I am joined by William LePage, the VP of Health and Safety at Posillico Civil, to unpack how a risk management strategy functions at scale. We dive into his journey of safety program development and why leading safety initiatives requires ditching the 500-pound paperweight manuals. 


During our talk, I realized that safety compliance often feels like theater when we use one-size-fits-all templates. Bill explains how he uses employee safety ownership to protect crews across massive projects like Manhattan parks and Texas highways. I loved hearing about his weekly safety huddles with company owners because it shows true executive commitment. We also explore why he personally interviews every consultant to ensure they fit the culture.


What You’ll Learn:

• How to replace generic checklists with energy-based safety to focus on fatal risks.
• The reason project-specific safety programs are more effective than standard manuals.
• How to build a culture of executive accountability through weekly safety huddles.
• Why observing work at the "sharp end" is critical before judging performance.
• The process for vetting consultants to ensure they match your organizational values.
  
  

About the Guest: 


William LePage is the Vice President and Director of Health and Safety at Posillico Civil Inc., a heavy civil contractor with over 1,200 employees. He has spent nearly three decades in the industry, including eighteen years of direct fieldwork that informs his practical approach to safety. Currently, he oversees complex projects ranging from multi-million dollar infrastructure to large-scale park developments across the Northeast and Southern United States. Bill is a dedicated advocate for the Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) model and focuses his leadership on protecting people through meaningful engagement rather than administrative bloat.



The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Join me as I discuss construction safety management and incident prevention with Jim Ruggiero, who shares 40 years of wisdom on building a true safety culture. We look beyond basic OSHA compliance to address the invisible challenges that safety leadership often overlooks in high-hazard environments. Jim explains how his background in union leadership and state consultation shaped his belief that proactive safety involves caring for the whole person. 


We examine the impact of mental health and suicide awareness on job site focus and why systems collapse when workers arrive distracted by personal struggles. I appreciate how Jim humanizes the role of a safety director by sharing stories about his family and the legacy of his mother. This conversation reminds me that our primary goal is worker protection and ensuring every person returns home whole to their family. It is a necessary look at the future of occupational health and employee wellbeing.


What You’ll Learn

• Why hiring for character creates a culture that acts as a safety force multiplier.
• How to bridge the trust gap between contractors and outside safety resources.
• The reason mental health is now a core pillar of occupational health and safety.
• Why proactive outreach saves more lives than reactive incident investigations.
• The danger of the "I do anything" red flag when vetting safety experts.
  
  

Episode Resources:

• Jim Ruggiero on LinkedIn
• Michael Zalle on LinkedIn
• Yellow Bird Website
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts 
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Spotify
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube
  
  

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

I sat down with Chris Braamse to discuss EHS management and building a safety culture that actually lasts. As the VP of DH Pace, Chris oversees 60 locations and shares how he uses a regional safety management approach to keep travel manageable for his team. We dive into injury prevention programs and how his background as a volunteer firefighter led him to an unexpected safety degree program. 


Chris proves that whether you are in food manufacturing or construction, the core principles of hazard recognition and OSHA compliance are universal. You will hear about his "say what you do, do what you say" philosophy and how he integrates acquisitions without the usual friction. This episode is packed with insights on safety career growth and why keeping things simple is the key to scaling a national program effectively.


What You'll Learn:

• How universal safety principles like lockout tagout and PPE apply across wildly different sectors.
• The structural secrets of the hub and spoke model for overseeing dozens of sites with a lean team.
• Why intentional industry changes can prevent professional stagnation and deepen your problem solving toolkit.
• Strategies for reducing travel burnout while maintaining high levels of leadership presence.
• The importance of involving operations and maintenance teams early in the safety planning process.
  
  

About the Guest: 


Chris Braamse is the Vice President of DH Pace Company, a leading distributor in the dock and door industry with 60 locations nationwide. He is a Kansas City native who began his journey as a volunteer firefighter before earning a safety degree from the University of Central Missouri. Throughout his career, Chris has led safety initiatives in the refuse, coatings, food manufacturing, and construction industries. He is known for building high performing, low turnover teams and fostering a community focused culture through initiatives like the Kansas City Corporate Challenge. Today, he focuses on strategic leadership and supporting national accounts through a programmatic mindset.


Episode Resources

• Chris Braamse on LinkedIn
• DH Pace Company Website
• Michael Zalle on LinkedIn
• Yellow Bird Website
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts 
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Spotify
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Workplace safety leadership and roofing company safety cultures thrive when leaders stop trying to be the hero. This week on the Canary Report, I am joined by Robert Hudson of Baker Roofing to dive into EHS risk management and construction safety for a major regional power. Robert oversees more than 1,150 employees and explains why building proprietary training programs is his secret to maintaining a tenured team. 


We talk about fleet safety and why the highway remains the most dangerous place for your workers. Robert also opens up about his personal health transformation and his passion for cooking for others. I found his perspective on delegation refreshing because it proves that a leader’s greatest impact comes from empowering the next generation to do the job better than they did.


What you’ll learn:

• How an unconventional background in chemistry and Spanish can lead to a career in EHS risk management.
• The reason why you should never outsource your core construction safety curriculum to external vendors.
• Why treating fleet safety as a secondary concern is the biggest mistake a leader can make.
• How to transition from a solo safety manager to a collaborative corporate safety committee.
• The connection between personal physical resilience and effective workplace safety leadership.

Episode Resources:

• Robert Hudson on LinkedIn
• Michael Zalle on LinkedIn
• Yellow Bird Website
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts 
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Spotify
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube
  
  

About the Guest: 


Robert Hudson serves as the Vice President of Environmental Health and Safety for Baker Roofing Company, one of the largest roofing contractors on the Eastern Seaboard. Over his 18 year tenure, he has helped the organization scale from a few offices to 28 locations, managing a team of 20 safety professionals and a massive fleet of 750 vehicles. Robert brings a unique perspective to the industry, combining a background in chemistry and the Spanish language with a deep commitment to mentorship and internal talent development. He is also a passionate advocate for personal wellness and the art of cooking, believing that the spirit of care he brings to the kitchen is the same spirit required to keep workers safe on a job site.The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this conversation with Mike Place, I explore building a workplace safety culture and safety leadership that prioritizes employee safety programs for incident prevention. Mike explains how being an employee-owned organization creates a unique safety mindset where everyone protects the business they own. I hear how he moved from a training director to leading occupational health and safety for 1,100 people across the Midwest. We dive into risk management strategies that allow for safety scaling in growing organizations without losing quality in safety coordinator roles. We discuss the "silent stakeholder" mandate and why safety-first decision-making matters more than just avoiding a citation. I discovered that a workplace safety culture works best when it is a practiced behavior reinforced by every level of leadership.


What You’ll Learn:

• How the "Silent Stakeholder" concept reframes safety from a burden into a sacred mandate from families.
• The ways employee ownership acts as a hidden elixir for deeper safety commitment and accountability.
• Strategies for scaling safety across 64 locations using a replicable coordinator network.
• Why a background in training and operations is the perfect pipeline for future safety directors.
• The "Parental Mindset" and how it helps leaders see hazards before their teams reach them.
• The business case for safety availability and how injury prevention creates additional manpower.
  
  

About the Guest: 


Mike Place is the Safety Director at Dakota Supply Group (DSG), a prominent employee-owned wholesale distributor with over 60 locations. With a career at DSG spanning more than two decades, he has served in various roles, including warehouse manager, training director, and fleet manager. This diverse background gives him deep operational insight into the human side of safety. Mike is a graduate of North Dakota State University and has served as the safety committee chairperson for the American Supply Association.



Episode Resources

• Mike Place LinkedIn
• Michael Zalle on LinkedIn
• Yellow Bird Website
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts 
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Spotify
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube
  
  

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

I am joined by Chris Seider, Director of Health and Safety at Foth Company, to unpack how a workplace safety culture functions. We dive into his journey of incident rate reduction and the risk management strategy that enabled 14 million hours without lost time. During our conversation, I realize that safety compliance often fails when treated as a standalone silo. Chris explains why his safety professional career was shaped by a major failure where the culture collapsed after he left. We discuss safety program development and why leading safety initiatives means marrying safety to existing values like craftsmanship. I also explore how AI can streamline administrative tasks to refocus on employee safety ownership and workplace injury prevention.


What You’ll Learn:

• How to attach safety to existing organizational values to drive adoption.
• The danger of over-owning tasks and creating cultural dependency.
• Ways to use AI to remove administrative burdens from safety planning.
• The "human in the loop" framework for implementing new technology.
• How to turn skeptics into safety advocates through micro-moments.
• Why the coach model is more sustainable than the doer model.
  
  

About the Guest: 


Chris Seider is the Director of Health and Safety at Foth Company, an engineering giant headquartered in Wisconsin. With two decades of experience, he has led safety for everything from custom mega-yacht builders to large-scale engineering projects. He currently manages safety for 700 professionals across 28 locations and has maintained an incident rate below 1% for a decade. Chris is a recognized industry leader who focuses on building ownership and integrating safety into the fabric of a company’s culture.
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

I sit down with Jason Johantges of Scotts Miracle-Gro to explore EHS leadership, workplace safety programs, safety culture, and risk management. We begin by examining a pandemic response that prioritized employee protection so effectively that showing up to work was often safer than staying home alone. 
Jason explains how his team secured PPE and manufactured hand sanitizer long before mandates arrived by staying ahead of the regulatory curve. We also discuss his "Kickoff for Safety" initiative, which used a football theme to reduce injury rates during high-volume seasonal periods when temporary labor surges. 
Jason shares why he believes safety leaders must be involved in M&A due diligence from the very first day to prevent cultural misalignment and hidden liabilities. We touch on the immense risks of distracted driving and the importance of servant leadership when managing a dispersed workforce across manufacturing, distribution, and retail. This conversation offers a deep dive into how proactive planning and human-centered strategies transform basic compliance into a massive operational advantage for any modern organization.


Episode Resources

• Jason Johantges LinkedIn 
• Michael Zalle on LinkedIn
• Yellow Bird Website
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts 
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Spotify
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube
  
  

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

“If you're being paid to do safety, why don’t you call yourself a professional?”


In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Michael Dupont who shares why safety is not just a role, but a mindset. He says that the scope extends from redefining professionalism to building systems that prevent injuries and its impact. Together, we explore the difference between doing safety work and owning it as a profession.


Many people working in safety roles hesitate to call themselves professionals. Why? Because safety is often treated as a temporary role rather than a long-term commitment to excellence.


Michael shares lessons from more than two decades of experience across operations and global safety programs. He explains how real safety performance is not driven only by policies but also by systems and consistency. He also spoke about the Five Five Five approach, a framework built around clear metrics and accountability structures that keep safety efforts from fading over time.


What You’ll Learn:

• Why many safety professionals hesitate to own the title
• How mindset impacts safety performance more than policies
• What the Five Five Five framework looks like in practice
• Why safety programs fail when they are not designed for outcomes
• How to lead without relying only on regulations
• Why small actions define safety culture more than big initiatives
• How to approach site visits with focus and intention
  
  

About the Guest:


Michael Dupont is the Senior Director of Global Health and Safety at Rayonier Advanced Materials, a company focused on high purity cellulose and sustainable materials. With more than twenty years of experience across safety, environmental, and operational leadership roles, he has led safety programs across multiple facilities and global teams. His approach focuses on building systems that are practical, measurable, and centered on people. He is known for translating safety from a compliance function into a leadership responsibility that drives real outcomes.


Episode Resources:

• Michael Dupont on LinkedIn
• Michael Zalle on LinkedIn
• Yellow Bird Website
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts 
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Spotify
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube
  
  

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

“I don’t ever want to have to give that speech in this job.”


In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Thomas Lippert, Senior Vice President of Safety & Quality Assurance at  Higley Construction. With over two decades in the military and 15 years transforming safety programs in construction, Tom brings a perspective that is both disciplined and deeply human.


We talk about why OSHA should be treated as a starting point rather than the goal, and how organizations can build systems that go further to protect people. Tom walks through his approach to leading indicators, structured training, and on-site accountability, sharing how he moves from reactive reporting to proactive prevention.


We also discuss a less obvious risk: success. When teams believe they are already “good at safety,” attention slips, and that is when incidents happen. From drug testing protocols to safety audits and pre-work meetings, Tom outlines a system that keeps safety active, visible, and embedded in daily operations.



What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why treating OSHA as a baseline leads to stronger safety outcomes
• How leading indicators can help prevent incidents before they happen
• The role of structured training in building long-term safety capability
• Why complacency is one of the biggest hidden risks in mature safety programmes
• How to design systems that keep safety consistent across teams and job sites
• What leaders can do to keep safety top of mind, even in high-performing organisations
  
  

Thomas Lippert is a senior vice president of safety and quality assurance  Higley Construciton, where he has spent the past 15 years building and strengthening safety and quality programs across commercial construction projects. A former U.S. Army officer and helicopter pilot with over two decades of service, Tom brings a disciplined, high-consequence mindset to civilian safety leadership. His work focuses on creating structured, data-driven systems that prioritizes prevention, accountability, and the well-being of every worker on site.


If you are responsible for safety in high-risk environments, this conversation offers practical systems and a mindset shift that will change how you lead.


Episode Resources:

Thomas Lippert on LinkedIn
Higley Construction Website
Michael Zalle on LinkedInYellow Bird WebsiteThe Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on SpotifyThe Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I speak with Justin Short, Safety Director at Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company, about what it takes to build a safety culture that works in the field. Justin brings a perspective shaped by his early experience in the trades, seven years in the United States Air Force, and his return to construction safety leadership.


This conversation moves beyond policies and procedures and focuses on the human side of safety. Justin shares how his time in the field shaped the way he communicates with crews, why respect and connection drive better outcomes than authority, and how leadership behaviour can either build or break trust on a job site.


We also explore the operational realities of managing safety across dozens of active projects, each with different risks, teams, and regulatory requirements. Justin explains how he approaches this complexity, how he prioritises what matters, and how he builds systems that support people instead of slowing them down.


Here are some highlights from my discussion with Justin:

• Why field experience changes how you lead safety conversations
• The leadership behaviours that build trust on job sites
• How poor leadership drives people away from safety roles
• Managing safety across multiple active projects
• Why knowing your people matters more than knowing every rule
• How to balance enforcement with respect in high-risk environments

Episode Resources

• Justin Short Profile
• Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company Website
• Michael Zalle on LinkedIn
• Yellow Bird Website
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Apple Podcasts 
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on Spotify
• The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management on YouTube
  
  

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so