Safety Knights Podcast

OSHA checklists are not the whole job - and if your team is only chasing zero, you may be creating the exact conditions that hide the next incident. Abby Holovatch reveals why the best EHS professionals simplify the message, earn trust, and get people to actually report what’s happening before a small issue turns into a major spill, injury, or cleanup bill.Branden Raczkowski steps in as host with his own plant-floor and sales-side perspective, joined by co-host Abby Holovatch, owner of Vibe Environmental. Abby brings a rare blend of regulatory, environmental, and hands-on hazmat experience from TCEQ, spill response, the Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, and her work as environmental compliance manager at Holtcat before launching her own consulting business.Abby shares the career pivot that took her from vet school dreams and zoology into environmental science, then into health and safety almost by accident. That path gives her a grounded, relatable view of the profession and a sharp eye for the real-world habits that keep facilities safe or put them at risk.You’ll discover:

• Why housekeeping is often the first warning sign of a much bigger safety problem
• How poor storage, corroded drums, and bad totes can turn into expensive spills and remediation
• Why under-reporting and “zero injury” culture can backfire if people feel punished for speaking up
• How signage, labeling, and simple visual communication can dramatically reduce confusion
• Why first responders need more than a mailed plan - they need to see the site in person

Abby also makes the case for a less complicated, more human version of EHS - one built on trust, leadership buy-in, and speaking the same language as the people doing the work. She explains why ego gets in the way of reporting, why facilities should stop hiding behind acronyms, and why making safety feel approachable is one of the most effective ways to improve it.If you work in EHS, environmental compliance, hazmat, operations, or you’re trying to build a stronger reporting culture, this conversation is packed with practical advice you can use right away. It’s smart, funny, and refreshingly honest - a reminder that the best safety professionals are the ones who keep it real, keep it simple, and keep people engaged.

Mitch Renfro, a safety professional, shares his journey into safety, impactful moments, and the philosophy of safety as a performance multiplier. He discusses the challenges in safety communication, the future of safety leadership, and the unexpected benefits of safety. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of leading indicators and the investment in safety leadership.

Takeaways

• Safety as a Performance Multiplier
• Importance of Leading Indicators

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Philosophy of Safety
• 05:58 Impactful Moments in Safety
• 12:03 Consulting Experience During COVID
• 18:13 Future of Safety Leadership
• 23:48 Unexpected Benefits of Safety
• 29:58 Misunderstood Belief in Safety
  
  Ready to rethink safety? Join our community here:
  https://safetyknights.com

Nate Hertzog, a safety director at Cenvar Roofing and Solar, shares insights on his transition from law enforcement to safety, establishing a safety culture, managing contractors, impactful moments in his safety career, and the use of technology in safety management.

The conversation covers a range of topics including:

-HRIS integration
-Frontline worker experience
-Data management
-Drone technology for safety inspections
-Safety and operations collaboration
-AI in safety and so much more!

The key takeaways include the importance of employee inclusion, data-driven safety practices, and consideration for the frontline worker experience.

Topics Covered:

• Workplace safety in construction & roofing
• OSHA compliance strategies
• Building a safety culture
• Leadership in high-risk environments
• Effective safety communication
  

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Safety Director Nate Hertzog
• 05:59 Establishing Safety Culture at Senvar Roofing and Solar
• 13:01 Creating a Positive Safety Culture
• 19:57 Impactful Moments in Safety Career
• 49:28 AI in Safety and Knowledge Acquisition
  

  🔗 Learn more: https://safetyknights.com

Welcome back to The Safety Knights Podcast — the roundtable for protectors of the industry.

Katrina Gilbank shares her early career journey, highlighting the impact of her experiences and the importance of leadership support and mentorship. She discusses the implementation of a safety concern reporting tool and the challenges of environmental compliance.

Additionally, she addresses the complexity of regulatory compliance and the need for a better approach to safety in the industry.

The conversation covers a range of topics including EHS compliance, chemical safety, technology in safety, safety culture, and safety data and metrics.

The discussion delves into the importance of compliance with regulations, the management of chemical exposure, the role of technology in safety, the impact of safety culture, the use of safety data and metrics, and the intersection of sustainability and safety.

Takeaways

• People-first approach
• Impact of early career experiences EHS Compliance
• Chemical Safety
• Technology in Safety
• Safety Culture
• Safety Data and Metrics

Chapters

• 00:00 Early Career Journey
• 06:03 Implementing Safety Concern Reporting Tool
• 28:59 Regulatory Compliance Complexity
• 34:15 Chemical Safety and Exposure
• 48:44 Safety Metrics and Business Impact
• 01:03:50 Sustainability and Safety

🛡️ Join the community: https://www.safetyknights.com/join-us

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations from the frontlines of safety

⚙️ About the Safety Knights Podcast

Every week, we sit down with safety leaders to explore the mindset, frameworks, battle scars, and breakthroughs shaping the EHS profession.

Welcome back to The Safety Knights Podcast — the roundtable for protectors of the industry.

In this episode, we sit down with Benjamin Gratto for a straight-up conversation about safety, leadership, culture, and what actually makes a program work when the pace is high and the pressure is real.

From serving in the Marines…to stepping into the world of EHS…to realizing that safety isn’t just about rules — it’s about people—Benjamin’s story is a reminder that no one chooses safety… safety chooses you.

🔥 What we cover in this episode:

• How Benjamin transitioned from the Marines into safety

• Why relationships and soft skills matter as much as technical knowledge

• How empathy and communication can make or break a safety program

• How to build trust with operations and move past “safety cop” stereotypes

• Balancing compliance with compassion without losing credibility

• Why the human element is the difference-maker in every incident, near miss, and decision

• How to turn hard moments into lessons that strengthen culture

• Practical advice for safety pros who are trying to influence without authority

🔥 Most powerful message in this episode:

“Safety starts with understanding people, not just processes.”

Every week, we sit down with safety leaders to explore the mindset, battle scars, and breakthroughs shaping the EHS profession.

🛡️ Join the community: https://www.safetyknights.com/join-us

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations from the frontlines of safety

⚙️ About the Safety Knights Podcast

Every week, we sit down with safety leaders to explore the mindset, frameworks, battle scars, and breakthroughs shaping the EHS profession.

On this episode of The Safety Knights Podcast, host Zach Johnston sits down with Ryan Castello, SMS, MSP, Director of Safety & Risk at CILA — and an anthropologist-turned-safety-leader who sees the job very differently than most.

Ryan didn’t come up through a traditional safety path. His academic background is in anthropology, studying black and gray market economics and subcultures. After 9/11 derailed his academic plans, a “temporary” internship in safety turned into a 20+ year career spanning manufacturing, American Express, grocery/warehousing, heavy industry, and now home services.

In this conversation, Zach and Ryan dig into:

• How an anthropology nerd fell into safety and never left
• The moment a New York City transit strike & crisis management made safety feel real
• Why “most people don’t experience safety the way safety people do”
• The human side of fear: evacuations, injuries, ladders, and why empathy matters more than checklists
• Why Ryan intentionally didn’t change anything for the first months at a new plant
• Turning training from 1-hour lockout/tagout lectures into 2–5 minute, task-based mobile videos
• Using QR codes and phones as safety tools instead of banning them
• How learning teams and casual conversations uncover the hazards your metrics miss
• Behavior-based safety without the blame: forcing supervisors to give 80% positive feedback
• What’s broken about how we talk about “safety culture” — and why Ryan says it basically doesn’t exist
• Night shift, donuts, and why micro-cultures matter more than slogans
• Why you shouldn’t stay in a bad safety job just to “tough it out”
• Switching industries (print → finance → grocery → manufacturing → home services) and why safety skills travel
• How to speak leadership’s language: TRIR vs. downtime, revenue, and cost per $100k
• Tech he trusts (microlearning, translation, QR tools) vs. where he’s skeptical of AI & surveillance

If you’re a safety pro trying to build trust, simplify training, or get better support from operations and leadership, this one is packed with practical, human-centered insight.

🛡️ Join the Safety Knights community: https://SafetyKnights.com/join-us

🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations with the protectors of the industry.

🤝 Connect with Ryan Castello on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going.

#SafetyKnights #SafetyPodcast #EHS #SafetyLeadership #Anthropology #WorkplaceSafety #SafetyCulture #RiskManagement #LearningTeams #Microlearning

On this episode of The Safety Knights Podcast, host Zach Johnston sits down with one of the most recognizable voices in modern EHS: Abby Ferri — safety leader, author, speaker, and driving force at the National Safety Council.

Abby shares how she accidentally stumbled into safety from a construction office in the early 2000s, took a one-year master’s program in Environmental Health & Safety, and never looked back.

From Southern California job sites with boxy vests and steel-toe Timberlands to shaping national conversations on safety, culture, and risk, her journey is full of hard-won lessons and very human moments.

They dig into:

• How Abby found her way into construction safety when “no one wanted construction”
• What it was really like being a young woman in safety on male-dominated job sites
• How curiosity, walking the site, and asking workers what they need built trust
• Why better PPE became her gateway to influence and culture change
• The problem with “fire someone so they know you’re serious” advice
• Burnout, boundaries, and learning you don’t have to tolerate bad environments
• Why EMR/TRIR are overrated — and how claims, insurance & risk control actually drive the business case
• CIFs, roadway exposures, and what’s truly broken in how we think about “safety performance”
• The “silver tsunami” of retiring safety pros and why mentoring early-career people is urgent
• Her take on AI, telematics, computer vision & why tech can never replace the human element

Abby also shares the belief that guides her work:

“People over everything.”

If you’ve ever felt stuck between frontline realities and executive expectations, or you’re wondering what the next 5–10 years of safety might look like, this episode will hit home.

🛡️ Join the Safety Knights community: https://SafetyKnights.com/join-us

🔗 Connect with Abby Ferri on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe for more conversations with the protectors of the industry.

#SafetyKnights #SafetyPodcast #AbbyFerry #EHS #SafetyLeadership #ConstructionSafety #WorkplaceSafety #SafetyCulture #NSC #RiskManagement

Welcome back to The Safety Knights Podcast — the roundtable for protectors of the industry.

In this episode, we sit down with Brandon Baronner, CSP, for one of the most real and insightful conversations we’ve ever had about safety, leadership, culture, and the future of the profession.

From military service in Afghanistan…to landing a safety job in a bar during a Penguins vs. Capitals game…
to leading high-risk programs and shaping culture across major organizations—
Brandon’s story is the perfect example of how no one chooses safety… safety chooses you.

🔥 What we cover in this episode:

• How Brandon got pulled into safety (the real story)
• Why traditional education and third-party certifications both matter
• How to build trust with the field & overcome “safety cop” stereotypes
• The moment he realized safety wasn’t just a job — it was a calling
• Why EMR & TRIR are overrated (and what leaders should measure instead)
• How great leaders pre-plan safety into the work
• The true role of mental health in preventing incidents
• Why AI + tech will help, not replace, safety pros
• Advice for new safety professionals entering the field
  

🔥 Most powerful message in this episode:

“Safety isn’t a secret. It’s not proprietary. Share what you know.”

Every week, we sit down with elite safety leaders to explore the mindset, frameworks, battle scars, and breakthroughs shaping the EHS profession.

If you’re a safety pro — this is your new home.

🛡️ Join the community: https://SafetyKnights.com/join-us

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations from the frontlines of safety

⚙️ About the Safety Knights Podcast
Every week, we sit down with elite safety leaders to explore the mindset, frameworks, battle scars, and breakthroughs shaping the EHS profession.If you’re a safety pro — this is your new home.

🛡️ Join the community: https://SafetyKnights.com/join-us
🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts
🔔 Subscribe for more conversations from the frontlines of safety

In this debut episode of The Safety Knights Podcast, hosts Branden Raczkowski and Zach Johnston set out on their quest to bring the safety community together.

From humble beginnings to one of the most active online safety hubs in the world, this episode shares the story behind Safety Knights — how it started, why it matters, and what’s next.

⚔️ Follow the journey, join the community, and become part of the movement at SafetyKnights.com/join-us