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.

Daniel shares his six types of conversations that uncover hidden risks, make sense of everyday work complexities, and help workplace safety become a collaborative effort.

This episode invites EHS professionals to reconsider what safety work means and how they can learn and keep workers safe through more humanistic leadership.

Learn more about Daniel’s book: An Invitiation to Safety Conversations

Daniel also recommends: Humble Inquiry by Edgar H. Schein

Daniel on LinkedIn: Daniel Hummerdal | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

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.

This episode provides EHS professionals with practical tools to make better decisions, advance human performance, and learn more effectively to drive not only safety, but organisational success.

Learn more about Brandon’s work and services: Brandon Williams | Leadership Keynote Speaker

Email Brandon: brandon@brandonwilliamsspeaker.com

Brandon Williams on LinkedIn: LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

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.

Throughout the conversation, Trevor reflects on the evolving nature of safety management, sharing guidance on navigating complex systems by embracing curiosity, collaboration, and a learning-based approach that values multiple perspectives, especially from frontline workers.

This episode helps EHS professionals discover a more humanistic path to keeping workers safe.

The LinkedIn post featured in the show: LaGuardia Fire Truck Plane Collision: Human Performance Analysis

Book recommended by Trevor: Next Generation Safety Leadership: From Compliance to Care: Lloyd, Clive

Trevor Farr on LinkedIn: Trevor Farr, MEng, CSP | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

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 valuable insights into integrating psychological safety and becoming a genuine changemaker in your organization.

This episode provides EHS professionals with thoughtful strategies to enhance safety by embracing a human-centered approach that balances organizational mission with worker well-being. (And you’ll be glad you don’t have to consider animal-centered approaches as well!)

Recommended resources for safety professionals:

ASSP - American Society of Safety Professionals | ASSP

Board of Certified Safety Professionals | BCSP

Women in the Safety Profession Member Community | ASSP

Domini Montgomery on LinkedIn: Domini Montgomery, MPH, ASP, CSP, CEAS | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

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 listening to frontline workers, whose insights are crucial to effective safety solutions, and offers EHS professionals practical guidance on building credibility throughout your organization.

Mark’s insights may come from his distinguished career in retail, but they offer universal wisdom for safety managers across all sectors.

Mark Gobert on LinkedIn: Mark Gobert | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

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 awareness.

He critiques the dominant technicist worldview - narrowly focused on engineering and regulation - and calls for a radical shift towards a person-centered, transdisciplinary approach embracing disciplines outside of safety’s comfort zone.

This no-holes-barred interview will sound many alarm bells for safety ‘professionals’ who happily accept the current approaches to keeping workers safe.

Find out more about Rob’s work:

Human Dymensions - Dr Rob Long - Culture, Learning and Risk

Social Psychology of Risk (SPoR) – The Social Psychology of Risk, Safety and Leadership Maturity

Dr. Robert Long on LinkedIn: Robert Long | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

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 unrealistic assertions from useful applications. But context and nuance are always key!

This episode gives safety professionals a balanced and measured perspective on New View Safety, encouraging thoughtful application of its ideas - rather than uncritical adoption or rejection.

Learn more about Mike’s work: The Recovering Academic

Recommended reading:

Fears, M. R. (2025). The promise and problems of the "New View" of Safety. Vegetation Manager Magazine, 24 October 2025;18-20.

Fears M.R. (2024). 349 Pushing the right buttons: creating conditions for developing personal motivation towards safe behaviours. Injury Prevention; 30: A74.

Fears M.R. (2024). 698 The promise and problems with the “new view” of safety: weaknesses, limitations, and suggestions for further research. Injury Prevention; 30: A145.

Cooper, M. (2022). The emperor has no clothes: A critique of Safety-II. Safety Science, 152, 105047.

Mike Fears on LinkedIn: Mike Fears – LinkedIn Profile

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global

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 safety training, especially for smaller businesses. In addition to robust regulations, she also emphasizes the critical need for thorough follow-up on corrective actions to protect your workforce and prevent repeat incidents.

This compelling conversation will help EHS professionals work with regulatory agencies, build trust within your organizations, and improve safety programs before enforcement or penalties are necessary.

Find out more about Brandy’s services and resources, including her OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 workbooks: Triangle Safety Consulting LLC

The book recommended by Brandy: Basics of Occupational Safety, The: Amazon.com: Goetsch, David

Brandy Zadoorian on LinkedIn: Brandy Zadoorian, CSP, CSD, LMSS | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global