Keynote Speakers

Wednesday

Candace Carnahan - Lessons Learned about Keeping Young Workers Safe

I was working on the winder floor when I crossed over a conveyor belt system that ran throughout the mill.
It was a shortcut used regularly by other employees, students, and even supervisors. No one thought twice about it;
if it had been dangerous, it would have been pointed out, or so I thought.
~ Candace Carnahan

Lauded as one of the 'Faces of the Future' by MacLeans magazine, Candace Carnahan uses her unique life lessons to inspire us to dismantle the roadblocks which hinder efficiency, and celebrate the attitudes and behaviours that promote success - whether personal or professional.

The impetus behind Carnahan's contagious enthusiasm was a devastating workplace accident which resulted in the loss of her lower left leg. Candace was in her third year of studies at the University of Fredericton, 21 years of age, and working as a summer student at a local paper mill. It was an incident that could have taken her life, and also could have been prevented.  Candace quickly grew aware that 'tomorrow' is not guaranteed for anyone, so she adapted quickly - mentally and physically - to mobilize herself from a potentially paralyzing situation.

Ten months after learning to walk with an artificial leg, Carnahan set out on a journey of new experiences and chronicled her life's lessons as she back-packed and travelled to many parts of the world. During that time, she observed various cultures, race and backgrounds. She began her motivational speaking career by sharing her story of triumph-over-tragedy, ostensibly to prevent needless workplace injuries and increase occupational health and safety concerns. 

 

Linda Kenney - Lessons Learned from a Sentinel Event
What do you do after an accident for those that are impacted by the accident? Linda Kenney will talk at the TapRooT® Summit about her traumatic medical sentinel event, and how others who have been impacted by medically induced trauma need to be supported.  Linda felt abandoned and did not realize the emotional impact the sentinel event would have on her and her family.  Everyone who participates in accident investigations will have an important message to take back to their facilities after attending this session.

In 2002, Linda formed MITSS, Medically Induced Trauma Support Services.  "The mission of MITSS is to support healing and restore hope to patients, families and clinicians following adverse medical events," said Linda.  "We do awareness and education, we do direct support services and we do advocacy for action."

Watch videos of Linda sharing her story on the Root Cause Analysis blog (view videos).

 

Thursday

Mark Paradies - Taking Improvement to the Next Level

Mark Paradies is President of System Improvements, Inc. 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.

 

Don Harrison - Getting Sponsorship Right: The Most Critical Factor in Implementation Success

Don Harrison, President and Founder of IMA (Implementation Management Associates), brings more than 30 years of global consulting experience working with senior leaders to accelerate the implementation of strategic initiatives, gain competitive advantage, and increase Return on Investment by focusing on the human side of large-scale, complex changes. Don is the developer of the Accelerating Implementation Methodology, known as AIM, that is being applied successfully around the world and in a wide-variety of industries.

 

Don’s work in technology implementations, cultural changes, mergers & acquisitions, and business process initiatives have led to his popularity as a consultant, facilitator, and keynote speaker for national and international conferences. He is particularly well-known for taking a business and financial approach to the human side of large-scale changes. As part of his work, Don has developed several tools and assessments to help increase organizational readiness for change, bringing a data-based approach to an area of business where there often is none. 

 

Don holds a Master of Science Degree in Organization Development from Pepperdine University. Prior to founding IMA, Don owned several entrepreneurial ventures in Canada.

 

Friday

Jeff Skiles - Miracle on the Hudson

No terrible thoughts went through my head, none at all.
I didn’t worry that I might not live through this—and no pilot would.
Unless the situation is completely out of your control, there’s always something you can do.
~ Jeff Skiles

 

On January 15, 2009, U.S. Airways flight 1549 struck a flock of Canada geese, causing the plane to lose both engines. First Officer Jeff Skiles shut down the engines and began the process of restarting them as Captain Chesley Sullenberger radioed air traffic control. In just a few moments, high above New York City, Skiles and Sullenberger decided against turning around or heading for any of the nearby airports—where they risked flying over heavily populated areas. With no better options, the pilots made the decision to “ditch” the plane in the Hudson. Two minutes later, the plane was down in the twenty-degree water of the Hudson—and in one piece. A few short minutes after the cabin was told to “brace for impact”—surely three of the most terrifying words the traveler can imagine hearing—all 150 passengers and 5 crew members were safely evacuating onto the wings.

 

Jeff Skiles details the lessons, training, and scenarios that led to the “Miracle on the Hudson” with a great sense of humor and his natural storytelling ability. In his humble, Midwestern style, he explains the key lessons of teamwork, adaptability, training, and preparation that he and his crewmates relied on that day, relating these concepts to the daily lives of individuals and organizations.

 

A Lifetime of Preparation. The son of two pilots, Skiles started flying at the age of 16, and to date has logged over 20,000 hours in the sky. From his days flying with his father over the Alcan Highway to Alaska to the last twenty-three years as a U.S. Airways pilot and first officer, his lifetime of experiences working as both a member and the leader of a crew contributed to the astounding outcome. Flight 1549 was only Skiles’ second trip in the Airbus A320, and when the plane collided with the birds, he was still manually flying the plane, practicing the tricky controls of the Airbus. But the perfect landing was not a fluke; it was the result of intense training, preparation, and the lessons learned from other pilots’ successes and failures. Skiles believes that life changes all around you, and if you can’t adapt and change with it, you can’t succeed.

 

Adapt, React, and Don’t Fear a Change of Course. A general contractor who builds houses when he’s not flying, Skiles understands what businesses are going through. He attributes the success of the emergency landing on the Hudson to the extensive training that all members of a flight crew experience. From the mechanics and the maintenance workers to the people who write the emergency protocols and the flight attendants, he believes that every level of the U.S. Airways organization is responsible for the outcome on January 15, 2009. While he and Captain Sullenberger piloted the plane to a safe landing, the entire operation was only possible thanks to intense training, re-training, preparation, and organization.