Safer Buildings Coalition conducts annual event at IWCE 2023

A common theme ran through the Safer Buildings Coalition’s annual meeting Monday night during IWCE 2023 at the Las Vegas Convention Center—strength through collaboration.

“The perception is that the challenge is ‘out there,’ and someday, maybe the challenge will come here,” said Billy Bob Brown Jr., executive assistant director for emergency communications within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), referring to the rapid rise in cyberthreats over the last decade. “That is the wrong way to think about it. The nature of the problem demands working together.”

Brown, who delivered the keynote address for the buildings coalition meeting, called cybersecurity “the greatest challenge our generation will face.”

Given the interconnectedness of organizations, regardless of whether they’re private, nonprofits or public, it’s imperative to foster an atmosphere of support, according to Brown. One weak link, even if it’s far removed from sensitive information and in an entirely different geographical location, can have a tremendous impact on critical infrastructure, he said.

“Fundamentally and foundationally, it is ‘we the people’ who are facing this challenge,” Brown continued. “We cannot assume a silver bullet will solve the problem. When one is vulnerable, all are vulnerable.”

This idea of interconnectedness flowed throughout the two-and-a-half hour meeting. Special guest Andrew Lealofi, an occupational health and safety technician at Pacific Safety Solutions and star of the 2022 film “Vertical Freedom,” shared a similar message. Lealofi worked as a tower technician before becoming a safety specialist.

“I’m literally connecting the world,” he said in a film clip shared at the coalition meeting before a one-on-one in-person interview with Seth Buechley, co-founder of the Safer Buildings Coalition.

“We need each other,” Lealofi said, encouraging the attendees to “know your niche” and work hard to be the best. “We’re as strong as the weakest link.”

Linking this concept of togetherness with the challenges and achievements the coalition has seen this year—most notably the publication of a book and the launch of a new certification program—Alan Purdue, executive director of the buildings coalition, called on the group to work together and bring about lasting change.

“This is about going together—this is about transforming the in-building industry,” Purdue said, highlighting various milestones the coalition has achieved since its inception more than a decade ago. “We have a need. We know that we have the technology to solve the problem.

“Without you, all we have is a name,” he said.