Conference Day Two

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

8:00 am Coffee & Networking

8:30 am Chair’s Opening Remarks

8:40 am Improving Safety In Commissioning & Start Up: Panel – Mitigating Risks During Electrical Startup & Commissioning to Reduce Arc Flash Incidents

  • Eric Holtger Director - Human Resources & Risk Management, Holtger Bros Inc.
  • Chris Collins Director - Environmental Health & Safety & Substainability, Charles River Laboratories
  • VanHorn Michael Regional Director, Safety, Brasfield & Gorrie
  • Ron Kuehn Site Safety Manager, Hunt Electric Inc.

Synopsis

  • Establishing pre-energization inspection and cleaning protocols to remove foreign objects and debris and reduce installation errors during first-time equipment startup
  • Holding pre-energization briefings to align teams on PPE requirements, exclusion zones and sequencing of startup for optimal energization oversight
  • Implementing an emergency response procedure for arc flashes and electrical fires to be prepared when incidents do occur

9:20 am Improving Safety In Commissioning & Startup: Building EHS into the Commissioning Process to Clearly Articulate Expectations & Requirements

  • Prince Carouthers Regional Manager - Environment, Health & Safety, QTS Data Centers

Synopsis

  • Embedding EHS requirements into commissioning specifications to ensure safety risks are identified and controlled early
  • Partnering with commissioning teams to incorporate hazard assessments, safety checks and compliance audits throughout each commissioning stage
  • Exploring the tools and software that can help drive a more collaborative and iterative commissioning process that aligns with EHS requirements

10:00 am Morning Refreshements

10:40 am Optimizing Critical Task-Level EHS: Case Study – Balancing Safety & Efficiency During Pressure Testing to Avoid Explosions or Leaks

  • John Mastromonaco Vice President - Environmental, Health & Safety, Southland Industries

Synopsis

  • Establishing consistent pressure testing protocols to align safety expectations across owners and contractors
  • Educating field teams on the dangers of low-pressure systems and high-risk fittings to reduce incidents from unexpected, stored energy
  • Prioritizing water-based pressure testing over air to lower risk of explosions from compressed air

11:20 am Optimizing Critical Task-Level EHS: Ensuring Safer Handling, Storage & Cleanup of Chemicals & Fuel to Mitigate Environmental Concerns & Risk of Exposure

  • Scott Andrews Director - Human Resources, Encompass Health Corp.

Synopsis

  • Educating project teams on what's being used, where it's stored and how to safely respond to leads or exposures
  • Ensuring proper containment strategies, including secondary containment, grounding procedures during fuelling and routine inspection of storage systems
  • Understanding how to select and deploy appropriate cleanup by matching spill response tools and procedures to the specific hazard and working environment

12:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm Strengthening Quality & Retrofitting: Panel – Ensuring Stringent Collaboration Between Quality & Safety Teams to Avoid Foreign Objects & Debris (FOD) in Equipment

  • Ian Quigley Area QA/CX Lead - DFW, Rosendin Electric, Inc.

Synopsis

  • Conducting joint safety inspections with QA/QC teams during installation phases to decrease risk of equipment failure risks
  • Bridging QA/QC and EHS workflow to identify FOD risks before equipment startup
  • Integrating safety teams into supplier quality assurance efforts to ensure manufacturing defects are caught early though pre-delivery inspections

1:40 pm Speed Learning Audience Roundtables

Synopsis

This session will divide attendees into focused groups to share insights and address role-specific challenges in EHS across Construction, Commissioning and Operations. Build a clearer understanding of EHS in the project stage most applicable to you and drive collective solutions for reducing risk, strengthening compliance and improving safety performance throughout the data center lifecycle.

2:20 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks

2:30 pm End Of Conference