Round Table 2023 a HUGE success
On September 27th, nearly 75 C-Suite members and guests met at the Terminal City Club for the 13th annual “BC Safety Charter Round Table.” The day-long event included speakers, meals, networking, and a lot of discussion around Health and Safety, and how to grow safety cultures in organizations. After a few opening remarks from Executive Director George Higgins, including a land recognition and information on safety exits in case of emergency, the conference got underway.
Up first was Erin Quinn, who spoke on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it will affect workplace culture. Erin spoke about how businesses can incorporate AI into their processes to make work easier for employees, and also to help train people on new/better/other ways of accomplishing tasks. Her cautionary warning was well met: “no matter what, you need to have someone proofreading or overseeing what the AI is doing.”
Following Erin was Phil Gothe, LEO and President of Technical Safety BC. Phil brought members up to date on “Navigating Unchartered Waters: Growing BC’s Safety System in Stormy Conditions.” Phil reminded us of many of the weather and climate issues that BC has faced over the past few years (floods, fires, heat domes, rain bombs etc.) that have all taken a toll on businesses and in some cases created unexpected safety issues.
After the morning speakers, there was an excellent lunch, sponsored by KPMG, where members got to know each other better, network, and check in on their emails and work. Many new connections were made, and old acquaintances were renewed. Members topped up their coffee’s (Sponsored by AEM and Atlas Anchors) and settled in for the next series of speakers.
Dr. Hilary Curry, People and Change Practice Lead at KPMG kindly facilitated a robust discussion on Succession Planning and how to carry culture through an organization. She covered risks and issues, the importance of planning and some of the theory that holds everything together. She was even able to quickly cover DEI, Human Resources, and Systems thinking.
Our Keynote Speaker was Bill Elkington, who walked attendees through both his business and personal safety journeys. To say that the JV Driver Group has an impressive safety record would be a major understatement, and Bill spoke about how he and his team were able to achieve it. His personal journey, with the loss of a family member, reminded members of the importance of mental health and why we all need to be aware of what is going on in other people’s lives.
The “official” aspects of the Round Table concluded, a few items of business were carried out: Recognizing retiring board members (Gary Herman), and welcoming new signatories to the Executive Health and Safety Council of BC. Board Chair Perry McDougall wrapped the program up, and also thanked all of the Councils 2023 sponsors: WorkSafeBC, SureWerx, Technical Safety BC, KPMG, Acera Insurance, Atlas Anchor Systems, Anodyne Electronic Manufacturing and Kerry.
With the “business” of the Council concluded, all attendees were invited to attend a stand-up cocktail reception, another opportunity to connect with other members and ask questions directly from speakers on their topics.
Thank you to all who were able to attend, it was truly a day well spent. For those members who could not make it, have no fear, it was all recorded and added to the EHSCBC Video Library. We have broken it down into the 4 speaker components, and you can review them at your leisure.
