Mel James embodied safety and health in the workplace. He chose to spend 27 years in state service in compliance and consultation, supporting the mission of the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act.

Mel began his career with L&I in 1981, working in the Mount Vernon office as a safety compliance officer. His primary responsibility was sawmill safety and other wood-products related activities.  He chose to continue his career in worker safety with the Division of  Occupational Safety and Health, working in the Everett, Tacoma, Seattle, Olympia and Tumwater offices. 

​​Throughout his career, Mel was a big supporter and  government representative of local industry-based safety and health groups such as the Puget Sound Safety  Summit, ​ the Western Pulp, Paper and Forest Products Safety and Health Conference and the Region X  Voluntary Protection Program Participants Association.

Agenda

8:00     Welcome and Opening Remarks
            Joel Sacks, Department of Labor and Industries Director
            Jeffrey Killip, DOSH Acting Deputy Assistant Director 
            Terry Schulte, Chairperson, VPPPA
9:00     Break
9:20     Who Pushed Autopilot?
             Mark D. Norton, MAOM, RSP, CSSM. Norton Safety Services, LLC.
10:20   Break
10:40   Safety Culture: What is it, how do we know where we are, and how do we improve it?
            Soren Bjerregaard, CSP, MBA; Ben McCormack, CSP
            Safety Management Consultants. SAIF Corporation.
11:40   Break
12:00   Dare to Lead - Courage Over Comfort When It Matters Most
            Amy Leneker, MPA, Leadership Consultant & Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator. The Leneker Team
1:00     Closing and Adjourn

​In 1982, OSHA began the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), and in the mid-1990s, after much work and dedication, Mel brought VPP to Washington State.

 In 1985, the Voluntary Protection Program Participants Association (VPPPA) was founded. The VPPPA is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to share the benefits of cooperative programs. In 1996, the OSHA Region X Chapter of the VPPPA was formalized. Mel hosted the first two Regional Conferences here in Tumwater in  1996 and 1997.

Mel received much-deserved recognition and accolades for his work during his 27-year career. But he didn’t do it for the recognition. He did it because he loved public service, whether it was his years serving our country in the U.S. Marines and Air Force, or the years serving the good people of Washington State.

His goal was to ensure that everyone went home safely at the end of the night. Mel had not only a deep passion and commitment for worker safety, but also an incredible gift of building strong relationships with both management and employees. Because of that commitment, passion and gift, Mel James’ legacy in the worker safety and health arena will be remembered for years to come.
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Mel passed away on May 3, 2015. In his honor, we  established the Melvin E. James Honorary Lectures on  Safety. Thank you for joining us to continue the work that meant so much to Mel.

Session Descriptions

Who Pushed Autopilot?
Mark D. Norton, MAOM, RSP, CSSM, Norton Safety Services, LLC.
NortonSafetySvc@aol.com
 
Organizations can find themselves running on “autopilot”, shaping or reshaping behaviors and beliefs, often, in a negative way and without even knowing it. This practice increases the potential for organizational breakdowns, leading to a dysfunctional safety management system. When new situations arise, opportunities for improvement go unnoticed, leadership roles are not clear and employees remain confused, fostering ineffective communication. Organizational safety cultures struggle to hit maximum potential, because they are working from a position of minimal input.
 
Safety Culture: What is it, how do we know where we are, and how do we improve it?
Soren Bjerregaard, CSP, MBA; Ben McCormack, CSP
sorbje@saif.com                                     
benmcc@saif.com
 
Written safety programs, policies, procedures and employee training is required by rule. They help to ensure a safe work environment. Having a strong safety culture is not required by rules but is a critical component of any effective safety program. Safety culture is a concept that can be difficult to understand and apply. During this workshop we will discuss safety culture as well as how to assess and improve it at your own workplace.
Learning objectives:
After the training participants will be able to:

• List and describe key features of a strong safety culture.
• Analyze your own organization to determine where you are.
• Propose and evaluate corrective measures.

Click Here to Access the Ansbro Safety Culture Spectrum to Follow Along During the Presentation!
 
Dare to Lead™ - Choose Courage over Comfort when it Matters Most
Amy Leneker, MPA, Leadership Consultant & Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator, The Leneker Team
amy@TheLenekerTeam.com
 
Creating and maintaining safe workplaces takes courage. How do we build courageous cultures at work? Based on the groundbreaking research of Brené Brown in the book Dare to Lead, this workshop will explore the four skill sets of courage, and how to bring those skills to life in organizations.