The Case for Safety Podcast

Heather Ritz, program manager-ergonomics at Briotix Health, and Ryan Urik, senior EHS manager at Curtiss-Wright, share how build practical, sustainable ergonomics programs. They discuss how to assess risk, involve employees, start with affordable fixes, train teams, and use transparent measures to scale improvements.

Sponsored by SafeStart. Rhonda Piggee Johnson, Implementation Specialist at SafeStart, shares insights on safety challenges like organizational complacency, turnover, and time management, emphasizing the importance of fresh eyes and human factors in improving safety culture.

Sponsored by Grainger. Jordan Schlittler and Wes Maertz of Grainger explore the critical relationship between the NFPA 70B and 70E standards. They discuss how these standards work together to enhance electrical safety, the core requirements of 70B, and practical steps for safety professionals to improve compliance and workplace safety.

Chris Cain, Executive Director of CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, discusses  recent convenings  hosted by ASSP focused on preventing serious injuries and fatalities due to falls from height and lockout/tagout failures. She emphasizes the importance of mitigating hazards upstream and utilizing Prevention through Design concepts, implementing consensus safety standards and in...

Ethan Fight, Executive Director of Operations at Medcor Safety, discusses the current landscape of safety staffing in construction, the challenges faced, and strategies for safety directors to build effective partnerships with staffing providers. He shares how to navigate the evolving demands of construction work and ensure the right safety professionals are in place.

Joe Brandel, business development manager for North America industrial safety market at Mips, shares the latest trends and regulations in head protection, emphasizing the importance of proper PPE, risk assessment and safety culture to prevent head injuries in the workplace. He discusses OSHA regulations and industry consensus standards for head protection, hazards and risks that can lead to h...

Dr. Robert Drane, Chair of ASSP’s Government Affairs Committee, shares how the committee serves as the voice of the Society and its members to advocate for regulations that will help improve workplace safety and health. He also discusses some of the latest developments in OSHA regulations and the impact they could have on EHS. 

Kevin Denis, Principal and Owner of Work-at-Height, Vice Chair of the ANSI/ASSP Z359 Committee and lead of our Standards-Based User Group on fall protection, joins us to discuss the current state of fall protection, gaps that exist and how safety professionals can properly address fall hazards. He shares how the Z359 standards can help employers and safety professionals find fall protection soluti...

Knowing the standard isn’t the same as knowing the machine. In our latest episode, Fran Sehn shares why effective lockout/tagout programs rely on collaboration with the people who use the equipment every day — and how the ANSI/ASSP Z244 standard helps guide the process. He discusses the OSHA 1910.147 requirements for lockout/tagout, alternative methods included in Z244 and how safety profess...

Arianna Howard, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Syncra Group and lead of ASSP’s AI in Safety Standards-Based User Group joins us to share how AI tools can offer solutions for addressing issues in your workplace, but first you have to know which problems you’re trying to solve. She discusses the importance of using AI as a learning tool to better understand the conditions the workforce is...

Lauren Bauerschmidt, Senior Manager, Standards and Technical Services at ASSP, joins us to help you get up to speed on the latest developments in ANSI/ASSP Standards . She shares recent updates to A10 construction and demolition standards and Z359 fall protection standards, as well as the publication of the Z310 standard for risk management. She also discusses how these standards are developed and...

Personnel nets and debris nets play a crucial role in protecting workers and the public on and around construction and demolition sites. William Greeley, chair of the ANSI/ASSP A10.37 subcommittee and Ed McKechnie, chair of the ANSI/ASSP A10.11 subcommittee, join our latest episode to share how the A10.11 and A10.37 standards can help you properly design, test and install nets for your jobsites.

Organizations can encounter many pitfalls as they work to implement a safety management system. Greg Zigulis, President of Sixth Sense Safety Solutions, joins our latest episode to share common mistakes to avoid and how you can help get your team on the right track. He discusses how standards like ANSI/ASSP Z10 can provide organizations a framework for developing a safety management system that su...

How is AI technology impacting the construction industry? Boris Kiprovski and Whitney Williams of Skanska join us to share how they’re using these tools to input regulations and gather safety data, as well as find ways to improve conditions for workers on their jobsites. They offer advice for employers and EHS professionals as to how to effectively implement these tools at their organization...

Todd Hudson, president of Maverick Safety Training, shares how AI can help EHS professionals roleplay different conversations and improve their communication skills with those in their organization. He discusses how to effectively prompt AI tools to provide feedback that will be helpful in discussions with everyone from frontline workers to C-suite executives. 

Mark Katchen, managing principal of The Phylmar Group and co-author of “ Ethical Decision-making in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety: A Comparative Case Study Approach ,” discusses common ethical dilemmas EHS professionals may encounter, and how to address them in a way that best supports worker safety and health. He also shares the importance of understand and followin...

ASSP President Linda Tapp and Wyatt Bradbury, principal of Health and Safety at Avetta, share how our Standards-Based User Groups (SBUGs) will help EHS professionals put consensus standards into action and improve safety. They discuss how the SBUGs will bring together industry stakeholders to share knowledge, develop best practices and offer insights into how to implement voluntary consensus stand...

Dr. Elif Erkal, associate director of research and strategy at the Construction Safety Research Alliance, shares why metrics like total recordable incident rate (TRIR) don’t tell the whole story and offers alternatives for more proactive safety management. She discusses how tools like high energy control assessments can help EHS professional identify high-energy hazards and the importance of a bal...

Wyatt Bradbury, Principal – Health and Safety at Avetta, joins us to discuss the hierarchy of controls and its role in helping reduce risks in the workplace. He shares why it’s important for EHS professionals to examine the effectiveness of the controls at their job sites to help ensure they are reducing risk to an acceptable level. He also explains “active” and “pass...

Sponsored by SafeStart. Rhonda Piggee Johnson, Implementation Specialist at SafeStart, discusses the causes and effects of complacency in the workplace and the impact it can have on safety. She shares how safety professionals can work with those in their organization to foster good habits and instill the importance of not becoming complacent about tasks, processes and procedures.

Heather MacDougall, Owner of MacDougall Solutions LLC, joins us to share steps EHS professionals can take to collaborate with those in their organization and demonstrate the impact safety has on business performance. She discusses the concept of “safety culture” and how it can unintentionally create silos within organizations and impede progress toward improving worker safety and healt...

Todd Hudson, President, Maverick Safety Training, and Eric Lewis, EHS Coordinator at Align Precision, share tips for delivering engaging training to your team to help them stay safe and address the hazards they face on the job. They discuss how methods like microlearning and hands-on training can help ensure that knowledge stays with workers after the training. 

Sponsored by SafeStart. Peter Batrowny, Senior Consultant at SafeStart, shares how safety professionals and supervisors can address common risks and hazards associated with working at night and develop a strong culture. He also discusses how effective communication and active listening can help you develop as a leader and improve safety and health performance.

Eric Bourquin, Vice President of Safety Services at Texas Mutual Insurance Company, joins us to discuss the importance of using safety data to improve risk management and hazard mitigation on your job sites. He shares how tools like telematics and wearable technology can provide valuable insights into safety performance and help prevent incidents before they occur. 

Sponsored by Fastenal. Eddie Gillespie, National Account Safety Specialist at Fastenal, discusses how data gathering can help EHS professionals build better PPE programs, more resilient supply chains and a stronger culture. He shares programs that can improve access to PPE and reduce risks, technological tools that can help track PPE use and how organizations can balance sustainability goals with...