The Accidental Safety Pro

Latest Episodes:

#24: Tackling Workers Comp Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Chief Safety Officer and host of the show, Jill James, talks with Cassandra, a workers compensation claims consultant. Cassandra’s accidental path to the world of occupational safety began in college. Having trouble choosing a course of study and career, Cassandra eventually found herself working as a receptionist with a printer packaging company. That role soon presented an unexpected opportunity—an interview for the risk management position (she got it) that started her career in safety. Cassandra and Jill discuss workers comp in some detail, including experience modifiers, how to deal with the sometimes dishonest “11%”, and how different state laws affect working in this field.

#23: Jay Allen from SafetyFM Apr 10, 2019

Show notes

Jill James, our series host, talks with Jay Allen from SafetyFM. They cover topics including his broadcasting background, trying to settle on a major, and Jay explains how a vehicle fatality gave him a push to get into safety.

#22: Eight stories and a big thank you. Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

Podcast series host Jill James shares eight of her favorite moments from the show. You’ll hear about a hydrogen explosion, what it’s like to grow up with a safety parent, and the virtues of unlikely mentorships. These stories from safety professionals across the country will make you laugh, make you wince, and leave you with the sense that you’re not alone.

#21: ASSP’s Emerging Professionals Roundtable Mar 13, 2019

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In a podcast first, series host Jill James sits down with three emerging professionals affiliated with American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP). With pathways to safety as unique as their backgrounds, our guests on the 21st episode share important commonalities: formal education in occupational safety and internships. You’ll hear from one non-traditional student now job-hunting across the country, a Masters-level safety manager in the oil & gas industry, and one passionate advocate for industrial health. Key themes of mentorship, community, and engagement. Also, a few great stories from the field.

#20: Get up on the roof or find a new job. Feb 27, 2019

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Podcast series host Jill James talks to Robert, whose career in safety led him to the closely related discipline of risk management. Robert came to safety through a popular pathway—the trades, skilled labor. As a teenage apprentice electrician, Robert was struck by an arc flash. Then, as a carpenter, he slid off of a roof without any fall protection gear. After that, while clearing trees, a large log rolled up on him. Naturally, each incident let him to question the unsafe conditions of employment experienced by hundreds of thousands of workers, ultimately starting his journey in professional safety.

#19: Other kids didn’t grow up around safety. We were doing fire drills in our house once a quarter. Feb 13, 2019

Show notes

Podcast series host Jill James catches up with Chevon, a true outlier in the profession. Contrary to the theme of the show, Chevon was seemingly born to the safety occupation. That’s what happens when your mother is a professor of occupational health and safety. On a path to music scholarship, Chevon eventually stopped fighting her native interests, switched majors, and accepted her destiny: a career safety pro.

#18: If I don’t remember that, then I don’t need to be doing safety. Jan 30, 2019

Show notes

Podcast series host Jill James connects with Certified Safety Professional Rick, a home grown pro with over 30 years of experience. Rick started on a poultry production line and, building upon his interest in emergency response, worked his way up the ranks of the safety ladder for a major food industry brand. Eventually, he found himself supervising 160 professional safety staff and 350 occupational health nurses. Podcast fans will learn about mapping safety to organizational business strategy, the futility of ‘management without measurement’, and developing safety metrics from workers comp stats. Also, discover a fantastic internship opportunity available now. Bonus? Answer the most important question every safety pro must ask themselves.

#17: First year safety pro syndrome Jan 16, 2019

Show notes

Series host Jill James connects with Katie, a safety specialist in manufacturing from the Milwaukee area. Katie is one of the few who began higher education with a focus on occupational safety, earning a Bachelor of Arts and Masters in health and safety. With 6 years of experience, Katie is a member of the new generation of safety professionals who benefited from increased access to formal education in the field. Podcast fans will learn from Katie’s story about maximizing internship opportunities, where mentorship may be found along your career, and the importance of business-skill fluency in the safety job. Her words of wisdom? Priorities change; values don’t.

#16: These guys really lived safety. It wasn’t just a flavor of the month. Jan 02, 2019

Show notes

From starting his career as a chemist at a nuclear facility to becoming an operations manager at a hydro plant and on through his recent retirement, our guest Harold talks with series host Jill James about his path towards becoming a safety pro. We get to hear how Harold went from a co-worker to supervisor overnight and how that changed his view on safety, from only having to worry about his own safety to now being responsible for the safety of his employees, widening his circle of responsibility. Jill and Harold also talk about how safety changed over time, both in regulations and internal procedures and behaviors within their roles.

#15: I can die on that hill and make it better for somebody else. Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

Our host, Jill James, sits down to have a conversation with Linda Martin, 2018 President of the Board of Certified Safety Processionals, chair of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals Foundation Board, and recipient of the 2018 Marion Martin Award recognizing influential women in safety. Together they talk about their shared Midwest origins and accents. Linda talks about getting started in her career as HAZWOPER was going into effect and how that moved her into a safety practice. The two also discuss feeling like they could make a difference through safety and how that led and drove her career path.

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