For Michael Langston, Vice President of ES&H at Clean Earth, safety boils down to one simple premise: Make sure the employees know the rules. Make sure the rules make sense. Make sure they’re applicable.

It seems easy enough, but as Michael quickly discovered as a young Industrial Hygienist at a steel factory, updating policies and procedures designed to protect the worker isn’t always met with acceptance. Change can be difficult, but Michael suspects some of the resistance to change lies within the safety industry itself—a field he feels sometimes pushes rules and expectations that don’t always make sense.

In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Michael shares the twists and turns of his professional journey, from studying to be a pharmacist in college to leading safety initiatives for an international corporation. Along the way, he’s learned to frame safety in a way where each person should treat themselves as the CEO of their own wellbeing.

And don’t miss the captivating story of how he used a jar of marbles to illustrate the dangers of distracted driving.