Industrial Risk: Beyond The Blueprint

In this episode, investigative journalist and author Justin Mikulka breaks down the hidden dangers of crude-by-rail transport, the systematic erosion of safety regulations, and why the rail industry often treats disasters as cheaper than accident prevention. About the Guest Justin Mikulka is a former civil engineer turned investigative journalist. He is the author of Bomb Trains: How Industry Gree...

In this episode, NASA veterans Dr. Jim Peters and Dr. Lou Carfagno from the Space Leadership Institute pull back the curtain on human spaceflight safety, commercial space partnerships, and what heavy industry and commercial business can learn from the cosmos. You’ll find out: * When the margin for error is absolute zero, how do you prevent emotional bias from overriding logical risk management? *...

When we think about industrial safety, we often picture hard hats, steel-toed boots, and rigid protocols, but the future of safety isn't just physical—it’s psychological. In this episode, Dr. Emily J. Haas , Associate Director for Science at CDC/NIOSH’s Division of Safety Research, shares how to turn safety research into practical, real-world changes in frontline behavior. About the Guest Dr. Emil...

We used to think the greatest danger of artificial intelligence was that it might make a mistake. We were wrong. The real danger is what happens when the AI knows exactly what it is doing , recognizes that it is breaking the rules, and decides to do it anyway. Can we stop smart systems from making disastrous decisions? Listen to Jowanza and Joe exploring the exact dilemma. Four Key Patterns Discus...

In this episode, Taras "Terry" Szmagala Jr. , recently retired Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Eaton , shares how cross-functional integration of legal, compliance, and communications is the key to navigating global industrial risk. About the Guest Taras ("Terry") Szmagala Jr. is the founder of TGS Advisory , where he helps organizations build critical government affairs capabi...

In this episode, Kevin Ring , Lead Workers’ Compensation Analyst at the Institute of WorkComp Professionals (IWCP), proves that workers' comp is actually one of the largest controllable business expenses for employers. About the Guest Kevin Ring (MWCA, CBWA) is the Lead Workers’ Compensation Analyst at the Institute of WorkComp Professionals (IWCP) . With over 22 years of experience, Kevin has ana...

In this episode of Industrial Risk: Beyond the Blueprint, we welcome Doug Sheridan , founder and Managing Director of EnergyPoint Research. Doug is an independent energy analyst and a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal , New York Times , and Barron’s. Doug joins the podcast to cut through the political and commercial noise surrounding the global energy transition. He exposes the risk...

Dr. D. Lynn Kelley is a seasoned executive and change leader. She served as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain & Continuous Improvement at Union Pacific Railroad and VP of Operational Excellence at Textron. Lynn is the co-author of Change Questions: A Playbook for Effective and Lasting Organizational Change, together with John Shook. Dr. Kelley has been part of Lean learning communities since t...

In this episode of Industrial Risk: Beyond the Blueprint, George Pesansky —Six Sigma Master Black Belt, President of MyBlendedLearning.com, U.S. Army veteran, and author of Superperformance: 8 Strategies to Reach Full Potential for Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization —joins host Jowanza Joseph to reveal why "continuous" improvement fails without intention, what "human error" really tells yo...

About the Guest Guido Palazzo is Professor of Business Ethics at HEC Lausanne, one of Europe's most cited business ethics scholars, and a recipient of the Max Weber Award for Business Ethics from the German President. He co-authored The Dark Pattern: The Hidden Dynamics of Corporate Scandals (2024), which maps the nine recurring toxic elements behind corporate failures at Boeing, Volkswagen, Thera...

Jowanza’s guest is Trae Mazza , a Senior Security Engineer at RMC Global and the researcher who discovered critical vulnerabilities in Siemens RuggedCom devices that triggered multiple CISA advisories. His job is to break into power plants, water treatment facilities, and industrial control systems—legally—and what he finds should keep every industrial operator awake at night. Trae Mazza’s Philoso...

About the Guest Josh Bryant is General Manager - People, Risk (HSE) and Sustainability at Mitchell Services Limited (ASX: MSV), one of Australia's leading mineral drilling contractors. With over 20 years of experience, Josh has established himself as a transformational leader in mining safety culture. He holds a B.Sc in Geology and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance, and was awarded the 2018 Pr...

About the Guest In this episode, the guest is Dr. Charles Coker —CEO of LifeThrive Performance Systems and a pioneer in human data management. As a co-founder of The Balfour Motivational Research Institute (BMRI) , he spent years identifying and codifying the key human factors that contribute to motivation and success. Dr. Coker presents a unique blend of academic research, corporate consulting ex...

In this episode of Industrial Risk: Beyond the Blueprint, Charles Paajoe (Charles Tetteh) —Ghanaian-American photographer, safety leader, and founder of Humans Among Us—joins host Jowanza Joseph to explore how photography becomes a bridge between cultures, who the “voiceless” are in America’s industrial heartland, and why the skills that make great storytelling also make great safety leadership.​...

In this episode of Industrial Risk: Beyond the Blueprint, Jeff Krimmel reveals how first principles analysis cuts through market chaos to inform capital decisions, M&A diligence, and strategic positioning in the evolving energy landscape. About the Guest Jeff Krimmel is the founder of Krimmel Strategy Group (KSG) , a strategy consulting firm focused on the energy sector, with a PhD in Mechanical E...

In this episode of Industrial Risk: Beyond the Blueprint, Steve Munn —Client Advisor and Master Work Comp Advisor at MAI Risk Advisors—joins host Jowanza Joseph to reveal the critical difference between simply buying insurance and actively managing risk to protect your bottom line. About the Guest Steve Munn , MBA, MWCA is a Client Advisor and Master Work Comp Advisor at MAI Risk Advisors and Main...

About the Guest Lewis Eisen, JD, CIP has been called “the man who makes policies fun”—and after 40 years as a lawyer, federal policy writer for the Government of Canada, and business consultant, he’s proven that strict rules don’t have to read like punishment. As a two-time Britt Literary Award winner (2020 and 2025), IQ Article of the Year recipient (2024), and creator of the Perfect Policies™ ap...

About the Guest Rob Fisher —founder of Fisher Improvement Technologies and a pioneer with over 30 years of experience deploying Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) across 40 countries. He has conducted over 100 successful HOP integration strategies across heavy industry. Also, the author of  Understanding Mental Models , a speaker, and a mentor. Rob Fisher’s Philosophy Error is normal—but i...

⚠️ Content Warning This episode contains discussions of suicide and mental health crises. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help: * National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (U.S.): Call or text 988 (available 24/7) * Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 * International Association for Suicide Prevention: www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres You ar...

About the Guest Giovanni Peri is the C. Bryan Cameron Distinguished Professor of Economics at UC Davis and Director of the UC Davis Global Migration Center , an interdisciplinary research hub focused on international migration and refugees. His research examines how immigration affects labor markets and productivity, and it has been published in top journals and widely discussed in major media out...

About the Guest: Dr. Ivan Pupulidy is an internationally recognized expert on safety and risk in complex adaptive systems who has transformed how federal agencies and organizations worldwide approach accident investigation. As former Director of Human Performance, Innovation, and Organizational Learning at the U.S. Forest Service , he developed the Learning Review process in 2013—a methodology tha...

About the Guest: Dr. Rainer Hoff is a pioneer in process safety management applications for the chemical, oil and gas, energy, and life sciences sectors, and a leading authority on electronic document management systems (EDMS). Dr. Rainer Hoff’s Philosophy Configurability isn't about letting everyone do whatever they want—it's about respecting that different facilities, different processes, and di...

About the Guest: Brent Sutton —Managing Director of Learning Teams Inc. and author of foundational texts in the "New View" safety movement—joins to revolutionize how we think about incident investigation and organizational learning. For decades, organizations have followed the same playbook after something goes wrong: investigations, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and often, blame. Brent...

About the Guest: Trish Kerin is the former Director of the IChemE Safety Centre and a globally recognized process safety leader whose career spans Mobil Oil, Australian Vinyls, and Wesfarmers Kleenheat Gas, where she served as National Health and Safety Manager. She has represented industry on government committees, served on the board of Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environm...

About the Guest: Rob Galbraith is the Founder and CEO of Forestview Insights and author of the international bestseller The End of Insurance As We Know It (2019). With nearly 20 years at USAA pioneering advanced analytics before "data science" was even a term, Rob has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. He holds a Master's of Science in Insurance Management from Boston...