R E F L E C T I O N S
from AMCHAM T&T’s 28th Annual HSSE Conference and Exhibition
LINKAGE Q4 (2024) - HUMAN FACTORS
AMCHAM T&T hosted local and regional HSSE experts and professionals at the 28th Annual HSSE Conference & Exhibition (HSSE 2024) on November 11th and 12th, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency.
In recent years, the Caribbean’s leading HSSE conference has increasingly emphasised the human aspect of fostering a robust HSSE culture. This focus aims to enhance understanding of the causes of workplace accidents and failures.
This year’s theme, HUMAN FACTORS, emphasised the critical role of human behaviour, psychology and culture in creating safe and sustainable workplaces. The two-day event featured an exciting agenda with internationally renowned speakers and thought-provoking discussions on cutting-edge topics aimed at advancing HSSE initiatives across all sectors.
CYBERSECURITY TRACK
A parallel Cybersecurity track also looked into “Human Factors in Cybersecurity”. This segment examined the psychological, social and cognitive dimensions of human behaviour in the digital age.
Expert speakers presented the latest research and innovations in human-centred cybersecurity, covering effective phishing prevention strategies, incident response and threat hunting. Real-world case studies and best practices were presented to show how we can integrate human factors into an organisation’s cybersecurity strategy for a more comprehensive approach to safeguarding digital assets.
HSSE WORKSHOPS
A series of interactive workshops led by industry experts covered the following topics:
• Measuring Scope II and Scope III GHG Emissions
• ESG - Corporate Governance Disclosures
• Practical Approaches to Conducting a Learning Team
• Learning How To Work and What To Do
• Conducting an Ergonomic Assessment
• ARISE Business Continuity Planning
• Creating a Psychologically Safe Workplace (Mid-Level Managers)
Below are some key highlights from this year’s event
Carlos Corraspe, Acting Commissioner of Prisons for the Trinidad & Tobago Prison Service and Keynote Speaker at the opening ceremony of HSSE 2024, did the honours of cutting the ribbon to officially open the exhibition, which showcased over 60 booths – the largest exhibition to date.
Joining him at the ceremony were (l-r) Nirad Tewarie - CEO (AMCHAM T&T), Stuart Franco - President (AMCHAM T&T), Dr. Tyrone Kalpee - Vice President of Business Transformation (Atlantic), and AMCHAM T&T Board of Directors, Natasha Ashby - Vice President of Law and Corporate Secretary (Atlantic), Giselle Thompson - VP Corporate Operations (bpTT) and Glenn Hamel-Smith, Partner, Head - Banking & Finance (Hamel-Smith Law Firm).
Feature Speaker Bob Edwards, Human & Organisational Performance Advocate and Practitioner, facilitated three sessions with insightful discussions on how leaders can shift their mindset to view errors as a natural part of the learning process, rather than as moral failings. He also facilitated a workshop on integrating Human and Organisational Performance (HOP) principles into organisations.
Carlos Corraspe, Acting Commissioner of Prisons for the Trinidad & Tobago Prison Service, emphasised the connection between the business community and the Prisons Service in his feature address, “There is a nexus between the Prisons Service and businesses …For every single offender that we are able to rehabilitate, that is one person less that you have to concern yourself with as a business owner in the context of crime. And to the extent that the offender is rehabilitated, it will mean improved and enhanced public safety for us all.”
AMCHAM T&T President Stuart Franco remarked that this year’s theme “Human Factors” focused on the critical role that human elements played in building strong, resilient safety cultures within organisations and communities. “It’s vital that we shift our perspective—from seeing employees as liabilities to recognising them as assets in our safety efforts. Our goal must always be to create workplaces where employees thrive, not just survive.”
READ his full speech.
Tyrone Kalpee, VP of Business Transformation at Atlantic, spoke about the importance of organisations understanding “our people” in the context of addressing Human Factors when preparing and responding to problems that arise in the workplace.
“Human Factors only drive excellence when we spend time understanding how our people interact with them, and, more importantly, why they may not. Understanding ‘why’ may be more important that retraining on the ‘what’, which we often do in response to an incident,” Kalpee said. “This conference allows us to have a different perspective – to look at ourselves, as leaders or practitioners, that despite our good intent… there is a lot to learn about our interactions and behaviours.”
READ his full speech.
A session on the essential role of partnerships in strengthening disaster resilience and response strategies brought together key stakeholders to share insights and best practices. The expert speakers on this panel collaboratively identified actionable strategies to tackle future challenges.
L-R: Melissa Pierre - Senior Trade & Policy Specialist | AMCHAM T&T (Moderator); Revan Teelucksingh - President | Sewa International TT; Elisa Mariel Trujillo Leyva - Director General | ARISE MX; Aaron Van Alstine - Senior Program Manager for Climate Resilience | Pan American Development Foundation (PADF)
AMCHAM T&T President Stuart Franco (l) led a discussion on “The Business of Risk Mitigation” at the Cybersecurity conference which ran parallel to the HSSE conference. In this session, our expert speakers addressed measures in which organisations can systematically evaluate their cybersecurity posture to strategically allocate resources and implement targeted defenses. L-R: Stuart Franco; Roland Kissoon, VP - Infrastructure Defense Engineering | SASE & Chief Information Security Office – Cyber Security Services | Citi; Hayden Scott, Head, Information Security, Security Management Services | NGC and Ziyaad Khan, Manager of the Information Technology & Systems | Atlantic.
For a second consecutive year the team from
Bliss Safety Ltd. copped the
coveted “Best Booth” prize at the 2024 HSSE exhibition.
At the Youth Forum, students from 20 schools participated in a range of discussions related to climate change, health and safety, and disaster preparedness.