Contributor: Carli Snyder – Digital Content Coordinator, VPPPA
Conferences are one of the industry’s greatest assets for networking and communication. Bringing professionals together in a physical environment fosters community, collaboration, and industry growth. One way to effectively leverage conference opportunities is through hands-on demonstrations, which provide exhibitors with the opportunity to fully showcase their product in a manner that positively engages attendees.
“Engaging in hands-on safety demonstrations transforms passive learning into an active experience, ensuring that attendees not only remember the information but also understand its significance,” said Brian Wood, Compliance Assistance Specialist at OSHA. “This interactive approach fosters a deeper connection to worker safety principles, making the lessons learned more impactful and long-lasting.”
At VPPPA’s most recent Safety+ Symposium, Roco Rescue provided an effective demonstration for technical rescue. While they specialize in various rescue training such as confined spaces, high angles, structural collapses and more, they provided a skillful presentation in rescue response on tall scaffolds.
“We were excited to have the opportunity of offering a hands-on demo at the VPPPA conference in St. Louis,” said Chris McGlynn, Director of Safety/VPP Coordinator at Roco Rescue. “Attendees enjoyed being able to build rope rescue systems and even lower a live patient in the basket! For some things, there’s no replacement for hands-on training, and that’s especially true in our line of work. VPPPA and PERI Scaffolding were great partners in making this happen and we look forward to doing it again in 2026 at Safety+ in Nashville!”
Moving forward, VPPPA aims to expand upon demonstration opportunities at Safety+. With more demonstrations, this allows for more engagement between attendees and exhibitors. These connections are particularly impactful post-Covid, which stifled chances for direct connection between the product and the consumer.
“Demonstrations at events not only give the opportunity to get people around to see the product, but to understand it fully,” said Tim Page-Bottorff, HSSE Senior Director at JLL and Senior Vice President at ASSP. “During Covid, these opportunities stopped, and you didn’t get a chance to get that hands-on interaction with a product or tool. I think getting back to that hands-on approach helps engage the attendees more effectively and provide exhibitors with better opportunities to showcase the quality of what they’re selling beyond a simple presentation.”
VPPPA is currently accepting proposals from exhibitors to present a demonstration at Safety+ until January 16. The symposium takes place in Nashville, TN August 30 – September 2 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
To submit a proposal, email hhill@vpppa.org with the following information by January 16:
- A brief description of your proposed hands-on experience
- Space, power, or equipment requirements
- Photos of previous training set ups (if applicable)
- Any safety or staffing considerations