Inside ASSP Safety 2026: AI, Contractor Management, and the Future of Safety | Risk Matrix Episode 145

Risk Matrix #145: Inside ASSP Safety 2026: AI, Contractor Management, and the Future of Safety

“People aren’t showing up wondering what AI is going to do. They are showing up and asking us at the booth: how are you using AI to make contractor management better?”

The ASSP Safety 2026 Professional Development Conference and Exposition took place June 15 through June 17, 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. This episode breaks down what safety professionals were asking, demanding, and building toward on the show floor at ASSP Safety 2026.

In this episode, Dr. Martin and James sit down with Rachel Tash, VP of Marketing at Veriforce, for her first ASSP conference since joining Veriforce through the Highwire acquisition. They discuss the shift from AI curiosity to AI expectation among safety professionals, why face-to-face connection remains critical in a digital-first industry, and how cross-industry challenges in contractor management are converging across energy, construction, and data center markets.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Safety professionals are no longer asking what AI is. They are asking how to use it. At ASSP Safety 2026, Veriforce booth visitors consistently asked how AI is being applied to contractor management, worker qualification, and supply chain risk management. The practical application of AI was a dominant theme across vendor demonstrations on the show floor, replacing the theoretical AI conversations common at past conferences.
• In-person connection remains essential in safety, even in an increasingly digital industry. A Veriforce client dinner planned for two hours near the Anaheim Convention Center became so oversubscribed it ran three hours past schedule. Safety professionals from energy, utilities, construction, and data center industries attended specifically to connect face-to-face with peers and Veriforce team members they typically interact with digitally throughout the year.
• Contractor management challenges are converging across industries. Veriforce clients from historically core markets like energy and utilities are now joined by Northeastern construction contractors and data center operators, all facing similar challenges around worker qualification and contractor risk management. The underlying data and processes needed to solve these challenges are increasingly common across industries, even when the specific risks differ.

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