The Accidental Safety Pro

Podcast series host Jill James connects with filmmaker Dave DeSario, an unlikely workplace safety champion and outspoken reform advocate.  Dave, a lifelong temp worker, is founder of the Alliance for the American Temporary Workforce. His 2015 film A Day’s Work—a must-see for any occupational safety and health leader—spotlights the plague of serious injuries and workplace fatalities (SIFs) amongst the fast-growing temporary labor force. You’ll learn about the safety nuances and pitfalls of non-traditional employee-employer relationships, the correlation between workers’ compensation systems and increase in temp staffing nationwide, and why this population of workers is more at-risk than your traditional employee population. This episode will connect you with resources to ensure you’re in-step with OSHA’s guidelines for temp worker safety, and open your eyes to an unseen safety epidemic that may hit close to home.

Jill James, Chief Safety Officer and show host, talks with Justin, a VP of Safety, with an oil and gas company in Texas–live from the Expo floor of the NSC Congress.

​This episode features John Dony, Director of the Campbell Institute and Director of EH&S at the National Safety Council. He sits down to talk with host and Vivid’s Chief Safety Officer Jill James, live on the Expo floor of the NSC Congress, about the work and research taking place at the Campbell Institute.

Series host Jill James sits down with the President and CEO of the National Safety Council, Debbie Hersman. Together they discuss safety legislation, being a “worst case scenario mom”, and the new mission of the NSC - eliminating preventable deaths in our lifetime.

Russell, a electrical safety pro from Texas, joins us live on the floor of the NSC to talk with our Chief Safety Officer and host Jill James.

Our host Jill James sits down with the Safety Training Ninja, Regina McMichael from the Learning Factory, live from the floor of the NSC Expo.

Podcast series host Jill James connect with Paul, a safety professional of 26 years.  Paul’s interest in safety took root as an undergrad, and grew after taking advantage of an internship.  For Paul, occupational safety proved to be the ideal professional combination: risk management, law, economics, and engineering. He started his career with the technical writing of lockout-tagout and respiratory protection programs, a job that paved the way to a major corporate environmental health and safety (EHS) department. After that, Paul investigated serious injuries & fatalities (SIFs) for a decade before moving to the University of Minnesota’s occupational health division.  You’ll learn about the life of a young safety professional on the road, covering 400K miles from plant to plant in America’s heartland. Paul’s also got a bunch of near-miss stories any safety pro will connect with, along with advice for building safety “street cred”, and having rewarding experiences working with Millennials.

Podcast series host Jill James catches up with Mark, who’s got 36 years of professional industrial hygiene experience, with never a dull moment.While Mark was orienting his undergraduate studies for a career in environmental science, a chance encounter with a federal OSHA inspector opened his eyes to possibilities involving occupational safety and health.You’ll learn how Mark’s blue-collar upbringing influenced his perspectives on occupational safety, and how a 7-year adventure in Alaska working as one of about 15 industrial hygienists in the entire state, solidified his professional interest (along with some measure of local celebrity) by offering the truly unique experience of working with under-served Native American communities.Mark’s story will take you all over the country—and back—and from the public sector to private consulting. You’ll visit the frontlines of asbestos abatement, HAZWOPER training, OSHA public hearings on workplace violence, and meetings with the National Academy of Science.

Podcast series host Jill James speaks with Scott, a safety engineer in the telecomm industry, and published author. An 18-year professional safety veteran, Scott started his journey as an undergraduate psych major when a summer job at the local factory gave him his first taste of occupational safety. From there, Scott went on to graduate-level education in the safety discipline, making him a rarity in the field. His diverse career includes stints in consulting, temp staffing, prison safety, and shoe manufacturing. You’ll learn all about how occupational safety principles are applied in the corrections industry, what it takes to write a corporate safety manual, and what machine operators can teach you about safe work design. For Scott, the key to working safely is found through exploration of why people perform their jobs in specific ways. His well-researched conclusion: change the job, not the people.

Ever wonder what occupational safety looks like for a Hollywood studio?This episode of the podcast finds series host Jill James talking with Carolina, a safety leader at Pixar. Her fascinating journey to occupational safety included a pit stop in franchise motor vehicle service, aviation electronics, emergency medical technician (EMT) certification, and a decade with the municipal police department. Her credentials and diversity of experience—emergency management, security, workers comp—ultimately helped her score a job with Pixar, a Disney company.A demonstrated life-long learner, Carolina’s hands-on, knee-deep, sponge-like approach to safety professionalism is a lesson for any aspiring EHS leader. This discussion shares some of the resources she’s leveraged along the way, including CAL-OSHA trainings, OSHA 10-hour, peer mentoring, and safety industry expertise.