July 2023 Newsletter
SPSP Fall Webinar series
In June, SPSP presented a webinar on the recent product safety developments in the EU and UK. The link to the video of the webinar, their substantive slides, and additional links to further descriptions of the regulations and their text is contained in the SPSP webinar archives. (https://www.productsafetyprofessionals.org/webinar-archive)
SPSP has planned an exciting schedule for this fall’s webinar series. Below are the titles and dates of these webinars. You will receive more detailed announcements for these webinars each month starting in late August.
The programs are:September 13, 2023 – Kids in Danger Design Safety ToolkitOctober 11, 2023 – Warnings update including ANSI Z535.4November 8, 2023 – Instructions and collateral material update including ANSI Z535.6 and Z535.7December 6, 2023 – Recall effectiveness including CPSC’s efforts at improving recallsCrisis Management Course at University of Missouri at St. Louis
The University of Missouri at St. Louis (UMSL) College of Business Administration is hosting a 3-day conference to explore product safety crisis management from different perspectives. The program has been designed and developed by SPSP in collaboration with ADK Information Services.
The program will take place November 7-9 in person at the Anheuser-Busch Hall of the UMSL Business School. The conference has three distinct goals:To provide expert insights into identifying and responding to crisis situationsTo give professionals formal training that includes university-level recognition, andTo provide a network opportunity for professionals from a variety of industries and products to share knowledge on approaches to crisis management Perspectives will include presenters from industry, academia, federal regulator, risk experts, regulatory attorneys, and a former Circuit Judge of the 22nd Judicial Circuit in Missouri.
“Being prepared to deal with a product safety crisis can be the difference between a cost-saving corrective action and company bankruptcy. This program can help those responsible for product safety learn how to identify and manage crises as they arise, thus avoiding serious financial and reputational damage,” according to Don Mays, SPSP President.
The Crisis Management Conference is designed for product safety professionals with three years or more of experience in the field of consumer product safety and compliance. This includes those who work for product manufacturing companies; regional, national, and international retailers; and importers and distributors. Professionals who will benefit from the program are in the disciplines of product design, safe design and related engineers, product risk assessment, human factors, law, compliance, regulatory affairs, product investigations, quality, supply chain, operations, logistics, data management, and related technical fields associated with consumer products.
The program will include a small team group exercise that will develop a framework for how product safety professionals can prepare their companies for an unforeseen crisis that must be addressed under stressful circumstances and often under public scrutiny.
Conference presenters include:Case Study: A public transportation crisis. The anatomy of a public crisis will be discussed by Dr. George Zsidisin, Ph.D. He is The John W. Barriger III Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Missouri, and one of the leading global scholars on supply chain risk, disruptions, and commodity price volatility management.Compliance and Regulatory Affairs: The Crisis Check List that Guides Action: Attorneys Michelle Gillice, partner, and Mike Gentine, Counsel, from the Arnold & Porter law firm, will share their expertise as compliance and regulatory experts, along with their individual backgrounds as staff lawyers at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.Risk Assessment: Reducing risk from product defects and hazards by building a rigorous system before crisis occurs. Don Moffett is an executive leader for Social Compliance, Product Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Compliance. Managing a global crisis: How a small team of engineers resolved a crisis with a simple modification. Tim Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Global Quality/Compliance for Spin Master (retired), has a background in engineering design, safety, and quality. He will use a case study outlining a crisis associated with two million plush toys in global distribution.Public Health Crisis caused by consumer products. Ann Marie Buerkle, former Commissioner (2013-2017) and Acting Chair (2017-2019) of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will draw from high profile experiences at the agency that had direct impact on consumers. Managing Data as a tool under Proactive and Reactive Situations. Haitao Li is Professor and Chair of the Supply Chain & Analytics Department and Founding Director of the Laboratory of Advanced Supply Chain Analytics at University of Missouri – St Louis (UMSL).Legal consequences: How one former judge saw his role in product liability matters. The Honorable Michael David is a former Circuit Judge of the 22nd Judicial Circuit in Missouri with more than forty years of experience.
To register for the conference, click here.
2023 Product Safety Leadership Fundamentals
The Fundamentals program is being hosted this year by the University of Michigan School of Engineering, Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering. The course, which is completely virtual, began June 20 and will conclude on August 11. The methodology for the program centers around the Five Pillars of Product Safety Knowledge (culture, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, product investigations and data, and product recall management).
In addition to the education component, each participant in the program will be presenting a case study that deals with a product safety topic of importance to their companies. Each participant will prepare a presentation for their case study and share it with classmates. The case study project includes providing relevant hand-outs and specific information resources used in developing the case study. Successful completion of the program earns each participant a University of Michigan Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering Certificate of Completion.
The program has been managed by Richard Stern, a 33-year veteran in the product safety profession and consultant with ADK Information Services. His background includes federal service as a General Engineer in the U.S. Department of Energy (1990-1998). He joined the CPSC in 1998 as a Senior Compliance Officer and became an Associate Director, Office of Compliance and Field Operations. After his work with CPSC, Richard was Senior Manager, Global Product Safety for Whirlpool Corporation. He has also served as a Manager with Exponent, Inc., and the Global Product Safety Director for Techtronic Industries, NA.
ICPHSO International Symposium
ICPHSO is holding its 2023 International Symposium on October 26-27, 2023, at IKEA headquarters in Almhult, Sweden. Their two-day symposium’s theme is: “ICPHSO International Symposium 2023 – Celebrating 30 Years of Global Collaboration.”
They are seeking proposals for content for the two-day symposium. The Call for Proposals deadline is 7/14/23. They are looking for fresh, creative ideas relevant to the theme of global collaboration. They also continue to be interested in sessions on other topics to ensure that the program is of broad interest and relevant to all attendees. The Symposium includes IKEA Lab tours and an IKEA – Hosted Welcome Dinner and IKEA Museum Tour.
Registration, hotel, travel information and sponsorship/exhibitor opportunities can all be found on ICPHSO’s website at: https://icphso.org/page/2023Symposium.