Safety Labs by Safety Products Global

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr. Laura Maguire, a research scientist at The Ohio State University, who started her career in industry, working in a variety of roles in high-risk, high-consequence domains.

Why are safety professionals and academic researchers not working together more closely to enhance workplace safety?

Using her experience from both sides of this divide, Laura shares her vision of greater collaboration between the safety profession and academia. She explains how partnering with a research lab brings field-based insight into the realities of everyday work...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Gerben Bekooy - the Safety Jester - an author, keynote speaker, and consultant who specializes in organizational resilience, safety, and human performance.

How can we move safety beyond a compliance and control-focused function that is always late to the table?

Gerben believes that safety jesters are the answer!

Discover how they provide a light-hearted independent voice that brings a reality check, provokes alternative thinking, bridges power dynamics, and drives deeper learning. A combination of curiosity, humility, trust, candor, and humor will help safety finally shape how...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Craig Marriott, a leading safety professional and author whose career spans consultancy and executive roles - so he understands both sides of the boardroom table.

Why do leaders (and other areas of the business) often view safety as merely an obstacle to progress? How can the profession reverse this perception and gain recognition as a trusted asset?

Craig identifies a number of unhelpful tendencies, including trying to reduce every risk, not appreciating the bigger picture and chasing the latest shiny solution.

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Jessie Singer, a journalist, keynote speaker, and author of a highly acclaimed book exploring ‘accidents’ including the tragic loss of a close friend.

Jessie actually argues that there are no such things as accidents, and applies her considered reasoning specifically to workplace safety in this compassionate conversation.

Why do safety investigations focus on individual actions and human error? Jessie considers this to be a fundamental oversight that is restricting learning and preventing harm prevention.

Workers have the least power over workplace conditions - so the profession need...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Rob Fisher, a globally recognized expert in operational excellence and process safety improvement. A sought-after executive mentor, speaker, and trainer, Rob is also a best-selling author and podcast host who shares his expertise with organizations around the world.

Why does safety management often end up in a silo separated from mainstream business operations?

Rob explains why building safety into work in conjunction with other functions will improve operational efficiency, reduce injuries, and strengthen organizational resilience. He explores safety’s relationship with operational ex...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Philip Franco, a safety manager at Amazon who transitioned into EHS following a successful career in sales. He applies the principles of influence and persuasion to safety leadership and has consolidated his ideas in a forthcoming book.

Philip explains why safety professionals and salespeople have more in common than you might expect. Both roles rely on building rapport, understanding needs, creating stories, finding solutions, and handling objections. Instead of helping people’s mindset change from prospective to buyer, you help workers change from unsafe to safe behavior.

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dave Whitefield, a safety and risk culture specialist and consultant with over 30 years of experience across a wide range of roles and industries.

Is our current framing of safety holding the profession back?

Dave Whitefield invites us to rethink safety - moving beyond the focus on preventing harm and fixing issues. Instead he advocates putting people at the center and helping them make better risk decisions more often.

After exploring the importance of building safety and risk...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Simon Whiteley, a system safety engineering and accident analysis specialist who helps organizations uncover critical safety issues.

Traditional safety approaches often focus on events and failures, but Simon explains how system safety engineering takes a different approach. It changes the emphasis to look at how systems are controlled to identify a wider range of potential weaknesses, including more subtle factors that get overlooked.

He reveals that you can actually have ‘dangerous successes’ - where systems work exactly as planned, but a specific situation or context could lead to an u...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Adam Johns, a risk consultant with Marsh (the global insurance broker), who brings extensive experience from aviation and rail, where he strengthened systems and cultures in safety-critical environments.

Are safety practitioners learning enough from other industries, or are they generally operating within their own sector’s traditional boundaries?

Adam explores how the profession could improve by looking beyond their own industries, including using the underutilized lever of insurance.

He shares many practical approaches to enhancing workplace safety, in...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Steve Simpson, an international workplace culture consultant, speaker and author, who has been helping organizations understand and transform their cultures for over three decades.

Why does the profession have so much difficulty measuring and understanding safety culture? Are safety practitioners missing something??

Steve introduces his concept of Unwritten Ground Rules (UGRs), the things nobody talks about that actually constitute the real culture of a workplace.

He explains how they shape “the way things are done” in organizations and why these hidden beliefs and expectations can have...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Gretchen Haskins, an internationally recognized human factors expert and safety leader with extensive experience improving performance in aviation and other safety-critical industries.

Is the profession spending too much time looking backwards, managing safety reactively, and overly focusing on compliance, incidents, and corrective actions?

Gretchen wants safety professionals to shape strategy rather than fix issues. Drawing on her background in human factors, she explores how understanding the critical everyday tasks undertaken by workers will help identify opportunities to design the risk out of...

In this episode, Mary Conquest talks with Corrie Pitzer, a consultant who specializes in safety transformation in high-risk organizations and is regarded as a leading expert on culture, risk management, and leadership.

Corrie addresses the profession's dependence on traditional safety metrics like injury rates, arguing they provide ‘dirty information’ - an inappropriate and inaccurate proxy for the safety of a workplace. 

He explores the critical internal conflict within safety between old and new approaches, and explains why this duality is having such a profound effect on the industry. Better tools...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Anna Keen, a consultant who began her career recruiting safety professionals and now focuses on developing their non-technical skills so they can become even more effective at making workplaces safer.

Anna’s had a front-row seat to safety’s recent evolution, so is perfectly placed to analyze the EHS professionals’ changing personality type, role, and skill set over the last two decades.

The profession has (mostly) moved on from the safety cop mentality based on rule enforcement, blame and fixing, as organizations seek d...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr. Anne Lyren, the Chief Medical and Strategy Officer for the Children's Hospitals Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS Network) - a pediatric healthcare safety collective of over 150 hospitals across North America.

Anne discusses the challenges of improving worker safety alongside patient care, sharing her organization’s inspiring evolution from safety standardization to systemic learning.

She explains why employee safety was harder to improve than patient safety in this complex workplace environment with many competing priorities, and reveals how they were eventually able to...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Clive Lloyd, a renowned psychologist specializing in safety leadership and culture development, best-selling author, and founder of GYST Consulting. 

Clive returns to Safety Labs with even more evidence that trust is the fundamental driver of safety management success. Where there are low levels of trust, there will be high levels of fear. Workers won’t report issues, so there will be no learning and no progress - as safety managers can’t fix a secret.

To solve this underlying issue, he introduces the 3 Cs model of tr...

In this episode, Mary Conquest talks with François Barton, CEO of the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum in New Zealand - someone who knows exactly how to speak ‘executive’ and how leaders view workplace safety.

Effective safety management is very challenging when it simply doesn’t have the budget required to implement meaningful change.

François thinks that HSE managers can build stronger executive support by aligning safety initiatives with the bigger business picture. He encourages you to get familiar with organizational complexity and direction of travel and focus communication on conte...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dave Rebbitt, one of Canada's most respected EHS professionals, who is also a safety consultant and best-selling author.

Workplace harassment, bullying, violence, and toxic environments are now finally getting the attention they deserve. But are organizations managing harassment investigations effectively? And how can safety managers enhance this process??

Dave decided to specialize in this area after recent legislation changes and discovering there was minimal practical guidance available to the safety profession.

Drawing from his extensive research resulting in his book...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Gill Kernick, a consultant in high-hazard industries and author of Catastrophe and Systemic Change - a book she wishes she never had to write.

It analyzes the Grenfell Tower fire, where Gill had previously lived. On the 14th of June 2017, she watched it burn. Seven of her former close neighbors died, in addition to 65 other people. She promised to make their lives count, so dedicates her work to ensuring that we learn better.

Gill challenges EHS professionals to move beyond compliance and...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Brent Sutton, a safety coach, author and practitioner with over 20 years’ experience, who focuses on worker engagement and operational learning in safety systems.

With the rapid adoption of AI in the workplace, Brent explores how this technology will impact human-centred approaches to safety management.

After assessing the evolution of Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) and evaluating some of its recent criticism, he argues that ethical AI tools are actually well-suited to help EHS professionals operationalize this philosophy.

Ho...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Daniel Hummerdal, a psychologist who focuses on the role of humans in safety and organizational improvement.

Drawing on insights from his new book, ‘An Invitation to Safety Conversations’, Daniel uncovers how dialogue closes the distance between leaders and workers, creating cultures where truth flows, partnerships develop, and safety performance improves.

The interview offers fresh perspectives on safety leadership and the role of a safety professional, moving away from checklists, control and compliance towards curiosity, compassion and courage.

Dani...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Brandon Williams, a speaker, airline pilot and human factors professor with over two decades of experience leading teams in dynamic, complex and high-risk environments.

He shares crucial safety lessons from his exhilarating career in aviation and introduces his Six Pillars of operational excellence as a framework for improving performance, strengthening decision-making and supporting learning in complex systems.

The conversation explores how human factors are key to understanding incidents and why a just culture, supported by regular debriefing opportunities, will make workplaces safer.<...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Trevor Farr, a safety manager who only joined the profession 5 years ago - so brings a fresh perspective to the Safety Labs podcast.

Trevor advocates a blended approach to safety management, combining human understanding with rules and regulations.

Leaning on HOP principles, Trevor challenges traditional accident investigation methods, emphasizing their limitations and the need for a broader, more inclusive inquiry process. He encourages safety practitioners to move beyond blame to foster genuine care and authentic relationships within organizations.

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Domini Montgomery, who leads safety and risk management at St. Louis Zoo, offering a fascinating perspective grounded in biology, public health, and occupational safety.

Domini shares compelling stories from managing safety where the needs of staff, animals, and the public intersect, including the pandemic’s contribution to raising awareness of the role of mental well-being in workplace safety.

With a strong focus on trust, communication and collaboration, Domini explains how total worker health approaches foster engagement, innovation, and safer cultures. She offers va...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Mark Gobert, a seasoned retail safety expert with nearly 30 years of experience managing safety programs at major companies like Macy’s and Williams Sonoma.

Mark reflects on how safety has evolved over his career and the specific challenges he faced in retail.

He shares his innovative approach to translating the cost of injuries into business metrics that helped leadership appreciate the true costs and benefits of effective workplace safety.

Throughout the conversation, Mark emphasizes the importance of li...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr. Robert Long, founder of the social psychology of risk and an uncompromising voice in the world of safety.

Drawing on over 50 years of experience across multiple careers, Rob delivers a forthright challenge to the safety industry’s status quo, even maintaining that it doesn’t deserve to be called a profession.

“Nonsense” ideologies such as zero harm, and “meaningless” slogans like ‘blame fixes nothing’ are torn to shreds as Rob reveals safety’s ethical and educational deficiencies, and its lack of contextual awarene...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Mike Fears, who describes himself as a recovering academic and has more than 20 years of experience in occupational health and safety across multiple industries.

This is a fascinating deep dive into New View Safety: its principles, how it developed, its originality and, most importantly, whether it improves safety outcomes.

Mike evaluates the core tenets of this approach to help us uncover the validity of maxims such as ‘error is normal’, ‘blame fixes nothing’ and ‘workers should decide how work is done’. His research findings help us separate...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Brandy Zadoorian, a certified safety professional and CEO of Triangle Safety Consulting, who helps organizations build robust and sustainable safety programs through her expertise in regulatory compliance.

Unusually, Brandy is a passionate supporter of workplace safety regulations and highlights OSHA’s key role in keeping workers safe in America. She addresses common misunderstandings about the agency’s purpose and approach before exploring the major citation trends.

Brandy analyzes the effectiveness of fines as a compliance tool and stresses the importance of proactive safe...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Zoë Nation, a human factors and safety expert with over 25 years of design and implementation experience across rail, oil and gas, logistics, mining, marine, manufacturing, and aviation industries.

Zoë challenges safety professionals to be more curious, move beyond ‘tribalism’, and adopt more context- and research-driven approaches to safety management: “There isn’t one right answer!”

She highlights the common pitfalls organizations face when implementing change and emphasizes the importance of understanding the unique maturity and culture of your organization.

Drawing...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Edward Tenner, a renowned author and lecturer at Princeton University, whose work explores the intersections of history, technology, and safety.

Edward draws on his seminar “Understanding Disasters,” examining major events like the Titanic, the World Trade Centre, Fukushima and Covid to expose how hidden risks can break safety systems.

He highlights how overlooked factors such as ‘gray rhinos’ and ‘mode errors’ have contributed to serious failures, demonstrating the unintended consequences of well-meaning safety measures.

Through examples of expert decis...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Sarah Ischer, CIH, CSP, the Senior Director of Expertise at the What Works Institute, who recently published a ground-breaking report investigating neurodiversity in the workplace.

Roughly 1 in 5 people are neurodivergent, meaning their brains process information, perceive hazards, or communicate differently. Yet many traditional safety programs still assume a single way of thinking.

Sarah explores why neurodiversity isn’t given the same focus in the workplace as it now receives in the education system and highlights how this negatively impacts the well-being of yo...

In this special 100th episode, we look back at the conversations that have shaped Safety Labs by Safety Products Global over the past 99 shows.

The series has consistently explored the major challenges facing today’s EHS professionals, providing a platform for expert guests to share candid perspectives on the realities of workplace safety.

Inevitably, certain subjects have consistently shaped the conversations and sparked wider debate on LinkedIn - so you’ll find lots of firmly-held views on hot topics including safety theories, metrics, and blame; frank assessments of the role of EHS professionals, psychological safe...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Nippin Anand, an event investigation expert who founded a consultancy specialising in human-centred approaches to learning.

Using the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, Nippin examines how investigations often produce explanations that satisfy the need for closure but fail to reflect the complexity of events and help organizations actually learn.

Drawing on social psychology, mythology and anthropology, Nippin challenges many “safety myths” including normal work, zero harm and the role of blame in the workplace. He encourages the safety profession to uncover deeper insi...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Doug Parker, former US Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, whose illustrious career has spanned labor law, federal and state oversight, worker advocacy, policy leadership and consultancy.

Doug explains why regulators are often seen only through the lens of enforcement and what that view misses. Drawing on his time leading OSHA, he describes the broader role of guidance, dialogue and worker voice in improving safety outcomes.

The conversation explores how trust shapes the relationship between regulators and organizations, why engagement matters and how fear...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Shawn Connick, a safety consultant with decades of experience across construction and energy.

Shawn reflects on why safety professionals are surrounded by ideas yet often struggle to turn them into practice. Drawing on his own experience, he shares his success operationalizing new workplace safety approaches with (all too familiar) resource constraints.

Discover how to effectively implement learning teams, ensuring safety is aligned with production and quality, insights emerge before workers get hurt, and your organization improves in all these areas together.

Shawn emphasizes the importance...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr. Todd Loushine, an Associate Professor, EHS professional, scientist and Data Analytics enthusiast who has extensively researched how we track safety.

Todd challenges the profession’s reliance on familiar aspirations and indicators, questioning whether established goals and metrics actually enhance workplace safety.

In this stimulating interview, he explores the current balance between compliance and people, and shares his extensive critical analysis of the data we rely on to measure performance. Other big-picture questions, such as safety’s role and alignment within an orga...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Lori Guasta, a safety leader whose career spans frontline practice, academia and consultancy.

Lori reflects on the profession’s obsession with the next shiny object, even though the fundamentals that support safe work have been understood for decades. She explains that chasing the latest silver bullet will actually distract organizations from doing safety well.

Leadership development and cultural change are key themes throughout this inspiring conversation; however, Lori’s experience allows her to cover many important areas, including generational change and women’s role in workplace safety.

...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Crista Vesel, an academic, author and safety communication specialist whose work focuses on how language influences learning and decision-making in safety-critical environments.

Crista explores why safety professionals often rely on familiar approaches even though they fail to produce meaningful learning. She explains how language used around incidents can steer inquiry in particular directions, narrowing what is explored and what gets left out.

Drawing on her pioneering work on learning reviews, Crista explains how certain language patterns can unintentionally shut down inquiry, reinforce...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr. Simon Goncharenko, a respected thought leader and author on a mission to make safety management theory more accessible. 

He examines why many organizations continue to rely on specific philosophies, frameworks and metrics to manage safety, even as serious injuries and fatalities remain stubbornly high. He questions what established measures, such as TRIR, tell us and where they can distract attention from more meaningful risk.

Known for challenging narrow thinking in safety management, Simon revisits key concepts, including behavior-based safety and safety c...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Diane Chadwick-Jones, a former BP safety leader and long-time researcher whose work has shaped how organizations think about safety incentives.

Diane explains why linking pay and bonuses to injury rates often creates unintended consequences, including suppressed reporting and reduced learning. Drawing on years of internal and external research, she shows how incentives can reinforce belief systems that feel right but undermine safety in practice.

She shares how BP and other high-hazard organizations have moved away from injury-based bonuses, what replaced them and...

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Leslie Rex Stockel, Associate Professor of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology at Oklahoma State University and a long-time leader in safety education.

Drawing on decades of experience and teaching, Leslie reflects on how safety ideas evolved from Taylor and Heinrich to behavior-based safety and human performance. And assesses the impact of approaches like safety third.

She questions whether leaders are patient enough to give new approaches a chance and warns against the profession’s tendency to chase silver bullets rather than focusing on sustained incremental improvement.

...