SafeTalk with SafeStart

Send us Fan Mail S15Ep12 The Map is Not the Terrain: Charting a New Course for Leadership Jamie Clarke is a world-renowned adventure leader, elite climber and performance coach who has inspired audiences as a sought-after speaker for more than 25 years. That’s exactly why we selected him as the opening keynote speaker for the 2026 SafeStart Forum. While some may see Jamie as a risk-taker, his pers...

Send us Fan Mail Now that summer is here, it's time to take our SafeStart skills on the water. Join Captain Danny and Captain Keith as they embark on ensuring safe passage this boating season. Host: Danny Smith Guest: Keith Carpenter Resources: http://www.americasboatingcourse.com/lawsbystate.cfm https://canadaboatsafety.com/?msclkid=af56ab55deaf12e22c18cd0529d01f72 https://www.boaterexam.com...

Send us Fan Mail Danny sits down with one of our newest consultants, Lauren, to explore how a human factors approach—brought to life through SafeStart—has become a valuable addition to her toolkit, helping her better manage her complicated relationship with focusing and staying on track in the face of everyday challenges like "adulting". Tune in for this light-hearted chat and come away...

Send us Fan Mail Workers' Memorial Day focuses on workers who lost their lives on the job. A lot of organizations use this day to raise awareness about safety issues, but that doesn't always reach the workers. Impacting workers can do a whole lot more. Join Tim and Abby as they break it all down. Host: Tim Page-Bottorff Guest: Abby Ferri

Send us Fan Mail You can spend months rolling out safety leadership training and still watch the impact fade if leaders do not have easy tools to reinforce it. That is why we put the spotlight on a resource many clients overlook: the SafeLead Client Portal. Tim Page-Bottorff sits down with SafeStart consultant Jeremy Hyde for a practical walkthrough of what is inside, how to get access, and how to...

Send us Fan Mail What if the biggest safety lever isn’t another rule, but a simple shift in how we manage our own states?  We sat down with one of our newest consultants, Tom Raught (a certified safety professional whose 40-year career spans hazardous waste, steel, chemical, telecom, oil and gas, and manufacturing), to unpack how safety transformed from equipment and checklists to human factors, p...

Send us Fan Mail Habits, not policies or procedures, decide what happens in the split second before an incident. We sit down with Cristian, a safety leader and author from Sydney, to unpack why the brain’s automatic systems drive most on-the-job behavior and how to reshape those systems toward safer defaults. Instead of shaming “bad choices,” we trace how repetition wires neural pathways that turn...

Send us Fan Mail Want more time with your people and less time buried in reports? In this episode, Danny sits down with Eduardo Lan to unpack how generative AI can shoulder the data grind so that safety leaders can focus on human things like culture and coaching. Understand AI in plain language—separating hype from practical value—and learn how you can turn a generic assistant into a sharp partner...

Send us Fan Mail The moments that change safety aren’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s a quiet nudge, a shared phrase, or a supervisor who chooses to coach instead of blame. We dig into the power of intervention—how speaking up with care, using clear safety language, and building psychological safety can stop injuries before they start and keep quality on track. Hosts: Danny Smith Tim Page-Bottorf...

Send us Fan Mail What if human factors were your organization’s secret advantage, not a list of hazards to police? We sat down with returning guest Peter Batrowny to flip the script—spotlighting intelligence, creativity, adaptability, empathy, intuition, passion, and especially resilience as performance multipliers across safety, quality, and culture. Host: Tim Page-Bottorff Guest: Pete Batrowny I...

Send us Fan Mail The fuse catches, your heart jumps, and instinct says run. That split second is where most firework injuries begin—not in the explosion, but in the rush, the stumble, and the moments when excitement outruns preparation. We unpack how holiday celebrations trigger the human states that lead to errors, and we turn that insight into a simple, repeatable plan you can trust. Host:  Dann...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a rising manager in a high-output factory realizes that the current tactics of fear, pressure, and blame don’t actually make people safer—or more successful?  SafeStart consultant Eduardo Lan sat down with us to recount his candid journey from toxic leadership to a people-first approach that blends systems thinking, human factors, and practical skill-building you...

Send us Fan Mail The first cold mornings call us to the woods, but the most important ritual of deer season isn’t sighting in or scouting—it’s how we manage risk when the headlamp clicks on. We sit down with to unpack why the most dangerous moments aren’t always the shot, but the climb, the drive, and the quiet drift toward complacency. From national trends that show firearm fatalities falling to...

Send us Fan Mail What if “human error” is the starting point—not the end—of a safer, smarter workplace? David Bianco sat down with us and discussed what a fair and just culture truly looks like under pressure, why trust always surpasses fear, and how small signals from leaders can influence how work is approached. Host: Danny Smith Guest: David Bianco https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1032442/episo...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine yourself cruising down the highway, you're feeling confident, the engine hums, and the sun is just starting to dip below the horizon. But what if I told you that confidence could be your downfall? That's precisely the conversation we had with Robyn Robertson from the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. Host: Danny Smith Guest: Robyn Robertson 

Send us Fan Mail Description 2 The integration of human factors principles into traditional behavioral observation processes transforms safety from a checkbox exercise into meaningful conversations that actually reduce risk. In this deep-dive discussion, consultant Shayne Arnaud draws on decades of experience to reveal why many BBS programs fail to deliver lasting results.  Host: Danny Smith Guest...

Send us Fan Mail Safety expert Joe Tantarelli joins Tim Page-Bottorff once again to conduct a "postmortem" on failed behavior-based safety (BBS) programs, examining the root causes with surgical precision. So, what's really wrong with BBS? Short answer: nothing. Tune in to find out what the problem is. Host: Tim Page-Bottorff Guest: Joe Tantarelli

Send us Fan Mail What separates the world's safest organizations from the rest? In this riveting conversation with our closing keynote speaker for the 2025 SafeStart Forum, Larry Pearlman, we'll take a deep dive into the practices that truly elite companies employ to achieve exceptional safety performance. Host: Danny Smith Guest: Larry Pearlman

Send us Fan Mail What do country music songwriting and safety culture have in common? More than you might think, according to Nashville songwriter Jimmy Yeary. Jimmy, who has written hits for Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, and George Strait, shares his philosophy on storytelling that has made him a sought-after songwriter in the country music world.  He also happens to be this year&ap...

Send us Fan Mail Safety doesn't clock out when we leave work—it becomes even more personal when applied to those we love most. Tyler Keith, a 14-year veteran at SafeStart, takes us on a journey through the everyday moments where safety concepts transform from workplace principles to family wisdom. Host: Danny Smith Guest: Tyler Keith

Send us Fan Mail Over the years, there have been many discussions about the usefulness of behavior-based safety (BBS). This discussion (not interview) between Tim and Shayne takes us behind the curtain of BBS implementation, revealing both its foundational strengths and historical missteps. Host Tim Page-Bottorff Guest: Shayne Arnaud

Send us Fan Mail Ready to revolutionize your safety program? SafeStart's Client Portal is the game-changer you've been waiting for. This comprehensive digital hub centralizes all SafeStart resources, making safety implementation more streamlined and effective than ever before. Host: Tim Page-Bottorff Guest: Dennis Carnrike

Send us Fan Mail Lake living offers tranquil beauty and endless recreation, but boating safety demands vigilance even from experienced enthusiasts. Danny Smith and Keith Carpenter, both lakeside residents and avid boaters, share essential wisdom acquired through years on the water, including a sobering reality check on recent statistics. Host: Danny Smith Guest: Keith Carpenter

Send us Fan Mail As temperatures climb across North America, the dangers of heat-related illnesses loom large for everyone—not just those in desert climates. This critical episode dives deep into the potentially life-threatening nature of heat stroke, a condition that strikes when the body's core temperature exceeds 104°F (40°C). Host: Tim Page-Bottorff https://safestart.com/news/beware-hidde...

Send us Fan Mail  The age-old question faced by many safety professionals isn't whether to implement human factors safety training, but rather where to begin. Should you start with leadership development through SafeLead or build individual safety skills with SafeStart? Our safety implementation specialists join us to help answer this crucial question. Host: Danny Smith Guests: Deric Ostrum a...