The Southern Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Conference, held Oct. 17-19 at the Ashland Hills Hotel and Conference Center, was (as are all Oregon safety & health conferences) educational and fun. So much fun that Dede and I forgot to get photos to show you of our presentation, Fatigue at Work: Causes, Impacts and Solutions. So, you’ll just have to imagine a conference room with about 80 attendees actively engaged in a discussion on the very important topic of sleep. I think we can all relate to the topic, especially those of us who have ever had to work a non-9-to-five job……the lifestyle places increased risk on our physical and psychological health.

This year, Kerry Barnett, president and CEO of SAIF Corporation, delivered the keynote presentation. His talk centered on efforts to move Oregon forward in becoming the safest place to work in the nation. He discussed the great strides Oregon legislators made in the past to reform and strengthen the Workers Compensation (WC) System, which at that time faced enormous costs. Our WC system now enjoys among the lowest rates in the nation. Barnett pointed out that institutional memory of this fact should not be lost, otherwise legislators run the risk of making future decisions that impede or even reverse this progress.

In the exhibit hall, Dede and I enjoyed many fruitful interactions with conference attendees. We are always impressed with the interest and energy attendees express towards maintaining and improving workplace safety, health and wellbeing. Thanks to the Southern Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and Oregon OSHA for co-sponsoring this conference. And thanks to Southern Oregon ASSE for the photo (above) of Dede and I engaging with conference attendees!