OS+H Asia 2018, the region’s leading exhibition on workplace safety and health, recently closed in Singapore with a 15% visitor increase: more than 5,000 trade visitors from 36 countries took part over three days to see the latest innovations presented by 200 exhibitors from 20 nations.

The event also welcomed more than 40 visiting delegations and groups representing various sectors such as building and construction, offshore marine, electrical and electronics as well as engineering services, warehousing and logistics.

Gernot Ringling, managing director of Messe Düsseldorf Asia, the organizer of OS+ H Asia, stated: “We are pleased with the increase in the size of the exhibit floor space and visitor numbers at this year’s edition, as well as with the energy and enthusiasm on the show floor over the three days.”

The increase in the internationality of visitors, with participants from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, underlined the status of OS+H Asia as the most important regional networking and procurement platform for up-to-date workplace safety and health products.

Accordingly, exhibitors were pleased with their participation. First-time exhibitor Kamakura Seisakusho Co Ltd confirmed many high quality leads at OS+H Asia particularly from Malaysia and Australia. Masashi Ishii, Manager at the COOLEX Division of the company, remarked: “We met with close to 60 companies and are hopeful to open a distribution channel in this part of Asia.”

Julie Cheng, marketing manager of Taiwan-based protective gear manufacturer Polison Corporation, commented” “We were overwhelmed by the interest and knowledge of work safety specialists from the region and had many fruitful meetings with visiting companies from China, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. We had a very positive three days and look forward to returning to OS+H Asia in 2020.”

This year OS+H Asia featured seven focus areas: Work at Height, Fire Protection, Environmental Control, Crisis and Emergency Management, Workplace Ergonomics and Health at Work as well as the debut of the OSH Technology zone presenting smart technology and innovative solutions from Avetics Global, Fujitsu, and Magicsoft Asia Systems. 

“In addition to a strong showcase of innovations in workplace safety and health, OS+H Asia 2018 has offered a highly relevant and current line-up of presentation topics from workplace ergonomics to depression at work. In many workplaces, the focus has traditionally been on physical safety but with the growth in occupational illnesses there is a need to broaden that scope and include the area of work-related illnesses,” Gernot Ringling said.

Complementing the exhibits was the one-day Workplace Safety and Health Forum, jointly organized by the Singapore Institution of Safety Officers and Messe Düsseldorf Asia.Specialists from various industry sectors covered a variety of topics such as SGSecure, competency requirements for WSH professionals and managing an ageing workforce.

The next edition of the OS+H Asia will take place Aug. 26 - 28, 2020 at Suntec Singapore.