Best Practice Presenters
Jesus Alonso
Consultant
Monterrey, Mexico
Jesus Alonso has 32 years of metal mechanical industry experience, working in industries such as automotive, manufacturing of cranes, pressure vessels and distillation columns, as well as, in the air separation industry (Industrial Gases).
Jesus joined Praxair Mexico in 1990 as project engineer. Over the years he had increasingly responsible roles including maintenance manager for bulk distribution equipment, customer services manager for Mexico and Costa Rica, and in 2005 he was named corporate safety leader for Praxair Mexico and Costa Rica, leading assessment process, pre start-up safety review (PSSR´s) for new and refurbished plants, and the management of change process (MOC´s) in ASU´s, VPSA´s, N-plants and Hydrogen plants. Praxair, Inc is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide; the company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings.
Jesus has a bachelor´s degree in mechanical and electrical engineering from Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. Monterrey, Mexico.
He currently has his own company dedicated to provide consulting for improving the safety rates of the companies in the region as well as in the design, manufacturing and maintenance of systems and equipments related with the supply, transport, and storage of cryogenic products.
Presenting:
Ralph Blessing
Consultant, Borderhawk
Acworth, Georgia USA
Ralph Blessing possesses over 25 years of safety and health experience encompassing general industry, construction, training and public speaking. Ralph began his safety career while in the United States Navy stationed on Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean. As the base safety officer he was responsible for the 5000 military and civilian personnel that were permanently assigned to the island, in addition to those transiting the area.
Upon retiring from the U.S. Navy, Ralph accepted employment in Saudi Arabia where he was a technical trainer at the Royal Saudi Air Force School of Command, Control and Communications. Ralph was also the first corporate safety director for McKenneys, Inc. mechanical contractors and built the safety program from the ground up. Within his first 6 years McKenneys, Inc. achieved 1 million hours of work without sustaining a lost time injury on three separate occasions. Ralph continues to advise McKenneys on safety issues.
Ralph possesses a M.S. in Occupational Safety and Health and is an adjunct professor at both Southern Polytechnic State University in the Construction Management Program and at the College of Safety and Environmental Studies at Columbia Southern University. In addition, he has conducted safety classes that have trained in excess of 4000 personnel. He was the first safety professional appointed to the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) as a trustee and sat on the SMACNA safety committee.
He speaks fluent German and Spanish.
Presenting:
Heinz Bloch
Consulting Engineer, Process Machinery Consulting
Westminster, Colorado USA
Heinz Bloch is a graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology (BSME, MSME, Cum Laude). After his retirement from Exxon Chemical Central Engineering (in Baytown, TX), he worked as a consulting engineer and author of 17 books. He is the equipment/reliability editor of Houston-based Hydrocarbon Processing and has published over 460 papers and articles on reliability improvement subjects. For several decades, he has advised industry on maintenance cost reduction and reliability improvement issues and has taught over 500 equipment uptime improvement courses on all six continents.
Presenting:
- Training Reliability Engineers to Add Long-Term Value
- Detailed Up-Front Machinery Quality Assessments (MQA) -- a Key Prerequisite to Reliable Major Machinery
Ken Bloch
Lead Process Reliability Engineer, Flint Hills Resources
St. Paul, Minnesota USA
Ken Bloch is the Lead Process Reliability Engineer at Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota. He is responsible for preventing and investigating process driven failures on refinery assets. Ken has published articles featuring equipment failure analysis, life cycle extension, and reliability improvement in Hydrocarbon Processing and Chemical Engineering magazines, and speaks regularly at the API/NPRA Operating Practices Symposium, NPRA National Safety Conference, and AIChE Loss Prevention Symposium. Ken holds a B.S. degree (honors) from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas as well as API -510, 570, and 653 Inspection Certifications.
Presenting:
Ralph Brickey
Consultant
Kingston, Tennessee USA
Ralph Brickey’s experience in facilitating individuals and teams through insight-based learning experiences and working with teams to enhance effectiveness and performance has given him an appreciation for the potential for sustainable high performance within every organization. His work with exceptional leaders, from executives to first line workers in different organizations, has confirmed the importance of developing the spirit of leaders to enable them to inspire organizations to achieve excellent results.
Ralph worked for twenty-eight years with the Tennessee Valley Authority in multiple roles including Nuclear I&C Maintenance and Training, Training Accreditation Manager, and Program Manager for a major culture change initiative. Ralph holds a Doctor of Education in Collaborative Learning from the University of Tennessee and multiple technical undergraduate degrees. His research interests are dialogue, reflective practice and problem solving. Ralph is curious about almost everything and interested in the rest.
Ralph currently facilitates root cause analysis, equipment troubleshooting and train-the-trainer courses in North America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the South Pacific.
“I am excited about partnering with organizations to explore and appreciate together what I believe is the unlimited potential for growth and excellence of performance in both individuals and teams to create healthy high performance safety cultures.”
Ralph worked for twenty-eight years with the Tennessee Valley Authority in multiple roles including Nuclear I&C Maintenance and Training, Training Accreditation Manager, and Program Manager for a major culture change initiative. Ralph holds a Doctor of Education in Collaborative Learning from the University of Tennessee and multiple technical undergraduate degrees. His research interests are dialogue, reflective practice and problem solving. Ralph is curious about almost everything and interested in the rest.
Ralph currently facilitates root cause analysis, equipment troubleshooting and train-the-trainer courses in North America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the South Pacific.
“I am excited about partnering with organizations to explore and appreciate together what I believe is the unlimited potential for growth and excellence of performance in both individuals and teams to create healthy high performance safety cultures.”
Presenting:
- Human Performance Improvement
- Behavior Based Safety and TapRooT®
- Planning Your Improvements
- Testing and Qualifying Your Investigators
Dr. Beverly Chiodo
Professor, Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas USA
Dr. Chiodo is a professor in the Department of Management at Texas State University. Dr. Jerry Supple, former President of Texas State, said she has won every teaching award the university offers, and she's been recognized for her teaching effectiveness at the state and national levels as well. In 1996, she was featured as "Hero of the Day" by CBS national TV program -- This Morning. In 1997, Beverly was named "The Best Business Professor in the Nation" by the National Business Education Association. She has published widely in her field and is a frequent presenter at seminars and conferences.
Beverly earned her BBA degree from Baylor University, her MBA from Texas Tech, and her Ph.D. from Texas A&M. She is known by her students as the "Doctor of Encouragement." Beverly says that her teaching philosophy can be summed up in the proverb which says, "A wise teacher makes learning a joy."
Beverly earned her BBA degree from Baylor University, her MBA from Texas Tech, and her Ph.D. from Texas A&M. She is known by her students as the "Doctor of Encouragement." Beverly says that her teaching philosophy can be summed up in the proverb which says, "A wise teacher makes learning a joy."
Presenting:
David Davis
Regional Quality Mgmt/Accred. Support Coordinator, Clinical Operations, SE Region Medical Command
Grovetown, Georgia USA
David Davis is a seasoned health care clinician and administrator with 20+ years diversified hospital and corporate
operational management experience. He thrives in challenging, high energy start up ventures, turnarounds,
and performance oriented organizations. David has been characterized as an innovative leader, communicator, project
manager and customer relations advocate. He has the ability to apply technology-based solutions to complex business
demands. David is an expert in all aspects of risk management and patient safety, including analysis and resolution of
patient care issues, reducing legal claims and eliminating medical misadventures.
David is the Department of Defense 2006 Patient Safety Award Winner for Most Innovative Solution to Address a Joint
Commission National Patient Safety Goal.
He is a professional consultant, educator and speaker. His public speaking/teaching engagements include:
“Failure Mode and Effects Analysis for Health Care: Introductory Training Course.” Annual 2008 International
TapRooT® Summit, Las Vegas, NV.
“Lean Six Sigma and Root Cause Analysis: Principles and Methodologies.” Annual 2007 International
TapRooT® Summit, San Antonio, TX.
“An Enterprise Solution to a Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal: The Standardized Handoff.”
Annual 2007 Department of Defense, State of the Military Healthcare System, Washington, D.C.
“Medical Accident Investigation: An Algorithm.” US Army Medical Command 2005 Patient Safety and Risk
Management Conference, San Antonio, TX.
operational management experience. He thrives in challenging, high energy start up ventures, turnarounds,
and performance oriented organizations. David has been characterized as an innovative leader, communicator, project
manager and customer relations advocate. He has the ability to apply technology-based solutions to complex business
demands. David is an expert in all aspects of risk management and patient safety, including analysis and resolution of
patient care issues, reducing legal claims and eliminating medical misadventures.
David is the Department of Defense 2006 Patient Safety Award Winner for Most Innovative Solution to Address a Joint
Commission National Patient Safety Goal.
He is a professional consultant, educator and speaker. His public speaking/teaching engagements include:
“Failure Mode and Effects Analysis for Health Care: Introductory Training Course.” Annual 2008 International
TapRooT® Summit, Las Vegas, NV.
“Lean Six Sigma and Root Cause Analysis: Principles and Methodologies.” Annual 2007 International
TapRooT® Summit, San Antonio, TX.
“An Enterprise Solution to a Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal: The Standardized Handoff.”
Annual 2007 Department of Defense, State of the Military Healthcare System, Washington, D.C.
“Medical Accident Investigation: An Algorithm.” US Army Medical Command 2005 Patient Safety and Risk
Management Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Presenting:
Kay Gallogly
Founder, The 42 Group, LLC
Newark, Delaware USA
Kay Gallogly is an organizational effectiveness consultant in the nuclear power industry. Kay’s focus areas are incident investigation, human performance, and safety culture. She has been investigating incidents since 1992. Prior to starting her own company, Kay worked for Exelon for 13 years in a number of capacities including six years of technical fieldwork. She has a BA in Organizational Management and an MBA.
Presenting:
Sanjay Gandhi
COO, Kurrent Technologies Ltd
Nairobi, Kenya USA
Presenting:
Tommy Garnett
Vice President - Business Operations, Patient Safety Solutions & Consulting, Inc.
Pittsview, Alabama USA
Tommy Garnett has 20 years of experience in Patient Safety & Risk Management. He is a Registered Nurse, a Certified Trauma Nurse, and a Flight Nurse. Tommy graduated from the American Institute of Medical Law, and is a licensed and Board Certified Healthcare Risk Manager. He is also Certified as a DoD Healthcare TapRoot® Instructor.
Presenting:
Malcolm Gresham
Managing Director, Practical Solutions Group
Osborne Park WA, AUSTRALIA
Malcolm Gresham has been a Certified TapRooT® instructor since 2006.
• BCom in Information System
• Completing Masters in Risk Management
•17 Years experience including Risk Management consulting, systems analysis, systems development and training
• Facilitated investigations for clients in the Mining, Maritime, Rail and Petrochemical industries
• Has worked throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, PNG, US and Canada.
• BCom in Information System
• Completing Masters in Risk Management
•17 Years experience including Risk Management consulting, systems analysis, systems development and training
• Facilitated investigations for clients in the Mining, Maritime, Rail and Petrochemical industries
• Has worked throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, PNG, US and Canada.
Presenting:
Bruce Huber
Vice President, Mining & Services, inthinc Technology Solutions
Salt Lake City, Utah USA
Bruce Huber, Certified Mine Safety Professional, is the Vice President, Mining & Services for inthinc Technology Solutions based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
After 34 years in the mining business Bruce retired at the end of 2011 as Barrick Gold's Senior Director, Safety & Occupational Health. Subsequently, he joined inthinc Technology Solutions. He started his career as a music teacher followed with a stint in politics then ultimately began his mining career the hard way back in the 1970s - as an underground miner in Lead, South Dakota. Since 1991, he held progressively senior positions in mine safety and health with Homestake Mining Company and Barrick Gold. With Barrick, Bruce had responsibility for global operations including 33,000 workers around the world. Bruce was part of the development team and instrumental in implementing Barrick’s enviable Courageous Safety Leadership program which changed the culture within Barrick and has been modeled by numerous other companies. He remains passionate about achieving Barrick’s Safety Vision of ‘every person going home safe and healthy every day’" across all industries.
Leadership presentations include: Conferences: Missouri Mining S&H; Alberta Safety Conference; Utah S&H; ISMSP; SME; NAEM, NAFA, Mine Site Automation Conf. Companies: FNX Mining; Dynatec; Johnson Matthey Refineries; Montana Resources; Raytheon; Rockwell Petroleum; Risk Administration Services; IAMGold, Nexen, PestSure. Copesan, Sunshine Silver Mines. At the International Society of Mine Safety Professionals 2009 Critical Issues Conference Huber was presented with the prestigious Highest Degree of Safety – International Award. At the 2010 CIC he was presented with a Lifetime Membership to the Society.
Presenting:
David Janney
Senior Associate, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Dave Janney is a Senior Associate for System Improvements, Inc. He is retired from Delta Air Lines where he was the Corporate Safety Manager/Quality Auditor, and was a former OSHA VPP Special Government Employee. Dave is a Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, Quality Auditor, and Quality Improvement Associate (American Society for Quality), and is an authorized outreach trainer of OSHA 10/30 hour courses. He has a BS in Business Management, and an MBA in International Management.
Presenting:
- Planning Your Improvements
- Proactive Accident Prevention
- HSEQ Management & Management Systems
- Using TapRooT® to Prevent Serious Injuries and Fatalities
Buddy Lee
Consultant
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Buddy Lee has a BS in Electrical Engineering. He has a rotating/reciprocating machinery health and reliability background. He is the co-holder of U.S. Patent #6,276,213 for signal-conditioning of online systems. Buddy is the co-founder of the Greater East Tennessee SMRP Chapter, Chairman of the Membership Committee for the National SMRP and is a Charter Member of Association of Maintenance Professionals (AMP) Steering Committee.
Presenting:
- Significant Reductions in Chronic Equipment Reliability Issues
- MTC & Safety Improvement - How They Are Related
Kevin McManus
President, Great Systems!
Rainier, Oregon USA
Kevin McManus is the President of Great Systems! and provides performance improvement coaching from his office in Rainier, Oregon. He is a TapRooT® instructor, and has served as an Industrial Engineer, Training Manager, Production Manager, Plant Manager, and Director of Quality during his 29 year business career. He has served as an Examiner and Senior Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for ten years. Kevin also writes the monthly Performance Improvement column for Industrial Engineer magazine and is a regular speaker at a variety of regional and national events.
Presenting:
- The Role of Management in Ensuring Effective Root Cause Analysis
- Planning Your Improvements
- Operational Excellence in TapRooT®
Akivah L. Dixon Northern
Yale University
Akivah Northern is an international speaker, global educator and radio host. She brings a unique blend of educational, research and professional expertise to her work as the Founder of Global ALLWELL. Akivah studied medicine for two years at Howard University College of Medicine and received a Masters of Divinity from Yale University. Akivah’s work bridges the gap between medicine and ministry by identifying evidence based practices that are relational determinants of individual and family health. Akivah is currently working on her doctorate at New York Theological Seminary examining how spiritual practices, such as contemplation, altruism and sacred narratives contribute to our physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Akivah founded Global ALLWELL (or Global Affiliates Living and Loving at the Well) to further define and practice her interdisciplinary work. The mission of Global ALLWELL is global healing one heart, one relationship, and one family at a time. Last year Akivah traveled to seven different countries including Ireland, England, France, Italy, Spain, Israel/Palestine, and Nigeria, teaching, preaching and counseling. During her travels Akivah met many people and families who were resilient and happy. However, she also encountered many who shared their deeply personal stories of woundedness.
From her Ministry of Healing, Akivah has discovered that unhealed, intergenerational wounds are at the core of many personal, family, social and even global problems; and that very few global efforts are addressing these repeating and very human relational patterns. Because we share many common relationship challenges (domestic violence, childhood abuse and economic, social and political oppression) with people from all around the world, the mission of Global ALLWELL is to work globally with affiliates on root causes and to bring about open dialogue, shared problem-solving and global wellness.
Global ALLWELL is in the global marketplace offering three things; 1) effective, culturally sensitive and practical healing solutions to individual and family problems; 2) sacred spaces for families and individuals to heal, retreat and reconcile; and 3) educational materials that record sacred stories reminding us of the power of God’s love to heal us.
Akivah is on the board of directors of the Women’s Healing and Empowerment Network or WHEN, an international network of women and men who operate Christ-centered healing centers around the world; and the Center for Global Dialogue in Santa Barbara, California, an association of groups and individuals that foster non-partisan discussion of significant and challenging issues in the global village. In January, 2013 Akivah will launch a new on-line weekly, question and answer column with the Santa Barbara Independent, entitled “Matters of the Heart.”
Akivah lives in Santa Barbara, CA. Her late husband of forty three years, Babatunde Folayemi was the first Santa Barbara City Councilmen of African descent in the city’s 250 year history. The couple often ministered together in their home. They have one adult son, Cinque Folayemi Northern, who is an award winning independent filmmaker.
Presenting:
Mark Olson
Reliability Consultant, MFO Services
Hibbing, Minnesota USA
Mark Olson is a Reliability Consultant for MFO Services. He is an experienced TapRooT® Instructor and Investigator with an impressive resume of valuable experience including 25 years in the petrochemical industry. Other experience includes facilitating RCFA for safety, environmental and equipment failure incidents, and conducting FMEA to develop equipment reliability improvement strategies; re-engineering a maintenance/reliability business process and providing RCFA facilitation for reliability improvement; and extensive management experience in an industrial setting.
Presenting:
Dennis Osmer
Senior EHS Consultant, Progress Through Performance
Suwanee, Georgia USA
Dennis Osmer has over 40 years of industrial experience - the last 7 years of his career as the World Wide Head of Health, Safety, Environment at CIBA Vision. There, he was responsible for the HSE activities for all of CVs operations (14 supply chain sites, 37 sales & marketing group companies, 11,000 employees on 3 continents).
As the Head of HSE, he instituted multiple systems for accident reduction. In particular, he established systems for root cause analysis of accidents and targeted corrective actions. The achievement was a reduction in workers’ comp cost from $3MM per year, to less than $150k per year. Additionally, the global Lost Time Incident Rate was reduced to 0.07 and the recordable rate to 0.79.
He is currently a consultant in Occupational Health, Safety, Environment, Emergency Management, and Business Continuity. He also is an instructor and investigator for TapRooT®.
Presenting:
Kevin Palardy
Consultant
Calgary, Alberta CANADA
Kevin Palardy has enjoyed an international career working with thousands of teams in a variety of business development initiatives for over 15 years.
Kevin has been instrumental in leading thousands of groups through the TapRooT® process to identify and implement best practices to improve business performance.
Kevin has previously held positions, in QHSE, Corporate Development Specialist and Celebrity Liaison. He is the founder of a multi-million dollar investment firm and for 'fun' consults to an international group of companies in the area of business improvement.
He currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his wife and two children.
Kevin has been instrumental in leading thousands of groups through the TapRooT® process to identify and implement best practices to improve business performance.
Kevin has previously held positions, in QHSE, Corporate Development Specialist and Celebrity Liaison. He is the founder of a multi-million dollar investment firm and for 'fun' consults to an international group of companies in the area of business improvement.
He currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his wife and two children.
Presenting:
Mark Paradies
President, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Mark Paradies is President of System Improvements, Inc., a firm specializing in performance improvement and root cause analysis. He has 29 years of experience operating, managing, and improving high reliability systems. Mark started his career as an officer in Admiral Rickover’s Nuclear Navy. He also worked for DuPont and Westinghouse before starting System Improvements in 1988. Currently, Mark researches performance improvement strategies and helps senior management understand, plan, and implement performance improvement programs while he manages System Improvements and teaches TapRooT® Courses.
Mark has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering (with emphasis on Human Factors), both from the University of Illinois. Mark is a board certified Professional Ergonomist, and a Certified Hazard Control Manager. He was also Engineer Certified by training, testing, and experience by Navsea 08.
Mark has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering (with emphasis on Human Factors), both from the University of Illinois. Mark is a board certified Professional Ergonomist, and a Certified Hazard Control Manager. He was also Engineer Certified by training, testing, and experience by Navsea 08.
Presenting:
- Deepwater Horizon and Texas City: What Should We Learn About Accident Investigation & Process Safety?
- Proactive Root Cause Analysis: Why You Need It and How You Do It
- Planning Your Improvements
- Serious Injuries and Fatalities: Common Factors and Lessons Learned
Barb Phillips
Editorial Director, System Improvements
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Barb Phillips has been with System Improvements since 2006. Her professional background includes work in human resources and legal. She is also a Certified Professional Coach who researches and publishes works about human behaviors. She earned her undergraduate degree from Indiana University.
Presenting:
Ken Reed
Senior Associate and Equifactor® Program Manager, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Ken Reed brings 21 years of US Navy nuclear operator and supervisor experience to System Improvements, having served on numerous fast attack, ballistic missile, and research submarines. He is currently the Project Manager for the Equifactor® Equipment Troubleshooting module of the TapRooT® software, overseeing course and software updates and revisions. He holds a B.S. in Electronics Management from Southern Illinois University. He was born and raised in Watertown, NY, and currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Presenting:
- Planning Your Improvements
- TapRooT® Users Share Root Cause Best Practices
- Optimizing Investigations
- TapRooT® Certified Instructor Recertification Workshop
Alan Scott
Associate Instructor, Matrix Risk Control (UK) Ltd
Aberdeen, UK
Presenting:
Robert Shaw
Pedestrian Safety Specialist, Health and Safety Laboratory
Harpur Hill, Buxton UK
Rob Shaw is a Pedestrian Safety Specialist from the Health and Safety Laboratory in the UK. Rob has worked in this area since 2004. During this time he has conducted research into the causes of slip, trip and fall accidents and has been involved in hundreds of site based investigations. Over the last nine years Rob's work has focused on finding practical solutions to real world problems and educating people about the causes of, and solutions to, pedestrian safety issues. His work has taken him into a wide range of environments from retail spaces to manufacturing sites, transport interchanges and healthcare premises.
Rob has developed expertise in investigating stair falls, accidents that cause a significant number of serious injuries and fatalities annually in the UK and worldwide. This led him to develop a stair fall toolkit and training package to enable business owners and health and safety professionals to undertake an assessment of risk, identify examples of good and bad practice and make relevant improvements to stairs where necessary.
Rob is a self confessed nerd with a love of motorsport and gaming.
Rob has developed expertise in investigating stair falls, accidents that cause a significant number of serious injuries and fatalities annually in the UK and worldwide. This led him to develop a stair fall toolkit and training package to enable business owners and health and safety professionals to undertake an assessment of risk, identify examples of good and bad practice and make relevant improvements to stairs where necessary.
Rob is a self confessed nerd with a love of motorsport and gaming.
Presenting:
William Sirois
Senior Vice President & COO, Circadian Technologies
Stoneham, MA USA
Bill Sirois is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Circadian Technologies, a leading research, information and consulting firm specializing in reducing the costs, risks and liabilities of shiftwork and extended hours operations. Bill has a chemical engineering and ergonomics background, with more than three decades of operational management and consulting experience in the areas of health, safety, and productivity.
Presenting:
Ed Skompski
Vice President, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Ed Skompski has been with System Improvements since 1996, and has taught and specialized in performance improvement through teaching the TapRooT® System for root cause analysis, performing and facilitating investigation, and helping companies implement performance improvement programs. He has taught hundreds of training courses around the world at both client sites and through public seminars.
Ed has been a Partner since 2000, and a VP since 2006. He is currently manager of software development, technical support, e-commerce, and network support. Additional responsibilities include client management, training, and product development. Ed has also spearheaded the projects focused on reducing medical errors in the healthcare industry through the implementation of root cause analysis techniques.
Prior to joining System Improvements Ed provided environmental evaluation, remediation consulting and project supervision for Radian Corporation and Law Engineering.
Ed has been a Partner since 2000, and a VP since 2006. He is currently manager of software development, technical support, e-commerce, and network support. Additional responsibilities include client management, training, and product development. Ed has also spearheaded the projects focused on reducing medical errors in the healthcare industry through the implementation of root cause analysis techniques.
Prior to joining System Improvements Ed provided environmental evaluation, remediation consulting and project supervision for Radian Corporation and Law Engineering.
Presenting:
- Medical Case Study Presentation
- Comparison of Risk and Reliability in the Healthcare and Nuclear Industries
- Joplin Disaster: Lessons Learned
- Planning Your Improvements
Alan Smith
Director, Matrix Risk Control Ltd.
Broadford, Isle of Skye UK
Presenting:
Steve Swarthout
President, Performance Improvement of Virginia, Inc.
Mineral, Virginia USA
Steve Swarthout is President and Senior Partner of Performance Improvement of Virginia, Inc. He has 40 years of engineering/equipment troubleshooting experience, and has taught TapRooT® to thousands of people. He has held a Senior Reactor Operator license at a commercial nuclear utility and facilitated over 100 incident investigations.
Presenting:
Brian W. Tink
President, Watershape Safety Analysis
Haliburton, Ontario CANADA
Brian Tink specialized in health, safety and environmental matters during the latter part of Brian Tink's career at Hydro One (starting in 1994). Before pursuing other interests, he held the title of Manager of Health, Safety & Environment Field Support for Hydro One Networks, Inc. This branch of Hydro One delivers electrical service to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario, Canada. Hydro One owns over 90,000 miles of Transmission and Distribution Lines, serves 1.3 million customers with 4,600 regular employees.
In this position, while reporting to the VP HSE, he was called to analyze and investigate safety incidents that occurred. He has facilitated or been part of the action plan development for numerous investigations, approximately 30-40 per year since 2000. The position involved working with and reviewing incident reports and action plans with other Line of Business VP’s and Directors. The lines of business included Construction, Lines, Station Maintenance and Forestry type work activities. He has also been called to lead or participate in investigations where a high level of scrutiny is expected for the results or there is significant need to identify areas of improvement.
During his career, he had the opportunity to attend an extensive amount of training and seminars. The training resulted in becoming a Certified Registered Safety Professional in Canada and a Certified Utility Safety Administrator through the National Safety Council in the USA. Both of these certifications require safety management theoretical knowledge, testing and several years safety management experience.
In this position, while reporting to the VP HSE, he was called to analyze and investigate safety incidents that occurred. He has facilitated or been part of the action plan development for numerous investigations, approximately 30-40 per year since 2000. The position involved working with and reviewing incident reports and action plans with other Line of Business VP’s and Directors. The lines of business included Construction, Lines, Station Maintenance and Forestry type work activities. He has also been called to lead or participate in investigations where a high level of scrutiny is expected for the results or there is significant need to identify areas of improvement.
During his career, he had the opportunity to attend an extensive amount of training and seminars. The training resulted in becoming a Certified Registered Safety Professional in Canada and a Certified Utility Safety Administrator through the National Safety Council in the USA. Both of these certifications require safety management theoretical knowledge, testing and several years safety management experience.
Presenting:
Ken Turnbull
President, Ken Turnbull Consulting
Houston, Texas USA
Presenting:
Linda Unger
Vice President, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Linda Unger is Vice President of System Improvements, Inc. She first became involved in incident investigation and root cause analysis in 1986 as a field engineer working for DuPont where she performed investigations into operating and maintenance problems. Since that time she has become an expert in root cause analysis, incident investigation, and development of performance improvement programs. Currently, Linda helps clients use TapRooT® as part of their performance improvement program by developing implementation strategies. In addition, Linda is responsible for the development of the 2-Day TapRooT® Training program and licensing of TapRooT® Training and Software to clients. She also teaches TapRooT® Courses.
Presenting:
- TapRooT® Users Share Root Cause Best Practices
- TapRooT® Certified Instructor Recertification Workshop
- Planning Your Improvements
Chris Vallee
Senior Associate, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Chris Vallee is a Senior Associate and TapRooT® Instructor with System Improvements, Inc. Chris has 18 years of experience in the aviation industry (from repairing to building aircraft cradle to first flight). A Six Sigma Black Belt with a Human Factors in Psychology Masters Degree, he often spends one-on-one time with many of our clients in process improvement and TapRooT® company implementation.
Presenting:
- Proactive Quality Improvement Using Mistake Proofing
- Planning Your Improvements
- Trending Using the TapRooT® Software
Dan Verlinde
Director of Information Technology & Software Deve, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Dan Verlinde has been with System Improvements since 2006 overseeing the development and technical support of all TapRooT® software. Prior to joining System Improvements, Dan was a Business Systems Analyst for an international third-party certification company. There he oversaw the implementation, development and support of a business software used for performing audits to international standards. In addition to his education at the University of Michigan, Dan has had formal training in SQL, Crystal, Software Administration and Lean principles.
Presenting:
- Best Practices for Software Implementation
- Building Reports from the TapRooT® Software
- Trending Using the TapRooT® Software
- What's New in the TapRooT® Software
- Planning Your Improvements
- Feedback for Future TapRooT® Software Development
Frank Verschueren
Labour & Process Safety Inspector, Federal Services for Labor
Schikde BELGIUM
Frank Verschueren is since 2003 Inspector for Labour and Process Safety for Major Hazards Industries under the (European) Seveso Regulation. He joined the Belgian Federal Government after a 20 years career in the Industry where he had several Management Positions.
One of his competencies is the investigation of accidents and incidents.
As Inspector he has several different experiences:
- executing his own investigations of Major Accidents or Incidents
- evaluating the investigations of Labour Accidents performed by industrial companies under his enforcement
- auditing the systems for investigating accidents and incidents implemented by the major hazards industries under the Seveso regulation.
He was introduced to TapRooT® in a two-day formation in Root Cause Analysis by Marc Paradies and Alan Scott.
One of his competencies is the investigation of accidents and incidents.
As Inspector he has several different experiences:
- executing his own investigations of Major Accidents or Incidents
- evaluating the investigations of Labour Accidents performed by industrial companies under his enforcement
- auditing the systems for investigating accidents and incidents implemented by the major hazards industries under the Seveso regulation.
He was introduced to TapRooT® in a two-day formation in Root Cause Analysis by Marc Paradies and Alan Scott.
Presenting:
Scott Waddle
President, The Waddle Group
Cary, North Carolina USA
Scott Waddle is the President of The Waddle Group in Cary, North Carolina.
* 11 years as Executive Coach specializing in Human Performance
* 3 years in Engineering, Procurement and Construction of Gas Insulated Switch Gear for global power systems company
* Former Commanding Officer of a Los Angeles Class Fast Attack Submarine
* MS in National Resource Strategy National Defense University
* BS in Chemistry United States Naval Academy
Presenting:
Jim Whiting
Principal Risk Engineer & MD, R@W - Risk at Workplaces Pty Ltd
Indooroopilly, Queensland AUSTRALIA
Jim Whiting is an internationally known risk engineer and HSE expert.
• 25 Years experience in risk management, safety and performance improvement
• Former Chief Executive Officer of the National Safety Council of Australia
• 18 Years experience as a Senior Lecturer in Medical Physics & Bioengineering
• 25 Years experience in risk management, safety and performance improvement
• Former Chief Executive Officer of the National Safety Council of Australia
• 18 Years experience as a Senior Lecturer in Medical Physics & Bioengineering
Presenting:
Michelle Wishoun
Licensing Paralegal, System Improvements, Inc.
Knoxville, Tennessee USA
Michelle Wishoun has been with System Improvements since 2007 as the Licensing Paralegal and TapRooT® Implementation Strategist. She writes Licenses for clients and assists with negotiations. She also maintains and oversees the Certified TapRooT® Instructor database information and helps clients become certified. Michelle has her BS in Legal Studies and AS in Paralegal Studies as well as some informal training.
Presenting:
