EHS on Tap

The threat from workplace violence is very real, and employers simply can’t afford to ignore it. In this episode of EHS on Tap, we’re talking about the intersection of workplace violence with another common organizational concern: substance abuse. We are joined today by Patrick Prince, the associate vice provost and chief threat assessment officer for the University of Southern California. In addition to his role at USC, Patrick is a standing member of corporate threat assessment teams for several Fortune 500 companies as well as numerous cities and government agencies, and he has consulted on more than 2,800 cases of workplace violence.

Good training is the cornerstone of every successful environment, health, and safety program. However, it can be a challenge to ensure that your trainees engage with, absorb, and—perhaps most importantly—retain the information you need to communicate to them. There are plenty of methods and tools out there that aim to maximize adult learning, and one of them is making a great impact in the training space right now: Microlearning. Today on EHS on Tap, we’re chatting with Carol Leaman, CEO of Axonify. Carol is a microlearning expert who is here to help us learn more about this training tool and how it can help EHS professionals in their employee education efforts.

There are a lot of exciting innovations popping up in the field of environment, health, and safety, and the technological revolution shows no signs of slowing down. What does this interconnectedness of safety functions, what we might call the digital transformation of EHS, mean for you? We have two guests today to talk to us a little more about what we call “connected safety”: Joe O’Brien, the founder of Corvex Connected Safety, and Tom Votel, the founder, president, and CEO of Ergodyne.

It’s one of the most instantly recognizable hazards when you step onto many worksites—noise. A lot of us tend to think, well, just use some PPE, and that’s that. However, there’s much more to a hearing conservation program than meets the eye, or, shall we say, meets the ear. What are some of the things you may be overlooking in your hearing conservation efforts, from hidden risks to the value of audiometric testing? Well, today we’re talking with a hearing conservation expert who may have some great thoughts on the matter, so let’s listen up! Our guest today, Alexa Gough, is the Occupational Hearing Conservation Business Unit Manager at SHOEBOX Audiometry. In this role, she works with some of the most forward-thinking manufacturers and onsite or near-site occupational healthcare providers in North America. She has a passion for partnering with them to find innovative ways of improving the way they deliver audiometric testing as part of a hearing conservation program, all while helping them achieve their overall business objectives.

We all know that protecting employees from safety and environmental hazards is just the right thing to do, but business needs cannot be ignored. Going beyond compliance, how can an EHS manager demonstrate to business stakeholders the return on investment of their efforts—or, to put it another way, what is the return on safety in the organization? Well, we’re talking with an expert today who can help us better understand return on safety, from proper safety investment to experience modification rates. Our guest today, Mark Woodward, is a Senior Safety and Risk Trainer at Missouri Employers Mutual, a safety company and Missouri’s number one workers compensation insurance provider. Throughout his career, Mark has instructed tens of thousands of workers on how to improve workplace safety and prevent injuries on the job.

When we talk about safety culture, often the focus is on soft skills—things like effective leadership, good communication, management and employee buy-in, and so forth. However, what many EHS managers may be overlooking in their day-to-day efforts to build safety culture is the role of technology. Are you leveraging new innovations to build the best safety program possible at your organization? We have two guests today on EHS on Tap to help us take a look at this issue, from a company called, fittingly, SafetyCulture! We're joined today by Daniel Cummings, Customer Success Manager, and Josh Yeamans, Product Expert. Daniel works with large customers as an industry expert to ensure best in class implementation of technology and software, and Josh works with customers on various integration projects and technical development to get the most out of safety and quality in an organization.

If you’re an EHS professional, your organization’s safety culture must be a major focus—but a strong culture can be tricky to build. Sure, it’s easy to say that you want a safety culture built on inspiration, not fear, and that the goal is for employee engagement in safety to be positively pursued, not mandated. But how do you walk that line between encouragement and discipline, between being a safety coach and being a safety cop? Our guest has some suggestions! Here with us today is Shawn M. Galloway, President of ProAct Safety. Shawn is a consultant, professional speaker, and author of several bestselling books on safety strategy, culture, leadership, and Behavior-Based Safety.His clients include most of the best safety-performing organizations within every major industry, and he has received awards for his significant contributions from multiple organizations, including the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Since the presidential election in 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency and its regulatory agenda have been no stranger to controversy. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has stated multiple times that his goal is to roll back regulations, and while some rules have been delayed, repealed, or otherwise rendered toothless, most regs are still on the books. However, some of the rhetoric may have lured companies into a false sense of security regarding environmental enforcement, causing business leaders to think that environmental compliance no longer matters. Putting all politics aside, this belief could be a big risk for organizations, both logistically and financially. Today we’re talking about this issue with Jeff Ladner, Vice President of Environmental Performance for Sphera. For 20 years, Jeff has been helping corporations drive operational excellence and effectively manage operational risk, focusing on environmental performance, personnel and process safety, product stewardship, supply chain management, risk assessment, and change management. In his current role, Jeff leads the Sphera solution strategy, helping corporations implement and make the most of the Sphera’s EHS management systems.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s electronic reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses, also known at the recordkeeping and electronic submission rule, has been a source of confusion for many EHS professionals. Deadlines for compliance have been delayed time and again, and some professionals aren’t even sure what compliance means for them and their organizations. Fortunately, our guest for Episode 32 of EHS on Tap--Jay Finegan, Compliance Services Leader for Dakota Software-- is here to help us sort through it all.

Managing the use and abuse of drugs in the workplace is getting trickier by the day. Between a national wave of marijuana legalization and an opioid epidemic, EHS pros nationwide have their hands full staying in line with both federal and local laws while also keeping their workplaces safe and incident-free. It can be tough to know what sorts of policies are best for employers in the current environment, and it means that safety will be doing a lot of cooperation with human resources. Our guest is Nina M. French, Managing Partner for the Current Consulting Group. Nina has over 25 years of experience in employee screening and managing drug-free workplace operations in a wide variety of fields, with a consulting emphasis on helping companies streamline operations, define product portfolios, and align core business goals.