Health, safety and security issues are all well covered by the trade fair organisers at home and overseas; here, we list some of the best
Gulf cities are prime locations for trade exhibitions and conferences focusing on all health, safety and security matters, including fire prevention and reaction. Excellent accommodation, time-zone positioning between East and West, splendid air transport links and conferencing facilities second to none, all contribute to the success of annual events such as the recent Saudi Safety & Security in Riyadh. Opportunities to escape the northern winter also play a role in the planning of hard-pressed professionals.
To see the biggest displays of some HSS sectors, it is still advisable to travel overseas to keep ahead of the curve and meet the trend leaders. This, too, includes a number of venues across the ocean in India, of which the he best of these are summarised below.
One of the key categories relates to the combined issues of defence and cross-border security. The Gulf hosts some of these, including Abu Dhabi’s respected ISNR conference/workshop on all aspects of internal security which will next run from 15-17 March 2016. Another is SOFEX in Amman, (9-12 May 2016), which specialises unusually in the role played by suppliers of equipment to special operations forces.
For really big events relating to the military you have to head for cities such as Paris, which will be hosting Defence Security Days on 14-15 October 2015, and Milipol, which focuses on internal state security and takes place in the French capital from 17-20 November 2015. Regional editions of the former event are held regularly in Doha, Qatar.
Also worth considering is Chicago, which will be the venue for a special Total Security Summit on 9-10 November 2015, Baltimore for the SPIE/Defence, Security & Sensing expo from 17-21 April 2016, and Phoenix for a special expo on maintaining cross-border security in the same month. These are all in addition to the big international air shows of course, such as Paris (June 2017), which always have a strong defence component amongst all the other hardware.
Down a notch in terms of official attention, there’s the question of Security in Food Manufacturing – mundane to most, but an issue that is as relevant here in industrialising MENA as anywhere else, thanks to the rapid economic growth of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the challenging conditions all local businesses face in maintaining the all-important “cold chain”.
Occupational safety and health is a huge issue for employers, legislators and workforce-rights specialists everywhere, and a flying visit to influential local OSH events like the GCC Medication Safety Congress in Dubai (17-19 September 2015), and Pharmacovigilance (8-9 December 2015), is seen as a welcome reward for specialists in these Cinderella fields elsewhere. Other major internationals include London’s annual Safety & Health exhibition (always in June) and Arbeitsschutz Aktuell in Hamburg in October next year. Covering all forms of accident prevention, the comprehensive Hamburg event is possibly the most mainstream of all. Also worth considering is the Education & Healthcare Security Forum, which will be held later this year in Dallas (19-20 October).
Conferences on medical specialities are closely associated with OSH, of course, but several of these take place – notably here in the Gulf - that space precludes a mention on this page. An excellent source is the Internet itself. Just enter the <speciality> concerned along with <conferences> and you should find a wide choice of venues and dates, usually supplied by the regional federations and pharmaceutical suppliers.
All forms of IT security (including telecoms) are obviously top priority issues these days, and the Gulf is home to some of the biggest and best events including Intersec Dubai, which is held each year (17-18 January next). E-Crime Dubai (15 March 2016) is another key event, part of an international family of top security-oriented expos. Local PCI shows focus specifically on electronic payment issues.
Outside the region and within the USA there are many ISS events (Intelligence Support Systems) - combined conferences and product exhibitions on all forms of lawful information gathering organised by TeleStrategies, due next from 29 September-1 October this year in Washington D.C. This highly specialised organisation has global reach, and stages similar events in Dubai, Johannesburg and Kuala Lumpur (from 27-29 July and 1-3 December this year in the cases of the last two). The UAE is usually visited by the ISS team in March.
Fire security affects home and business alike, in terms of prevention, detection and response - on the ground and in transit. Fire is covered at most of the big all-purpose security shows such as the various IFSEC events (including Johannesburg next May and London in June) but one of the biggest will be Fireprotect in Frankfurt, next due to be staged on 20 and 21 April 2016. Fire and emergency services are being covered by a special event in Abu Dhabi from 15-17 March 2016.
Of course, there are many technical-cum-trade exhibitions devoted to all forms of transportation safety and security, starting with strategic conference coverage as provided by world-scale organisations like the International Maritime Organisation and International Road Federation. They often hold events specially designed for circumstances here in the Gulf; the IRF ran a training workshop on Safe Design issues in Riyadh earlier this year. Other transport events include general security gatherings like the Transec World Expo in London (2-3 December 2016) and shipping-focused MS&D in Hamburg (a major centre for maritime expos and training, 7 September, also next year).
Finally, special consideration must be given to the many trade- and technology-promoting events devoted to health, safety and security issues that are staged regularly in India, notably in the two metropolises. A lot of these are of special interest to readers in MENA because of the extent of two-way ties with this huge provider of industry-related products and services, and home to general business partners/investors too. These include Fire India (5-7 October this year, New Delhi) and Secutech (March and June 2016, both events to take place in Mumbai).
– Robert Adams
