Measuring what is right

Thursday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m.- In a presentation liberally illustrated with shipyard photos but applicable to any Safety Management System, presenter Bart Deem will cover issues related to safety accountability and the Safety Culture, a term attributed to Scott Geller.

NASSCO holds several contracts with the US Navy. Photo: kpbs.org.

In Adopting Maritime Standards- Subpart “F”-The Process So Far, participants will learn:

• how behavior-based employee involvement is key to conforming with new requirements established with OSHA 18001 and Maritime Standards Part F
• how to measure not just what is wrong, but what is right, and
• how safety culture affects system safety

About the Presenter:

Barton J. Deem is Senior Safety Representative/Safety Supervisor at NASSCO Shipbuilding, Inc., the only shipbuilder on the West Coast capable of building large ocean-going vessels.

Stop, thief!

Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 1:30 p.m.-  Pac SW presents Construction Theft and Prevention.

Construction theft is not new - but there are new ways to combat it.

Construction theft on commercial jobsites can have a huge impact on your project’s production schedule and profit margin. Presenter Valerie stakes will teach participants:

1. How to theft-proof projects before mobilizing or breaking ground.

2. Ways to work with subcontractors to minimize theft

3. The latest in anti-theft technology for construction sites.

This presentation will provide exceptional value to EHS professionals, construction crew supervisors, site supervisors and Risk Managers.

About the Presenter:

Valerie Stakes

Valerie Stakes, President, VAS Safety Training & Consulting, and owner, Multilingual Training Solutions, specializes in training, jobsite management, and safety program development for the construction trades. She is  an instructor at the UC San Diego Extension OSHA Training Institute, and a former Safety Manager & Trainer for RQ Construction, a full service design and construction firm headquartered in Carlsbad. Valerie served 7 years as managing editor of Contracting Business Magazine, and holds a Master’s degree from Kent State University.

Partnerships that protect

Thursday, Oct. 6 at 11:30 a.m.- Think “homeland security” is just for military installations or energy companies? Think again. Then think about how your church, school, or medical center might respond to a major disaster. Presenter Cathi Marx, a US Coast Guard veteran, will share lessons learned in this unique presentation about  ways community organizations banded together to plan for disaster response and recovery.

Volunteers assemble disaster kits at a D.C. church.

“Creating Disaster Preparedness Synergy Partnerships: How One Non-Profit Community tackled the “All Hazards Approach” in disaster readiness” will review the 18-month strategy used to teach novices the tools used for disaster assessment and mitigation, emergency response, and business continuation so that they could develop their own plans and be resources to each other and the greater San Diego community.  Register here.

About the Presenter:

Cathi Marx, center, ALCM, COSS, CHS-V, is an experienced safety & Homeland Security professional

Cathi L. Marx ALCM, COSS, CHS-V, is a Principal at Aspen Risk Management Group and veteran of the US Coast Guard. She regularly instructs Certified Occupational Safety Specialist (COSS) classes at Pacific Safety Council in San Diego.  Her practice specialties at Aspen include Homeland Security Issues and Disaster Planning.

From waste to wonder . . .

Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 11:30 a.m. – Learn  how Orange County converts waste water into a safe, sustainable water supply through purification in its Groundwater Replenishment System.

Orange County converts 70 million gallons of wastewater into water supplies each day.

The Orange County Groundwater Basin provides water for 2.4 million people in Southern California. The groundwater replenishment system’s 70-million-gallon-per-day advanced wastewater treatment facility harvests enough drinking water annually to serve the needs of 600,000 people. Learn about the system’s processes to protect public health and create sustainable new water supplies from a former waste product. Register here.

About the presenter:

Gina DePinto

Gina DePinto, Principal Communications Specialist, Orange County Water District, supports the Director of Public Affairs by managing media relations and community outreach programs. Prior to joining OCWD, DePinto managed her own firm, Bylines Public Relations and Marketing, served as Public Information Officer for the city of Phoenix, Arizona, and directed public relations for Farnam Companies, Inc., a manufacturer of veterinary and over-the-counter health products. She has initiated national promotions with Universal Studios and DreamWorks Pictures, designed radio and TV satellite media tours, and coordinated local and national publicity during her tenure with Olympic Champion Dorothy Hamill’s Ice Capades.

Orange County Water District manages the vast groundwater basin under northern and central Orange County that supplies water to more than 20 cities and water agencies.

EHS Basics in biotech

Thursday, Oct. 6 at 11:30 - Join us for Biotech Industrial Hygiene, presented by Jeffrey A. Silvers, MPH.

Biotechnology presents unique exposures for the EHS professional.

Learn about the most common industrial hygiene issues facing EH&S professionals in the biotechnology and life science industry. Topics include controlling exposures to active pharmaceutical ingredients, hazardous drugs, anesthetic gases, allergens, formaldehyde, organic solvents, UV radiation, human carcinogens, biohazardous agents, aerosols, and mold.

About the presenter:

Jeffrey Silvers, MPH Toxicology

Jeffrey A Silvers, MPH, CIH, CSP, earned his Masters of Public Health Degree in Toxicology from San Diego State University, and teaches professionals in National University’s Master of Safety and Security Program. Jeffrey is Vice President of Occupational Services, Inc., where he is also a radiation safety officer. Jeffrey’s 25+ years of field experience included service as the EHS Division Manager at SAIC and industrial hygienist positions at Hughes Aircraft and General Motors Corporations.

Occupational Services, Incorporated is a San Diego-based professional consulting firm that specializes in supporting the region’s biotechnology firms. Services include environmental compliance, occupational health and safety, radiation safety, and industrial hygiene, including hazardous materials and medical waste business plans.

Skin safe?

Wednesday, Oct 5 at 10 a.m. – Paul Zoubek, CIH, CSP, will present Dermal Monitoring Methods & Controls: Estimating Overall Chemical Exposure

Are your workers protected from skin illness?

Workplace skin diseases account for nearly 20 percent of all reported occupation diseases in the country, costing employers nearly $1 billion annually, according to NIOSH. This program covers OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits, ACGIH Threshold Limit Values, and NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits as tools to assist the employer in managing exposure and preventing workplace skin exposures and other occupations diseases related to skin exposures.

Participants will learn how to used combined data from dermal monitoring and inhalation to estimate overall exposure, compare and contrast exposure estimation techniques with exposure indices, determine glove permeation effectiveness, and implement control methods to limit dermal exposure.

About the presenter:

Paul Zoubek

Paul A. Zoubek, CSP, CIH is principal at Zoubek  Consulting, LLC. His 10-year career includes service as health and safety manager at Occupational Services, Inc. and a stint as Senior Safety Engineer for Sony Electronics. At Zoubek Consulting, LLC, Paul provides clients, nationwide, with expert advice in the areas of management and engineering control of workplace hazards, as well as customized, company-specific services in workplace risk assessment and hazard control.

Simpler Life new conference sponsor

Simpler Life's Deluxe Emergency Backpack

Pac SW welcomes Bob Snedekar,  Simpler Life, as a first-time sponsor at the 2011 Conference. Simpler Life provides emergency kits, supplies and equipment, and has been in business since 1981. His company supplies several local agencies with employee and family emergency kits.

Simpler Life offers:

Over 30 years of equipping folks for difficult days.

• Factory-direct emergency kits, including custom kits (minimum order may apply).
• Kits “built from scratch”, specifically for your order to insure maximum freshness/shelf life.
• Innovative, lifesaving emergency supplies & equipment.
• Group preparedness supports for neighborhoods, workplaces, schools and churches.

Visit the conference website to learn how you can become a sponsor or exhibitor.

Buildup to BOOM!

Thursday, October 6 at 2 p.m. – Pacific Southwest Safety Conference features a primer on combustible dusts by Paul Zoubek.

A combustible dust explosion leveled this flour mill in 1878; the hazard continues. Photo credit SAFHB.

A month after an explosion at a Georgia sugar factory killed 14 workers, OSHA launched a national emphasis program to combat the hazards of combustible dusts. Attend this presentation to learn about the factors that contributed to the explosion, likely scenarios in other workplaces, and what makes a dust combustible. Paul’s presentation includes a summary of regulations; sources for evaluating your combustible dust hazards, and approaches that can prevent exposure.

Participants will learn to recognize, evaluate and control combustible dust hazards in the workplace.

About the presenter:

Paul Zoubek

Paul A. Zoubek, CSP, CIH is principal at Zoubek  Consulting, LLC. His 10-year career includes service as health and safety manager at Occupational Services, Inc. and a stint as Senior Safety Engineer for Sony Electronics. At Zoubek Consulting, LLC, Paul provides clients, nationwide, with expert advice in the areas of management and engineering control of workplace hazards, as well as customized, company-specific services in workplace risk assessment and hazard control.

A disaster service worker’s perspective

Disaster workers gather during fire response.  Photo: fultoncoredcross.org

Thursday, October 6, 10 a.m. – Bill Norris developed the 2-1-1 San Diego system and implemented the system to respond to local wildfires in 2007.  He will share case studies and real life experiences to cover issues related to responding as a disaster service worker. Get an on-the-ground view of three San Francisco/Oakland Area earthquakes, as well as a glimpse of Bill’s personal experience with hurricanes, tsunamis and wild fires. Join us to learn methods to assess hazards, develop plans that are based on realistic expectations, and  evaluate and adjust plans based on outcomes.

About the presenter:

Bill Norris, Principal, Norris and Associates, wrote San Diego’s 211 system and served with honors as a crisis manager in the US Army.  He provides disaster recovery and disaster emergency preparedness services for federal, state, county, municipal and service entities. He previously held positions with the State of Hawaii, Marin County California, the City of San Diego, Computing Systems, Inc. and Innovative Emergency Management. He is an Oklahoma State University alumnus with a degree in Medical Microbiology and Biochemistry.

Bill Norris

Bill spent 22 years as an Infantry Officer, providing adult training/curriculum training, 5 years command time, and service as a Nuclear Accident/Incident Control Officer for Southern Europe. His 20 years of federal, state, county and major city experiences cover all phases of emergency management. Specialties include bioterrorism response planning, EOC management, chemical agents, evacuation planning, integrated enterprise emergency planning, federal homeland security grant management, CDC public health preparedness grants, FEMA public assistance disaster recovery grants, and nongovernmental  private sector enterprises.

Qualcomm joins conference as sponsor.

Qualcomm's mobile devices and operating platforms include several options for improved fleet management.

Pac Southwest is happy to welcome Qualcomm as a conference sponsor.

From its beginnings in 1985, Qualcomm has grown from seven individuals meeting in a den to a world-leading provider of wireless technology and services. Qualcomm is a global company, a firm with many facets, with each business division changing the way we live and work through its own unique contributions. But no matter what each Qualcomm business does, all are united by a single, driving passion: to continue to deliver the world’s most innovative wireless solutions.

Check out these items on the corporate website to learn about Qualcomm innovations in Mobile Health and electronics recycling.