In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Aaron Potash, an experienced EHS Design Program leader with a background in emergency response and diving instruction.

Drawing parallels from these two high-pressure, unpredictable environments, Aaron explores why rule-heavy approaches often fail to support real-world decision-making.

He explains how practice, repetition and exposure to realistic scenarios - rather than regulations - are key to helping people develop resilience and reliable judgement.

This wide-ranging interview provides practical tools rooted in trust, curiosity and open communication to help EHS professionals support workers in making safer decisions.

Find out more about Aaron’s work: Original Oaktown Divers

Books recommended by Aaron:
There are no accidents by Jesse Singer

Humble Inquiry by Edgar H. Schein

Aaron Potash on LinkedIn: Aaron Potash, 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 Donna Carter, a psychology-informed transformational safety consultant with extensive experience of suicide prevention in remote workplace situations.

Drawing on compelling stories from her frontline work, Donna discusses the complex challenges of suicide prevention and how EHS professionals can support workers in this extremely sensitive area.

She explores the key roles of trust, education and community and warns us that leadership decisions and messages can influence workers’ mental wellbeing in ways organisations may not anticipate.

Donna’s wisdom offers safety professionals crucial guidance on what genuine care requires in practice and how humanising safety can make a meaningful difference for people who may be struggling.

This powerful conversation raises difficult but necessary questions and encourages you to look beyond physical risks to protect lives.

Find out more about Donna’s work: Home | The Person Factor

Get in touch with Donna via email: donna@thepersonfactor.co.nz

Recommended suicide prevention resources:

24/7 Support for Anxiety, Depression and Suicide Prevention. - Beyond Blue

Black Dog Institute | Better Mental Health | Science. Compassion. Action.

Donna Carter on LinkedIn: Donna Carter | 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. Ashley Gill, an experienced safety consultant whose passion for developing the next generation of EHS professionals led her to teaching.

Through her work educating the next generation of EHS professionals, experienced practitioners and engineers, Ashley has firsthand knowledge of the habits, assumptions and gaps that shape how students understand safety. She shares stories from the classroom and explores the importance of teaching safety principles to professionals in adjacent roles.

Ashley explores how OHS education has evolved over recent years and how it can improve even further. She recognizes that certain elements including non-physical psychosocial risks, soft skills and wider culture enhancement should be key areas of focus going forward.

Dr. Gill’s unique perspective offers EHS professionals practical guidance to raise safety standards in the real world - and not just in theory.

Find out more about Ashley’s consultancy work: ERM - Environmental Resources Management

Learn more about WISE: Women in the Safety Profession Member Community | ASSP

Ashley highly recommends the work of Sydney Decker: Sidney Dekker: Safety Differently

Dr. Ashley Gill on LinkedIn: Ashley Gill, DBA, 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 Jake Mazulewicz, a former firefighter, EMT and paratrooper, who is now a Human Reliability consultant and author. Jake translates ideas from Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) and High Reliability Organizations (HRO) into clear, practical actions EHS professionals can use on the job.

He explains why incidents rarely have a single root cause and shows you how to learn from accidents without blame, strengthen team performance, and build resilience so mistakes don’t disable operations. Jake shares many helpful safety enhancement ideas including balancing control-based and learning-based approaches, active vs latent errors, and separating the error from its consequence.

Jake also tackles myths about psychological safety, outlines different review types, and highlights classic defenses - which have been keeping workers safe for decades. This interview is packed with actionable steps you can implement immediately.

Jake’s company: JMA Human Reliability Strategies

Jake’s book: Seven Practical Steps: How to Build Reliability, Safety, and Trust in Technical Teams

Jake Mazulewicz on LinkedIn: Jake Mazulewicz, Ph.D. | 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. Fred Sherratt, a world-leading academic in the field of construction safety and the founder of Straight Talk Safety. Drawing on her decades of experience and research, Fred explains why safety in construction is never static, and why, at its heart, safety is a people’s game.

She describes the unique challenges of an industry where crews, work areas, and priorities constantly shift, positioning construction as a powerful case study for EHS professionals managing change. Fred discusses how production pressures, subcontracting, and evolving environments affect performance, and how leadership, respect and communication keep people safe when conditions are unpredictable.

Fred also explores why measuring “safety culture” misses the point, arguing that safety is continually recreated through human relationships and shared understanding. Her perspective and wisdom offer highly practical ways to make systems more adaptable, guide teams effectively, and build trust in complex workplaces.

Fred’s company: Straight Talk Safety

Fred’s book: Unpacking Construction Site Safety

Dr. Fred Sherratt on LinkedIn: Fred Sherratt | 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. Matt Law — certified safety professional, researcher, strategist, author, and podcast host. Matt explores why safety research often fails to actually help EHS practitioners in the workplace.

He breaks down what makes research “bad,” the roles of qualitative and quantitative methods, and how statistical findings can be better translated for real-world use.

Dr. Law also discusses academic limitations, the communication barriers caused by paywalls and jargon, and how digital platforms — from podcasts to TikTok — are changing the way research reaches safety professionals.

This interview is packed with practical advice for practitioners to evaluate research critically, stay curious, and collaborate with researchers to measure what really works in practice.

Matt’s podcast: Prove It To Me - Real Research, Real Data, No BS | Dr. Matt Law

Learn more about Matt’s work: Dr. Matt Law | Explore Proven Environmental, Health, and Safety Strategies

Matt currently serves on the Board of Directors for the: Society for Total Worker Health

Dr. Matt Law on LinkedIn: Matt Law, DrPH, CSP, REHS | 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 Ron Gantt, Vice President of EHS at Beal Infrastructure and a leading voice in safety management. Ron helps safety professionals navigate the challenges of working with contractors, where hidden coordination costs and fragile common ground often undermine safety.

He explains why contractors add complexity, how authority differentials distort information flow and risk, and why coordination needs to be treated as real work. Ron introduces practical approaches to build stronger relationships, from co-locating teams and aligning work hours to asking the unexpected question: “How do we want to argue together?”

Ron also shares his views on who should be responsible for overseeing coordination, and offers a more collaborative alternative to punitive contractual agreements.

Beyond contractors, he also shares valuable advice to help EHS professionals move away from regulations or best practices and thoughtful guidance on truly understanding how people work.

Packed with insights and real-world advice, this conversation shows how better collaboration and evidence-based practice can transform safety outcomes.

Recommended coordination research:

Dr Laura McGuire:
Dr Laura McGuire - Edge Hill University

Sarah Butt
Sarah BUTT | Research profile

Safety podcast co-hosted by Ron:
Punk Rock Safety

Ron Gantt on LinkedIn:

Ron Gantt | 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