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 context rather than content.

Sound judgment is preferable to a ‘passion for safety’ as François shares examples of how linking safety to the organization's objectives secured executive buy-in and created significant improvements.

This uplifting interview gives EHS professionals practical strategies to influence decision-makers and secure much-needed support for effective safety management.

Learn more about François’ work: Business Leaders Health & Safety Forum

Recommended reading: Health and Safety Governance: A Good Practice Guide

François Barton on LinkedIn: Francois Barton | 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 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, Harassment and Workplace Violence Investigations, Dave explores the unique and complex challenges, the different types of complaints, best practices for interviewing, and methods to assess credibility.

Throughout this thoughtful discussion, he highlights the importance of balance, curiosity, fairness and emotional intelligence to give EHS professionals practical strategies to conduct effective investigations and foster safer, more respectful workplaces.

Dave’s best-selling book: Harassment and Workplace Violence Investigations: A Practical Guide

Learn more about Dave’s work: Rarebit Consulting - Safety Expert, Harassment

Dave Rebbitt on LinkedIn: Dave Rebbitt, MBA, CRSP, C. Tech, CD | 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 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 technical fixes toward embracing complexity, diversity and fostering genuine organizational learning.

Her deeply considered insights offer a powerful call to action for meaningful systemic change that can prevent future accidents and transform how the safety profession impacts organizations and society.

Gill’s book: Catastrophe and Systemic Change: Learning from the Grenfell Tower Fire and Other Disasters - LPP - The London Publishing Partnership

(Published on 18th June 2026, but is available for early ordering in the UK - and a small donation will be made to the Grenfell Foundation)

Her blog about Grenfell.

Grenfell Inquiry Reports: Publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase 2 report - GOV.UK

Details on the Archives of all evidence: Records of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry - The National Archives

Post Normal Science:

Menagerie of Postnormal Potentialities | Post Normal Times

Knowledge, power, and participation in the post-normal age - ScienceDirect

Cynefin Framework: About - Cynefin Framework - The Cynefin Co

Jose Torero (Link to a blog I wrote on this): ‘The real failure of Grenfell – complexity, ambiguity and competency.’ Prof. Torero Transcript – The Grenfell Enquirer

The play 'Grenfell in the Words of Survivors': Grenfell: in the words of survivors | National Theatre

LinkedIn profile: Gill Kernick | 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 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.

However, intent is key. Brent acknowledges that AI can just as easily be used to enforce more traditional approaches to safety due to its advanced monitoring and control capabilities.

This delicate balance between operational learning and people blaming is the key theme: will AI be used in a sufficiently humanistic way to enhance HOP practices?

Learn more about Brent’s work and test the AI safety tools: hopcopilot.com

Brent Sutton on LinkedIn: Brent Sutton | 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 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