In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Zoë Nation, a human factors and safety expert with over 25 years of design and implementation experience across rail, oil and gas, logistics, mining, marine, manufacturing, and aviation industries.

Zoë challenges safety professionals to be more curious, move beyond ‘tribalism’, and adopt more context- and research-driven approaches to safety management: “There isn’t one right answer!”

She highlights the common pitfalls organizations face when implementing change and emphasizes the importance of understanding the unique maturity and culture of your organization.

Drawing on her extensive experience, Zoë stresses the critical role of end-user engagement, reminding EHS professionals that frontline workers don’t care about safety camps or jargon - they just need solutions based on their work realities.

Throughout the conversation, Zoë shares practical tools and insights to help EHS professionals learn from the workforce, influence decision-makers, avoid common blind spots, and create effective safety systems that resonate across all levels of the business.

Safety resources/authors recommended by Zoë:

The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error': Amazon.com: Dekker, Sidney

Bob's Guide to Operational Learning: How to Think Like a Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) Coach: Amazon.com: Edwards, Bob, Baker, Andrea

Humble Inquiry, 3rd edition: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling (Humble Leadership): Amazon.com: Schein, Edgar H., Schein, Peter A

SafetyInsights.org – Home of safety & risk research summaries

Global Safety Innovation Summit

Zoë Nation on LinkedIn: Zoë Nation | 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 Edward Tenner, a renowned author and lecturer at Princeton University, whose work explores the intersections of history, technology, and safety.

Edward draws on his seminar “Understanding Disasters,” examining major events like the Titanic, the World Trade Centre, Fukushima and Covid to expose how hidden risks can break safety systems.

He highlights how overlooked factors such as ‘gray rhinos’ and ‘mode errors’ have contributed to serious failures, demonstrating the unintended consequences of well-meaning safety measures.

Through examples of expert decisions and system designs that didn’t work as intended, he encourages safety managers to vigilantly scan the horizon for subtle signals of weaknesses..

This episode offers EHS professionals practical insights and historical lessons that help you identify emerging hazards to make workplaces safer.

Find out more about Edward’s work, books and essays: Edward Tenner - Welcome

You can read Edward’s latest essay here: Are We Getting Dumber? - Milken Institute Review

Other books recommended by Edward:

Engineers of Dreams: Great Bridge Builders and the Spanning of America: Petroski, Henry

Normal Accidents – Living with High Risk Technologies: Perrow, Charles

Edward Tenner on LinkedIn: Edward Tenner | 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 Sarah Ischer, CIH, CSP, the Senior Director of Expertise at the What Works Institute, who recently published a ground-breaking report investigating neurodiversity in the workplace.

Roughly 1 in 5 people are neurodivergent, meaning their brains process information, perceive hazards, or communicate differently. Yet many traditional safety programs still assume a single way of thinking.

Sarah explores why neurodiversity isn’t given the same focus in the workplace as it now receives in the education system and highlights how this negatively impacts the well-being of your workers.

She provides EHS professionals with practical and affordable tactics to improve workplaces for neurodiverse - and neurotypical - workers, giving you a new lens to enhance safety systems at your organization.

Find out more about Sarah’s work: What Works Institute

The full report into neurodiversity at work: Neurodiversity in EHS

Sarah Ischer on LinkedIn: Sarah Ischer, CIH, 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