Conveyer Safety at the Iowa Governor's Safety & Health Conference

Mr. Robert M. Ridpath Jr., MS, CSP, CMSE®, CFEI, will be presenting at the 2026 Iowa Governor’s Safety & Health Conference this October at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa. The annual conference brings together occupational safety and health professionals from across Iowa for education, professional development, networking, and the exchange of ideas and best practices for protecting workers.

Mr. Ridpath will present “Best Practices in Conveyor Risk Assessment,” based on his published research completed for his Master of Science degree at Iowa State University. The presentation will address common conveyor hazards and share research findings on how organizations can improve their approach to conveyor risk assessment. Topics will include the use of trained personnel and cross-functional teams, structured and customizable risk-assessment processes, applicable OSHA and industry safety standards, and the importance of evaluating service, maintenance, and other non-routine tasks.

Mr. Ridpath is President of Wandling Engineering and has been an Occupational Safety Specialist with the firm since 2018, providing expertise in occupational safety, risk assessment, machine safeguarding, and OSHA regulatory compliance.

Preserving the Scene:

3D Analysis in Forensic Investigations

Accident scenes can change quickly. Equipment and vehicles may be moved, walking surfaces repaired, or an entire site altered following an incident. A key aspect of a forensic investigation is documenting and preserving the conditions of the site as they existed at the time of the inspection.

Wandling Engineering utilizes advanced technologies, including 3D laser scanning and drone photography, to accurately document accident scenes and other sites. These technologies allow our safety professionals and engineers to capture millions of measurements and create detailed three-dimensional representations of the site. The resulting data can be used to evaluate distances, elevations, equipment locations, and other physical relationships long after the original inspection, preserving a detailed record of site conditions.

The 3D data can also support accident reconstruction, engineering analysis, demonstrative exhibits, and forensic animations, providing an accurate and measurable representation of the site for continued evaluation and presentation.

For more information, please contact us at (515) 232-0158 or wandling@wandling.com.