The Safety Guru

We're excited to have Tom Corfield join the podcast this week to share his inspiring and heartfelt story of lessons he's learned in overcoming adversity and prioritizing safety. At the age of 17, Tom was working as an apprentice in construction when he was involved in a workplace incident that left him blind. In this deeply moving episode, he shares the impact the incident had on his loved ones an...

Charlie Curreri, retired Air Force F16 pilot and American Airlines Airbus 320 Captain as well as founder and developer of Project Wingman, makes a special appearance on The Safety Guru this week! With his keen insight and extensive research, Charlie has discovered the great need for peer-to-peer hotlines in the aviation industry and has taken action by creating and continuing to develop Project Wi...

In this episode, Steven Kirby joins The Safety Guru to share his inspiring journey of resilience, hope, and purpose. Steven was involved in a workplace incident in 2011 that deeply affected him both physically and mentally. In our conversation, Steven shares his extraordinary story and reveals how he has transformed his personal life-changing events into a lifelong mission to inspire others. His m...

Steve Howe, motivational speaker and Safety Director at Emil Anderson Group, joins The Safety Guru this week to share his powerful story with us. He suffered a serious injury at work in 2006 when an excavator bucket struck him through his abdomen. Steve shares insights surrounding motivations behind shortcuts, the crucial influence that supervisors possess in truly promoting a safe culture, and pr...

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we're very excited to feature Anna Feringa, expert in leadership and Mental Health and best practices in workplace Mental Health, on the podcast this week. "No one can be 100% safe in any workplace if they're not healthy both mind and body." When an individual is not well in their mind, they're more inclined to make poor decisions resulting in more...

"Culture comes from the top and is enacted from the bottom." Dr. David Hofmann has been researching safety climate and leadership for over 20 years and joins the podcast this week to discuss the multi-level aspects of improving safety culture and the daily micro-decisions leaders make that in turn affect safety performance. Tune in to learn strategies for leaders to personalize safety in a tangibl...

"Nobody ever said to me, 'Cut corners, work unsafely, product over people.' No one ever said that. I think it was an invisible pressure that I put on myself." In this powerful and inspiring episode, Lisa and David share their story and experience surrounding Lisa's workplace incident that occurred seventeen years ago and how they continue to overcome the mental and physical aftermath within their...

According to OSHA, implementing an ergonomic process is effective in high-risk industries and increases productivity. Join our conversation with professional ergonomist Carrie Taylor to learn the many benefits of ergonomics in improving overall safety, quality, productivity, and employee engagement in the workplace. Tune in to learn strategies to drive impact and success in implementing proper and...

"The beauty of human factors is that it's applicable in every space. It's just the stories that change." In this episode, we're excited to have Gareth Lock take us on a deep dive into organizational learning, decision-making, and safety culture through the lens of human factors. Tune in as Gareth shares practical advice for creating a shared mental model within an organization through prioritizing...

"In reality, most organizations find that slips, trips, and falls are one of their highest causes of regular injury." According to the CDC, over a million Americans are injured every year from a slip, trip, or fall, which accounts for at least 15% of all workplace injuries in the U.S. Rob Shaw joins The Safety Guru this week to share his insights regarding the science behind eliminating slips, tri...

We are excited to have John Toomey join the podcast this week to offer ideas to combat the three core injury drivers: stress, fatigue, and distractions. In this episode, John shares heartfelt personal experiences that focus on the importance of connecting and showing care for others. Tune in to learn inspiring ways to reduce serious incidents and increase personal well-being in the workplace throu...

Having trouble sleeping or not getting enough sleep? Sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality can affect judgment and mental health, potentially increase the risk of accidents or injuries, and have a negative impact on safety and job performance. In this episode, Ahna shares the importance of quality sleep to improve workplace safety and energize your team. Adequate and quality sleep is a must to...

"At that time, we had focused so much on line of duty deaths, but what we did not know is that suicides were starting to outpace line of duty deaths in the fire service." Manuel Almaguer remembers back to 2013 when the Denver Fire Department began to roll out training with an intentional focus on discussing stressors, risk factors, and ways to take care of themselves and each other in public safet...

As we near the end of 2022, we would like to take a moment to thank all of our special guests for sharing their expertise with us. We are grateful to have had many outstanding guests from academia to executives, safety experts, and motivational speakers from around the globe join the show this year. Tune in to this week's episode as our host Eric Michrowski reflects on the top 8 themes and ideas f...

In honor of Family Month, we are delighted to have Brad Livingston and Kayla Rath join the podcast to share their powerful and heartfelt story. Brad had been working at a natural gas pipeline company when he experienced a potentially life-ending incident at work. Kayla remembers vividly the day her mom's best friend came to pick her up from elementary school after the incident had occurred. Brad u...

"At the end of the day, whatever you're working on is never as important as your family back at home." This Thanksgiving season, we are grateful to have Louise Adamson join the podcast as she recalls the events that led to the loss of her brother in a fatal workplace incident in 2005. Louise accentuates the critical need for safety leaders to possess greater care for their team members than the wo...

“Improving safety culture is vital to long-term performance excellence.” We are very excited to have Dr. Josh Williams join us on the podcast this week to dive into how to bolster safety culture as he shares his insights into the five core competencies of safety leadership. Forward thinking leaders must continually consider ways to enhance safety culture. Explore ways to improve the effectiveness...

Patte Ackerman joins us on the podcast this week to discuss the many benefits of implementing effective stretching programs in the workplace. Tune in as she shares the life-changing effects just seven minutes of stretching can produce and the need for safety leaders to embrace and champion stretching at work. After all, studies have shown that stretching improves coordination and balance, increase...

In this episode, we have a very important conversation with Cam Mackey and Dan Glucksman about the reality and risk of heat stress. Unfortunately, the danger of extreme heat increases each year due to continuing effects of climate change. According to OSHA, workers suffer over 3,500 injuries and illnesses related to heat each year. Tune in to learn how organizations can implement effective strateg...

"How can people own a safety program if we don't let them own it and create it?" In this episode, we have an engaging conversation with Ron Gantt about the secret sauce of involving employees in safety discussions at an organizational level. Safety leaders must be intentional about seeking employee input but also identifying processes that encourage or inadvertently discourage necessary safety col...

In observance of World Suicide Prevention Day and National Suicide Prevention Week in the United States, we are privileged to have Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas join the podcast. In this episode, Dr. Sally shares how the loss of her brother to suicide in 2004 left her with a calling to help prevent this from happening to others by engaging the workplace in crucial conversations about suicide prevention...

Ken Woodward was involved in a chemical explosion at work that resulted in the loss of his eyesight, smell, and taste. Rather than talking just as a victim, he embraces what can be learned from the incident that cost him three of his senses. In this episode, Ken stresses the importance of all team members working together equally to target zero damage to people, equipment, products, and finances....

Alyssa Grocutt was 11 years old when her father suffered a fatal workplace safety incident. Over time, this incident has given Alyssa the passion, purpose, and drive toward a meaningful career in bringing awareness to the topic of workplace safety and safety incidents. In this heartfelt episode, Alyssa shares the true impact workplace injuries and fatalities have on family members, friends, cowork...

Seeking a bid idea to significantly level up safety leadership and performance as an Executive or Safety Leader? In this episode, Martin Royal introduces the power of Executive Safety Coaching and dives into its ROI - improved productivity, better teamwork, a safe space to process and reflect, and support for your internal and external goals. Interested in executive safety coaching? As part of Pro...

According to the FBI, the number of active shooter incidents identified in 2021 represents a 52.5% increase from 2020 and a 96.8% increase from 2017 in the United States. Anthony Corwin, the Managing Director at Active Violence Emergency Response Training, walks us through how to appropriately respond in an active shooter incident in this episode. Tune in to learn how you can remain situationally...