The Construction Risk Management Summit is a dynamic half-day workshop tailored for senior safety and health professionals and those with risk management responsibilities in the construction industry. This premier event will dive into critical areas such as Auto Liability, Claims Management and Safety’s involvement, specific Industry Trends, and Risk Analysis.

Attendees will gain valuable insights from seasoned EHS leaders, contractor safety experts, and key voices from the insurance industry. Designed to challenge conventional thinking and elevate your strategic approach, this summit will equip you with the latest knowledge and tools to navigate the evolving landscape of construction risk management with confidence.

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Construction Risk Management Summit, sponsored by CNA Insurance. This kickoff will introduce you to the goals of the summit, presenters, and longtime partnership in safety that CNA has with the construction industry.

Hear from industry subject matter expert on one of the industry’s biggest loss leaders and learn about best practices, construction focused points of view and CNA’s take during this one-hour session.

This session will dive deep into CNA’s Mechanical loss data and identify what are main loss drivers, and the ‘why’ behind what’s driving them.

• Panelists: Travis Brock (MCAA), Rebecca Klein (MCAA), Justin Crandol (SMACNA), Ryan Pollack (TAUC), CNA

This panel will focus on the perspective of three industry contractors from MCAA, SMCNA, and TAUC and will hear their reactions to the Top Trends in our industry while sharing stories from their company’s and markets.

MCAA, SMACNA, and TAUC will welcome attendees to the 2026 Safety and Health conference. Here from MCAA President Brian Hughes, SMACNA, & TAUC. Also hear the 12 month update from Scott Teson on his Journey from the 2025 Safety & Health Conference to today. Join us as we welcome first time attendees, longtime conference goers, and thank our sponsors. Nothing says ‘Safety First’ like collaboration and partnership.

Strengthen relationships with friends & exhibitors at our opening night reception and exhibit and meet new colleagues from around the country. Learn about new innovations your favorite manufacturers have and discover new to world safety technology. Business casual attire.

In this impactful keynote, Patrick Nelson, a combat-wounded veteran and experienced leadership speaker, shares powerful insights and actionable strategies to help organizations eliminate complacency and ignite full engagement at all levels. Drawing from his military background and real-world leadership experiences, Patrick teaches leaders how to foster trust, build accountability, and empower teams to take ownership of their roles. Attendees will leave with practical tools to elevate team performance, combat disengagement, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement—creating lasting change within their organizations.

Strain injuries, muscle aches & pains are one of the leading causes of lost time – and they are often accepted as “ part of the job”. But what if safety strategies focused on worker comfort as one of the first lines of defense? This session explores how wearable exoskeletons are transforming construction safety by helping to reduce strain, improving comfort and helping contractors protect their workforce. Learn how focusing on ergonomics can help lower injury rates, boost productivity, and support long-term retention in a competitive labor market.

In early June 2025, David Keeling, President Trump’s nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor (OSHA), appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, sharing details about how he would lead this agency by prioritizing 3 “straightforward and simple” goals:

• Modernize Regulatory Oversight and Rulemaking: plans to accelerate modernization & technological advancements
• Expand Public/Private Partnerships: expanding OSHA’s leadership and what to know about employer/employee collaborations
• Transform Enforcement: OSHA now can use existing data to greatly enhance on-site safety efforts through predictive analytics – what does that look like in your plant?

That same month, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer told a House committee that OSHA will not scale back enforcement efforts even in light of proposed budget cuts, explaining that Compliance Officers are essential workers who were not able to take advantage of the Department of Government Efficiency’s deferred resignation program offers.

With the first year of the President Trump’s second term drawing to a close, now is an opportune time to look back at the three core goals outlined at the start of the term, evaluate the changes made over the past year, and assess how the landscape will change in workplace safety & health world. We will also share strategies to prepare for and avoid OSHA inspections, when and why to engage OSHA defense counsel, and proactive steps that employers can take concerning in the coming year.

How to create a safety culture of leadership, accountability, and continuous improvement

Incident Investigation Workshop: Legal, Practical, and Preventative Perspectives

As extreme weather events become more frequent, protecting workers from heat-related hazards is more critical than ever. This session will equip safety professionals, supervisors, and operations leaders with the knowledge and tools to effectively manage heat stress in the workplace.

Attendees will:

Gain a clear understanding of the risks and hazards associated with working in extreme temperatures.
Learn how to develop and implement heat stress prevention plans, including hydration strategies, rest schedules, and acclimatization protocols.
Explore current Federal and State OSHA requirements for heat illness prevention and how to stay compliant.
Hear real-world examples of successful heat stress prevention programs across various industries.
Whether you’re building a new program or strengthening an existing one, this session will provide practical insights to help you protect your workforce and reduce heat-related incidents.

Sustainable safety programs don’t start in the boardroom—they thrive in the field. This session explores how empowering frontline employees can transform safety culture from a top-down mandate into a bottom-up movement.

Attendees will:

Understand why field-level engagement is essential for long-term safety success.
Discover practical methods to involve field employees in safety design, decision-making, and accountability.
Learn strategies to shift from enforcement-driven compliance to employee-led ownership of safety practices.
Hear real-world examples of successful employee-led safety initiatives that have driven measurable improvements in performance and morale.
This session is ideal for safety leaders, operations managers, and HR professionals looking to build trust, boost participation, and create a culture where safety is everyone’s responsibility.

This extra time with exhibitors will allow you to dig deeper on innovations during lunch together inside the exhibit hall. You will have another opportunity to discover product safety and breakthroughs in safety technology.

We are bringing back a crowd favorite with this peer to peer open topic conversations. This hour will deepen your understanding for common issues around the country and allow attendees to contribute to addressing concerns, best practices, and help their peers. Bring your topics, questions, and ideas to this impactful session.

This powerful session invites safety professionals to explore the intersection of mental health and leadership through the lens of lived experience. Justin shares his deeply personal journey—from a near-death experience with suicide to becoming a passionate advocate for mindset awareness in the construction industry.
With raw honesty and professional insight, Justin sheds light on the hidden struggles of masking and silent suffering that often go unnoticed on job sites and in boardrooms. Attendees will be challenged to rethink what it means to lead with empathy, engage in proactive mindset maintenance, and model meaningful change within their organizations.
This is more than a motivational session —it’s a movement toward a culture where mental health is prioritized, vulnerability is embraced, and leadership is redefined.

The humanistic side of safety transcends mere compliance with regulatory standards; it emphasizes the profound need to protect lives at all costs. This concept recognizes that behind every statistic are individuals whose lives can be irrevocably altered by workplace injuries or fatalities. The emotional, financial, physical, and mental stress experienced by employees and their families due to such incidents is often overlooked, yet it is a critical aspect of workplace safety. Establishing accountability and clear expectations for safety at all management levels ensures that safety is prioritized across the organization. By making safety a core value, companies demonstrate their commitment to investing in employee well-being, recognizing that the value placed on human life is truly priceless.

This session will give you insight and knowledge on how manufacturers go through the new product development process. We will analyze the stages of development and how Contractors can engage throughout this process.

Being involved with manufacturers throughout the design process is critical to developing a solution that fits your needs. We will go over new product development procedures, showcase rapid prototyping and give you best practices to evaluate

The construction industry can be a dangerous workplace for many workers at the field level. The need for construction workers to be in a safe and sound state of mind to avoid hazards is vital to protecting their health. Artificial Intelligence has the potential to change how companies evaluate risks, protect workers better, and provide all with direct access to knowledge and procedures. Rob McKinney believes in the potential of how technology can reduce risks and improve safety performance. In this presentation, attendees will learn about how new advances in AI can make a positive impact on your organization to create a safer workplace.

Learning Objectives:

1. What is AI… Really
• How to define what Artificial Intelligence is.
• The levels of Artificial Intelligence currently.
• Examples of AI in lifestyle now.

2. How can AI help improve safety workflows?
• Focus first on the problems you are looking to solve, then look for the AI.
• 3 categories: admin tooling, regulatory data, and empowering craftworkers to buy into software.
• The difference between searching and prompting.

3. Examples of AI in current software
• GAMMA for generating presentations.
• Synthesia for generating safety training videos.
• SALUS: for safety documentation creation

This session will review the research results of a two year study on the advantages of type two head protection

This session will focus on the future of construction, emphasizing the role of automation, augmentation, and wearables in creating safer job sites. Presenters from Procore, Kris Lengieza and Juliana Richard Butler, discuss the industry’s challenges, including labor shortages and the need for improved productivity and decision-making. They highlight the importance of technology in attracting new workers and enhancing safety through data-driven solutions.

The landscape of safety management is shifting—from reactive, punitive approaches to proactive, preventative strategies that prioritize system design and human factors. This session explores the critical differences between “Old School” safety, which relies on strict rules and individual blame, and “New School” safety, which embraces collaboration, system improvement, and a deeper understanding of human error.

Attendees will:

Examine how traditional safety models often overlook systemic flaws and discourage open communication.
Learn how “New School” safety management recognizes human fallibility and focuses on building resilient systems that prevent errors before they occur.
Discover practical strategies for integrating proactive safety principles into existing programs.
Hear real-world examples of organizations that have successfully transitioned to employee-centered, system-aware safety cultures.
This session is ideal for safety leaders, managers, and change agents looking to modernize their approach and foster a culture of trust, learning, and continuous improvement.

Handheld laser welding is fast, easy to learn, and produces high quality, consistent results across a wide range of materials and thicknesses. Handheld Laser welding technology is new to manufacturers in the last 5 years. My goal is to educate manufacturers on handheld laser welding safety. During this session I will provide an overview of Handheld Laser Welding with a focus on Safety Requirements, how HHLW differs from Arc welding, and how to create a safe handheld laser welding work cell. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of what is required to create a safe work cell for handheld laser welding, the safety built into IPG’s LightWELD Handheld laser welding system, and the PPE required for Handheld laser welding. I will also cover laser safety officer resources that are available and frequently asked questions related to Handheld laser welding. This presentation will be helpful and educational for Safety Officers in overseeing laser welding operations, including the necessary training and environmental controls that must be in place to maintain a safe working environment.

Join your colleagues for this facilitator lead, thought-provoking, open-topic discussion designed to highlight best practices from across our industries. Whether you have an industry leading program that you’d like to highlight or need fresh ideas to take back to your organization, this session can provide a platform for both. Come ready to engage, speak freely and leave with some great ideas.

When we think of hazard assessment, we often focus on physical or chemical dangers. But what if the most significant hazard in your organization isn’t something you can touch or see? What if it’s your organization’s culture — the way people think and behave every day?

This keynote program examines the hidden hazards in workplace culture that can contribute to safety failures and incidents. Through four key clues, it shows how culture can undermine safety efforts and what leaders can do to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach.

The session will cover:

• Clue 1: “No one will do anything until someone gets hurt” — Why setting clear expectations is critical to safety success.

• Clue 2: “I can’t believe someone would do something so stupid” — The impact of judgmental thinking on safety and collaboration.

• Clue 3: “I just knew someone was going to get hurt doing that” — Why observation skills and purposeful discussion are essential for leaders.

• Clue 4: “You had a lost time injury! What are you going to do about it?” — The reactive mindset that focuses on a be-safe rather than be-successful mentality.

By recognizing these clues, leaders can uncover cultural pitfalls that contribute to incidents and begin building a proactive, preventive culture.

The program also highlights how achieving a culture of success — balancing productivity, quality and safety — is essential for long-term results. That balance depends on four elements: experience, knowledge, focus and pace.

Join us to hear wrap up information and learn about the future of our joint Safety and Health Conference and learn where we are headed to in 2027.

Come celebrate a successful year in safety and health with your fellow safety professionals as we take over Austin, Texas style. This night will bring together good friends, food and conversation just a few blocks away. Wear your cowboy boots and hats!

The Construction Mental Health Summit is a full day workshop that will focus on the importance of understanding and leading through vulnerability, courage, connection, and compassion. Participants will join in this interactive experience to discuss the importance of courage, connection, and compassion in our personal and professional values. There are many things we can do to take care of ourselves at a deeper level as well as take care of those we lead at a deeper level, consider attending the Construction Mental Health Summit

This group breakfast is offered only to registered participants in the Construction Mental Health Summit. Breakfast will be onsite near the room for the summit

This group lunch is offered only to registered participants in the Construction Mental Health Summit. Lunch will be onsite near the room for the summit