Innovation and Collaboration Drive the NSC Safety Congress & Expo
From emerging technologies to peer-to-peer learning, attendees are discovering practical ideas they can take home to strengthen workplace safety.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Sep 14, 2026
The Indiana Convention Center will once again become a hub for the workplace safety profession as thousands of safety professionals gather for the National Safety Council Safety Congress & Expo. With more than 1,000 exhibitors, more than 130 educational opportunities and a full schedule of keynote presentations, technology demonstrations and networking events, the conference brings together many of the issues shaping the future of worker safety.
For attendees, however, the size of the event is only part of the story. The real value of the Safety Congress & Expo comes from the opportunity to see emerging technologies firsthand, hear how regulators and industry leaders are approaching today's safety challenges and exchange ideas with professionals facing many of the same issues in their own workplaces.
According to Necoya Tyson, senior director of conventions at the National Safety Council, bringing research, technology and practical experience together is one of the event's greatest strengths.
"Every year, the Expo floor allows attendees to experience the latest developments and innovations in safety," Tyson said. "With more than 1,000 exhibitors, safety professionals have the opportunity to see how advancements in research, technology and solutions are translating into practice and helping organizations identify risks, prevent injuries and champion employee safety."
Technology Moves Toward Prevention
Technology will be one of the most visible themes throughout this year's Expo. Artificial intelligence, wearable technologies, connected worker systems and data-driven safety tools are giving organizations new ways to identify hazards and make decisions before incidents occur.
One of the featured destinations is the Safety Technology Pavilion, home to the Work to Zero Safety Innovation Challenge. Organized through NSC's Work to Zero initiative, the challenge focuses on emerging technologies designed to identify, secure and communicate hazardous energy risks associated with lockout/tagout procedures.
Ten technology finalists will demonstrate their innovations, and attendees will have an opportunity to vote for the solution they believe has the greatest potential to reduce serious injuries and fatalities.
The competition reflects a larger shift occurring throughout the safety profession: moving beyond responding to injuries and incidents and finding better ways to recognize risks earlier.
"Many attendees are learning more about ways to help predict possible hazards, effectively integrate data analytics, champion employee engagement and ultimately prevent incidents before they happen," Tyson said.
But technology is only one piece of the conference.
Turning Education Into Action
Beyond the Expo floor, attendees can choose from more than 130 educational opportunities covering leadership, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, human and organizational performance, risk management, emerging workplace technologies and other critical areas of occupational safety and health.
The program ranges from introductory sessions to advanced instruction and includes Technical Sessions, Professional Development Seminars, Learning Labs and Safety Huddles.
Among the most anticipated sessions is OSHA's Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards presentation, a perennial conference favorite that consistently attracts one of the week's largest audiences.
The annual presentation gives safety professionals a look at the standards generating the greatest number of OSHA citations nationwide while providing insight into enforcement trends and recurring compliance challenges.
For employers, the session is more than a countdown of violations. It provides a practical opportunity to compare OSHA's findings with conditions inside their own organizations and identify areas that may deserve additional attention.
Attendees looking for deeper instruction can also participate in Professional Development Seminars held before and after the main conference. The half-day to four-day courses offer more intensive education on specialized workplace safety topics while providing continuing education opportunities.
Learning also extends directly onto the Expo floor. Learning Labs combine hour-long educational sessions and demonstrations, while Safety Huddles provide smaller, discussion-oriented settings where attendees can engage with industry thought leaders and one another.
Two Keynotes, Two Perspectives on Safety
The conference's keynote program brings together two very different perspectives on occupational safety: one centered on regulation and leadership and another focused on the human consequences of workplace incidents.
David L. Keeling, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, will deliver the Occupational Keynote Tuesday morning.
Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2025 following leadership roles at UPS and Amazon, Keeling brings more than three decades of workplace safety experience to OSHA. As the Department of Labor official leading the agency, he oversees the federal organization responsible for setting and enforcing workplace safety and health standards.
His appearance gives attendees an opportunity to hear directly from OSHA's leader as employers navigate changing technologies, workforce expectations and workplace risks.
The conference closes Wednesday morning with a keynote that approaches safety from a deeply personal direction.
In "From Tragedy to Transformation: Designing Safety Systems That Protect People, Not Just Policies," safety advocate Aron Yellott will discuss how losing her husband in a workplace incident 22 years ago changed the course of her life.
After becoming a widow and single parent, Yellott turned that experience into a mission to help organizations build safety systems capable of protecting workers before incidents happen. Her presentation focuses on human-centered safety and the ways technology, worker empowerment and organizational culture can work together to reduce risk.
Together, the two presentations reinforce an important theme running throughout the conference. Regulations, technology, policies and safety systems ultimately share the same purpose: protecting people.
Connections That Continue After the Conference
Some of the most useful lessons at Safety Congress may also come from conversations that never appear on the official program.
The conference's Connect and Collaborate events give attendees opportunities to meet safety professionals from different industries, compare experiences and discuss approaches that have worked within their organizations. First-time attendee events help newcomers navigate the conference while beginning to build their professional networks.
"A safety professional may come into this week looking for something specific and come back to their organization with an impactful idea or solution," Tyson said.
Those conversations often begin in a technical session or at an exhibitor booth and continue through Safety Huddles, networking events and informal discussions around the convention center.
The conference also provides a connection to the broader international safety community. Messe Düsseldorf will highlight its portfolio of global occupational safety and health trade fairs, including A+A 2027, giving attendees an opportunity to explore trends and approaches extending beyond the United States.
For Tyson, attendees don't necessarily need to leave Indianapolis with dozens of new initiatives. One meaningful idea can be enough.
"I hope every attendee leaves Indianapolis with at least one idea they're excited to explore and share with their team to strengthen their organization's safety culture," she said. "Whether it's a new process, a fresh perspective or a promising technology, even a single meaningful improvement can make a difference."
And her advice for getting the most from the conference is simple: talk to people.
"Ask what's working for them, what they're interested in and what they're struggling with," Tyson said. "The Safety Congress & Expo is not just about what you learn during the conference; it's also about having the chance to build a network that remains long after you leave Indianapolis."
That combination of technology, education and professional connection is what gives the Safety Congress & Expo its reach. Attendees may arrive looking for a product, an answer to a compliance question or a new approach to an old safety problem. What they take home could be something less expected: an idea from a session, a technology they had never considered or a conversation with another safety professional that changes how they approach a challenge.
Ultimately, those individual takeaways are what turn several days in Indianapolis into improvements that can continue long after the Expo floor closes.
This article originally appeared in the September 2026 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.