Center Stage

AIHA Connect Returns to Kansas City

Opening Keynote: Harnessing the Power of a Neurodiverse Workforce May 19, 8:00–9:30 a.m. Ask the Expert With Opening Keynote Speaker David Finch May 19, 10:00–11:00 a.m. Research suggests that as much as one-fifth of the world’s population is neurodivergent, a broad term that encompasses different social preferences and ways of learning, communicating, and perceiving the environment. While neurodivergent people can experience challenges managing these differences, they can also display superior memories, pattern recognition skills, mathematical abilities, and creativity. At the opening keynote session, the author David Finch, who is himself neurodivergent, will discuss the unique contributions these gifted individuals bring to the workplace.

Finch has written movingly in The New York Times about the challenges his autism presented for his marriage. In his “journal of best practices,” a phrase that later became the title of his memoir, he documented his attempts to control the behaviors that strained his relationship with his wife. As he recently told SynergistNOW, this systematic approach to self-improvement is a trait that can make neurodivergent employees especially valuable to their organizations “provided they have adequate supports and understanding.”

Following his address, Finch will respond to questions from attendees at an “ask the expert” session.

Understanding Serious AI Safety Risks With Computer Vision and MACHINE LEARNING May 19, 10:00–11:00 a.m. With the rapid development of AI tools, new capabilities are constantly being developed. This session focuses on computer vision, the ability of computers to understand the visual world, and natural language processing, which is the ability of computers to understand and communicate using human language. The presenters will discuss how these and other AI tools can be used to detect hazards, provide continuous monitoring, extract insights from incident reports, and prioritize and manage risks.

Related: Read “The Art of the Possible: AI’s Potential for Extracting Data from SDSs.”

How Ventilation Effectiveness Impacts Occupant Health and Safety May 19, 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. In this advanced session, presenter Thomas Smith will describe a method for assessing the risk of airborne hazards, establishing operating specifications for a ventilation system, and testing the system’s effectiveness. Smith’s company, 3Flow, has conducted thousands of tests of fume hoods and found that as many as one-third may not function properly or meet performance requirements in the ANSI/ASSP Z9.5 standard for lab ventilation.

Related: Read “A Strategic Approach to Laboratory Ventilation: Three Steps for Achieving Satisfactory Fume Hood Performance.”

Respirable Crystalline Silica—Lessons Learned, Engineering Controls, and Stakeholder Collaboration May 19, 3:15–4:15 p.m. In this session, presenters from ExxonMobil will address silica hazards in the petrochemical industry, specifically related to turnaround maintenance and refractory activities. The session will focus on the development, testing, and validation of new control technologies and the importance communication among stakeholders.

Related: Read “Engineering Controls for Respirable Crystalline Silica Hazards: Investigations by NIOSH’s Engineering and Physical Hazards Branch.”

EPA’s Intervention Into Workplace Health and Safety—A Paradigm Shift May 20, 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Some of EPA’s existing chemical exposure limits, or ECELs, require workplaces to maintain exposures that are orders of magnitude lower than OSHA’s permissible exposure limits. These significant changes to requirements for workplace protections can strain OEHS resources by generating a need for new controls, more hazard assessments, new sampling and analytical methods, and more staff. This presentation emphasizes the necessity for OEHS organizations to become involved in regulatory processes and for companies to prepare for the challenges of compliance with EPA rules.

Related: Read “Complying with EPA’s Methylene Chloride Rule” elsewhere in this issue.

Case Studies and Lessons Learned FROM Sharing Occupational Exposure Data With EPA May 20, 2:00–3:00 p.m. There is no shortage of sessions at AIHA Connect about EPA, reflecting the growing importance of agency regulations for occupational health and safety. This session focuses on the experiences of OEHS professionals who have provided occupational exposure assessment data to EPA. The presenters will discuss the risk assessment process, how the data was shared and how EPA used it, and lessons learned from their interactions with the agency.

Related: Read “Many Paths, One Goal: Exploring Different Approaches to Occupational Risk Assessment.”

Safe in Sound—Promoting Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention May 20, 4:30–5:30 p.m. The presenters in this session are previous winners of the Safe-in-Sound Award, which is presented annually by NIOSH and the National Hearing Conservation Association to recognize organizations for achievements in hearing loss prevention. The session will present case studies of strategies and interventions that were extensively implemented and integrated at different organizational levels.

Related: Read “How to Mitigate Conveyor Noise: Practical Design and Maintenance Solutions.”

Understanding Hydrogen, Lithium, and Related Hazards of Future Energy May 21, 8:00–9:00 a.m. Society has long sought alternatives to the burning of fossil fuels, and some technologies have generated significant excitement: one research organization expects the market for hydrogen fuel cells to grow by 500 percent over the next ten years, and another projects a seven-fold increase in global demand for lithium-ion batteries between 2022 and 2030. But OEHS professionals know better than most that substitution isn’t always an improvement and can lead to new hazards. This session will consider the potential pitfalls of new energy sources, challenges with monitoring, and potential exposures from normal operations and upset conditions.

Related: Read “Accelerating Toward New Hazards: Protecting Workers During the Transition to Electric Vehicles.”

How to Report Bad News May 21, 10:30–11:30 a.m. At some point in their careers, most OEHS professionals must tell a client or employer something they don’t want to hear. It can be difficult to maintain objectivity in situations where, for example, a client pressures the OEHS professional to alter a report to avoid acknowledging a health and safety concern. This session focuses on practical ways that OEHS professionals can turn difficult conversations about health and safety concerns into productive encounters.

Related: Read “Truth to Power.” Responses from readers are published in a later issue of The Synergist.

Risks, Regulations, and Recommendations FOR Healthcare Facility Water Safety May 21, 1:00–2:00 p.m. A CDC study published in 2017 found a 25 percent fatality rate among 85 patients who acquired Legionnaire’s disease at healthcare facilities. Six years later, two standards were released that may have significant effects on healthcare facility operations and water management plans: ASHRAE 514, Risk Management for Building Water Systems: Physical, Chemical, and Microbial Hazards, and ANSI/AAMI ST108, Water for the Processing of Medical Devices. This session presents important takeaways from both standards, interprets their requirements for healthcare facilities, and explains how to establish a compliant water safety program.

Related: Read “Performing Legionella Source Risk Assessments: A Hazard Analysis Tool for Data Interpretation.”

Assessing Category A Waste in Outbreaks of High Consequence Infectious Diseases May 21, 2:15–3:15 p.m. Managing Category A waste, the designation for medical waste containing pathogens that could cause serious illness or death, is expensive and logistically difficult. The presenters for this session are calling for revision of the U.S. regulations governing Cat A waste, which are administered by the Department of Transportation. A 2014 study in the American Journal of Infection Control provides some idea of the scope of the problem: treatment of a single patient with Ebola resulted in more than one thousand pounds of Cat A waste. Attendees at this session will learn to identify potential IH-related failures with current regulations and to use available resources to address the problem.

Related: Read “Balancing Act: Ethical Considerations Around Infectious Disease Response.”

Closing Session: Bulletproof Strategies for Leading Fearlessly May 21, 3:30–4:45 p.m. The former special agent Evy Poumpouras, who protected presidents and foreign heads of state, will share insights gleaned from the unique challenges of her career. Sometimes her work meant that she was responsible for the safety of not just a single high-value individual but also for members of the public, as when she was placed in charge of securing the outer perimeter at President Obama’s 2012 commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Currently a law enforcement analyst with NBC, Poumpouras is the author of Becoming Bulletproof: Life Lessons from a Secret Service Agent and has delivered popular TEDx Talks in which she shares practical guidance her audience can use to attain their goals. Among her thought-provoking ideas are the counterintuitive assertions that confidence and motivation are overrated and unnecessary for achievement.