Few 18-year-olds know what an industrial hygienist is — so Jeremy Sawyer never considered that major during his first year of college. Eventually, however, a counselor opened his eyes.

After working as an industrial hygienist for six years, Jeremy became a health and safety supervisor at a chemical company, which led him down a more safety-oriented path. Now, he’s Deputy Director of Environment, Safety and Health at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Regardless of whether a workplace is more science-driven than profit-driven — like a lab — Jeremy said it’s still crucial to maintain a successful safety program. On this episode of No Accident, he discusses the importance of gaining buy-in from the C-suite and showing that you genuinely care about employees’ well-being.

“I think failure in our line of work can be absolutely catastrophic. Not in a financial sense, but in a people sense. We want to make sure that failures don't result in people getting hurt,” Jeremy says.