The Safety Meeting

The Business Case for Safety with Silvi Materials’ Colby Ankeney

In this episode of The Safety Meeting from Novara, we speak with Colby Ankeney, Director of Heath, Safety and Environment at Silvi Materials, about earning leadership buy-in by treating safety as a core leg of the business. Colby describes inheriting a spreadsheet-heavy program with unclear metrics and explains how he built a data-first approach with a lean team, starting with a gap analysis and easy wins tied to projected outcomes. He shares how Silvi cut injury rates, reduced severity, and delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings through improved claims management and targeted resource shifts. He details projects like ending low-value DVIR inspection efforts to focus on real-time jobsite coaching that reduced at-fault accidents by 25%. Colby emphasizes ROI, adaptability, and sustainable process improvements that support workers, operations, customers, and the bottom line. * (00:00) Welcome to Colby Ankeney, Director of HSC at Silvi Materials * (01:08) The Messy Starting Point * (03:58) Safety as Business Strategy * (05:51) Proving ROI With Data * (07:44) Redirecting Low Value Work * (09:58) Building a No Ego Team * (12:04) Talking Leadership Language * (15:25) Changing Legacy Processes * (16:58) Wrap Up Thanks for joining another episode of The Safety Meeting, the podcast that makes you smarter about current trends and best practices in workforce safety. From employee engagement to actionable data, and everything in between, tune in to hear how you can work more safely. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to The Safety Meeting [https://www.kpa.io/library/the-safety-meeting-podcast] in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c] or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c]. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32. [https://www.dante32.com/]

How Data-Driven Decision-Making can Advance Safety Programs with Caroline Miller

In this episode of The Safety Meeting from Novara, Caroline Miller, a Novara solutions engineer, discusses how to strengthen safety programs by pairing seasoned expertise with data collection and analysis. She explains common gaps in instinctive decision-making, and how digital tools, good forms, and team buy-in can give safety managers new visibilities. Drawing on her past experience, she explains how using a defined set of key metrics drove engagement, action, and measurable safety compliance improvements. She unpacks the mindset shift from lagging to leading indicators, highlights data quality practices, and shares tips for navigating tech adoption and trustbuilding during change. * (00:00) Welcoming Novara’s Caroline Miller * (02:35) Navigation Experienced Instincts and Data-driven Decision-Making * (04:29) Building Data Driven Programs * (09:05) From Compliance to Forward-Focused Strategy * (11:53) Keeping Safety Programs Personal and Human * (14:45) Winning Buy In and Trust * (17:11) Tracking Leading Indicators * (20:23) Improving Data Quality * (22:04) Getting Started: “Crawl, then Walk, then Run” Thanks for joining another episode of The Safety Meeting, the podcast that makes you smarter about current trends and best practices in workforce safety. From employee engagement to actionable data, and everything in between, tune in to hear how you can work more safely. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to The Safety Meeting [https://www.kpa.io/library/the-safety-meeting-podcast] in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c] or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c]. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32. [https://www.dante32.com/]

Building Safety Culture in the Manufacturing Sector with Haleyanne Freedman

In this episode of The Safety Meeting from Novara, we talk with Haleyanne Freedman, Novara’s own manufacturing sector expert, about why near misses in manufacturing may go unreported, and how to fix that. Haleyanne explains that production pressure, a lack of immediate consequences, the paperwork burden, and fear of blame or discipline may suppress reporting. She emphasizes how supervisor behavior, no-blame investigations, visible feedback loops, and leadership accountability can help. She even outlines a 90-day plan: first, diagnose cultural friction, then simplify and broaden access to reporting tools, and lastly, publicly communicate corrective actions and safety trends. 1. (00:00 Introducing Novara’s Haleyanne Freedman 2. (01:02) What Counts as a Near Miss and Why They’re Underreported 3. (04:00) Psychological Safety on the Floor 4. (07:06) Leadership and Supervisor Impact 5. (10:18) Turning Around Safety Culture 6. (14:38) Building a Better Reporting System 7. (17:49) Closing the Loop After Reports 8. (21:01) Lessons from High Consequence Industries 9. (25:42) A 90 Day Action Plan Thanks for joining another episode of The Safety Meeting, the podcast that makes you smarter about current trends and best practices in workforce safety. From employee engagement to actionable data, and everything in between, tune in to hear how you can work more safely. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to The Safety Meeting [https://www.kpa.io/library/the-safety-meeting-podcast] in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c] or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c]. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32. [https://www.dante32.com/]

The Safety Lab: The Connection Between Workplace Injury and Mental Health

In this episode of The Safety Meeting’s Safety Lab, we delve into the relationship between physical injuries at work and mental health. Highlighting a comprehensive meta-analysis by Granger and Turner [https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12649] involving data from 147 studies with 1.5 million people, we discuss the bidirectional connection between workplace injuries and mental health challenges. We explore the impact of injury severity and frequency on mental health, and unpack the importance of integrating both psychological support and physical rehabilitation, for an employee returning to work. 1. (00:17) The Link Between Physical Injuries and Mental Health 2. (01:26) The Cost of Treating Physical and Mental Health Separately 3. (02:25) Underreporting and Its Impact on Safety Metrics 4. (03:45) How Injury Leads to Mental Health Issues 5. (04:27) Understanding Uncertainty and Illness Theory 6. (06:39) Mechanisms Connecting Physical Injuries to Mental Health 7. (08:01) The Role of Cognitive Reframing in Early Intervention 8. (08:27) How Mental Health Challenges Lead to Physical Injuries 9. (10:08) Practical Applications for Safety Programs 10. (12:40) The Importance of Nuanced Measurement in Safety Management Thanks for joining another episode of The Safety Meeting’s Safety Lab, the podcast that makes you smarter about current trends and best practices in workforce safety. From employee engagement to actionable data, and everything in between, tune in to hear how you can work more safely. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to The Safety Meeting [https://www.kpa.io/library/the-safety-meeting-podcast] in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c] or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c]. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32. [https://www.dante32.com/]

Encouraging Adoption of Digital Safety Tech with Utilitra’s Jason Wernex

In this episode of The Safety Meeting from Novarro, we talk with Jason Wernex, Director of Safety at Utilitra [https://www.utilitra.com/], a 350-person, woman-owned engineering, technology, and construction firm with a mix of office and field workers. Jason explains how Utilitra moved from paper-based safety processes to a digital system, achieving over 90% adoption in the first year. He shares how user experience, configurability, and flexibility helped his team encourage engagement and demonstrate quick time-to-value. His takeaways: invest time up-front, follow a clear roadmap, start with familiar processes, and launch with groups likely to become ambassadors. 1. (01:19) Introducing Utilitra’s Jason Wernex 2. (04:58) Utilitra’s Implementation Game Plan 3. (06:03) Digitizing Near Misses & Audits First 4. (07:25) Leveraging Ambassadors and Unexpected Self-Serve Adoption 5. (09:26) Why Adoption Hit over 90% 6. (10:58) New Use Cases, and Cross-Department Momentum 7. (14:54) Culture Shift and Reporting Transparency 8. (17:06) Keys to Success: Flexibility, Fast Fixes, and Designing for the End User Thanks for joining another episode of The Safety Meeting, the podcast that makes you smarter about current trends and best practices in workforce safety. From employee engagement to actionable data, and everything in between, tune in to hear how you can work more safely. If you'd like to receive new episodes as they're published, please subscribe to The Safety Meeting [https://www.kpa.io/library/the-safety-meeting-podcast] in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c] or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-safety-meeting/id1608086649] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/47cwUsc1QkijiiIcqOKcFm?si=d4032eadc3f44e8c]. It really helps others find the show. Podcast episode production by Dante32. [https://www.dante32.com/]