EHS on Tap

In the first episode of EHS On Tap Two-Minute Warning, Karen Hamel of HalenHardy talks about what people need to know about heat stress.

On episode 74 of EHS on Tap, we’ve got a special crossover episode with Al Buczkowski and Allie Thunstrom, who host Ergodyne’s Radio Free Tenacity podcast. We talk a bit about their podcast and then present Episode 5 of Radio Free Tenacity, which focuses on fall prevention.

On episode 73 of EHS On Tap, Dr. Douglas Casa, CEO of the Korey Stringer Institute, and Margaret Morrissey, director of the National Heat Safety Coalition, discuss the need for increased awareness and safety standards around heat illness in industry.

On episode 72 of EHS on Tap, Bob Greene, senior human resource industry analyst at Ascentis, talks about what employers can expect from the updated OSHA inspection process.

Despite all the challenges currently facing business and industry, there arguably has been no better time to be an environment, health, and safety professional. Driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and also by the return on investment provided by strong safety and sustainability programs, organizations are valuing environment, health, and safety perhaps more than ever, and this presents great opportunities for the EHS field. However, these opportunities may also add to the complexities surrounding hiring and recruiting for EHS positions. So today on EHS on Tap, we spoke with Michael Zalle and Michelle Tinsley, cofounders of YellowBird, an online two-sided marketplace that quickly and easily connects EHS Professionals with businesses on-demand, facilitating the right people, in the right location, with the right experience for the job.

This week is the EHS Daily Advisor’s Safety Stand Down Week, and you can’t build a better safety program without paying close attention to your organizational safety culture. So for today’s EHS on Tap podcast, we’re chatting with Steve Roberts, PhD, co-founder and senior partner at Safety Performance Solutions and a safety culture and behavioral safety expert who has some best practices to help environment, health, and safety managers boost their organizational cultural efforts and build safer working environments for all employees companywide.

Today is May the Fourth, Star Wars Day, and to celebrate the occasion we're joining forces with fellow Star Wars nerd Jim Davis, host of our sister podcast, HR Works, and editor of the HR Daily Advisor for a couple of episodes focusing on human resources and environment, health, and safety (or, as is often the case, a conspicuous lack thereof) in the Star Wars universe. After you take a listen to this episode, be sure to check out some more Star Wars Day analysis from a human resources perspective over at HR Works.

In conversations about workplace safety and health, too often a certain category of business is left out of the conversation: Nonprofits. Yet these organizations, often heavily staffed by dedicated volunteers, share similar vulnerabilities as any other for-profit organization. On today’s podcast, we’re sitting down with Jack Geissert, the founder and president of Safety for NonProfits (S4NP) who is looking to close this gap. We discuss how he and his organization provide a helping hand to nonprofits with pro bono health and safety services.

There are many health threats facing the workforce today, and we’re not just talking about COVID-19. Ailments like stress, fatigue, obesity, mental health issues, and lung and heart disease, just to name a few, continue to burden the public. These issues don’t just negatively affect workers, but their organizations as well, and the entire working world can benefit from addressing the overall health of our populace both nationwide and worldwide. For World Health Day coming up April 7th, we’re sitting down with two guests from the Total Worker Health Program at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they have some great insight and tips for our audience of EHS professionals looking to help create a healthier workforce.

We’re very excited to have on the show Dr. L. Casey Chosewood and Dr. Paula Grubb. Casey is the Director of the Office for Total Worker Health® at NIOSH, and Paula is a Research Psychologist at NIOSH in the Division of Science Integration.

While we are still amid the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing vaccination rates and better workplace safety guidance have led organizations to look ahead to return-to-work scenarios in a post-COVID business world. One EHS-related angle that may be a bit overlooked is your drug and alcohol testing program. Drug and alcohol use has spiked during the pandemic; what does this mean for your safety and testing programs as many of these workers begin transitioning back into the office? On today's episode, we chat with Bill Current, President of Current Consulting Group about some considerations for returning to the office.