The American Society of Safety Engineers issued the following news release:

From developing and implementing a drug abuse program to hiring contractors with an effective safety culture to utilizing innovative programs were just a few of the topics discussed by construction industry experts from around the country at the recent American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) Construction Safety Symposium in Arizona.

"I was impressed with the number of attendees who came from every corner of the U.S. to attend this symposium and their breadth of experience," ASSE Regional Vice President James G. Gallup, P.E., CSP, of Rolf Jensen &Associates, Inc., of Prescott Valley, Arizona, said Friday. "It shows that the attendees and their respective companies are doing the right thing and were anxious to share their success stories here and learn of other new initiatives taking place in the industry resulting in construction projects being completed before deadline, injury free and saving millions of dollars."

"What you bring to the job," T. Shane Bush, CPT, president of BushCo., Inc., Idaho Falls, ID, told attendees, "is intellectual property - something that is skyrocketing in value in businesses. Your skills as safety professionals help you identify problems and develop solutions often preventing an injury or a disaster from occurring. Should an incident occur, you must continue to show leadership and look beyond the what to the why. Context is key."

Symposium sessions included topics on leading indicators in safety management, crane safety, quick hazard recognitions, fall prevention, litigation issues, accident reporting, slips/trips and falls, and a panel discussion on big projects and their challenges. Becoming a profit center over a cost center was also a key topic.