Kelli Heflin of Southwest Generation told stories of withdrawing from VPP and how her company got back on track.
"It is a serious issue. It's the number of serious violations that were found. It means that many employees were at risk of serious injury," Norman R. Deitch said.
More than 2,500 attendees participated in the association's 2015 conference. Next year, the event takes place in Kissimmee, Fla.
The Outreach Award went to Tropicana Products Inc. and the Innovation Award to both Washington River Protection Solutions and Raytheon-Intelligence, Information and Services Indianapolis Site.
Tuesday's agenda includes a Casino Night, several exhibitor product demos in the Exhibitor Product Theater, board of directors voting, morning and afternoon workshops, VPPPA regional networking meetings, and sessions on topics ranging from OSHA's National Emphasis Program on amputations and machine guarding to confined space rescue.
Jim Davidson compared his challenges in two high-altitude emergencies with his #VPPPA31 audience's day-to-day work challenges.
JLG demonstrated its personal lift pods on the first big day of VPPPA31.
It's too bad the #VPPPA31 conference in Grapevine, Texas, will end before the ice cream makes it back to north Texas.
Casino Night begins at 7 p.m. The conference takes place at the Gaylord Texan Aug. 24-27, in Grapevine, Texas.
Speakers include keynoter Jim Davidson, a veteran of many high-altitude climbs and rescues, and Closing General Session speaker Daryl "Moose" Johnston, a three-time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys and "NFL on Fox" analyst.
If you haven't taken the time to attend any of these OSH conferences, you're missing a golden opportunity to learn and network.
Aug. 24-27, 2015 are the dates for next year's conference in Grapevine, Texas.
The innovative approach features multiple speakers in quick succession on a variety of topic. They get five minutes each.
The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center overlooking the Potomac River turned out to be an ideal site for the four-day event.
Attendance at the 30th Annual National VPPPA Conference here will be approximately 2,600 people, VPPPA Board Chairman Mike Maddox said Aug. 25, adding that the prediction comes from an association IT staffer whose prognostications have been on the money in past years.
Mike Maddox, who has served as VPPPA's board chairman for the past eight years and is seeking re-election, made it clear Aug. 25 that he sees the political leadership of OSHA -- meaning Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels and Jordan Barab, a deputy assistant secretary -- as counterproductive to VPPPA's progress.
VPPPA Board Chairman Mike Maddox and other board members remarked on the association's strong growth since a total of 30 people participated in its inaugural conference in Washington, D.C., in 1984.
The 30th Annual National VPPPA Conference kicks off Aug. 25 with pre-conference workshops at the Gaylord National Convention Center and offers a stellar educational program through Aug. 28.
We'll post reports from the national convention on our website, so be on the lookout during those late August days for items of interest about leadership keynotes and educational sessions.
The cities of New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Orlando will host at least two of the biggest U.S. safety, health, and environmental conferences apiece next year.