Safety's Biggest Trade Show Heads to San Diego

San Diego Convention Center will be the backdrop for this year’s NSC Congress & Expo.

• By Sydny Shepard
• Aug 26, 2019

The National Safety Council’s 2019 Congress & Expo is set to take place next month in sunny San Diego, Calif. The expo will take place Sept. 9-11 with pre-conference sessions scheduled for Sept. 6-8. Educational sessions and the exposition will take place at the bayside San Diego Convention Center.

San Diego Attractions

Known as the “birthplace of California,” San Diego is known for its natural deep-water bay, tourist attractions, long association with the United States Navy and easy-going climate. Average temperatures for September hover between 77- and 66-degrees Fahrenheit, so NSC-goers can rest easy in knowing they won’t have to battle ridiculously high heats. Attendees should dress in layers and comfortable shoes to be at the maximum comfort for the NSC Congress & Expo.

Located in San Diego is the immense 1,200-acre urban cultural Balboa Park. In addition to open spaces, green belts, walking paths and gardens, the park contains museums, several theatres, and the world famous San Diego Zoo. Placed in reserve in 1835, the park’s site is one of the oldest in the United States dedicated to public recreational use.

San Diego is also home to the USS Midway, a historical naval aircraft carrier museum that houses an extensive collection of aircrafts, many of which were built in southern California.

In addition to the attractions within the city, there are several areas on the coast that are popular to those who want to stick their toes in the sand. La Jolla Cove is known for its quaint beach houses, scuba diving and picnicking spots. Coronado Island offers gentle surf, sparkling wide-sand beaches and charming restaurants for those who are looking to soak up the sun when the Congress is done for the day.

There are many ways to travel while in San Diego, including the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), which drops off at the San Diego Convention Center as well as several other prominent spots in the city.

NSC 2019 Highlights

The NSC Congress & Expo attracts safety professionals from a wide variety of industries, boasting high attendance and top-notch educational sessions. The Congress also features the largest expo of all the annual U.S. safety conferences. Approximately 1,100 exhibitors were listed in the council’s online Congress & Expo exhibitor list at the end of July.

Expo hours at NSC 2019 are:

• Monday, Sept. 9—9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 10—9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, Sept. 11—9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Congress has scheduled an impressive lineup of opening keynotes, with Mick Ebeling, Founder & CEO of Not Impossible Labs and author of Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t be Done, kicking off the conference with an inspirational Opening Session. A Leadership Keynote will be given by Jim Carroll, a leading Futurist, Trends & Innovation expert and the Occupational Keynote will be led by Jack Jackson, Senior Safety Consultant with SafeStart. Jackson will tackle the pressing issues of workplace security during his session.

In addition to the keynotes, there will be nine new Professional Development Seminars on topics like workplace violence, improving leadership with effective communication, reducing slips, trips and falls, measuring and changing risk culture and keeping employees mindful and engaged.

There will also be more than 125 introductory to advanced level Technical Sessions focused on emerging safety topics like safety communication, training, opioids, cannabis, reducing workplace injuries and fatalities and new technologies.

Additional highlights for the Congress & Expo include a Learning Lab session with Ken Kolosh, manager of statistics at NSC, who will demonstrate the Council’s Injury Facts database, the NSC’s compilation of preventable death and injury data, the opportunity to hear agency updates from leaders at OSHA and NIOSH as well as several sessions focused on industry hot topics such as Lockout/ Tagout, confined spaces, and risk management.

Attendees will also have the chance to be present for the unveiling of OSHA’s top 10 most frequently cited violations, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. on the expo floor.

Future NSC Congress & Expo Dates

The NSC Congress & Expo will return to its regular early-October dates in 2020 and 2021 after moving up a month for NSC 2019.

NSC 2020. For the next Congress & Expo in 2020, the Council is eyeing Indianapolis for the second time since 2017. The trade show is to return to the Indianapolis Convention Center Oct. 2-8, 2020.

NSC 2021. The Council will continue to move the Congress & Expo across the country for NSC 2021, planting it in Orlando, Fla. during the days of Oct. 8-14, 2021.