2024 EHSCBC Round Table a HUGE success
On October 1st, close to 70 C-Suite leaders met in Vancouver to learn, teach and share from each other’s experiences. There were 4 presentations, covering mental health, case studies, WSBC, and business resilience. The Keynote speaker was Vik Kohli, VP of Safety and Reliability at Enbridge. Following the presentations, there was a networking reception where members got to know each other better and compare thoughts on what they had learned over the day.
After a few words from Executive Director George Higgins, the session began with a presentation from Dianne Rideout, Partner at Cassels Law. Dianne spoke to legal obligations that employers need to be aware of when dealing with mental health issues. Her comments on how to effectively handle issues was supplemented by case studies, and there were many questions that she fielded from the floor.
Following Dianne, there was an update from Ryan Hazlett, an investigative lead from Technical Safety BC. Ryan spoke to “False Economies” and pointed out that waiting for a machine to “complete its life cycle” can lead to severe and costly safety incidents. He showed graphicly how being preemptive might have an immediate financial impact on business operations, but if there is a serious incident a business could be shut down for much longer and the financial ramifications would be much greater.
After the first two presentations attendees broke for lunch and had a bit of time to get to network and meet other members and guests of the Council.
The afternoon session started with a bootcamp on how to navigate WorkSafeBC, presented by David Haralds, Executive Director of the Employers Advisors Office. Dave mostly focused on the experience rating system and relief of costs, but he also fielded many questions from the floor, and was able to get another attendee, from WSBC, to participate in a small Q&A which many members found to be highly interesting.
Following the WSBC bootcamp, there was a presentation from Leon Gaber, a national lead at KPMG, on “Business Resiliency”. Leon’s presentation included many gems of information, including that major environmental issues have increased from 1 every 7 years to 1 every other year (approximately.) Leon’s message of “be prepared” was well heard, be it for fires, floods, earthquakes or other events.
After a short break, members of the Council learned from Vik Kohli, this year’s keynote speaker, about his and Enbridge’s health and safety journey, how they have been learning from their experiences, and how they address new issues. Vik included a few real-life examples of hardships that were overcome, and commented that it is important to recognize failure to help prevent recurrence. Vik’s presentation had members captivated, and was the perfect way to finish the learning and sharing portion of the Round Table.
Following the Keynote address, members assembled for a quick group photo, and then changed rooms for a networking cocktail reception.
Thankyou to all of the presenters, you have made a huge difference and given members and guests the opportunity to learn and think about how they would (or could) address issues they encounter. Volunteering your time to share your experiences is greatly appreciated.
Thank you also to all of the sponsors of this years Round Table, without your support, the event would not have been as successful.
