On episode 167 of EHS On Tap, Chris Fowler, director of emerging technologies at ADT Commercial, talks about using technology to keep employees safe from workplace violence.

E167: Using Technology to Keep Employees Safe From Workplace Violence

On episode 166 of EHS On Tap, Hector Alvarez, president of Alvarez Associates, talks about how to spot the warning signs of workplace violence.

E166: Recognizing the Warning Signs of Workplace Violence

On episode 165 of EHS On Tap, Dr. Nathan Charlton, emergency medicine physician at the University of Virginia, talks about being prepared for workplace medical emergencies.

E165: Be Prepared for Workplace Medical Emergencies

James Thornton

On episode 164 of EHS On Tap, James Thornton, incoming president of the American Society of Safety Professionals, talks about what he hopes to accomplish in the next year. This episode was recorded at the ASSP Safety23 conference in San Antonio.

E164: Meet Incoming ASSP President James Thornton

On episode 163 of EHS On Tap, Brian Feeley, vice president, Current Consulting Group, talks about the use of oral fluid drug testing in workplaces. This episode is sponsored by OraSure Technologies.

E163: Oral Fluid Drug Testing in the Workplace

On episode 162 of EHS On Tap, Margaret Morrissey, president of occupational safety for the Korey Stringer Institute and president of the Heat Safety &amp; Performance Coalition, talks about the latest developments in the fight to protect workers from heat stress. Recorded as part of the EHS NOW Extreme Weather online summit.

E162: The Latest Developments in Heat Stress Prevention

On episode 161 of EHS On Tap, Linden Terpstra, CEO and founder of EHS Support Source, talks about her efforts to bring EHS industry and consultants together.

E161: Bringing EHS Industry and Consultants Together

On episode 160 of EHS On Tap, Tim Weiss, co-founder and CEO of Optera, talks about how businesses can improve their sustainability efforts.

E160: How to Take Sustainability Seriously

On episode 159 of EHS On Tap, Rusti Dyals, director of EHS for ESFM, talks about the importance of psychological safety.

E159: Putting the Focus on Psychological Safety

On episode 158 of EHS On Tap, Shawn Smith, product director at KPA, talks about using micro-content for safety training.

E158: Using Micro-Content to Improve Safety Training

EHS On Tap is an environmental, health, and safety podcast by BLR. On each episode of EHS On Tap, host Jay Kumar will discuss emerging legal, regulatory, and policy issues with industry experts and the impacts to everyday environmental and safety professionals. EHS On Tap runs the gamut of contemporary environmental issues including water, air, and waste as well as covers a wide variety of safety issues.

Loved episode 14 about new hazardous waste rules. Good discussion about some of the big issues and regulations for environmental and safety pros. They find guests who really know their stuff!

Five stars

I do a lot of safety compliance with a mix of environmental.  This is a great podcast on relevant and timely issues that matter to me and my company.

EHS manager

EHS on Tap

Professional development is essential to advancing a career in any occupation, and, of course, the environment, health, and safety field is no exception. There are many opportunities for development out there for the 21st-century safety professional, ranging from traditional certifications to supplemental training to brand-new educational programs supported by digital delivery methods. With so many options (and, in many cases, so little time), EHS pros may wonder what’s the best course of action for continuous career development? While every individual’s path will vary, our guest today has some great ideas on how you can proactively learn and develop your professional knowledge, not just for the benefit of your own career, but also for the benefit of your organization as well. Joining us today for our EHS professional development discussion is Jill James, Chief Safety Officer with Vivid Learning Systems, an HSI company.

E45: Certifications to Soft Skills: Professional Development for 21st-Century EHS Careers

Environmental managers are always thinking about how their companies or facilities are complying with federal, state, and local regulations.  Many use environmental audits as tools to help assess compliance liabilities and provide a basis for minimizing those liabilities by bringing to light areas of noncompliance. This leads to implementation of corrective measures before federal or state inspectors and investigators visit a facility.However, conducting a comprehensive environmental audit can be a daunting task.  On today’s episode of EHS on Tap, Doug Ruhlin, environmental and sustainability consultant and owner of Resource Management Associates joins us to talk about how to keep environmental audits manageable so that they can be an efficient, useful tool.

Environmental managers are always thinking about how their companies or facilities are complying with federal, state, and local regulations. Many use environmental audits as tools to help assess compliance liabilities and provide a basis for minimizing those liabilities by bringing to light areas of noncompliance. This leads to implementation of corrective measures before federal or state inspectors and investigators visit a facility. However, conducting a comprehensive environmental audit can be a daunting task. On today’s episode of EHS on Tap, Doug Ruhlin, environmental and sustainability consultant and owner of Resource Management Associates joins us to talk about how to keep environmental audits manageable so that they can be an efficient, useful tool.

E21: Environmental Audits 101: What Every Facility Manager Should Know

If you’re an EHS professional, your organization’s safety culture must be a major focus—but a strong culture can be tricky to build. Sure, it’s easy to say that you want a safety culture built on inspiration, not fear, and that the goal is for employee engagement in safety to be positively pursued, not mandated. But how do you walk that line between encouragement and discipline, between being a safety coach and being a safety cop? Our guest has some suggestions!Here with us today is Shawn M. Galloway, President of ProAct Safety. Shawn is a consultant, professional speaker, and author of several bestselling books on safety strategy, culture, leadership, and Behavior-Based Safety.His clients include most of the best safety-performing organizations within every major industry, and he has received awards for his significant contributions from multiple organizations, including the American Society of Safety Engineers.

If you’re an EHS professional, your organization’s safety culture must be a major focus—but a strong culture can be tricky to build. Sure, it’s easy to say that you want a safety culture built on inspiration, not fear, and that the goal is for employee engagement in safety to be positively pursued, not mandated. But how do you walk that line between encouragement and discipline, between being a safety coach and being a safety cop? Our guest has some suggestions! Here with us today is Shawn M. Galloway, President of ProAct Safety. Shawn is a consultant, professional speaker, and author of several bestselling books on safety strategy, culture, leadership, and Behavior-Based Safety.His clients include most of the best safety-performing organizations within every major industry, and he has received awards for his significant contributions from multiple organizations, including the American Society of Safety Engineers.

E34: Safety Culture—The Balance Between Coach and Cop

A robust incident investigation process driven by effective root cause analysis is a critical component of any safety and health program. When safety professionals employ a methodical approach, they provide information that helps determine the basic cause of an incident and leads to the creation of processes, policies, and methodologies to prevent reoccurrences of similar incidents. In short, you need to know what went wrong in order to ensure it doesn’t happen again! However, it can sometimes be a challenge to know where to start.Here with us today on EHS on Tap to discuss root cause analysis is Francis P. Sehn, Vice President and Senior Risk Control Consultant for Willis Towers Watson.

A robust incident investigation process driven by effective root cause analysis is a critical component of any safety and health program. When safety professionals employ a methodical approach, they provide information that helps determine the basic cause of an incident and leads to the creation of processes, policies, and methodologies to prevent reoccurrences of similar incidents. In short, you need to know what went wrong in order to ensure it doesn’t happen again! However, it can sometimes be a challenge to know where to start. Here with us today on EHS on Tap to discuss root cause analysis is Francis P. Sehn, Vice President and Senior Risk Control Consultant for Willis Towers Watson.

E29: Root Cause Analysis—Learning from Incidents to Improve Prevention

OSHA’s lockout/tagout rule aims at protecting workers from hazardous energy in the workplace.  Dave Galt, BLR’s Senior Legal Editor for Safety and resident lockout/tagout expert joins us to address issues such as: Does OSHA’s standard reflect current technology? What are some of the alternative methods that can be used that offer the same protections as lockout-tagout? And, under the Trump administration, can we expect any changes to OSHA’s lockout/tagout rules or their enforcement?

E22: What's On The Horizon For OSHA's Lockout/Tagout Rule?

More and more states are legalizing traditionally illegal substances such as marijuana, and legal substances such as alcohol or prescription medication still have a high potential for abuse. It’s a special concern for environment, health, and safety professionals, as on-the-job use or abuse of any drug can potentially have devastating, even life-threatening consequences. So how can we promote safety in this "stoned age"? Joining us for today’s episode of EHS on Tap is Nina M. French, Managing Partner for the Current Consulting Group. Nina has over 26 years of experience in employee screening and managing drug-free workplace operations in a wide variety of fields.

E43: Safety in the Stoned Age: Discerning ‘Impairment’ from ‘Under the Influence’

“Safety culture” is top priority for every safety manager these days, but how to shape a culture is a continual challenge. Most of the time, the focus is on the attitudes of managers and supervisors that work directly with workers and improving employee engagement, but a successful safety culture also requires the most senior leaders of an organization to provide effective safety leadership. But what does that leadership look like and what are the obstacles to achieving success?On today’s EHS on Tap, we discuss senior management’s role in creating a solid safety culture with Adam Levesque, a safety management consultant at MEMIC, a Workers Compensation Specialty Insurer.You can join Adam at BLR's Safety Culture 2017, being held this September in Austin, Texas for his presentation "Team-Based Accountability’s Connection to Leading Indicators: Using Effective Metrics to Drive Employee Participation and Accident Prevention."  Safety Culture 2017 (safetyculture.blr.com) is the nation's most targeted event on safety culture improvement to increase engagement, strengthen compliance, and create more alignment between staff and safety initiatives.

“Safety culture” is top priority for every safety manager these days, but how to shape a culture is a continual challenge. Most of the time, the focus is on the attitudes of managers and supervisors that work directly with workers and improving employee engagement, but a successful safety culture also requires the most senior leaders of an organization to provide effective safety leadership. But what does that leadership look like and what are the obstacles to achieving success? On today’s EHS on Tap, we discuss senior management’s role in creating a solid safety culture with Adam Levesque, a safety management consultant at MEMIC, a Workers Compensation Specialty Insurer. You can join Adam at BLR's Safety Culture 2017, being held this September in Austin, Texas for his presentation "Team-Based Accountability’s Connection to Leading Indicators: Using Effective Metrics to Drive Employee Participation and Accident Prevention." Safety Culture 2017 (<a href="http://safetyculture.blr.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">safetyculture.blr.com</a>) is the nation's most targeted event on safety culture improvement to increase engagement, strengthen compliance, and create more alignment between staff and safety initiatives.

E20: The Role of Senior Management in Workplace Safety  Culture

Summer is around the corner, and with increased temperatures come increased risk of heat stress incidents in the workplace. Workers who are exposed to extreme heat or work in hot environments indoors or outdoors, or even those engaged in strenuous physical activities, may be at risk for heat stress. And heat stress can cause all sorts of illnesses - heat stroke, heat exhaustion,  or even death. Employers want to ensure that their workers are safe, and at the same time want to maintain productivity. What are an employer's responsibilities and what are their options (including some innovative solutions and products) for protecting workers who may be at risk? On today’s episode of EHS on Tap, we discuss heat stress challenges with Abby Ferri, CEO and Chief Consultant of The Ferri Group.

Summer is around the corner, and with increased temperatures come increased risk of heat stress incidents in the workplace. Workers who are exposed to extreme heat or work in hot environments indoors or outdoors, or even those engaged in strenuous physical activities, may be at risk for heat stress. And heat stress can cause all sorts of illnesses - heat stroke, heat exhaustion, or even death. Employers want to ensure that their workers are safe, and at the same time want to maintain productivity. What are an employer's responsibilities and what are their options (including some innovative solutions and products) for protecting workers who may be at risk? On today’s episode of EHS on Tap, we discuss heat stress challenges with Abby Ferri, CEO and Chief Consultant of The Ferri Group.

E23: Heat Stress: Employer Requirements and Innovative Best Practices To Protect Workers

As an environment, health, and safety professional, there’s a good chance that you’ve gotten the feeling that you are perceived as a cost center by senior management—however, whenever you try to communicate the value of EHS in a meeting, are you met with blank stares, sideways looks, or just in general feel like you’re speaking a foreign language? It’s a perpetual challenge for professionals in this field, and knowing how to communicate is a must. But how can you learn the lingo you need to convey value across the company? Well, we’re getting some help in today’s episode, sponsored by Cority, as we’re talking to a dedicated EHS veteran who can help you learn the language you need to make an impact within your organization. Joining us today is Pamala Bobbitt, Vice President of Product Marketing at Cority.

E46: Parlez-Vous EHS? Learning—and Teaching—the Business Languages to Convey Your Value

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s electronic reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses, also known at the recordkeeping and electronic submission rule, has been a source of confusion for many EHS professionals. Deadlines for compliance have been delayed time and again, and some professionals aren’t even sure what compliance means for them and their organizations. Fortunately, our guest for Episode 32 of EHS on Tap--Jay Finegan, Compliance Services Leader for Dakota Software-- is here to help us sort through it all.

E32: The OSHA Recordkeeping and Electronic Submission Rule—Safety  Meets Big Data

Since the presidential election in 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency and its regulatory agenda have been no stranger to controversy. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has stated multiple times that his goal is to roll back regulations, and while some rules have been delayed, repealed, or otherwise rendered toothless, most regs are still on the books. However, some of the rhetoric may have lured companies into a false sense of security regarding environmental enforcement, causing business leaders to think that environmental compliance no longer matters. Putting all politics aside, this belief could be a big risk for organizations, both logistically and financially.Today we’re talking about this issue with Jeff Ladner, Vice President of Environmental Performance for Sphera. For 20 years, Jeff has been helping corporations drive operational excellence and effectively manage operational risk, focusing on environmental performance, personnel and process safety, product stewardship, supply chain management, risk assessment, and change management. In his current role, Jeff leads the Sphera solution strategy, helping corporations implement and make the most of the Sphera’s EHS management systems.

Since the presidential election in 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency and its regulatory agenda have been no stranger to controversy. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has stated multiple times that his goal is to roll back regulations, and while some rules have been delayed, repealed, or otherwise rendered toothless, most regs are still on the books. However, some of the rhetoric may have lured companies into a false sense of security regarding environmental enforcement, causing business leaders to think that environmental compliance no longer matters. Putting all politics aside, this belief could be a big risk for organizations, both logistically and financially. Today we’re talking about this issue with Jeff Ladner, Vice President of Environmental Performance for Sphera. For 20 years, Jeff has been helping corporations drive operational excellence and effectively manage operational risk, focusing on environmental performance, personnel and process safety, product stewardship, supply chain management, risk assessment, and change management. In his current role, Jeff leads the Sphera solution strategy, helping corporations implement and make the most of the Sphera’s EHS management systems.

E33: The (Big) Risks of Believing Environmental Compliance No Longer Matters

We’re talking today with Regina McMichael, president of the Learning Factory and a world-renowned speaker with 28 years of experience as a safety expert. Regina will be delivering Safety Summit 2019’s opening keynote, "The Wife Left Behind: The Making of a Safety Professional," which will describe how her journey in safety began when her husband fell to his death while employed as a roofer. Regina’s work as a speaker and trainer today shows safety professionals how to transform safety from a dry, boring compliance issue, into a living, breathing, vitally important human issue that can save lives.

E41: The Art of Training Engagement: Black Belt Insights from the Safety Training Ninja

Active shooter and other workplace violence incidents vary by environment, motive and perpetrators, but there are common threads that can be used to create a solid safety program and employee training. Although it can be difficult to engage employees in such training, it is essential to empower the workforce to prevent and respond to critical incidents.In this episode of EHS on Tap, we discuss how to create and launch successful critical incident training with Jay Hart, Director of Force Training Institute. In his role, Jay leads a team of first responders, anti-terrorism, cybersecurity, defensive tactics, and crisis management specialists, and works with a variety of companies on creating and implementing active shooter mitigation programs and emergency management response plans.Want more in-depth training on active shooter protocol? Save the date for the 2018 Workplace Violence Prevention Symposium, March 8-9 in Savannah, Georgia.  Learn more or register at http://store.blr.com/workplace-violence-symposium.

Active shooter and other workplace violence incidents vary by environment, motive and perpetrators, but there are common threads that can be used to create a solid safety program and employee training. Although it can be difficult to engage employees in such training, it is essential to empower the workforce to prevent and respond to critical incidents. In this episode of EHS on Tap, we discuss how to create and launch successful critical incident training with Jay Hart, Director of Force Training Institute. In his role, Jay leads a team of first responders, anti-terrorism, cybersecurity, defensive tactics, and crisis management specialists, and works with a variety of companies on creating and implementing active shooter mitigation programs and emergency management response plans. Want more in-depth training on active shooter protocol? Save the date for the 2018 Workplace Violence Prevention Symposium, March 8-9 in Savannah, Georgia. Learn more or register at <a href="http://store.blr.com/workplace-violence-symposium" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://store.blr.com/workplace-violence-symposium</a>.

E24: Active Shooter & Workplace Violence Training Essentials

The Trump administration has pursued an overall deregulatory agenda at the federal level while emphasizing compliance assistance over enforcement; however, this is at the same time that more stringent regulations are being introduced by many individual states. It’s all resulted in a complex patchwork of regulations—in this episode, we discuss the issues with Ian Cohen, Product Marketing Manager for Cority’s Safety, Environmental, and Sustainability solutions, where he works to deliver products to the market that are designed to meet clients’ needs in an ever-changing regulatory environment.

E42: A Patchwork of Regulations: Environmental Compliance in the Trump Era

We all know that protecting employees from safety and environmental hazards is just the right thing to do, but business needs cannot be ignored. Going beyond compliance, how can an EHS manager demonstrate to business stakeholders the return on investment of their efforts—or, to put it another way, what is the return on safety in the organization? Well, we’re talking with an expert today who can help us better understand return on safety, from proper safety investment to experience modification rates.Our guest today, Mark Woodward, is a Senior Safety and Risk Trainer at Missouri Employers Mutual, a safety company and Missouri’s number one workers compensation insurance provider. Throughout his career, Mark has instructed tens of thousands of workers on how to improve workplace safety and prevent injuries on the job.

We all know that protecting employees from safety and environmental hazards is just the right thing to do, but business needs cannot be ignored. Going beyond compliance, how can an EHS manager demonstrate to business stakeholders the return on investment of their efforts—or, to put it another way, what is the return on safety in the organization? Well, we’re talking with an expert today who can help us better understand return on safety, from proper safety investment to experience modification rates. Our guest today, Mark Woodward, is a Senior Safety and Risk Trainer at Missouri Employers Mutual, a safety company and Missouri’s number one workers compensation insurance provider. Throughout his career, Mark has instructed tens of thousands of workers on how to improve workplace safety and prevent injuries on the job.

E36: What Is Return on Safety?

When we talk about safety culture, often the focus is on soft skills—things like effective leadership, good communication, management and employee buy-in, and so forth. However, what many EHS managers may be overlooking in their day-to-day efforts to build safety culture is the role of technology. Are you leveraging new innovations to build the best safety program possible at your organization?We have two guests today on EHS on Tap to help us take a look at this issue, from a company called, fittingly, SafetyCulture! We're joined today by Daniel Cummings, Customer Success Manager, and Josh Yeamans, Product Expert. Daniel works with large customers as an industry expert to ensure best in class implementation of technology and software, and Josh works with customers on various integration projects and technical development to get the most out of safety and quality in an organization.

When we talk about safety culture, often the focus is on soft skills—things like effective leadership, good communication, management and employee buy-in, and so forth. However, what many EHS managers may be overlooking in their day-to-day efforts to build safety culture is the role of technology. Are you leveraging new innovations to build the best safety program possible at your organization? We have two guests today on EHS on Tap to help us take a look at this issue, from a company called, fittingly, SafetyCulture! We're joined today by Daniel Cummings, Customer Success Manager, and Josh Yeamans, Product Expert. Daniel works with large customers as an industry expert to ensure best in class implementation of technology and software, and Josh works with customers on various integration projects and technical development to get the most out of safety and quality in an organization.

E35: Safety Culture: There’s an App for That!

There are a lot of exciting innovations popping up in the field of environment, health, and safety, and the technological revolution shows no signs of slowing down. What does this interconnectedness of safety functions, what we might call the digital transformation of EHS, mean for you? We have two guests today to talk to us a little more about what we call “connected safety”: Joe O’Brien, the founder of Corvex Connected Safety, and Tom Votel, the founder, president, and CEO of Ergodyne.

E38: Connected Safety: The Digital Transformation of EHS

New technologies are changing the workforce worldwide, and the environment, health, and safety field isn’t immune to the constantly changing landscape. New devices, software, and processes are revolutionizing EHS and forcing professionals to adapt their skill sets accordingly. And it isn’t going to stop—in fact, our guest, Dave Johnson, chief editor of Industrial Safety and Hygiene News, says that the EHS profession is in for disruptions on a scale not seen since the establishment of OSHA, perhaps even greater.

E28: The Future of Safety—Disruption on the Horizon

The new administration has been with us for a few weeks now, and we have seen a lot of activity involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With President Trump’s new Executive Order directing federal agencies to repeal two regulations for every new one issued, his promise to roll back most of EPA’s regulations, and many in Congress calling for the agency to be eliminated entirely, things can be expected to stay very interesting.In this episode of EHS on Tap,  we discuss the Executive Order’s effects on the EPA, whose methodology for crafting regulations has come under fire in recent years, with attorney Steven Hoch. Steven is a Partner with Morris Polich and Purdy LLP based in Los Angeles.  Note:  This interview took place just before Scott Pruitt was nominated as the new head of the EPA.  Get the latest environmental news at Enviro.BLR.com, including Trump's recent order to repeal or revise EPA's Clean Water Rule: http://ow.ly/vSYr309yxBE

The new administration has been with us for a few weeks now, and we have seen a lot of activity involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With President Trump’s new Executive Order directing federal agencies to repeal two regulations for every new one issued, his promise to roll back most of EPA’s regulations, and many in Congress calling for the agency to be eliminated entirely, things can be expected to stay very interesting. In this episode of EHS on Tap, we discuss the Executive Order’s effects on the EPA, whose methodology for crafting regulations has come under fire in recent years, with attorney Steven Hoch. Steven is a Partner with Morris Polich and Purdy LLP based in Los Angeles. Note: This interview took place just before Scott Pruitt was nominated as the new head of the EPA. Get the latest environmental news at <a href="http://Enviro.BLR.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Enviro.BLR.com</a>, including Trump's recent order to repeal or revise EPA's Clean Water Rule: <a href="http://ow.ly/vSYr309yxBE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://ow.ly/vSYr309yxBE</a>

E18:  What's the Future of the EPA and Its Regulations?

It’s one of the most instantly recognizable hazards when you step onto many worksites—noise. A lot of us tend to think, well, just use some PPE, and that’s that. However, there’s much more to a hearing conservation program than meets the eye, or, shall we say, meets the ear. What are some of the things you may be overlooking in your hearing conservation efforts, from hidden risks to the value of audiometric testing? Well, today we’re talking with a hearing conservation expert who may have some great thoughts on the matter, so let’s listen up!Our guest today, Alexa Gough, is the Occupational Hearing Conservation Business Unit Manager at SHOEBOX Audiometry. In this role, she works with some of the most forward-thinking manufacturers and onsite or near-site occupational healthcare providers in North America. She has a passion for partnering with them to find innovative ways of improving the way they deliver audiometric testing as part of a hearing conservation program, all while helping them achieve their overall business objectives.

It’s one of the most instantly recognizable hazards when you step onto many worksites—noise. A lot of us tend to think, well, just use some PPE, and that’s that. However, there’s much more to a hearing conservation program than meets the eye, or, shall we say, meets the ear. What are some of the things you may be overlooking in your hearing conservation efforts, from hidden risks to the value of audiometric testing? Well, today we’re talking with a hearing conservation expert who may have some great thoughts on the matter, so let’s listen up! Our guest today, Alexa Gough, is the Occupational Hearing Conservation Business Unit Manager at SHOEBOX Audiometry. In this role, she works with some of the most forward-thinking manufacturers and onsite or near-site occupational healthcare providers in North America. She has a passion for partnering with them to find innovative ways of improving the way they deliver audiometric testing as part of a hearing conservation program, all while helping them achieve their overall business objectives.

E37: Now Hear This—Hearing Conservation Beyond PPE

The best podcast episodes of the most interesting stories and things. From skyping someone while they're in space, to tracking down and meeting a telephone scammer in person, to the story of a Galapagos. These episodes will keep you and all your friends entertained and captivated for hours. Learn something new in every episode! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes: Interesting Stories & Things

The best podcast episodes on parenting. Interviewing experts and talking through common issues surrounding parenting. This topic is filled with important lessons and insights for anyone listening. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!