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Playing the Regulators with their own Game

When our company was rocked by a catastrophic incident, we were immediately thrust into a full-scale NTSB investigation. My direct supervisor deployed himself straight to the epicenter of the disaster, leaving me to hold down the fort and keep our primary site running. It was the middle of July

The Boomer Boss

The EHS VP had called an impromptu, all-hands meeting. We knew that this meeting was going to be great news for her and bad news for us. This time her voice brimming with triumph as she announced the end of our exhaustive search for a new EHS Manager. She

Chasing the Green Cloud

In the EHS world, the weekend "on-call" rotation is a game of Russian roulette. You pray for silence for the next 48 hours. That did not happen this one weekend. My phone rang. On the other end was the paint shop supervisor. It sounded like he was

The Possessed Paint Booth

The phone call from the paint booth supervisor sounded more like a paranormal report than a safety concern. He told me the booth was acting "erratic." It was making strange noises and violently sucked an employee’s Tyvek suit when he walked too closely to the wall. This

Side of Cadmium with Your Costco Burrito

Every quarter, I conducted routine cadmium air sampling on the etch line. It was company standard operating procedure to ensure that the local ventilation was working and to give the employees peace of mind. But on this particular day, I discovered something interesting. I walked past our small, authorized cadmium

The Cost of the Crown

For six long months, I played the long game. I wanted a leadership position. I initiated several high-level, strategic, and "adult" conversations with my supervisor. We mapped out the journey, aligned our goals, and built the bridge to the next level. Then came the day that changes

The Bearded Breach

In the world of industrial safety, the line between life and death is often thin and gray. For our painters, that line is the silicone seal of a full face tight-fitted respirator. It is a fundamental law of the job: if you want to protect yourself from hazardous chemicals

The Ghost in the Cabinet

The paint shop was my sanctuary. Amidst the hiss of spray guns and the heavy, sweet scent of solvents, I felt at home. I spent years there—auditing every corner, conducting air monitoring, and building a bridge of "general BS" with the crew. I knew their processes, their

The Rhythm of Chaos

It was a contract year—the season when the air in the plant turns thick with resentment and the "good fight" begins. The union was digging in, fighting for more PTO, more overtime, and lower premiums, I presume. This time the situation turned desperate, even dangerous. There were

A Great Fire Ball

One lovely Thursday, the phone did not just ring; it may me jump. My intuition was peaked for some reason. On the other end was a voice from one of our sister sites, frantic and thin with terror. They told me there was a fire. A 'great wall of

The Office Predator

One lovely Tuesday morning, I walked into bathroom to conduct my business, but that plan was shattered when I ran into the intern. I found her in the bathroom— the one who walked in every morning with "bright eyes and bright smile" and healthy dose of optimism. Now,

Navigate in your Lane

Lazy Louis was a man who took up a lot of space. He had a big physical presence and an even bigger ego. His pants; however, did not match his ego. His pants were typically two sizes too small which highlighted a specific body part. (I still have PTSD from

Looking Into the Mirror

In the corporate world, there is typically a specific kind of sting reserved for being the "other" department. We watched from the sidelines as our VP’s favorite team (she did have other responsibilities)—the one she actually seemed to value—plastered social media with photos from bougie

The Union Safety Rep

In the world of Industrial Hygiene, you don’t just manage chemical safety and sampling plans; you manage deep-seated, generational friction. Early in my career, that friction had a name: the Union Safety Representative. He was a man who lived and breathed skepticism. To him, I represented the company.