Event History
Since its inaugural event in 1994, the VSRA Safety & Health Seminar has brought together members of the ship repair community to promote workplace safety, share best practices, and address emerging safety and health concerns.
Over the past three decades, the industry has seen significant changes in safety standards, regulations, technology, and training—including the continued evolution of OSHA's maritime safety requirements. The seminar has evolved alongside these changes, providing a forum for industry professionals to learn, connect, and stay current.
Explore highlights from the Safety & Health Seminar's history below.
2025 Kick Off to Safety
The 2025 Safety & Health Seminar continued its emphasis on practical, hands-on safety education with sessions covering OSHA compliance, musculoskeletal and overuse injury prevention, slips and falls, forklift safety, handheld grinder safety, and virtual reality learning. The seminar also featured a dedicated Leadership Track and arena demonstrations, providing attendees with opportunities to explore safety practices through both classroom sessions and interactive demonstrations.
2025 Safety & Health Seminar EXPO
Jeopardy Activity
John Polowczyk Provides Keynote
Safety & Health Seminar Planning Committee
2024 Mission Possible
The 2024 Safety & Health Seminar featured a strong focus on leadership, workplace safety, and practical demonstrations. Educational sessions covered OSHA compliance, ergonomics, scaffolding, safety helmets, hand signals, ladder safety, hot work, and workplace conflict. The seminar also featured an opening keynote from retired U.S. Navy Captain Barbara “Bobbie” Scholley, a deep-sea diver and member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame, as well as an OSHA panel discussion and a leadership session focused on inspiring and motivating teams.
2023 Picture Safety at Every Step
The 2023 Safety & Health Seminar continued its focus on practical, hands-on safety education with sessions covering immersive training technology, fall protection, confined spaces, scaffolding, heat injury prevention, respiratory protection, near-miss recognition, and deckplate leadership. The program also featured an industry leadership panel focused on employee development and retention, bringing together company presidents and general managers from across the ship repair industry. Attendees also participated in demonstrations, an expo, Jeopardy and prize drawings, and an Experts Q&A.
Panel Discussion
2022 Attention = Prevention
The 2022 Safety & Health Seminar featured a mix of educational sessions, hands-on demonstrations, and leadership discussions focused on practical safety in the shipyard. Topics included hazard assessment, fall protection, ergonomics, hazmat storage and labeling, scaffolding, cordless tool safety, and effective workforce communication. The seminar also featured a “Balancing Safety & Production” panel, a keynote from CAPT Jay Young of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, an expanded expo, and interactive activities including Jeopardy and prize drawings.
Safety & Health Seminar Planning Committee
2018 Safety: It's not just Work, It's Life
2018 marked a major expansion of the Safety & Health Seminar. For the first time, the sponsor booths and expo were expanded into the arena at Old Dominion University, providing additional space for exhibitors, demonstrations, and attendees to connect throughout the event. The program featured an executive panel discussion and multiple educational sessions covering gas detection, OSHA compliance, fall protection, hazard recognition, and compressed gas cylinder safety. Attendees also participated in interactive activities including “Share My Story,” an OSHA Q&A, Jeopardy, prize drawings, and an Experts Q&A.
2014 Safety is not just for You - It's for your Buddy too!
The 19th Annual Safety & Health Seminar featured three educational tracks covering hazard identification, permit-authorized training, portable gas detection, rigging, hot work and welding, electrical safety, hearing conservation, confined spaces, and fall protection. The program also incorporated hands-on demonstrations, including fall protection and electrical safety, along with stretching and wellness activities throughout the day. Keynote sessions focused on the human side of safety and making a difference in workplace safety, followed by an Ask the Experts session, sponsor remarks, and an interactive Jeopardy activity.
Arrive Home Alive
Fall Truck Demonstration
2013 "Home Safe - Not Just for Baseball"
The 2013 Safety & Health Seminar featured three educational tracks covering lockout/tagout and hazard identification, OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard and the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), portable gas detection, rigging, hot work and welding, electrical safety, hearing conservation, confined spaces, and scaffolding and marine hanging staging. The program also included an OSHA opening keynote, a lunch keynote video, a session on keeping employees engaged in safety, and an Ask the Experts discussion.
Arrive Home Alive
2012 Safety Begins with You! "Make it Personal"
The 2012 Safety & Health Seminar featured three educational tracks focused on fall protection, electrical safety, hearing protection, portable gas detection, hot work and welding, rigging, confined spaces, physical wellness, and Safety Data Sheets. The program opened with an OSHA update and included keynote presentations from the Virginia Beach Fire Department, along with hands-on training, an opening safety video, a shipyard communication session, and an Ask the Experts discussion to conclude the day.
Safety & Health Expo
2011 Safety - "Everyone is Responsible"
The 2011 Safety & Health Seminar featured three educational tracks covering hearing protection, hot work, scaffolding, ventilation, confined spaces, fall protection, ergonomics, shipyard best practices, portable gas protection, and electrical safety. The program also included keynote presentations on OSHA and shipyard safety, along with an interactive “Jeopardy! The Safety Game” and an Ask the Experts session to close out the day.
Scaffolding Demo
2010 PROCE$$ FOR $UCCE$$
The 15th Annual Safety & Health Seminar was held on September 30, 2010. Designed for superintendents, project managers, and safety professionals, the seminar featured 13 presentations across three tracks, covering a variety of safety and health topics. Highlights included an opening keynote from Jim Brice of Naval Sea Systems Command, an OSHA update, noise and industrial hygiene sampling, hazard recognition, and updates from NAVFAC and NSSA.
2009 Today's Safety is Tomorrow's Reality
The 14th Annual Safety & Health Seminar was held on October 7, 2009, at the Ted Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion University. The seminar featured educational sessions covering electrical safety, audiology and respiratory awareness, OSHA inspections, accident investigation, welding and metals, lockout/tagout, safety meetings, effective communication, cranes and rigging, fall protection, fire protection, shipyard scaffolding, and conducting effective safety inspections.
2008 Changing the Culture--Changing the Mindset!
The 2008 Safety & Health Seminar featured four educational tracks: Health in the Shipyard, Hazard Recognition, Assessment & Corrective Action, Worksite Conditions, and Maritime Regulations. Sessions covered a broad range of topics, including shipyard ergonomics, trips and falls, platform staging, fall protection, PPE, electrical safety, hearing conservation, fit-testing, physical ability screening, hexavalent chromium, confined space entry, HAZWOPER, AED and first aid requirements, and effective communication with workers.
2006
The earliest detailed event records currently available date to 2006, providing a starting point for documenting the seminar's programming and evolution. That year, the seminar focused on heavy metal exposure in the shipyard, awareness training, workplace safety, and a variety of hands-on demonstrations.