Safety Event 2015: The most successful event yet

Event Director, Tim Else comments: "We are extremely pleased with the number of visitors that attended the event this year. Although it's only our second year at the NEC, the event has grown considerably and the great feedback that we have received from both visitors and exhibitors indicates that it provides the perfect mix of educational content and exhibitors."

Greg Brown, Deputy Chief Executive of IIRSM, was proud to showcase the expertise of IIRSM members and supporters in the planning and delivery of the educational programme at the event. Greg says: "The standard of educational content was extremely high and we are sure we contributed to the overall growth of attendance at the show. Not only that, but the team on the stand really enjoyed the opportunity to meet with members and new enquirers alike."

Neal Stone, acting chief executive of the British Safety Council, adds: "What a great experience. I was impressed by the depth and breadth of the products and services exhibited and the calibre of the speakers contributing to the seminar programme. Added to which I got to see a lot of friends and colleagues."

This sentiment was backed up by visitors, including Rob Strange, ex-CEO of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH), who currently holds the position of chief executive of The Association for Project Safety. Rob adds: "I attended the final day of the Health and Safety event at the NEC (26 March) and had a most enjoyable time. Having been in the health and safety industry for many years it was great to be able to effectively network with the people who I wanted to talk to in my profession.

"The venue and layout of the exhibition was very convenient and there was an impressive array of stands, many of them of particular interest to me as I was keen to make contact with a range of training providers and other institutions. The seminar sessions organised by IIRSM and BOHS were of great interest, particularly the session on Safety Systems in Procurement (SSIP), led by John Kinge. All in all, it was a very worthwhile and enjoyable day and I came away feeling inspired by the range of products and services on display and the seminars and workshops available on a wide range of topics."

Overwhelming response

One of the exhibitors at the NEC event was Safety Apps Ltd. Director James Boatwright comments on their success at the event: "Absolutely fantastic event for us. We've not attended before but targeted this one for the launch of our new App and have been completely overwhelmed by the response. It has been non-stop for us, the audience has been spot on. It's been so busy in fact that we haven't been able to get off the stand to get a coffee!! Great show, great location - we will be back!"

Exhibitor Sherie Hurlin, Marketing and PR Specialist at Evac + Chair International, adds: "We have really enjoyed the Health & Safety Event with our breakfast seminars running daily and our double decker bus enabling us to interact with clients right across our product range. This year we are introducing new products and our goal is to demonstrate to visitors how our range of products can make workplaces and public places safer. It's a great venue and we really enjoy it." This year's conference programme provided visitors with a choice of four venues: The Conference Seminar; The Safety Dialogue and Safer Logistics Theatres, as well as the option to attend pre-show Breakfast Briefings.

Kren Clayton, director, Long Latency Health Risks Division at the HSE, opened the Conference Theatre sessions and valued the ethos of the event. She says: "I was honoured to be asked to deliver the keynote speech at the Health and Safety Event. I was especially pleased to see the prominence given to tackling occupational ill-health issues. Amongst the exhibitors were some examples of innovative ways of sharing the key messages on ill-health prevention, which were both interesting and informative."

Making its debut at this year's Health & Safety Event, the Safer Logistics Seminar Theatre proved to be instantly popular, with Simon Duddy, chairman of the Safer Logistics Campaign, saying he was delighted with the standard of presentations. He notes: "They helped attendees learn about a wide variety of logistics safety hot spots from loading bay drive-aways to managing forklift operators and identifying risks in road transport. We will build on the success of the seminar theatre with our ongoing Safer Logistics Campaign that seeks to ensure that safety is an ongoing concern, not an occasional administrative exercise to be filed away and forgotten."

The three-day event took place at the same time and in the same location as Maintec, Facilities Management 2015 and Cleaning 2015. This co-location of events ensured that visitors maximised the time they spent at the NEC. Each year the event's organisers work in partnership with the UK's top safety product and service providers, as well as the leading safety industry organisations, to provide an exhibition and conference programme that are relevant to today's workplace. This year, IIRSM (International Institute of Risk and Safety Management) independently authored the main conference at the event and BOHS, the British Occupational Hygiene Society, officially supported the event.

The next in this series of regional events, Health & Safety Scotland will take place at The SECC Glasgow on the 22nd and 23rd of April 2015. For more information on seminar content and to register in advance please visit www.healthandsafetyevents.co.uk.