Oregon Conference Highlights Workplace Safety with Bilingual Sessions and Keynote on Human Error
A two-day safety conference in Pendleton, Oregon, will bring bilingual training, expert insights, and hands-on workshops to promote workplace health and hazard prevention across industries.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Apr 18, 2025
A two-day conference in eastern Oregon will bring renewed attention to workplace safety and health across a variety of industries, with sessions ranging from farm safety and electrical hazards to safety committee strategies and personal protective equipment.
The 17th annual Blue Mountain Occupational Safety and Health Conference is set to take place June 2–3 at the Pendleton Convention Center in Pendleton. Organized through a partnership between Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (Oregon OSHA), the SHARP Alliance, and regional employers and workers, the event is designed to engage both English- and Spanish-speaking attendees with accessible programming and expert-led instruction.
This year’s conference features Spanish-language learning sessions and workshops, aimed at expanding access to safety training for Oregon’s diverse workforce. Organizers are encouraging employers to send Spanish-speaking staff to those sessions to support inclusive learning environments and increase knowledge retention.
On Tuesday, June 3, the conference will welcome keynote speaker Jennifer Serne, associate professor and program director of safety and health management at Central Washington University. Her presentation, titled “What Was I Thinking?! Cognitive Biases in Human Error and Decision-Making,” will explore the psychological patterns that contribute to workplace mistakes and provide practical strategies for minimizing preventable incidents.
The conference opens Monday, June 2, with preconference workshops covering essential topics such as traffic control certification, first aid, Process Safety Management (PSM), and protocols for responding to serious workplace injuries. Spanish-language workshops that day will focus on hazard identification, cultivating effective safety culture, and improving the effectiveness of safety committees.
A broad selection of session topics will continue throughout the main conference, including:
- Effective accountability systems
- Electrical safety for non-electricians
- PTSD impacts on the workforce
- Machine guarding and energy control in farm settings
- Best practices for PPE use
- Safety leadership and committee engagement
- Confined space permitting
- Burnout and workplace stress solutions
- Chemical safety in vineyards and wineries
Interested participants can register at safetyseries.cventevents.com/blue25.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.