Dr. Timothy Ludwig is a professor at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina as well as the author of dozens of scholarly articles and several books, including “Intervening to Improve the Safety of Occupational Driving.”

After several years worth of research related to motivation and safety, Dr. Ludwig continues to teach both undergraduate and graduate courses, organizes the annual Appalachian Safety Summit and consults with companies on how to improve safety culture using behavioral psychology.

In this episode of the No Accident podcast, presented by TRUCE, Dr. Ludwig explains why companies need to stop focusing on zero accidents, why observing employees at work is a great tactic for leadership and how simply promoting communication and improving workers’ environment can help improve safety.

“Once you get them talking, they know the right answers,” he says. “The smartest people in the room are the employees. They're on the front line doing the work. They can tell you what the risks are.”