The Safety Spotlight

Ask most leaders if they have a good team and they'll say yes. Ken Larson's answer is that they have no idea what a real team is. In this episode of The Safety Spotlight, executive coach Ken Larson explains why most "teams" are really just a roster of talented people working near each other, not with each other. We get into interdependence, the misfire vs. the mishire, why you ge...

What happens when a safety professional stops writing policies and starts walking the floor instead?   In this episode of the Safety Spotlight Podcast, we sit down with Erin Heimbecker, Workplace Safety Specialist at the Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health (SASWH), to explore what it actually takes to build a safety culture that people believe in, not just comply with.  Erin&#39...

What does it take to keep millions of kilometers of road safe when 80% of everything we use every day depends on the people behind the wheel?  In this episode of the Safety Spotlight Podcast, we sit down with Mario Da Silva, Fleet Safety and Risk Management Leader at Manitoulin Transport, to explore what it really means to build a lasting safety culture inside one of Canada's most complex tran...

What does it really take to transform workplace safety from a compliance requirement into a deeply embedded culture? In this episode of the Safety Spotlight Podcast, we sit down with Tom Fitzgerald, founder of Safety Fitz LLC and a former foundry supervisor with over 50 years of experience in operations, HR, and safety leadership. Tom brings a rare perspective, having worked directly on the produc...

Psychological safety is often treated like something you install with a policy. But is it really a systems issue, or a leadership one? In this episode of Safety Spotlight, we sit down with Joan McMillan, Canadian Registered Safety Professional and PhD candidate in developmental psychology, to explore the human side of safety culture. With more than 20 years in health and safety, Joan brings a pers...

A lot of companies say “safety first.” Darren Varga, Director of EHS at Aecon Group Inc., argues that misses the point. If people do not trust the system, they stop talking, and that is when risk quietly stacks up. In this episode of  The Safety Spotlight , Darren shares how an ergonomics and biomechanics background, along with time as a Ministry of Labour inspector and global consultant, has shap...

Silica exposure is one of the oldest known occupational hazards in the world, yet it remains widely misunderstood, under-prioritized, and routinely mismanaged across modern industries.   In this episode of The Safety Spotlight , we sit down with Nayab Sultan , an occupational and environmental health specialist with decades of international experience, to unpack why silica continues to pose such a...

"If I don't have room to improve, the system is broken." That is the philosophy that drives Rick Sikora, CEO of Cranemasters. In this episode of The Safety Spotlight, Rick shares why he questioned the validity of a 97% audit score - and why questioning what we do is the only way to fight complacency. Rick breaks down the critical difference between "common sense" and "...

In this episode of Safety Spotlight, we sit down with Tyler Foley, a former stuntman turned safety consultant and the founder of Total Buy-In HSE Consulting. Tyler shares his unique backstory, moving from performing six-story high falls into cardboard boxes to managing safety in high-risk industries, revealing how the principles of stunt work - like engineering controls and redundancy - directly t...

In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Rasoul, a Top Woman in Safety and safety leader at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. Sarah shares how an unexpected career path led her into occupational health and safety, and why proactive,prevention-focused work became her mission. She breaks down the power of a strong communication culture, the importance of worker engagement, and how tools like near mi...

Safety did not start as the headline for Jeff Mulligan , it became the mission. In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Jeff, COO of Astec Safety and an early catalyst behind Utility Safety Partners , explains how risk management evolved from a back-office function into a leadership priority. He also exposes the next big challenge facing safety leaders everywhere: aging, hidden infrastructure. How d...

Linda Miller never set out to transform how people move and work. Her early goal as a rehabilitation specialist was to help them recover. But after seeing how preventable injuries could derail entire careers, she started asking a powerful question: why are we treating the damage instead of preventing it? That question led her to ergonomics and a lifelong mission to design work that fits people, no...

In this powerful episode of Safety Spotlight , we sit down with Spencer Beach , a third-generation tradesman turned professional safety speaker, whose life was forever changed by a devastating workplace fire in 2003. What followed was more than a physical recovery. It was a complete transformation in how he understood safety, leadership, and purpose. Spencer recounts the day everything changed, th...

In this episode of Safety Spotlight , we sit down with Mike Schwarz , CEO of MyZone AI , for a candid look at the AI revolution already transforming how businesses operate. From his early dot-com ventures to leading large-scale automation projects, Mike shares real insights on how organizations can harness AI for massive ROI. He reveals how automation can streamline up to 90% of operations , why h...

In this episode of Safety Spotlight , we sit down with Jeff “Odie” Espenship , former A-10 Warthog pilot and founder of Target Leadership , for an unforgettable conversation about safety, culture, and the choices that define leadership. Odie shares hard-earned lessons from 10,000 feet up and from rock bottom, revealing how the smallest decisions can change everything. His message is clear: safety...

From Fulbright scholar to Facebook Europe’s early days to bestselling author, Mehmet Baha’s journey is anything but ordinary. In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Baha joins us from Berlin to unpack what psychological safety really means and why it is the backbone of high-performing, human-centered workplaces. We dig into the practical side of leadership, including how to build trust, communicate...

Join a conversation with Greg “Boss” Wooldridge , the only leader to command the U.S. Navy Blue Angels three times, as he translates elite aviation lessons into everyday leadership that scales safety and results. From carrier decks to corporate operations, Greg shows how trust built under pressure enables teams to perform with consistency without compromising safety. Greg’s path started on aircraf...

Sit down with Dr. Tom Krause, behavior-based safety pioneer, co-founder of BST (now within DEKRA), and partner at Krause Bell Group as he traces how safety leadership has fundamentally changed over the decades. From a foundation in clinical psychology to industry-wide innovation, Dr. Krause explains why behavior must be understood in context and how stopping at “the employee is at fault” blocks re...

In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Corrie Pitzer , founder of SafeMap International , dives into the complex and often counterintuitive world of workplace safety. From underground mining disasters to redefining what it means to be “safe,” Corrie shares his global journey of challenging traditional safety paradigms. He explains why overprotection can create “paralysis by safety,” how risk homeos...

Slip up in aviation? You investigate it, learn from it, and build systems to stop it from happening again. Slip up in a lab with a deadly pathogen? You might start a pandemic. In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Luca Filippo shares how his journey from helicopter pilot in Brazil to biosafety consultant revealed a truth most industries miss: system safety isn’t just for airplanes. It’s for any wo...

What if your workplace made people laugh more and report safety issues more? What if culture wasn’t just a “nice-to-have” but your greatest competitive advantage? In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Mike Kerr , international speaker and workplace culture expert, makes one thing clear: work shouldn’t suck the life out of people. With over 25 years of research, storytelling, and practical insight,...

What does true safety excellence look like in 2025? How do we make the safe choice the easy choice? And how can organizations move beyond compliance to build a culture that actually drives results? In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Shawn Galloway , global safety strategist, author, and CEO of ProAct Safety , explores how safety culture must evolve to meet modern challenges. From psychological...

What can safety professionals learn from life on the frontlines of policing? In this episode, former officer and frontline policing veteran  Catlin Chiasson  joins us to offer a rare, behind-the-scenes look into how empathy, communication, and evolving technologies are shaping the future of safety inside and outside law enforcement. With more than 14 years of policing experience across Indigenous...

What happens when we stop treating safety as rules and checklists and start focusing on people, connection, and how adults really learn? In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Juliana Bley , Brazilian work psychologist and founder of Safety Lab , shares insights from over 25 years of experience bringing human factors and learning design into high-risk industries around the world. Juliana has worked...

What happens when stress becomes the hidden hazard no checklist can catch? In this episode of Safety Spotlight , Sylvia Marusyk , occupational therapist and activational speaker, shares powerful insights from decades of experience helping organizations tackle the real pandemic: our inability to manage stress and regulate our nervous systems. Drawing on stories from frontline healthcare and global...