Innovation turns heads at safety show

New technology and entrepreneurship were again major points of engagement for visitors trawling among more than 200 stands at The Safety Show Sydney and Sydney Materials Handling. The knowledge workshops on managing risk, incident reporting and investigation, height safety and other safety and regulation issues proved to be very popular, attracting large audiences each day.

The expos were held at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park from 23 to 25 October, along with CleanScene, The National Cleaning & Hygiene Expo.

Among the new products attracting clusters of visitors was Hazibag, a flexible intermediate bulk container approved in Australia and internationally for transporting dangerous goods like asbestos, obviating the need for steel bins. Developed in Queensland, it can also be used to handle contaminated soil, toxic wood and plants, medical waste and veterinarian waste.

The LightModule long-life portable LED lighting system was developed with the needs of law enforcement and emergency responders in mind. The system uses interchangeable electronic heads to transform from a road flare to area light, flashlight or combo unit in seconds. “In the first day and a half we took around 450 enquiries, including many for distribution rights,” said Raul Urrutia, president of LightModule.

Michael Dean, managing director of Australasian Safety Services, exhibiting Sonomax, a unique self-fit ear protection for workers, said the stand was taking around 40 quality leads a day. The ear protection is shaped to the users unique ‘ear-print’ for maximum comfort while providing a noise-blocking acoustic seal.

Brisbane firm Sherm Software exhibited web-based workplace safety and risk management software built from scratch and launched only in January. “We’ve attracted excellent traffic,” said designer and MD Caroline Kingston. “We got off to a great start by recording 10 good leads on the first day, as well as many distributor enquiries.”

WorkCover NSW won the trophy for best stand over 18 m², Frontline Diagnostics for best stand 18 m² and under, and BBJ Materials Handling for best new stand.