In this episode of Leading & Learning Through Safety, Dr. Mark French explores the intersection of meaning, leadership, and generational diversity in the workplace.

Drawing from his leadership training experiences, Mark reflects on the importance of making safety training meaningful to individuals. He explains that without personal relevance, training often fails to influence behavior. A powerful story from early in his career illustrates how meaning can shift when context changes—what once felt pointless gained value when reframed as building a shared vocabulary.

Mark then connects this concept of “meaningfulness” to generational differences. Each generation—Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z—approaches mental and physical health differently. Baby Boomers often take a “tough it out” stance and focus on treatment rather than prevention. Gen X tends to internalize their skepticism, handling health issues quietly. Meanwhile, Millennials and Gen Z are far more open, expecting robust support systems for both mental health and workplace safety.

The challenge for leaders is bridging these diverse perspectives to create programs that resonate across the workforce. Mark stresses the importance of diverse safety committees, collective dialogue, and flexible approaches—whether through collaboration, written feedback, or structured discussion.

Ultimately, leaders must be influential motivators, guiding people toward safe behaviors not through mandates but by creating meaning, fostering trust, and making the safe choice the easiest choice.

This episode reminds us that safety culture isn’t one-size-fits-all—it’s about finding meaning in diversity and using it to drive connection, influence, and safety excellence

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety, Dr. Mark French highlights the moral imperative of safety as a foundation for leadership. He emphasizes that prioritizing people’s well-being opens the door to empathy, innovation, and stronger organizational culture.

Recent safety incidents underscore persistent risks. Roadway accidents—particularly during summer travel—remain frequent, reminding us of the dangers of distracted or inexperienced driving. Dr. French shares a personal reflection as his 17-year-old prepares for independent driving, noting both the risks of injury and the lifelong consequences of liability. He encourages listeners to remind novice and distracted drivers of their responsibility behind the wheel.

Another concerning trend involves workplace electrocutions, often due to inadequate lockout/tagout procedures or arc flash protections. Despite regulations, preventable incidents continue, highlighting the need for ongoing refresher training and toolbox talks, especially for electricians and maintenance staff.

A specific case from Ohio illustrates the consequences of insufficient training: a 21-year-old worker was fatally injured in a forklift accident. Community reactions revealed widespread misunderstanding of forklift hazards, underscoring the gap in proper operator instruction. Dr. French draws a parallel to driver’s licensing—while society mandates certification for cars, many workplaces still allow untrained workers to operate heavy equipment. He stresses that respect—not fear—of hazards should guide training and behavior.

Closing with a reminder that September is Suicide Awareness Month, Dr. French urges listeners to look out for one another, reinforcing that safety encompasses both physical and psychological well-being.

This episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety shares a rare and inspiring safety success story from rural Kentucky. A 68-year-old farmer became trapped in soybeans inside a grain bin — a dangerous, permit-required confined space. Such incidents, often unreported in family farming, have historically caused fatalities, especially among youth. In this case, the local volunteer fire department, equipped with a “turtle tube” grain bin rescue device, performed a flawless rescue.

The equipment, donated by the Graves County Farm Bureau and local agricultural businesses, works by isolating the trapped person from surrounding grain, reducing crushing pressure and allowing safe removal. The real triumph was not just having the right tool, but the department’s dedication to training on its proper use — a commitment often lacking even in large industries.

Host Dr. Mark French emphasizes that preparation, practice, and proper training are critical. Too often, organizations possess safety equipment but never train employees on its application, leading to tragic outcomes. He draws parallels between this community’s readiness and industrial safety practices, stressing that if a small, volunteer-based group can execute such a rescue, larger, regulated operations have no excuse for not being equally prepared.

The story highlights the importance of eliminating assumptions about knowledge, ensuring everyone receives clear instruction, and maintaining readiness for emergencies we hope never occur. For Dr. French, this event is a powerful reminder that safety culture thrives when communities invest in both tools and the training to use them — ultimately saving lives and strengthening bonds.

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety, Dr. Mark French explores the tragic consequences of neglecting workplace safety through the lens of a devastating explosion at a biofuels plant in Nebraska. The explosion killed a 32-year-old employee and his two young daughters, who were waiting at the site to go to a doctor’s appointment. The incident highlights the very real and human cost of safety failures—not just for workers, but for entire communities.

Mark reflects on how preventable the event was, citing past OSHA violations and air quality complaints indicating excessive wood dust escaping the facility. These were clear warnings that went unaddressed. He emphasizes that safety isn't just about compliance—it's about culture. While the company likely didn’t intend harm, its failure to act on known hazards allowed a manageable issue to become a deadly risk.

The podcast digs into the fundamental safety principles of identifying hazards, assessing risk, and cultivating a proactive culture. Hazards are inevitable, but uncontrolled risk is not. Mark challenges listeners to ensure that their workplace culture aligns with values that prioritize human life and community wellbeing.

He closes with a powerful reminder: safety professionals must stay vigilant, not just for compliance, but to protect people, families, and the broader community from tragedies that should never happen.

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French revisits the foundational topic of adult learning in the workplace, particularly in the context of safety training. He reflects on his own journey from nervous novice to experienced trainer, emphasizing how repetitive safety topics must still be delivered meaningfully to engage a diverse audience. Mark discusses the challenge of delivering impactful safety training to a mixed group—ranging from janitorial staff to office workers—with only a short window of time and broad regulatory requirements to meet.

He highlights the limitations of one-size-fits-all PowerPoints, stressing the importance of real-world examples, storytelling, and facility-specific visuals to enhance relevance and engagement. Despite the appeal of digital training for its accessibility and entertainment value, Mark underscores its impersonality and advocates for interactive approaches tailored to functional roles.

A core theme is encouraging employees to “ask” when something doesn’t seem right. He emphasizes fostering a culture where questions are welcomed, escalation is safe, and deviations from the standard trigger thoughtful reassessment. Mark also advocates for equipping supervisors not only with compliance knowledge but with the tools and mindset of safety leadership—upholding standards, discouraging shortcuts, and collaborating to find workable solutions.

Ultimately, the goal is engagement beyond the classroom. Training should be the starting point for ongoing conversations that empower teams, prevent incidents, and build a safety culture rooted in learning, collaboration, and mutual accountability.

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French explores the increasingly blurred lines between safety and security, especially for field teams working in unpredictable public environments. Reflecting on a recent visit to a street lighting crew in a high-risk urban area, he shares his concern for worker safety amid uncertain external threats. Traditional safety protocols fall short in these contexts, and current de-escalation training—typically designed for healthcare or retail—doesn’t fully apply to field operations.

Dr. French discusses the challenge of managing safety in situations where workers may encounter homelessness, substance abuse, or volatile behavior. These are not clearly addressed by OSHA regulations, which tend to focus more narrowly on workplace violence in healthcare settings. He underscores the need for adaptable training and new best practices for teams working in public spaces.

The episode highlights a broader leadership issue: the discomfort of facing problems without perfect solutions. Dr. French encourages safety professionals to start with what’s available—even if imperfect—because doing something is better than doing nothing. He emphasizes the role of empathy, continuous learning, and proactive problem-solving in effective safety leadership.

Dr. French ends with a call for collaboration and innovation, inviting others to share solutions and ideas. He also announces his upcoming live appearance at the Kentucky Safety Conference in Owensboro to discuss safety culture.

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French explores the critical link between psychological safety, rest, and physical safety in the workplace. Traditionally, safety professionals begin with physical safety as a foundation, but Mark challenges that order by highlighting emerging research suggesting psychological safety—particularly the ability to truly rest—is foundational to overall well-being.

Referencing a meta-analysis from the Journal of Occupational Psychology, Mark discusses how earlier studies indicated vacations often fail to provide adequate rest. However, newer research shows a positive trend: people are learning how to rest more effectively, leading to improved psychological safety. Mark emphasizes that true rest looks different for everyone—some recharge through activity, others through solitude—and it's essential to identify what genuinely replenishes your energy.

He also reflects on how organizational culture plays a significant role in whether employees can actually disconnect. Toxic or unsupportive environments can sabotage recovery and lead to burnout, which not only harms individuals but amplifies risk in physical safety. Fatigue and disengagement at work can be precursors to unsafe behaviors, especially when employees are merely surviving rather than thriving.

Ultimately, Dr. French urges leaders to consider safety as holistic—encompassing physical, mental, and emotional well-being. He reminds listeners that burnout and apathy are the enemies of engagement and safety, and that promoting genuine rest is a vital, often overlooked component of a strong safety culture.

The episode concludes with a personal invitation to the Kentucky Governor’s Safety Conference, where Mark will be speaking on culture and safety.

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety podcast, Dr. Mark French explores the contrast between managing people the easy way versus the right way. Sparked by a discussion with a fellow safety professional and the media’s coverage of the Texas floods, Mark reflects on how safety failures are often sensationalized, leading to blame instead of meaningful solutions. He argues that while it’s easy to point fingers and assign fault, true leadership requires deeper examination of systemic causes and cultural influences.

Drawing on insights from How to Win Friends and Influence People, he criticizes the common "blame, shame, retrain" method as ineffective, favoring instead adult learning and genuine engagement. The podcast underscores the importance of avoiding the toxic cycle of criticizing, condemning, and complaining—especially within safety committees—and instead encourages empowering those most critical of safety programs to become part of the solution.

Mark emphasizes that understanding the “why” behind unsafe behavior is key: Why don’t people follow procedures? Why is noncompliance easier? By asking these questions and involving workers in problem-solving, leaders can drive lasting change. He reflects on his own growth from being a “safety cop” to someone focused on enabling others to choose safe behaviors. The right way isn’t easy, he concludes, but it leads to real improvement in safety culture.

He ends by promoting his upcoming talk on safety culture at the Kentucky Governor’s Safety Conference and encourages listeners to keep pushing for authentic progress.