With the introduction of two new features and more than 100 hours of free conference standard education, Safety & Health Expo 2012 provided visitors with its most comprehensive offering to date, securing its position as the leading health and safety industry event in the UK – reporting a 9.7 per cent visitor increase year on year.
With the return of the popular Occupational Health Theatre, the SHP Legal Arena, IOSH Stand Theatre and The Academy; the educational and networking content was enhanced with the introduction of the Barbour Directors Club and the IOSH Networking Zone. This was in line with the ongoing aim to continue to attract senior level visitors to the show. Across all of the education theatres, participation increased by 60% showing the added value that a high quality programme of seminars can bring for visitors.
For the first time ever, long standing partners of Safety & Health Expo, IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety & Health) introduced the IOSH Networking Zone; a series of seminars hosted by key professionals from six of the IOSH groups. These included the Food and Drink Group, the Retail and Distribution Group, the Construction Group and the new Sports Ground and Events Group and were followed by informal networking sessions for members and prospective members of these groups. Closing this brand new feature with a celebratory feel, The IOSH Midlands Branch toasted their sixtieth anniversary on the final day of the show.
Highlighting the breadth and quality of exhibitors, IOSH Chief Executive, Rob Strange said: “I have seen Safety & Health Expo grow year on year to become the biggest health and safety exhibition in the UK. The attendance is higher than it has been which, in a period of recession, is extremely encouraging… If you’re involved in health and safety in any way, this is the show to be at. Safety & Health Expo is relevant, exciting and dynamic – it’s the place to be.”
Barbour EHS, a recent addition to the UBM Live safety portfolio, hosted the brand new Barbour Directors Club; a high brow invitation only seminar programme of eight sessions running over the three days of the show. These sessions covered strategic health and safety issues such as creating a world class safety culture, protecting your brand, and how enforcement agencies work.  More than 200 senior level visitors attended the Directors Club, many of whom were first time visitors to Safety & Health Expo. In feedback received on site, over three quarters of audience members rated the sessions as “Excellent” with such comments as “Great fun and inspirational”; “Very informative and clearly presented”; “Thoroughly enjoyed the presentation – could have listened to more”.
Heather Beach, Barbour’s Director said “We are delighted with the success of the show and particularly with the engagement of senior managers in winning hearts and minds in the quest for excellent safety culture.  The show was a great success for Barbour this year and all the pre-work we put in, as well as the way we worked our stand, paid off for us.”
The stellar line up of exhibitors included Latchways, Modlex, Draeger, Scott Safety and, new additions G4S, Dickies, PICS Ltd and Portwest Clothing.
Commenting on the success of the show, Adrian Newton, Group Director at UBM said:
“The 59% re-book levels on site, and a 9.7% increase in visitors is testament to the fact that Safety & Health Expo is a show which the industry continues to embrace. It is the only major exhibition for the health and safety community, offering a truly unique range and scale of content which delivers an unmatched level of visitors. ”
Safety & Health Expo is the only UK health and safety show to have the support of all three leading health and safety associations: The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and The Institute of Safety and Health (IOSH).  The RoSPA Awards took place alongside Safety & Health Expo at the nearby Hilton Metropole and honoured many exhibitors with awards. The BSIF Awards were presented in The Academy on Tuesday 15th May and again, highlighted some of the industry leading innovations on display at the show. A full list of award winners can be viewed on the Safety & Health Expo website here.