Leading and Learning Through Safety

The podcast episode discusses a tragic incident at a Kansas municipal airport where a 16-year-old worker was electrocuted while using a boom lift near high-voltage power lines. A 24-year-old worker also sustained severe burns in the incident. The host, Dr. Mark French, emphasizes the critical role of leadership and safety protocols in preventing such tragedies. He questions the decisions that led...

The podcast episode from Dr. Mark French focuses on the importance of leadership in safety, emphasizing the need for leaders to be directly involved and present where the work happens. French argues that safety is a key indicator of good leadership, as it reflects a fundamental concern for the well-being of employees. He discusses the concept of leading from the front, highlighting the necessity f...

Dr. Mark French discusses the contentious topic of OSHA's "one size fits all" approach to lawmaking. He emphasizes that while this standardized approach may sometimes seem rigid and frustrating, it is fundamentally designed to protect workers and prevent fatalities. Dr. French acknowledges the common criticism that such laws do not account for the unique circumstances of different i...

In this week’s "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, Dr. Mark French emphasizes the importance of capturing and understanding data to support risk reduction procedures, stating that good safety practices are indicative of good leadership. He highlights the need for organizations to learn from past incidents to prevent future occurrences. Dr. French references a recent Chemical S...

In this episode of the "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, hosted by Dr. Mark French, the focus is on systemic and normalizing incidents as part of a safety culture. Dr. French emphasizes the importance of learning from safety incidents to improve organizational practices. He highlights a recent report from the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) regarding...

This week on the "Leading and Learning through Safety" podcast, Dr. Mark French delves into the importance of safety in fostering effective communication within organizations. He emphasizes that a safe environment is crucial for encouraging empathy, innovation, and empowerment. Dr. French discusses a compelling journal article from the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, which exp...

This week's episode of the "Leading and Learning through Safety" podcast, hosted by Dr. Mark French, delves into the dynamics of silence and voice in the workplace, particularly their impact on safety and team motivation. Dr. French emphasizes the significance of creating a safe environment for employees, both physically and psychologically. He discusses a journal article from the J...

French, delves into the theme of safety in the media, focusing on its portrayal and the importance of accurate reporting. Dr. French shares his background in journalism and expresses his frustration with the media's handling of workplace safety incidents. He highlights a specific example of a misleading news headline about a fatal machinery accident, emphasizing that the term "mishap&quo...

This week's episode of the "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, hosted by Dr. Mark French, delves into the significance of safety in workplaces, particularly focusing on forklift and powered industrial vehicle incidents. Dr. French emphasizes the importance of creating strong organizational values, providing learning opportunities, fostering teamwork, and ensuring safety t...

This episode of the "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, hosted by Dr. Mark French, recaps the Tennessee Safety Conference in Nashville. Dr. French highlights the importance of both physical and psychological safety in the workplace, emphasizing that psychological safety is crucial for employees to feel comfortable reporting safety issues. He reflects on the conference's p...

This episode of the "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, hosted by Dr. Mark French, focuses on chemical safety and the importance of robust safety programs in workplaces dealing with high-heat chemical processes. Dr. French discusses a recent fatal fire in Chattanooga involving a chemical reaction used in a metal hardening process called nitriding. He highlights the critical ro...

The podcast episode delves into the intersection of core values, ethics, and legislation within organizations, particularly focusing on safety and leadership. It discusses the debate surrounding whether a company can truly embody ethics, arguing that while companies may have written value statements, it ultimately depends on the individuals within the organization to uphold those values. The host...

On this episode of the "Leading and Learning through Safety" podcast, Dr. Mark French discusses the significance of ethics in relation to workplace safety and its impact on the workforce. He emphasizes the importance of core values in creating a safe and healthy work environment, highlighting how companies often struggle to align their actions with their stated values. Dr. French explore...

In this episode of the "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, Dr. Mark French discusses the absence of science in decision-making and its impact. He reflects on a 1979 documentary titled "Song of the Canary: The DBCP Story," which explores a chemical plant's discovery of harmful effects due to the absence of data. Dr. French delves into how organizations sometimes...

In this episode of the "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, Dr. Mark French focuses on communication. He emphasizes the importance of effective communication in leadership, particularly in the context of safety. Dr. French discusses the challenges of two-way communication, highlighting the need for understanding and acknowledgment. He explores tools like the Blanchard SLII syst...

In this podcast episode, Dr. Mark French discusses workplace violence, emphasizing the importance of people-first leadership that prioritizes the safety and well-being of employees. He highlights recent incidents of workplace violence and acknowledges the challenges in predicting and preventing such incidents. Dr. French stresses the need for open communication channels within organizations to add...

In this episode, we talk about the control of hazardous energy.

In this podcast, we chat about workplace violence and the environment around workers. 

This week, the podcast is focused on what leads to a corporate culture of uncaring and apathy. Until, that is, something goes terribly wrong. 

This week we talk about cultures that erode good people practices

This week, we review the previous year and talk about accelerating leadership and safety for 2024.

This week, we take a brief look at what is on the horizon with OSHA for 2024

A study found that the number of injuries reported in January is higher than in December. We talk about this in this week's podcast

The Dunning-Kruger effect states that those with less knowledge may be more confident about that knowledge. How do we, as leaders, help guide those to learn more and challenge their understanding without belittling or sounding condescending?  All that and more in this podcast episode

This week, I talk about my own leadership journey and some of my own personal biases. There have been some key moments in my career and life that led to how I react. The good news is understanding leads to real change