1) Consumer products and marketing continue to crossover to workplace safety. One of the new examples we see: Puma Safety Shoes. Timbaland is also here. And Skechers. And the surf culture clothing company Billabong. Many booth graphics use close-up portraits of gritty workingmen reminiscent of teens seen on American Apparel store windows. Performance sports are a theme: “Extreme gear for extreme conditions” says a glove company message matched to a mountain biker. Another booth has a skateboarded in flight.
2) Data, data and more data is the “product” a number of vendors present. A Touch Track Data Collection tablet lets you “go green” and eliminate handwritten reports. Another product is a sort of Insta-Poll for conducting electronic employee perception surveys. And for major corporations, there are global enterprise compliance management and reporting solutions. SAP and Intelex and other management systems vendors are making waves in the safety world as advanced componentry has lowered the price of a small system to $10-$20,000, the CEO of one supplier tells us.