Safety Labs by Safety Products Global

Former OSHA compliance officer turned safety educator Dr. Todd Loushine discusses the importance of civil discourse in safety, promoting open-mindedness, mentorship, and collaboration among safety professionals. He emphasizes the value of soft skills, practical experiences, and continuous learning in developing successful safety practitioners. Todd envisions a future of innovation, job satisfaction, and worker well-being in the safety profession.

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr Peter Brace, a psychological safety consultant who helps organizations link respect and accountability through psychological safety to improve team performance.He begins this engaging conversation by clarifying how much influence Safety professionals can have on psychological safety. Perhaps surprisingly for a consultant, Peter explains that you can’t create psychologically safe workplaces. Instead he describes the conditions required for this emergent quality.Peter reveals the 5 key aspects of psychological safety (as defined by leading neuroscientist David Rock): Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness - and how these conditions can be assessed and cultivated.He also clears up the common misconceptions about psychological safety, highlights the key benefits and explains how this quality can be easily measured.Safety practitioners will learn how psychological safety is an important precursor for physical health and safety, while deepening awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion.Find out more about Peter’s work:Human Capital RealisationPeter recommends the work of Professor Amy Edmondson and Dr. Timothy ClarkDr Peter Barce on LinkedIn:Peter Brace PhD | LinkedInSafety 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

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Murray Ritchie, an experienced OHS practitioner, researcher, educator, and speaker who’s worked with various industries, governments, and NGOs.He joins us to discuss the content of his new book: ‘Seven Bad Habits of Safety Management - Examining Systemic Failure’ (published September 2023).Murray gives EHS professionals an honest, open and comprehensive appraisal of current approaches to Safety Management, covering education, regulations, Plan Do Check Act, the right to refuse, Heinrich, BBS, Zero Harm, Safety Culture, and so much more.This insightful interview is packed with real-life examples from his 40-year career and extension academic research, highlighting where the industry is failing to improve.Murray’s on a mission to propel Safety out of its ‘comfort zone’. This conversation helps HSE professionals focus on what’s important: finding facts and fixing them before somebody gets hurt.Find out more about Murray’s work:Tri-Lens Safety (trilenssafety.com)Murray’s book:Seven Bad Habits of Safety Management: Examining Systemic FailureMurray recommended the work of Sydney Dekker and Clive LloydContact Murray by email:murray@trilenssafety.comMurray Ritchie on LinkedIn:Murray Ritchie MSc | LinkedInSafety 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

Exploring the controversial term of safety culture, this podcast presents multiple perspectives from experienced professionals. It tackles the confusion surrounding its definition and delves into the stages of safety culture progression. The importance of relationships, soft skills, and a shared understanding of safety are emphasized. It also discusses the impact of culture and peer pressure on behavior and the role of technology in shaping safety policies.

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Tony Muschara, a Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) specialist and owner of Mushara Error Management Consulting.He’s also the author of several Safety books, including ‘Risk-based Thinking’, and its follow-up ‘Critical Steps’ -  which is the main focus of this fascinating interview.Tony begins by exploring the role of an EHS professional and reveals his strongly-held views on where responsibility for workplace Safety lies within an organization.He then describes the 4 elements of risk-based thinking (anticipate, monitor, respond and learn), before sharing his recent research into the importance of critical steps in Safety management. Safety professionals will learn what they are, how they can be identified and what can be done to ensure they are completed successfully - first time and every time - to avoid significant harm.This discussion is packed with wisdom from Tony’s distinguished career in Safety, including why aiming for excellence isn’t always good enough, when to think slow, how to fail safely, and his mantra: “If you don’t have doubts, you haven’t been paying attention”.Your approach to Safety will definitely be enhanced by paying attention to this interview!Find out more about Tony’s work: MuscharaBooks recommended by Tony:Managing the Risk of Organizational Accidents and Organizational Accidents Revisited by James ReasonOperational Risk Control by Derek VinerManaging the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of ComplexityBy Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. SutcliffeOrganizing for Safety by Andrew HopkinsEngineering a Safer World by Nancy LevesonTony Muschara on LinkedIn:Tony Muschara | LinkedInSafety 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

Entrepreneur Stephan Wiedner explores the teachability of interpersonal skills for safety professionals. He emphasizes breaking down empathy into practical skills, debunking the belief that these skills are inherent. The podcast highlights the importance of trust, persuasion, and approachability in safety management, focusing on improving psychological safety and dispelling misconceptions about developing interpersonal skills.

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Christian Hunt, author of 'Humanizing Rules' and founder of Human Risk, a consultancy and training firm that brings behavioral science to ethics & compliance.Christian helps Safety practitioners understand and minimize their exposure to human risk, and he begins by explaining why he wrote his latest book.Packed with entertaining anecdotes, this lively conversation explores the 3 key drivers of human behavior and introduces a simple framework (‘HUMANS’) that will help EHS professionals evaluate and design behavioral interventions (e.g. a new rule or communication program).Throughout the interview, Christian emphasizes the importance of looking at things from the workers’ perspective - who are humans, not robots:“Think not about what we would like people to do, but what they're likely to do.”In this action-packed episode, we also learn 6 golden rules of compliance, including ‘Compliance is an outcome, not a process’, and ‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should’.This was Christinian’s second appearance on our podcast (his first was episode 4), and we hope he returns for a third time!Find out more about Christian’s work:Human Risk | Make your compliance programme more effectiveChristian’s new book: ‘Humanizing Rules’:Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & ComplianceChristian’s Podcast:The Human Risk PodcastBooks recommended by Christian:“Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374533555“Influence is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen” by Zoe Chance – https://www.amazon.com/dp/198485433XChristian Hunt on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/humanrisk/Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.comIf you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Jodi Goodall, a High-Reliability Organization (HRO) expert who’s been in the safety profession for 20 years. Her operational experience spans mining, defense, explosives, heavy maintenance and logistics, and she’s currently head of organizational reliability at Brady Haywood, a consultancy in Brisbane.Jody’s approach to Safety is based on systems thinking and the practices of HROs - and she begins this enlightening interview by explaining what strategies and organizations this acronym covers.She walks EHS practitioners through the 5 characteristics of HROs, using practical examples of how they can enhance workplace safety:Preoccupation with failureReluctance to simplifySensitivity to the operationsCommitment to resilienceDeference to expertiseJodi explains that HRO is dotted throughout all the current safety theories and calls for HSE professionals to focus on practices, not academia and recognize that we’re all heading in the same direction.She believes there’s too much investment in traditional Safety approaches and encourages the profession to welcome failure, trust the workforce, and be less judgemental and more helpful.Find out more about Jodi’s work:Brady Heywood | Complex Systems ThinkingJodi recommends the work of Andrew Hopkins:Amazon.com: Andrew Hopkins: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, KindleAnd this book about the US Nay culture:Extreme Operational Excellence: Applying the US Nuclear Submarine Culture to Your Organization eBook : DiGeronimo, Matt, Koonce, Bob: Amazon.com: BooksJodi Goodall on LinkedIn:Jodi Goodall | LinkedInSafety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.comIf you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Pam Walaski, Senior Vice President of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), who uses her considerable experience to teach the next generation of HSE practitioners.Pam shares her insightful views on the current state of safety education. She highlights the key gaps, limitations and challenges and explains which elements need to evolve.Safety professionals will also learn about Pam’s personal journey from “safety cop” mentality to seeing workers as the solution rather than the problem. This mindset shift has significantly influenced her approach to safety education, and rapport, empathy, respect, and dignity are key themes in this compassionate interview.Pam helps EHS professionals to stop thinking in terms of “right” and “wrong” and instead focus on learning, evolution and being open to change.Pam recommends these online resources for Safety practitioners:Safety Differently – Innovative and critical safety thinkingHuman and Organizational Performance | HOP HubAuthors recommended by Pam:Todd Conklin, Sidney Dekker and Rosa Antonia CarrilloPam also suggests listening to these podcasts:PreAccident InvestigationThe Safety of WorkPam Walaski on LinkedIn:Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP | LinkedInSafety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.comIf you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

Dr. L. Casey Chosewood discusses Total Worker Health (TWH) and its impact on workplace safety and wellbeing. He highlights the initiative's evolution, partnerships, and tools for EHS practitioners. TWH aims to improve workers' health and benefit society, promoting a vision for healthier workplaces. Learn more about TWH and access resources for implementing TWH approaches.