As advertised, the recent Workplace Health Protection Conference, otherwise known as OH2023, was both insightful and engaging in equal measure. With a programme covering a wide range of subjects from Researching Prevention and Control to Educating for Occupational Health and Designing out Health Risks to Changing Attitudes and Behaviours; our team of Occupational Hygiene specialists revelled in hearing from their contemporaries, while meeting clients and prospects, both old and new.
It also gave us a unique opportunity to showcase our improved, highly compliant occupational hygiene portfolio services.
With so much great content to digest, it is almost impossible to pick out all the highlights for fear of an ‘Oscar’ moment and not acknowledging everyone. However, in the interests of brevity, here are our top takeaways…
Renewed focus on technology
The discussion on the limitations of some widely used sampling methodologies was valuable, as were the insights into alternative approaches, including qualitative methods to review the effectiveness of existing control, such as the assessment of CNC enclosures and LEV systems. This of course was music to our ears as our assessments are radically different from what was being considered in the past, and embrace a more comprehensive approach to provide overall assessment of Occupational Hygiene risks.
Monitoring & Risk
Although it has been demonstrated that we’re still not at a point where real-time monitoring can replace traditional monitoring methods from a compliance perspective, the use of real-time monitoring is gaining traction and becoming a readily available tool in a hygienist’s armoury. From a control perspective, real-time monitoring is extremely useful in identifying ‘peak’ exposures within a workers shift and therefore aiding the implementation of control measure in the most pertinent processes.
Noise risk reduction
There would appear to be a broad, albeit not universal, consensus that the current practice has failed and there is a demonstrable need for change. Evidence suggests that engineering control measures don’t have to be expensive and can be relatively simple in implementation when employing the right specialists from the outset. Inexperience or a lack of expertise could lead to poor decisions and ultimately, exposure to unnecessary risk or costly adaptations which do little to address the risks.
A real highlight for us all was the warm welcome we received from senior members of the BOHS board and committee. Great conversations led to wonderful networking opportunities and the offer of guidance and mentoring for our team by some senior figures was welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Overall OH2023 was of huge benefit to us, individually and collectively. Having the opportunity to meet, learn and update our own knowledge was invaluable and will pay dividends for our clients, now and in the future.
To find out more about our combination of scientific knowledge, sector experience and deep technical knowledge in the arena of Occupational Hygiene, please contact Sam Davis, AFOH, Operations Manager for Occupational Hygiene at sam.davis@envirochem.co.uk
Or, if you have any specific technical questions, please do reach out to Rachel Powis, MSc CertOH LFOH, our Occupational Hygiene Technical Manager at rachel.powis@envirochem.co.uk