RECAP: Safety & Health Conference

The 2025 Safety & Health Conference — an event in partnership with SMACNA, MCAA and TAUC — took place January 13-16 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Designed to foster collaboration and offer best practices and resources, the event drew hundreds of safety professionals from throughout the industry.

Jennifer Koss, Controller at GT Mechanical Projects & Design, was one of the attendees from our membership who reported on the success of the conference. Overall, the format this year wasn’t as conducive to networking with peers as in the past, but she thought the breakout sessions were high quality.

“The AI session was fascinating,” Koss said. “It is certainly the way of the future. I thought the training videos the instructor created for his company were excellent, and he did a great job presenting.”

She elaborated on the use of artificial intelligence as it pertains to safety, noting the instructor showcased entire safety compliance videos that were created by loading a script into a software program and choosing an AI avatar and voice to narrate. The best part is that content can be customized based on the company or topic rather than reusing generic content.

Another session Koss attended was a themed escape room experience where participants used mobile devices to access a video based on a real safety incident along with witness statements to complete an accident investigation.

“When we completed one step, the next step opened for us until we found the root cause of the incident,” she said. “I learned a great approach to completing an investigation. I was lacking in that department, so it’s a great tool and resource for me moving forward.”

Fleet risk management was another topic Koss enjoyed, and one that certainly applies to most SMACNA Greater Chicago members. Minimizing risk can include driver training, vehicle maintenance, loading practices and more to help ensure compliance and the safety of all drivers and company assets.