IRCA, globally recognized pioneers in pure risk management related to Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ), on Tuesday announced the International Risk Management Conference (IRCON) 2008 will be held for the first time in the Middle East under the patronage of Saqer Ghubash, UAE Minister for Labor. Organized by IRCA Middle East, the fourth edition of the two-day annual conference will be held on Dec. 15-16 at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel here. The conference titled “Occupational Health & Safety: Compliance or Performance? The Cost of Getting It Wrong” will provide a unique opportunity for occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals, including co-authors of international standards and technical committee members to exchange views and experiences with industry peers. Conference speakers will present best practices and practical case studies that have created value. Panelists will also address OHS concerns with a wide range of stakeholders across various industry sectors. The Dubai conference will cover topics such as putting an OHS strategy into action, integrated corporate governance, a behavior-based approach to OHS management, and the challenges of growth versus high risk work. Khalid Al Malik, chairman of the Board of IRCA Middle East, said: “With the extensive economic development the GCC has embarked on across various industry verticals, investing in occupational health and safety initiatives has become an inherent part of the long term business value of most reputed organizations. Going forward, it is imperative for businesses to continually strive to set standards related to health and safety that form the core of corporate sustainability. “The IRCON 2008 conference theme will add to the overall thought process and help usher global best practices across various sectors. Health and safety in the modern world can no more be categorized with cost but must be considered a wise investment. Every business wants to see a healthy workforce and ensure systemic measures are in place to assure workplace safety.”
