Global ESC 2023 Top Rated Speakers

THE GLOBAL EXCAVATION SAFETY CONFERENCE is the place to gain knowledge about safe digging and the damage prevention industry. For the past 18+ years, we have remained focused on providing a variety of learning opportunities always pushing for new topics relating to new technologies and industry advancements, innovative solutions, and potential solutions that will resonate with our delegates.

Featuring the best experts in the industry, our speakers remain focused on teaching you something you can bring back to your company to improve your processes and help keep people safe.

We’d like to take the opportunity to recognize some of the speakers from our recent event in Tampa that emerged as leaders among all our considerable educational content. These speakers were chosen by delegates as the best* among an exemplary crowd. (*Only sessions with a minimum of 10% return rate on voluntary surveys were ranked.)

Top Overall Speakers – Perfect Score Across the Board

Believe in Safety
Speaker: Brandon Schroeder, Believe in Safety, LLC

Everyone makes decisions about safety and many of them in an instant. The wrong safety habits make it easier to make wrong decisions that are impossible to undo. Brandon survived a workplace accident that should have killed him. He recounted the tragedy and discussed the contributing factors and how it all could have been avoided. This presentation left delegates with a stronger understanding, and respect, for doing the job correctly and safely.

• “Amazing! Life changing!” – Maria White, Damage Prevention Liaison with Pennsylvania 811
• “Incredible story!!!” – Gerrad Godley, Construction Department Manager with Genesee County Road Commission
• “Great speaker. Thank you for sharing.” – Nathalie Moreau, Executive Director with Info-Excavation
• “Fantastic speaker and was really great at delivering such bad information about his life experience and how to move forward to do better.” – Elizabeth Pyles, Engineer / DPC Representative with Franklin County Engineer

How to Prepare for Extreme Heat and OSHA’s Federal Heat Stress Standard
Speaker: Margaret Morrissey, Korey Stringer Institute

This session educated attendees on evidence based approaches to building an effective heat stress management plan. This session covered topics such as physiological monitoring for heat strain, environmental monitoring, heat safety education, and safety procedures for heat-related illnesses. It presented the latest information on OSHA’s future heat stress standard, how to prepare this regulation, and why inaction will be detrimental to worker health, safety, and productivity.

• “Very good and informative for heat safety.” – Kevin German, Risk Manager with Lehigh County Authority

Top Speakers – Scoring 3.9 / 4

Educating the Next Generation
Speaker: Maria Copeland, Georgia 811

Georgia 811 has been reaching out to the next generation of Georgians for over 15 years with their special safety ambassador, Digger Dog. Digger Dog and Education Administrator, Maria Copeland, travel throughout the state promoting the message of safe digging to second and third graders at both public and private elementary schools. This presentation provided some tips on how you can reach out to the next generation of safe digging stakeholders in your state.

• “GA811 did a great job showing how youth education can work”– M.G. Govia, Education & Outreach Liaison with OKIE811
• “Great to hear the success Georgia 811 has had with the schools and future excavators.” – Derek Brown, Board Member with CBYD
• “Great speakers. I hope we can replicate some ideas and improve our state’s program.” – Elizabeth Pyles, Engineer / DPC Representative with Franklin County Engineer

Fiber Builds with Damage Prevention as a High Priority: A Case Study of Effective Partnerships Speaker: George Kemp, MetroNet

Struggling with how to keep damage prevention as a high priority? There is no reason for a fiber build to have a reputation of not being concerned with damage prevention. Fiber builds can and have had great reputations when it comes to damage prevention. Attendees learned and participated in a discussion about successful damage prevention focused fiber builds.

• “Wonderful session. Hit home that damage prevention is a partnership.” – Sean Frech, Damage Prevention with Colorado Springs Utilities
• “Knowledgeable, insightful, enthusiastic. One of the best presentations of the Conference.”– Chad Krueger, Manager with Diggers Hotline.
• “Great presentation!” – Steve Allen, Executive Director with Energy WorldNet

Part 2: Look Up and Live
Speaker: Glen “Cookie” Cook, Electrical Safety Consultant

In Queensland, an average of 750 accidental contacts occur with powerlines annually. All are avoidable, and mainly occur due to lack of planning and awareness of the hazard and “inattentional blindness.” Put simply, we can plan to work near the powerlines we cannot see but, with overhead powerlines, we rely on workers to identify hazards onsite. Having a powerline safety tool to be able to effectively plan work near powerlines has assisted in reducing overall incidents by 25% in Queensland.

• “Good information. Will help me with my utility safety show.” – Maria Copeland, Education Administrator with Georgia 811
• “Thought the presentation was great. Didn’t realize overhead power lines were such a danger.” – Austin Cooper, Damage Prevention Administrator with Southwest Gas
• “Great presentation!” – Steve Allen, Executive Director with Energy WorldNet

Power of Don't: Communication and Leadership Excellence
Speaker: John Brix, Professional Speaker

The mind is divided into two basic aspects – the conscious and subconscious. “Power of Don’t” gave delegates a new understanding on how these two aspects work with each other and how to ensure training and mentorship are completed properly to ensure long-term memory recall. With the tools delegates gained, they will be able to relay information better and increase the success of learning while decreasing the time spent on training and information delivery.

• “Practical use of subconscious principles.” – Jess Bangs, Marketing & Communications Administrator with Colorado 811
• “Great speaker. Always draws a crowd. Good information to think about.”– Bob Edwards, Supervisor Water Operations with Citizens Energy Group
• “Very good real-world examples of the principles in action.”– Steven Jackson

If these topics could help you increase your industry knowledge and advance your career, then you belong in New Orleans at the 2024 Global Excavation Safety Conference, March 19-21, 2024! With content addressing issues and concerns of the different facets of the industry, there is something for everyone.

Learn more at GlobalExcavationSafetyConference.com. Registration is OPEN!