Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Keeling shared his vision for OSHA's future during the agency's Super Session at ASSP's Safety 2026 Professional Development Conference, emphasizing prevention, collaboration and innovation as key drivers for improving worker safety and health.
Following his keynote remarks, Assistant Secretary Keeling joined a panel discussion moderated by ASSP CEO Jennifer McNelly with ASSP’s Immediate Past-President Linda Tapp, Avetta Vice President of Sustainability Natashya Narkiewicz and Hexion Senior Director of Health, Safety and Environmental, Chet Brandon. Together, they explored how employers, safety professionals and government can work together to strengthen safety cultures and prevent serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs).
Moving Beyond Compliance
While reaffirming OSHA's commitment to protecting workers, Assistant Secretary Keeling encouraged organizations to view compliance as the foundation for continuous improvement rather than the end goal. He emphasized that OSHA's focus is on helping employers identify and correct hazards, improve safety performance and prevent injuries before they occur.
He also emphasized that meaningful progress depends on collaboration across the profession, noting that OSHA seeks to work alongside employers and safety professionals as a partner in advancing workplace safety and health.
The discussion reinforced the important role safety professionals play in helping organizations move beyond compliance by applying consensus standards, sharing best practices and fostering strong safety cultures.
Preventing SIFs
A recurring theme throughout the session was preventing SIFs before they occur. Assistant Secretary Keeling discussed the importance of identifying high-consequence hazards, strengthening safety culture and using leading indicators and predictive approaches to better understand workplace risk before incidents happen.
Panelists expanded on that message by discussing how organizations can integrate risk management, leadership commitment and practical workplace experience to create safer workplaces and improve long-term performance.
Modernizing Workplace Safety
Assistant Secretary Keeling also highlighted several efforts aimed at modernizing OSHA's approach to workplace safety, including updates to the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) to make the program more relevant to today's workplaces and encourage broader participation. He also discussed the continued expansion of the OSHA Safety Champions initiative and efforts to modernize the agency's lockout/tagout standard.
He underscored the value of voluntary consensus standards in helping organizations respond more quickly to emerging technologies and changing workplace risks, noting that consensus standards have the ability to move with the speed of business.
The panel also explored how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, can help safety professionals identify hazards, analyze data and make more informed decisions while reinforcing that technology should complement — not replace — professional expertise and sound judgment.
Advancing Safety Together
Throughout the session, panelists emphasized that continued collaboration among OSHA, ASSP and the occupational environmental, health and safety profession is essential to advancing safer workplaces. The discussion reinforced the important role safety professionals play in helping organizations move beyond compliance by applying consensus standards, sharing best practices and fostering strong safety cultures.
Following the Super Session, Assistant Secretary Keeling met with attendees during a meet-and-greet in the Expo Hall and later answered questions from the media, providing additional opportunities for members to engage directly with OSHA leadership.