The Case for Safety Podcast

Sponsored by SafeStart. Rhonda Piggee Johnson, Implementation Specialist at SafeStart, shares insights on safety challenges like organizational complacency, turnover, and time management, emphasizing the importance of fresh eyes and human factors in improving safety culture.

Sponsored by Grainger. Jordan Schlittler and Wes Maertz of Grainger explore the critical relationship between the NFPA 70B and 70E standards. They discuss how these standards work together to enhance electrical safety, the core requirements of 70B, and practical steps for safety professionals to improve compliance and workplace safety.

Chris Cain, Executive Director of CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, discusses recent convenings hosted by ASSP focused on preventing serious injuries and fatalities due to falls from height and lockout/tagout failures. She emphasizes the importance of mitigating hazards upstream and utilizing Prevention through Design concepts, implementing consensus safety standards and innovative technology applications.

ASSP SIF Convenings Report

Ethan Fight, Executive Director of Operations at Medcor Safety, discusses the current landscape of safety staffing in construction, the challenges faced, and strategies for safety directors to build effective partnerships with staffing providers. He shares how to navigate the evolving demands of construction work and ensure the right safety professionals are in place.

Joe Brandel, business development manager for North America industrial safety market at Mips, shares the latest trends and regulations in head protection, emphasizing the importance of proper PPE, risk assessment and safety culture to prevent head injuries in the workplace.

He discusses OSHA regulations and industry consensus standards for head protection, hazards and risks that can lead to head injuries and how to mitigate them, as well as advancements in head protection and the importance of proper inspection and maintenance of head protection equipment.

Dr. Robert Drane, Chair of ASSP’s Government Affairs Committee, shares how the committee serves as the voice of the Society and its members to advocate for regulations that will help improve workplace safety and health. He also discusses some of the latest developments in OSHA regulations and the impact they could have on EHS. 

Kevin Denis, Principal and Owner of Work-at-Height, Vice Chair of the ANSI/ASSP Z359 Committee and lead of our Standards-Based User Group on fall protection, joins us to discuss the current state of fall protection, gaps that exist and how safety professionals can properly address fall hazards.

He shares how the Z359 standards can help employers and safety professionals find fall protection solutions for different environments and provide workers the protection they need to stay safe at height.

Knowing the standard isn’t the same as knowing the machine. In our latest episode, Fran Sehn shares why effective lockout/tagout programs rely on collaboration with the people who use the equipment every day — and how the ANSI/ASSP Z244 standard helps guide the process. He discusses the OSHA 1910.147 requirements for lockout/tagout, alternative methods included in Z244 and how safety professionals can find the best solutions for hazardous energy sources on their jobsites.

Arianna Howard, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Syncra Group and lead of ASSP’s AI in Safety Standards-Based User Group joins us to share how AI tools can offer solutions for addressing issues in your workplace, but first you have to know which problems you’re trying to solve. She discusses the importance of using AI as a learning tool to better understand the conditions the workforce is facing and better address hazards. She also shares how AI can help EHS professionals save time and work more efficiently by improving processes and procedures.

Lauren Bauerschmidt, Senior Manager, Standards and Technical Services at ASSP, joins us to help you get up to speed on the latest developments in ANSI/ASSP Standards. She shares recent updates to A10 construction and demolition standards and Z359 fall protection standards, as well as the publication of the Z310 standard for risk management. She also discusses how these standards are developed and how you can get involved to help others improve conditions on their jobsites.