Episode Summary
In this episode of Safety Unleashed, Chris and Drew share practical, real-world guidance on how companies should interview and onboard safety professionals in today's evolving workforce. Drawing from decades of field and leadership experience, they discuss what hiring teams should look for beyond resumes and certifications, including hands-on field experience, communication skills, risk assessment capability, and cultural fit. The conversation explores the balance between book knowledge and boots-on-the-ground experience, the growing importance of soft skills in 2025, and how onboarding sets the tone for long-term success. They also examine how workforce expectations have shifted across past, current, and future generations, and why companies must adapt their hiring and onboarding strategies to attract, develop, and retain strong safety professionals.

Key Takeaways
• Resumes and certifications matter, but field experience is critical
• Strong safety professionals must translate between the field and the office
• Risk assessment skills must be developed in real-world environments
• Soft skills and communication are essential for trust, credibility, and buy-in
• Continuous education is a requirement, not a bonus
• Cultural fit can outweigh technical qualifications
• Effective onboarding improves retention and performance

Topics Discussed
• How to interview safety professionals beyond the resume
• Evaluating regulatory knowledge across OSHA, MSHA, FRA, DOT, and state plans
• Book knowledge versus practical field experience
• The value of internships and early field exposure
• Incident management and real-world risk assessment
• Communication styles for field crews and corporate leadership
• Generational expectations in the modern workforce
• Continuous education, certifications, and CEUs
• Multi-step interview processes and team involvement
• Why onboarding should be intentional, not rushed

Recommended Interview Questions Highlighted
• Can you share specific examples of safety programs you've implemented?
• How do you handle an incident when someone gets hurt on the job?
• How do you conduct risk assessments in the field versus on paper?
• How do you communicate safety expectations to crews and executives?
• How do you handle pushback or resistance in the field?
• Are you committed to continuous learning and professional development?
• How do you adapt your approach to different personalities and cultures?

Onboarding Insights
• Onboarding sets expectations and establishes credibility
• Early field exposure builds trust with crews
• Mentorship accelerates development for less-experienced hires
• Clear communication channels reduce confusion
• Safety professionals should be empowered early
• Strong onboarding supports long-term cultural alignment

Content Advisory
• Contains occasional profanity
• Includes candid, unscripted industry discussion
• May require light editing for platform standards

About the Hosts
Safety Unleashed is hosted by Chris and Drew, seasoned safety professionals with extensive experience across industrial, construction, maintenance, and turnaround environments. Their backgrounds span field safety, corporate leadership, regulatory compliance, and risk management. Together, they bring candid conversation and practical insight into what it really takes to keep people safe while supporting operations and culture.

Episode Summary
In this episode, Drew and Chris dive into the often-misunderstood relationship between safety and operations and why departmental alignment is critical to building a strong safety culture. Framed around their recurring concept, "Safety is the hustle, operations is the muscle," they explore how safety teams frequently handle the behind-the-scenes work that qualifies companies for contracts, satisfies client requirements, and prevents incidents, while operations holds the authority that ultimately drives accountability. The conversation highlights the frustration safety professionals face when they are expected to carry responsibility without real decision-making power, and how this dynamic can weaken effectiveness if not clearly defined. Drew and Chris also discuss how safety roles evolve from site-level to regional, director, and executive positions, expanding responsibilities across multiple sites, departments, and stakeholders. Their message is clear: safety and operations must work together with mutual respect, clarity, and shared ownership to move from reactive response to proactive prevention.

Key Takeaways
Safety and operations must work together for any safety program to be effective
Safety often does the work required to win contracts and maintain client trust
Authority gaps undermine safety when accountability is unclear
The safety role expands significantly from site to executive leadership levels
Proactive safety culture requires operational buy-in, not just safety effort
Strong relationships across departments improve outcomes and credibility

Topics Discussed
The meaning of "the hustle" versus "the muscle" in workplace safety
Why safety is often viewed as overhead until incidents occur
Client prequalification systems and safety documentation requirements
How safety interacts with operations, HR, legal, medical, and recruiting
Differences between site, regional, director, and executive safety roles
The importance of prevention over reaction in safety programs

About the Hosts
Safety Unleashed is hosted by Drew and Chris, two experienced safety professionals with extensive backgrounds in industrial and construction environments. Together, they bring real-world insight, candid conversation, and firsthand experience from job sites, leadership roles, and client-facing safety operations. Their discussions focus on safety culture, leadership accountability, and the practical realities of keeping people safe in high-risk industries.

Episode Description
In this episode of Safety Unleashed, hosts Andrew Collins and Chris Maise break down how workplace safety is shaped by risk, attitude, and the daily decisions people make when nobody is watching. They talk about why safety matters beyond compliance, including protecting lives, protecting families, and reducing the real costs that hit companies after incidents.

Andrew and Chris walk through what strong safety culture looks like in practice, from leadership buy in and communication to basic field habits like reviewing the JSA, matching permits to the work, and handling corrections in a way that keeps morale and trust intact. They also explore how stress, burnout, and job attitudes can shift a team's performance, and why safety must be treated as a shared responsibility across every role.

This conversation reinforces one major point. Culture is built through consistency. What looks good on paper does not always show up in the field, and the difference is leadership, follow-through, and how people are coached day to day.

What You'll Learn in This Episode
• Why safety is about protecting lives, families, and long-term stability
• How risk and attitude influence decisions and outcomes on the job
• What leadership buy in looks like and why it sets the pace for everyone else
• How to use the JSA and permits as practical tools, not paperwork
• Why firm but fair coaching improves compliance and morale
• How emergency preparedness applies to job sites, offices, and even company events
• Why stress, burnout, and mental health impact safety performance
• Why safety is a shared responsibility from the CEO to the newest helper

Episode Focus
This episode focuses on the real-world link between safety culture, risk, and attitude. When expectations are clear, hazards are communicated, and people are coached with consistency, safety performance improves across the board.

Who This Episode Is For
• Safety professionals and safety leaders
• Supervisors, foremen, and superintendents
• Operations leadership and project managers
• Office and administrative teams
• Anyone responsible for risk management, culture, and team performance

About the Hosts
Andrew Collins and Chris Maise bring decades of real world experience across high risk environments and safety leadership. Their style is practical, direct, and focused on what actually changes behavior in the field and strengthens culture over time.

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