Lessons from the Trenches
Nobody gets into safety because they want to fill out paperwork. They do it because they’ve seen the alternative.
The fall that didn’t need to happen. The drum of chemicals that nearly took out half a city block. The team member who never made it home.
But somewhere along the line, we buried that urgency in binders. We took a discipline built on adrenaline, risk, and responsibility — and we turned it into a desk job. We reduced it. To clipboards, to compliance checklists. To one-hour training videos that people forget before lunch. We made safety boring. Worse than that — we made it easy to ignore.
And if we don’t fix that, people are going to keep getting hurt.
Safety Isn’t a Department. It’s a Culture.
Walk onto most job sites, and you’ll hear the same thing: “Safety is everyone’s responsibility.”
Sounds great. Except that in a lot of companies, safety still lives in its own little silo. The safety person walks the floor, gives a thumbs-up, maybe rattles off a checklist. They go back to their office to update the system.
Meanwhile, the crew is out there making real decisions. In real time. With real consequences. They’re the ones balancing a ladder on uneven ground. They’re the ones guessing whether the insulation is live. They’re the ones dealing with surprise weather, faulty equipment, and the very real pressure to get things done fast.
Wes Rundle has had to make some of these decisions himself, and knows how important it is to keep safety simple.
He’s helped overhaul safety systems across many companies. From emergency planning in chemical plants to concrete coring crews mid-pandemic, he’s seen it all. And the lesson’s always the same: if your system adds friction, people will work around it.
You can’t layer complexity onto complexity and expect it to stick. You have to meet people where they are. Make it seamless. Make it make sense.
The more forms you pile on, the less likely someone is to stop and think. The goal is not more paperwork. The goal is fewer injuries. Fewer close calls. And more people going home safe.
The Myth of the Competent Worker
Here’s a common scenario: a worker finishes their online course, gets the certificate, and their manager checks the box.
They’re “trained.” Right?
Robin Postnikoff doesn’t buy it. He’s the founder of MI Safety, and he’s watched the industry pretend that theory equals ability. It doesn’t.
“We’ve had this idea that a worker can take a generic course and walk out competent,” he says. “But you can’t learn to drive by reading about it. You’ve got to be behind the wheel.”
That’s why his company builds practical evaluations right into the system. Learn the theory online. Prove it in person. Simple.
Because you’re not training someone for a pop quiz. You’re training them for the moment things go sideways. The equipment jams. The scaffold gives. The procedure fails. That’s when training matters.
And it’s not just about liability. It’s about dignity. If you put someone on a job they’re not prepared for, that’s not just a risk. That’s a betrayal.
So Where Do We Go From Here?
We’ve built systems that look good on paper—but paper doesn’t save lives. The truth is, most safety programs aren’t broken. They’re just built on the wrong foundation.
Theory without practice. Compliance without clarity. Rules without ownership.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Because when safety is done right, it’s not boring. It’s built into every decision, every habit, every conversation that happens before something goes wrong.
In Part 2, we’ll dive into what that really looks like—on the ground, in the moment. From psychological safety to VR training to culture that actually sticks.
The future of safety isn’t about perfection. It’s about trust, mindset, and showing up for each other—every single day.
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