Safety Labs by Safety Products Global

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr. Fred Sherratt, a world-leading academic in the field of construction safety and the founder of Straight Talk Safety. Drawing on her decades of experience and research, Fred explains why safety in construction is never static, and why, at its heart, safety is a people’s game.She describes the unique challenges of an industry where crews, work areas, and priorities constantly shift, positioning construction as a powerful case study for EHS professionals managing change. Fred discusses how production pressures, subcontracting, and evolving environments affect performance, and how leadership, respect and communication keep people safe when conditions are unpredictable.Fred also explores why measuring “safety culture” misses the point, arguing that safety is continually recreated through human relationships and shared understanding. Her perspective and wisdom offer highly practical ways to make systems more adaptable, guide teams effectively, and build trust in complex workplaces.Fred’s company: Straight Talk SafetyFred’s book: Unpacking Construction Site SafetyDr. Fred Sherratt on LinkedIn: Fred Sherratt | LinkedInSafety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.globalIf you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr. Matt Law — certified safety professional, researcher, strategist, author, and podcast host. Matt explores why safety research often fails to actually help EHS practitioners in the workplace.He breaks down what makes research “bad,” the roles of qualitative and quantitative methods, and how statistical findings can be better translated for real-world use.Dr. Law also discusses academic limitations, the communication barriers caused by paywalls and jargon, and how digital platforms — from podcasts to TikTok — are changing the way research reaches safety professionals.This interview is packed with practical advice for practitioners to evaluate research critically, stay curious, and collaborate with researchers to measure what really works in practice.Matt’s podcast: Prove It To Me - Real Research, Real Data, No BS | Dr. Matt LawLearn more about Matt’s work: Dr. Matt Law | Explore Proven Environmental, Health, and Safety StrategiesMatt currently serves on the Board of Directors for the: Society for Total Worker HealthDr. Matt Law on LinkedIn: Matt Law, DrPH, CSP, REHS | LinkedInSafety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.globalIf you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Ron Gantt, Vice President of EHS at Beal Infrastructure and a leading voice in safety management. Ron helps safety professionals navigate the challenges of working with contractors, where hidden coordination costs and fragile common ground often undermine safety.He explains why contractors add complexity, how authority differentials distort information flow and risk, and why coordination needs to be treated as real work. Ron introduces practical approaches to build stronger relationships, from co-locating teams and aligning work hours to asking the unexpected question: “How do we want to argue together?”Ron also shares his views on who should be responsible for overseeing coordination, and offers a more collaborative alternative to punitive contractual agreements.Beyond contractors, he also shares valuable advice to help EHS professionals move away from regulations or best practices and thoughtful guidance on truly understanding how people work.Packed with insights and real-world advice, this conversation shows how better collaboration and evidence-based practice can transform safety outcomes.Recommended coordination research:Dr Laura McGuire:Dr Laura McGuire - Edge Hill UniversitySarah ButtSarah BUTT | Research profileSafety podcast co-hosted by Ron:Punk Rock SafetyRon Gantt on LinkedIn:Ron Gantt | LinkedInSafety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.globalIf you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

This podcast explores different safety theories and frameworks such as Safety Differently, New View Safety, Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), Critical Risk Management, High-Reliability Organization (HRO) framework, and Behavior-Based Safety. Various guests provide insights and opinions on these approaches, highlighting key principles and debates surrounding them. The podcast emphasizes the need for an open mind, discusses changes in safety industry attitudes, and promotes continuous learning and adaptation in the field.

Greg Smith, an international award-winning author and qualified lawyer specializing in Safety and Health Management, discusses the disconnect between safety processes and their purpose. He highlights the challenges of preventing accidents completely and critiques the criminalization of safety. The episode explores the commercialization of safety culture and the corruptibility of safety processes. It proposes an inquiry-based model for addressing safety breaches and emphasizes the need for executive-level safety literacy. The guest provides training advice and recommended resources for safety professionals.

This podcast episode delves into the limitations of traditional safety metrics, the unrealistic goal of zero harm, the drawbacks of safety walks, challenges with health and safety data, negative consequences of a disciplinary approach to safety incidents, and finding a balance between safety and production in organizations.

Christian Harris, founder of Slips Safety Services and host of multiple safety podcasts, delves into the transformative power of personal branding for EHS professionals. He shares his life-changing journey into safety and explains how authenticity can enhance communication and influence within the industry. Harris offers practical tips on leveraging social media effectively, emphasizing engagement and storytelling. He underlines the importance of building trust and a unique online presence, particularly through platforms like LinkedIn.

In this episode, we’re conducting a thorough investigation of a EHS practitioner’s job description to help you focus on the areas of workplace safety that matter most.We've compiled a collection of thoughts, opinions and ideas about Safety professional’s key responsibilities from 20 of our previous guests.All agree that practitioners are no longer “Safety Cops” but what should they be instead: facilitators, conduits, coaches? Are they best placed to write policies, implement procedures or conduct investigations? Do duties need to expand into workplace bullying, mental health and full psychosocial risk management? And is Safety even the HSE professional's responsibility??This Safety role special presents multiple perspectives on these crucial questions from experienced HSE professionals, consultants, authors and academics. It doesn't conclude with a definitive job description, but will help you decide what to do more of - and what is no longer in your remit.Featured guests (in order of appearance):James Junkin (Episode 37): What is a Safety Professional?Tanya Hewitt (Episode 7): What do we think the Safety manager's job is?Sam Goodman (Episode 27): Redefining the role of SafetySubena Colligan (Episode 34): Organizations don’t understand what Safety practitioners doChris Smith (Episode 2): Safety is the ultimate change leadership positionChris Moulden (Episode 31): From Safety Cop to ultimate team playerMikel Bowman (Episode 51): The power of Safety professionalsDavid Provan (Episode 58): Safety professionals can’t be everywhere!Bob Edwards (Episode 53): Safety practitioners can’t fix everything!Tony Muschara (Episode 70): Safety is not the Safety professional's responsibilityBrye Sargent (Episode 11): Safety practitioners shouldn’t implement Safety policiesBridget Leathley (Episode 19): Safety professionals aren't solely responsible for proceduresDr Gary Namie (Episode 41): Safety should be responsible for workplace bullyingJason van Schie (Episode 33): Safety’s role in managing psychosocial risksMark Alston (Episode 16): Facilitation is more important than ComplianceTim D’Ath (Episode 61): Safety professionals are conduitsCameron Stevens (Episode 62): Safety practitioners' role as a conciergeNicolai Massyn (Episode 63): Safety professionals are ideally placed to manage ESGDr Todd Loushine (Episode 74): The heightened value of Safety practitionersRosa Carrillo (Episode 57): Safety is an overlooked resourceDavid Provan (Episode 58): The future role of a Safety professional…Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find out more: www.sliceproducts.comIf you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

Carsten Busch, a safety historian, challenges the criticism of safety pioneer Herbert William Heinrich in an engaging interview. He explores Heinrich's work, emphasizes the importance of context, and reveals the surprising role of insurance companies in workplace safety. Carsten encourages safety professionals to read Heinrich's work before forming their opinions and explains the relevance of asking good questions. Check out Carsten's book on Heinrich and recommended reading. Safety Labs dives into the origins of safety as a profession and the concept of the 'new view' in safety.

Organizational psychologist and human factors specialist, Joelle Mitchell, discusses key topics such as psychosocial safety responsibilities, impact of organizational structures on workplace safety, managing trade-offs, incentivization issues, risk management controls, moral injuries, and the importance of humble inquiry. The podcast also covers improving safety culture in the offshore petroleum industry, challenges of incentive programs, governance for psychosocial health and safety, moral injury and organizational justice, the future of the health and safety profession, and advice for starting a safety career.