AIHce EXP 2018 Keynoter: Technology’s Accelerating, So Keep Up
Noise exposure, aerosols, beryllium, dust explosion prevention, highly infectious diseases, and much more were on the agenda May 21 at the biggest IH conference of the year.
PHILADELPHIA — The 2018 American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo (AIHce EXP 2018) was well under way here at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, with May 20 highlights including a “Meetup Merry-Go-Round” icebreaker to encourage networking by first-time attendees and an 8-10 p.m. Late Night Learning session about mental health and psychosocial disorders in the workplace, when the May 21 opening session began at 8 a.m.
The top leaders from co-sponsors AIHA and ACGIH, respectively AIHA President Deborah Nelson, Ph.D., CIH, and ACGIH Board Chair Sheryl Milz, Ph.D., CIH, FAIHA, greeted the audience and announced that 4,200 professionals are attending the conference in person and another 425 are attending it virtually. A representative of the city of Philadelphia also offered greetings and an introduction to the city’s many attractions, before the keynoter took the stage.
Forbes editor-at-large and futurist Rich Karlgaard told his audience that technology is not slowing down, but instead is speeding up, and advised them that adaptability is more important than ever in the fast-moving U.S. economy. “If you don’t live up to your mission statement, if you’re hypocritical, you get outed pretty fast,” he said.
Karlgaard discussed what he called megatrends and best practices, including embracing age diversity, digital fluency, and cultural clarity. Whether one approves of the Trump administration’s policies and actions or not, he said, “You have to give this credit to this administration for at least one thing: They lightened the regulatory burden.”
Noise exposure, aerosols, beryllium regulations, dust explosion prevention, highly infectious diseases, hazmat, nanotechnology, and much more were on the educational agenda later in the day for the thousands of industry professionals attending the biggest U.S. national industrial hygiene-themed conference of the year.