1st Occupational Safety & Health India (OSH) Virtual Expo: A premier digital offering by Informa Markets in India

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) India Virtual Expo, South Asia's largest show catering to the occupational safety and health industry by Informa Markets in India (formerly UBM India), announces the debut of its virtual trade exhibition and conference slated for July 16, 2020.

The global threat currently posed by COVID-19, and the subsequent stringent safety measures including travel restrictions, and social distancing has impacted the exhibitions industry.

This virtual expo by OSH India has been crafted to consistently meet the needs of the occupational safety and health sector and enable professionals to sustain their critical business conversations and provide them with feasible solutions.

Supported by the British Safety Council, along with Silver partners, Hindsiam, Mac Machine Tools & Automation, Motorola, Mallcom and Venus Health & Safety, and Exhibiting Partner, Swan Environmental Pvt Ltd, the expo will bring together renowned brands, consultants, business experts and key Government officials pertaining to the occupational health and safety under a common virtual platform.

The virtual inauguration will be marked by the presence of Chief Guest, Satyajeet Rajan, IAS, Addl Chief Secy, Labour, Skills & Excise, Govt of Kerala; Guests of Honour, K Srinivas, Director, Department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety & Health and Lalit Gabhane, Director-General, National Safety Council; Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India and Pankaj Jain, Group Director - Security & Safety Portfolio, Informa Markets in India.

The virtual expo will include a formidable repertoire of products and technologies that make the work-sphere in corporate houses and factories optimal.

These include Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), protective clothing and accessories related to molten metal protection, electric arc protection and urban search & rescue, sound level meters, dosimeters, heat stress monitors, vibration analyzers, light meter, air & dust samplers, sampling media, single and multi-gas detectors, alcohol breath analyzers, indoor air quality monitors, bio samplers, anemometers, odor meters, aerosol monitors, fire fighting helmets and gloves, cut resistant gloves, anti-flash hood, fire and welding blankets & fire escape masks. Various health solutions for protecting life, environment, and property are also a priority at the show.

With the opening of offices in the Unlock phase, occupational safety and health in India continue to be an onerous task, especially with the current pandemic situation.

OSH India Virtual Expo has decided to proactively decipher relevant insights gained in the global workplace safety market by including a power-packed conference consisting of government officials, HSE experts, industry associations, & OSH evangelists scheduled between 11 AM to 5 PM.

The webinars will focus on topics such as Leadership in Employee Health & Wellbeing; Practicing Ergonomics at New-Age Workplaces; Tackling Mental Health at Workplaces Post COVID-19; The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Safety of Global Workforce; and Hazard Identification & Risk Control: Strategies for Successful Accident Prevention.

"We are delighted to announce OSH India's first virtual approach in the form of an exhibition to cater to the workplace safety and wellness industry amidst the ongoing pandemic. The show will be a world-class web-based platform that ensures a comprehensive display of products, insights, and networking through the expo and the conference, all of it seamlessly configured through the touch of a fingertip. Focusing on occupational safety is a priority and need of the hour, with the gradual return to the workplace in a new normal amidst the pandemic. The OSH Virtual Expo seeks to also spread awareness in focused areas such as occupational safety and health for working women, people working at heights or working with hazardous substances, workplace ergonomics, and very significantly, employee wellness when morale is at a low. We are certain that the industry will find our endeavour extremely relevant," said Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India, speaking at the announcement of OSH India's first virtual expo.

"Since the outburst of COVID-19, there's a global shortage of all forms of Personal Protective Equipment which could be detrimental to personal health and safety. The healthcare industry is reeling to meet the ascending needs of individuals and families suffering from the pandemic. However, it needs to be remembered that this COVID-19 scenario is not the only cause for concern for working professionals. With Government regulations to open various sectors, focus also needs to be on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) pertaining to industrial fire, electric arc, molten metals, flash fire, liquid chemical splashes, forest and vegetation fire, static electricity, domestic fire, smoke, and heat. The absence of adequate PPE offerings and adequate levels of protection could be disembarking to the lives of the nation's workforce. Hindsiam with its comprehensive range of personal protective clothing and equipment covering from head to toe and certified to international standards offers complete peace of mind to the industrial, domestic, and service sectors," said Sunil Kumar Agrawal, Director, Hindsiam.

"Mental health issues have come to the surface as a result of extended lockdown. The senior leadership needs to put in programs like EAP (Employee Assistance Program) with counseling sessions for individuals passing through the mentally traumatic phase, stress assessment tool, training programs on stress and anxiety management. All of these need to be taken by management to address mental health issues with confidentiality," said Suresh Tanwar, Chief Audit Analyst, British Safety Council about practical steps employers can take to support and improve the mental health of Indian workers. It has been identified as one of the adverse effects of the national lockdown.

"Workers can be protected with measures that the orgzations take. While everyone by now knows the common measures like wearing a mask, maintaining a physical distance of 2 metres, washing of hands for 20 seconds, it is important that these control measures emanate from the risk assessment process rather than an ad-hoc approach to implement these on sites. The holistic approach would involve senior leadership communication, risk assessment of all activities, and commensurate control measures, crisis management, and business continuity and effective review mechsm. At British Safety Council, we follow this approach and assist and assess our clients on the same lines," stated Tanwar on ways workers can be protected both from the risk of catching the virus or infecting others.

In the light of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown, mental health issues adversely impacting the working population in India is a grim reality.

"It is important to tackle the orgzational factors which cause stress and look at the support you have internally for intervention when people do suffer. Support your managers with the tools they need, to have individual conversations with employees to tackle anxieties and provide awareness to them about managing their own resilience," said Heather Beach, Founder-Director, The Healthy Work Company on the practical steps employers can take to improve the same.

The conference webinar at the OSH Virtual Expo has an interesting line of speakers including, Shiv Khera, Indian author, activist and professional speaker; Heather Beach, Founder & MD, The Healthy Work Company; Shankar R, Head - Safety, Quality, Systems, Sustainability and Process Improvements, Sterling and Wilson Solar; Srinivasu M, GM-CHSE (Formulations) & Head-Sustainability, Hetero Labs Ltd; Hitesh Lachhw, National Head - Safety at Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd; Ravindra Dhapola, Corporate Head-SHE, CSR & Sustainability, Tata Coffee Ltd; Karan Vir Singh, General Manager - Fire & Safety-Mumbai Refinery, Hindustan Petroleum; Mohan VC, General Manager - EHS, Bosch Ltd; Avinash Harde, Vice President - IMS HCC Ltd; Shivakumara C, Head-HSE, Project and Development Services, Jones Lang LaSalle; Arockiasamy, Sr General Manager-EHS, JMC Projects India Ltd and Suresh Tanwar, Head of Audit & Consultancy, British Safety Council, India LLP, to name a few.

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( With inputs from ANI )