Canary in a Coal Mine

"If that traditional mindset's going to work, then people have to be perfect. And we know, and Safety Differently teaches us, that we all make mistakes. We're all fallible because we're human." - Chris Murphy Safety culture does not change by adding more rules. It changes when people at every level are given the ownership, context, and confidence to make better decisions. Chris Murphy, Executive D...

"Safety is a keystone habit. You show me a safe company, I'll show you a well-performing one and vice versa. You cannot separate safety performance from company performance, period." - Paul Espenan Safety leadership is not about adding more rules or another compliance checklist. It is about helping people understand risk, take ownership, and make safer decisions when it matters. Paul Espenan, Seni...

“In our career field, we can't be in cruise control. Right? Safety matters too darn much to put it in cruise control." - Justin Safety leadership is not about adding another checklist or sending another reminder. It is about helping people see risk differently and giving them a reason to make safer choices. Justin Hinks, Director of Safety at Furniture Mart USA, brings an unconventional perspectiv...

“My goal is to make our frontline leaders, the foremen, the superintendents, the general foremen, to make those folks professional risk managers.” Devin Woods, Director of Safety at ArchKey Solutions. Safety leadership is not about chasing perfect outcomes. It is about giving frontline leaders the tools to identify hazards, assess risk, and make better decisions when conditions change. Devin Woods...

"Never be afraid of what the three most terrifying words in our business are: 'I don't know’. Because if you don't know, you can find out." - John Kanyan, Director EHS PepsiCo Safety leadership is not about adding more rules to the schedule. It is about designing safety into the way work gets done. John Kanyan, Director of EHS at PepsiCo, brings more than 15 years of frontline experience across st...

One of the things I always say to my team is, how can we move from firefighters to proactive fire marshals?”Jesse Marano, Director of Global EHS at EVAPCO. Safety leadership isn’t about responding faster when something goes wrong; it’s about preventing the fire before it starts. Jesse Marano, Director of Global EHS at EVAPCO, explains how to shift safety teams from reactive firefighters into proac...

"A strong safety culture lives at the intersection of psychological safety, lived experience, and consistency across people, backgrounds, and shifts." - Jeffrey Bowers, Owner/Consultant of Dream Bay Services LLC. Safety culture doesn’t start with more rules; it starts with trust. Jeffrey Bowers, Owner/Consultant of Dream Bay Services LLC, explains how to transform safety in a high-risk, heavy-indu...

"If the system really works, the employees are doing the right thing. Their leaders are doing the right thing and committed to health and safety as well." Words of wisdom from Jeff Schmitt, CSP, Director of Corporate Safety and Health at Kyndryl. Scaling safety across 60 countries is not about adding more rules or hiring dozens of EHS professionals. It is about building structured playbooks that t...

I think safety leadership definitely starts with incident prevention through human connection. I spoke with Joseph Klinzing from GE Healthcare to learn about his journey from the US Army to managing rigging operations and crane operations. We discussed how switching from an auditor to an advocate transforms workplace safety culture. Building trust with the team really does wonders for safety compl...

Safety Leadership and Zero Harm are at the heart of my conversation with Christopher Diaz from Balfour Beatty. We talk about his forty year career in Workplace Safety and his transition from pulling nails to executive leadership. Chris explains why we must look beyond the traditional Fatal Four risks to include live traffic. He also tells a story about building bridges in Rwanda and I personally f...

Workplace safety culture and risk management are the primary drivers of my conversation with Robert Poole from D. H. Griffin Companies. Managing construction safety programs and incident prevention takes on a whole new meaning when your daily job involves controlled implosions. Robert explains how his team handles huge technical exposures while maintaining an exemplary record. We cover the unique...

One of my recent realisations is that workplace safety culture isn’t built on the words we say but on the actions we allow. I invited Jim Wathen from CW Driver to share how he transformed his team into safety champions over two decades. Jim explains how he uses a safety champion mindset to manage forty active job sites with only three people, and he says that it comes down to one simple thing. Tak...

Workplace safety and construction safety management require more than just a degree on a wall. Nathan Haynes and I talk about how real life experience trumps certifications when you need to keep people safe on the road. Some stories that stand out are his journey from Alaska to the highway patrol and how he standardized safety across forty infrastructure projects. He also explains why he rejects o...

I discuss workplace safety and food safety management with Laura McCready to understand how risk management protects the inner body. We look at the intersection of compliance and regulations where machine guards intended for protection can accidentally harbor bacteria. I learn about the massive complexity of the modern supply chain through the journey of a single bag of lettuce. This conversation...

I recently spoke with James Ferrell about Safety Leadership and Perdue Farms Risk Management strategies. We talked about his transition from flying the V-22 Osprey in the Air Force to leading safety for twenty thousand people. James explained why traditional safety campaigns often fail to change behavior. I found his focus on fixing systems rather than blaming people very insightful. We explored h...

In this talk about workplace safety culture and EHS leadership, I talk about vulnerability transforming high-stakes environments. I host Lori Elam from Takeda Pharmaceuticals to discuss her twenty-five year journey in pharmaceutical manufacturing and why she believes in leading with human connection. We discuss the power of being present in the field and why she encourages her teams to speak up ab...

I talk with Todd Thams about how a workers compensation insurance experience mod score functions as a credit rating for your business risk management strategy. We discuss why a score above one point zero can stop you from bidding on contracts and how managing workers comp claims management effectively saves hundreds of thousands of dollars. Todd also explains the financial levers that drive insura...

I discuss workplace safety and construction safety management with Derek Cox to see how safety leadership and site safety improve through human connection. We talk about how risk management and safety culture evolve when you focus on building relationships. I find his story of moving from the tools to the office shows why authentic experience matters in our industry.

In this episode, I talk about workplace safety culture and how energy-based safety drives incident rate reduction. William LePage from Posillico Civil Inc. details why his safety professional career focuses on what truly hurts people rather than useless checklists. I learn how he manages risk for 1,200 employees by building project-specific programs instead of generic manuals. We discuss why he pr...

I explore workplace safety and construction safety management with Jim Ruggiero to understand how real risk management involves more than just procedures. Jim brings 40 years of experience from the steelworkers union and state OSHA to discuss why our industry needs a deeper focus on the human element. We talk about the personal tragedies that drive his mission and how he builds a safety culture at...

Chris Braamse, VP of DH Pace and I explore how workplace safety leadership and risk management strategy apply across any industry, from trash trucks to pharmaceutical labs. Chris explains how he manages 60 locations using a smart hub and spoke model. We also talk about why a safety professional's career development path is more flexible than you might think.

Workplace safety leadership and roofing company safety strategies require a shift in how we view control. In this episode, I speak with Robert Hudson, VP of EHS at Baker Roofing, to explore EHS risk management and construction safety across 28 locations. We discuss why 18 years of experience taught him that hoarding knowledge is a danger to the team. I love how Robert shares his journey from chemi...

I sit down with Mike Place to discuss how a workplace safety culture and safety leadership drive incident prevention through a safety mindset. We discuss the reason we prioritize occupational health and safety, i.e. the "silent stakeholder.” Mike shares how Dakota Supply Group managed safety scaling in growing organizations while maintaining employee safety programs across 64 locations. I learn wh...

In this episode, I sit down with Chris Seider to discuss how workplace safety culture and safety leadership lead to incident rate reduction. We explore why your safety professional career depends on building a risk management strategy that outlasts you. Chris shares how he transformed a massive shipyard by shifting from safety compliance to employee safety ownership. I learn why doing everything y...

In this episode, I discuss EHS leadership, workplace safety programs, safety culture, risk management, and Scotts Miracle-Gro with Jason Johantges. I am fascinated by how his team achieved zero COVID deaths by monitoring regulatory changes and scientific data months in advance. We also dive into his "Kickoff for Safety" program, a football-themed gamification strategy that led to their safest fisc...