Editor's Note: The 68th annualWorkers' Compensation Educational Conference (WCEC)will be held Aug. 18 – 21 at the Orlando World Center Marriott.Presented by the Workers' Compensation Institute, the WCEC is thelargest gathering of its kind in the nation and offersdiscipline-specific programs and break-out sessions from hundredsof national speakers as well as CEU opportunities. During theevent, NU Executive Managing Editor Shawn Moynihan will present thePC360/NU Award for Excellence in Workers' Comp RiskManagement.

The annual Safety and Health Conference, held in conjunction withthe Workers' Compensation Educational Conference (WCEC),celebrates its 25th year in 2013 by making the subject of workplacesafety a major emphasis of the entire conference.

An outgrowth of the Governor's Safety Conference, the Safety andHealth Conference was established by the governor of Florida as anattempt to place more emphasis on workplace safety. Eventually, theconference was absorbed by the Workers' Compensation Institute. WorkplaceSafety and Health now takes its place as a major component of theWCEC.

Reflecting on the transition of the Safety Conference as astand-alone conference to being a major component of a larger andmore integrated part of the annual workers' compensation event,General Chairman of the Workers' Compensation Institute Jim McConnaughhay, stated, “I think the Safety andHealth Conference today is a reflection of the changing times andthe evolution of the safety industry in America in the last 25years. Initially, the safety industry was considered by some as astand-alone profession that dealt with one component of theworkplace, sometimes separate and apart from the production or coreoperations of a business. As the economy turned, all I would hearfrom safety professionals was that they were the first to be laidoff when a business downsized. In retrospect, this may have been asuggestion that since safety specialists were not a part of whyparticular businesses operated, they were the most'expendable.'

“As a part of overseeing the merged conferences, we try todetermine the professions and job classifications of ourattendees,” McConnaughhay continued. “What we began to see was lessand less attendees identifying themselves as 'safetyprofessionals.' What was happening was that they began identifyingthemselves as 'risk managers,' 'HR professionals,' 'brokers,''claims professionals,' 'insurance managers,' 'safety consultants'and various other designations unique to particular industries. Ourconclusion from this trending was that the task of workplace safetywas being absorbed by others not just safety specialists. Thistransition of job responsibilities was based on the economy of abusiness operation initially but as time passed, workplace safetyseemed to evolve into an integrated part of a business as a wholewith safety specialists assuming additional jobresponsibilities.

“It was in response to this witnessed refocusing of safety thatthe Safety and Health Conference moved to reaching out to this 'newsafety professional' in need of educational help at a level thatwas both affordable and at the same time relevant to their needs.It is this new safety professional that the conference focuses on,who oftentimes plays a significant role in several aspects of thebusiness operation, while at the same time recognizing that thecertified safety professional remains a vital part of maintaining asafe workplace for the American worker,” McConnaughhay said.

In recognition of this changing role of the safety professional,the risk management breakouts at the conferencehave been expanded to a full day of presentations to include safetyand health issues relevant to risk managers. These breakouts areled by industry professionals from throughout thecountry.

The national workers' compensation review sessions have beenenhanced to include general safety issues and concerns inrecognition of the interrelationship between workers' compensationresults and safety concerns. Unique safety issues for temporarystaffing companies and professional employer organizations (PEOs)and persons dealing with these entities will be the subject ofbreakout sessions for these interestgroups.

The medical community also gets involved in workplace safetywith special breakouts on accidents caused byemployees working long hours, in excessive heat situations, andwhile under the influence of prescribed medications.

In short, the conference agenda by its breakout organizationrecognizes the importance of safety on an integrated basisthroughout the business operation of an employer, regardless of howthe various “players” within a business organization areidentified. No longer can industry look upon safety and health asan independent agency within a particular business to be judged asuccess or failure based on perceived values to bottom lineprofitability.

The realities of safety and health are that whether intended ornot, safety and health are integral parts of every aspect ofbusiness, a significant factor in employee morale, and a “valueadded” component of any business operation that in fact can bequantified. It is to this initiative that the conference focuses onin providing meaningful educational opportunities for safetyprofessionals.

America's safety regulators continue to play a significant rolein the conference, with OSHA presenting breakout sessions oninitiatives within that agency and providing Certificates ofCompletion for the OSHA 10-hour “General Industry” course.NIOSH representatives will be presenting ontheir new emphasis of total worker health including safety andhealth hazards on-the-job and the influence of non-working healthissues on workplace safety. NIOSH-sponsored Educational ResearchCenters at the University of South Florida, University of NorthCarolina, University of Alabama, and Auburn University will presenton regional issues of concern in the safety industry and the U.S.Department of Labor will add their statistical analyticcapabilities to better define what is occurring in the workplace asfar as safety initiatives are concerned.

The WCEC is sponsored by the Workers' Compensation Institute, a non-profitorganization specifically organized to provide education within theworkers' compensation community with safety and health beingconsidered an extremely important component of this industry aswell as an important factor in every aspect of a businessoperation.