ASSP 2025 Safety Conference Highlights: Workplace Safety, Culture & Performance Insights

With thousands of occupational safety and health professionals gathered, the ASSP 2025 Safety Conference delivered fresh insights, practical innovations, and powerful networking opportunities. Jennifer McKeon attended on behalf of JMJ and shares reflections on the standout sessions, trends, and experiences that could influence how safety leaders think about safety, culture, and performance in their organizations.

From advances in protective equipment to psychological safety strategies, the conference offered a wealth of knowledge for safety leaders, operational managers, and organizational decision-makers.

Rich learning sessions: Practical safety insights for safety professionals

The educational content at ASSP 2025 stood out for its real-world applicability. Sessions offered practical takeaways and fresh perspectives that safety leaders could immediately apply to their own safety programs, whether addressing traumatic brain injuries, adopting advances in head protection, or embedding psychological safety into daily operations and workplace culture.

Learning tracks were organized by experience level, allowing professionals at every stage of their careers to tailor their conference journey, from frontline safety management to executive-level strategy. For many, the conference app was a standout resource, making it easy to revisit materials, with nearly 85% of decks available for download.

Workplace safety, culture, and psychological safety trends

A wide variety of topics were covered, including:

• Military safety innovations with lessons form the industry
• Advances in psychological safety and workplace trust
• Risk management strategies for complex environments

The variety ensured that participants could engage with both technical innovations and cultural dimensions of safety leadership.

Exhibits and audience engagement: Safety innovations in action

From intimate discussions with 60 people to popular talks with over 400 attendees, sessions were highly engaging. The exhibit hall was active and interactive, showcasing hands-on demonstrations like climbing gear safety demonstrations and fire safety simulations. Interactive elements such as LinkedIn photo booths kept energy high while helping professionals expand their networks.

Flash sessions: Quick wins and practical takeaways

This year’s 15-minute sponsor-led flash sessions proved popular. Instead of traditional booth pitches, these short, focused talks offered fast, insights to new technologies and approaches.

For safety professionals, these sessions provided a chance to explore emerging tools, learn about innovative practices, and consider how these could be integrated into their workplace safety practices.

Continuing the conversation: We’d love to hear your perspective

The ASSP 2025 Safety Conference reinforced that progress in occupational safety and health requires both innovation and culture change. Whether your standout moments came from new safety technologies, fresh perspectives on psychological safety, or strategies for building high-performing safety cultures, the key is how these ideas can shape the future of your work.

We’d love to hear from you. What insights from ASSP 2025 will you be taking back to your organization?