American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) President Terrie S. Norris, CSP, ARM, CPSI, will expand upon her theme of occupational safety being stalled at a gathering next week in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Norris will deliver a keynote address at the ASSE's Middle East Chapter’s Biannual Professional Development Conference (PDC) and Exhibition, which will take place February 19th-22nd.

Approximately 800 SH&E professionals are expected to attend the PDC, entitled ‘Your Safety is our Business, Your Future is Our Mission.’
It will be held at the Gulf International Convention and Exhibition center located in Bahrain’s Gulf Hotel.

Norris will address conference goers on the past, present and future of safety, beginning with the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City which resulted in the deaths of 146 workers and served as the catalyst to the safety movement. )ASSE was formed just months after the tragedy.)

“We have made great strides in improving safety, but are now stalled,” said  Norris, risk control manager for Long Beach, CA-based Bickmore Risk
Services. “We need to take the next step in safety evolution to continue making progress.”

The ASSE Middle East Chapter’s PDC provides information on anticipating, evaluating and controlling hazards in the workplace and increasing
awareness on promoting safe and healthy working conditions in the region.

The conference will offer 20 break-out sessions on such topic as SH&E management systems, tools and techniques for SH&E professionals, risk assessment and management, electrical safety, performance measurement, contractor safety management, behavioral safety, incident investigation, transportation safety, waste management and emission/pollution control.

ASSE’s Middle East Chapter, founded in 1982, is the organization's first international chapter. With approximately 450 members, the chapter covers
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Oman.