Shows / The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management
Hosted by Michael Zalle, Founder and CEO of YellowBird, The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management features the sharpest minds in risk management and workplace safety. Each episode dives into bold, real conversations that challenge outdated safety models and cut through compliance theater. You’ll hear from guests who bring a powerful mix of tech-driven insight, human-first experience, and hard-won lessons from the field. Ideal for those leading safety initiatives in construction, logistics…
Episodes
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Safety Is the Foundation of Sustainable Profitability | Brian Fielkow
"Safety and productivity don't compete with each other. Safety is your gateway to productivity and profitability." - Brian Fielkow Brian Fielkow's perspective…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Curiosity Is the Foundation of Better Safety Leadership | Jake Wenmark
"Be curious, not judgmental. And as a safety professional, that's so key. Because as soon as we're judgmental and we assume that we know or have all the…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Incident Investigations Need More Curiosity and Less Blame | Joseph Bachi
"It's not just about making sure that you're checking boxes and being compliant. It's deeper than that. It's about caring for people and creating that…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Safety Starts With How We Respond to Mistakes | Chris Murphy
"If that traditional mindset's going to work, then people have to be perfect. And we know, and Safety Differently teaches us, that we all make mistakes. We're…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom Safety Compliance to Safety Ownership: How Leaders Transform Culture | Paul Espenan
"Safety is a keystone habit. You show me a safe company, I'll show you a well-performing one and vice versa. You cannot separate safety performance from…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Perspective and Not Compliance Creates a Stronger Safety Culture I Justin Hinks
In our career field, we can't be in cruise control. Right? Safety matters too darn much to put it in cruise control." - Justin Safety leadership is not about…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementTurning Frontline Safety Leaders Into Professional Risk Managers with Devin Woods
“My goal is to make our frontline leaders, the foremen, the superintendents, the general foremen, to make those folks professional risk managers.” Devin Woods…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementBuilding Safety Into Systems, Not Onto Schedules with John Kanyan
"Never be afraid of what the three most terrifying words in our business are: 'I don't know’. Because if you don't know, you can find out." - John Kanyan…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementHow to Move Your Safety Teams from Reactive Firefighters to Proactive Fire Marshals: Insights from Jesse Marano
One of the things I always say to my team is, how can we move from firefighters to proactive fire marshals?” Jesse Marano, Director of Global EHS at EVAPCO…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementStop Being the Safety Cop - Build Trust with Psychological Safety: Insights from Jeffrey Bowers
"A strong safety culture lives at the intersection of psychological safety, lived experience, and consistency across people, backgrounds, and shifts." -…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementBuilding a Safety Culture That Holds Up Under Pressure with Jeff Schmitt
"If the system really works, the employees are doing the right thing. Their leaders are doing the right thing and are committed to health and safety as well."…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom Auditor to Field Advocate: Transforming Safety Culture
My conversation with Joseph Klinzing highlights how safety training programs and risk management thrive on transparency. As a veteran and Project Management…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementAddressing Live Traffic in Construction with Christopher Diaz from Balfour Beatty
In this episode, my conversation with Christopher Diaz, Balfour Beatty Vice President of Safety, Health, and Environment for the Southeast, focused on safety…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Financial Stakes of Risk Management in a Self-Insured Captive
Safety leadership and construction safety programs become critical business functions when your team manages massive demolition projects globally. My guest…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementYour Safety Culture is Defined by What You Tolerate
A true safety champion mindset starts with the realization that culture is what you tolerate. My guest Jim Wathen has spent thirty years perfecting…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Character Beats Safety Degrees with Nathan Haynes
Nathan Haynes, who standardized a safety culture across forty infrastructure projects joins me in this episode. Nathan shares anecdotes from his career that…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Your Machine Guards Might Be Creating Biofilm Nightmares
I talk about food safety management and workplace safety leadership with Laura McCready, who manages risk mitigation for Reser's Fine Foods. We examine how…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementSystems Over Signs: How James Ferrell is Engineering Out Workplace Hazards
My conversation with James Ferrell in this episode focused on Human and Organizational Performance and Workplace Safety at Perdue Farms. James shared how his…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementHow Vulnerability Beats Authority in Workplace Safety Culture with Lori Elam
I am joined by Lori Elam to discuss workplace safety culture and EHS leadership within the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing. In our conversation, I learn…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementHow to avoid the $300K premium trap in workers' compensation with Todd Thams
I welcome Todd Thams to discuss how a workers compensation insurance experience mod score and EMR rating serve as the most critical numbers in your risk…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementHuman First Safety Leadership and Scaling Culture with Derek Cox
I sit down with Derek Cox to explore workplace safety and construction safety management while we look into how risk management and safety culture thrive. We…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementDitching the 500-Pound Paperweight for Real Field Safety
I am joined by William LePage, the VP of Health and Safety at Posillico Civil, to unpack how a risk management strategy functions at scale. We dive into his…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementAddressing suicide awareness and mental health in construction with Jim Ruggiero
Join me as I discuss construction safety management and incident prevention with Jim Ruggiero, who shares 40 years of wisdom on building a true safety culture…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom Volunteer Firefighter to VP of a National Safety Program
I sat down with Chris Braamse to discuss EHS management and building a safety culture that actually lasts. As the VP of DH Pace, Chris oversees 60 locations…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementSafety Culture Means Giving Away Your Power with Robert Hudson
Workplace safety leadership and roofing company safety cultures thrive when leaders stop trying to be the hero. This week on the Canary Report, I am joined by…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Silent Stakeholder: Why Families Drive Safety with Mike Place
In this conversation with Mike Place, I explore building a workplace safety culture and safety leadership that prioritizes employee safety programs for…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Safety Culture Myth: Why Standalone Programs Fail with Chris Seider
I am joined by Chris Seider, Director of Health and Safety at Foth Company, to unpack how a workplace safety culture functions. We dive into his journey of…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementSafety Culture and Strategic Risk at Scotts Miracle-Gro
I sit down with Jason Johantges of Scotts Miracle-Gro to explore EHS leadership, workplace safety programs, safety culture, and risk management. We begin by…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementSafety Is a Mindset, Not Just a Role with Michael Dupont
“If you're being paid to do safety, why don’t you call yourself a professional?” In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementMilitary Discipline to Construction Safety Culture With Thomas Lippert
“I don’t ever want to have to give that speech in this job.” In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Thomas Lippert…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Safety Starts with People, Not Policies with Justin Short
In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I speak with Justin Short, Safety Director at Kirby Nagelhout Construction Company, about what…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom Concrete Work to Corporate Safety Leadership with Zac Elliott
In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Zac Elliott, Safety Director at Mead & Hunt, to explore what modern safety…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom the Field to the Boardroom: Reginald Shubert on Culture, Commitment, and What Safety Really Costs
"Once you hear that rack of that shotgun, if you take another step forward, we all know the outcome of that. When we ignore these so-called near misses, we…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementHow Safety Skills Scale Across Industries with Matt Shaffer
What if the secret to better safety wasn't stricter policies, but smarter ones? In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementDisability as a Safety Advantage with Diego Mariscal
What if Disability isn’t a disadvantage in business, but preparation for it? In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I speak with Diego…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementScaling Safety Without Losing People: Lessons from Eric Yates
"It's not me, it's the people that work around me. If you have a good, strong team and everyone's focused on the same goals, it makes everything a lot easier."…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom Crash Scenes to Crash Prevention: Rethinking Vehicle Safety with Jennifer Morrison
"What we're trying to do is prevent (protect) the most precious cargo, the people. Right? And that's what the systems are designed for. That's why we're really…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhen Safety Looks Busy but Fails People: Plainspeak with Steve Davis
"There are five aspects to a safety program that if you align to these five elements and you connect them, the more connection points that you have between…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Personality-Driven Hiring Changes Safety Outcomes with Victor Buhr
"Brennan's really looking to take a different approach with employee safety. We're gonna start looking at bringing people on who have the personality for it…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementMaking Construction Safety Easier to Follow and Harder to Ignore, with Kathryn Prus
"One of my phrases is make it easy for people to follow the rules. And I understand that if we've got a trade going from one general contractor to another, you…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy 30 Safety Pros in 2 Years Beats 400-Page Manuals: Josh Brown's Playbook at B&S Site Development
"I've been and seen 400 page safety manuals. I'm like, dude, nobody reads these. If we can make it relatable, if we can make it consumable for the people so…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy the Phrase “Safety Is Number One” Is Holding You Back with Dylan Laser
"If safety is number one, okay, all your employees are gonna stay home and wrap themselves in bubble wrap. And guess what? Bye bye, company." Dylan Laser…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementStop Siloing Safety: Turning EHS into Operational Excellence with David Payton
"My whole goal is to drive operational excellence, but operational excellence is part of EHS, or EHS is part of operational excellence, if you do it…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementListening Before It Breaks: Safety Leadership Lessons with Brian Biancavilla
"You don't just train everybody one time and say, okay. Everybody's good. You don't need any more training. You have to constantly be reminding people." -…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementPivoting From Compliance to Clarity with David Leff
"You don't wanna just walk in and say, okay, here's your new program, now implement it. You gotta figure out, does it work? Why is it working other places? Why…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Small-Project Safety Blueprint You Need but Aren’t Using, with Tom Garske
"Safety is relationship management. That's what it comes down to. It's being able to connect with people and understand their needs and what they wanna see and…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Question That Changes Every Safety Conversation, with Stew Murphy
"I don't care if the people are safe. I care if the people care to be safe. And that might be a play on words, but they've gotta get it. When they get it, your…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Real Reasons Your Safety Message Isn’t Sticking with Large and Complex Teams: Kate McGee’s Insights
"If you're genuine about adhering to your code of ethics and applying that, you just try and find people of good character and good integrity." Kate McGee…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhat Rapid Scaling Gets Wrong About Safety and How to Fix It with Steve Catherman
"Our philosophy is behavior-based. We focus on the why and not the what, and we feel that having the human element really is where you can have an impact."…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWhy Practitioners, Not Policies, Drive Safety Success with Matt Barnes
"The first thing that I wanted to do, I aligned our leadership and our organization to create a framework of trust where every year we build upon people…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Mentor Mindset That Keeps People Safe: Insights from David Doggette
"It actually costs more time and money to do it unsafe in the end, once you've had an incident, than to do safety directly." - David Doggette, Director of…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementWords That Cost Millions: How Communication Breakdowns Bleed Safety and Profits
"Language is inextricably linked to life, and when we address it holistically, we actually find that you can drive safety and retain the talent." Monique…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementClean Tech Growth Hack: Prioritize Safety
"Every one of our potential customers talks about safety with us. It's actually a part of our conversation, and it will just take one incident, and our license…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementThe Three E’s That Transformed Ervin Cable’s Safety Culture with Colby Davis
"I always reference what I call the three e's - educate, empower, and enforce. The older and more mature I get, the more I realize that enforcement works…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementMaking ‘The Safe Choice’ the Easy One, with Chris Daniels
"We have to get to the point in safety in general across the construction industry, where the safe choice is always the easy choice. And, I mean, I hate to say…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementCultural Matchmaking in Safety: Lessons from Ecudemio Gutierrez
"Safety should be about getting people home, and it should be about the people, not about meeting the bare minimum because the law says we have to." Ecudemio…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom Compliance to Culture: Strategic Safety with Jo Pina
"Creating an environment where people feel comfortable to report said near misses is critical." - Jo Pina Hello and welcome everyone. For a start, this one’s…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementFrom Family Values to Safety Culture with Jeanne Boyd Curtis
"Safety doesn't start on the ground. It doesn't start on the roof. It starts right here, and to me, safety starts with mental health.” Jeanne Boyd Curtis OK…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementModernizing Safety Investigations the Human Way with Crystal Blasius
"Mind-blowingly so, every three hours, there is a person or vehicle that negatively encounters railroad equipment. Every three hours." Crystal Blasius OK…
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk ManagementBreaking the Silence on Mental Health in Construction with Josh Vitale
"What we know about suicidality is that it's almost always a combination of a lack of hope and a lack of connection." - Josh Vitale We are celebrating…