My Big Safety Challenge

Hosted by bcsp

Business Management Education

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Latest episode

Mar 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Safety leadership is more than complying with rules and regulations. It’s about creating solutions that are relational, inspirational, and transformational. BCSP, the gold standard in safety certification, and Dale Carnegie (DC), the premier expert in leadership training, introduce you to safety professionals who have solved unique challenges in innovative ways. Let the lessons they’ve learned help you lead your team. The BCSP+DC partnership builds leaders in the safety, health, and environmental profession through a series of live, interactive online courses. “My Big Safety Challenge” highlights safety leaders applying those principles in real-world scenarios.

Listen to episodes

47 recent

September 6, 2024Episode 939 min

Season 03 Episode 09: Keith Mercurio, Ethical Influence Global, Part 2

Have you ever thought about how well you listen to others?Keith Mercurio is back for the second part of episode eight of My Big Safety Challenge, where he reveals how something as simple as being a generous listener can have a profound effect on how we perceive and how we are perceived. Keith illustrates this through his father, an English teacher of 35 years, detailing how in all those years, he never once complained about a student. His father saw what his students were capable of, saw them as big, saw the best in them, and by being a generous listener, he sent them home better than when he found them.Sound familiar?Join us for Part II of Keith’s episode where he explores how a day at work sends ripples through the rest of our day, and how by shifting how we listen, we can elevate conversations, honor the speaker, and create a profound impact.

August 30, 2024Episode 850 min

Season 03 Episode 08: Keith Mercurio, Ethical Influence Global, Part 1

Have you ever purchased a new car, only to suddenly notice the same make and model is everywhere on the road? There hasn’t been a sudden influx in the number of people driving the same car—it’s a natural cognitive response resulting from how we focus. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Keith Mercurio, CEO & Founder of Ethical Influence Global, delves into the science behind how what we focus on grows bigger, and eventually, we become what we focus on.Keith’s expertise spans speaking, coaching, training, and consulting, with a focus on helping leaders transform their identities to better influence their organization's culture and performance. He advocates for the power of asking open-ended, novel questions instead of relying on conventional phrases like "accountability" or repeatedly asking "why." By fostering original thought through new kinds of inquiry, Keith asserts that we unlock unique insights.Join us for Part I of Keith Mercurio’s episode, where we explore the cognitive science behind why the safety profession should stop focusing on zero and how today’s groove can be tomorrow’s rut.

August 4, 2025Episode 851 min

Season 05, Episode 08: My Big Safety Challenge with David Musgrave, Dekra

This week on My Big Safety Challenge, we sit down with David Musgrave. With a background in psychology, specifically in autism spectrum disorder and neurodiversity, David brings a human-centered lens to the safety world. Now serving as the Senior Vice President of DEKRA North America, he helps companies move beyond outdated thinking and platitudes to create lasting cultural changes. He even tracks worn-out phrases in what he playfully calls his list of “Dinosaur Safety Sentiments.”David isn’t afraid to ask for the big things. He challenges the people he works with and believes technical jargon should stay with the technical folks. What matters more, he says, is connecting, building strong relationships that allow you to speak up, push back, and create meaningful progress.Join us for this episode to hear why intentional leadership matters and how doing good work draws others in. David’s insights are smart, inspiring, and just a little bit rebellious.

August 16, 2024Episode 71 hr 2 min

Season 03 Episode 07: Perry Logan, Health and Safety Leadership Partners LLC

Perry Logan, Ph.D., seemed destined to be a leader in the safety industry. Growing up in the Florida Keys during the 1970s and 80s, Perry often accompanied his father, an underwater welder—a job known for its extreme danger—to work, seeing firsthand at a young age the dangers of the profession. He recalls his dad attending diving school in preparation for the job with 8 other divers, and within a decade, half of them had tragically lost their lives on the job.Perry credits his father’s acute sense of hazards, often emphasizing when he really needed Perry’s focus while performing a dangerous task, with his affinity for the safety profession. Today, Perry is a Leader with the Health + Safety Leadership Partners, where he applies the science of health and safety to better protect people and our communities.Tune into this episode of My Big Safety Challenge and listen to Perry discuss the critical role listening plays in the safety field, how safety professionals need to act as coaches, and how a team diverse in skills and personality is key to a strong safety culture.

September 22, 2023Episode 745 min

Episode 07: David Sams, SBA Communications

Mr. Sams joined SBA Communications Corporation in September of 2000. He currently has over thirty years of experience as a Safety and Health Professional in the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace risks and hazards, both domestically and internationally. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a BS in Public Health and MS in Safety Education. His qualifications include a thorough knowledge of industry (both domestic and international) regulations, consensus safety and health standards as well as risk management and insurance best practices and guidance.David has spent the last 23 years in the tower industry where he developed and implemented a complete risk assessment and a safety policy and procedure program, specifically designed for the telecommunications industry. He has had the privilege of speaking at many conferences, participating in round table discussions with industry leaders, setting on the boards of several different industry organizations, and serving as co-founder and Chairperson of the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship (TIRAP) program. In addition, he is a member of many other organizations, NATE, NWSA, WIA, TIA, and ASSP.

January 24, 2025Episode 745 min

Season 4, Episode 7: My Big Safety Challenge with Michael Langston, Clean Earth

For Michael Langston, Vice President of ES&H at Clean Earth, safety boils down to one simple premise: Make sure the employees know the rules. Make sure the rules make sense. Make sure they’re applicable. It seems easy enough, but as Michael quickly discovered as a young Industrial Hygienist at a steel factory, updating policies and procedures designed to protect the worker isn’t always met with acceptance. Change can be difficult, but Michael suspects some of the resistance to change lies within the safety industry itself—a field he feels sometimes pushes rules and expectations that don’t always make sense. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Michael shares the twists and turns of his professional journey, from studying to be a pharmacist in college to leading safety initiatives for an international corporation. Along the way, he’s learned to frame safety in a way where each person should treat themselves as the CEO of their own wellbeing. And don’t miss the captivating story of how he used a jar of marbles to illustrate the dangers of distracted driving.

July 28, 2025Episode 743 min

Season 05, Episode 07: My Big Safety Challenge with Shelley Baber, Eaton

Shelley Baber, CSP, began her career chasing perfection. She wanted to make an immediate impact and thought that if something wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t right. But after 25 years in the field, now serving as EHS Director for Eaton’s Electrical Engineering Services and Systems Division, she’s learned that real progress is made through baby steps, or, as she puts it, “Don’t let no progress get in the way of any progress.”In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Shelley shares the lessons that have shaped her journey, starting with the power of building relationships in the workplace. She believes the best safety cultures feel like family, where trust and connection allow teams to grow together. At the same time, she’s clear that family outside of work comes first. For Shelley, it’s not about achieving a perfect balance between work and life. It’s about blending the two in a way that makes room for both.You’ll also hear why mentoring is now at the heart of her mission and how safety professionals are in a unique position to make an impact at every level of an organization.If you enjoy this conversation, keep an eye out for our next season of My Big Safety Challenge. Shelley will be joining us again, this time as cohost.

March 30, 2026Episode 743 min

Season 06, Episode 07: My Big Safety Challenge with John Whalen, Microsoft

John Whalen, CSP, AMERS Regional EHS Assessment Manager at Microsoft, shares his journey from volunteer firefighter to safety professional—and how those early experiences shaped his people-centered approach to safety. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, he explains why listening, empathy, and truly understanding workers’ needs are essential to solving problems effectively and building trust. John also shares his experiences working at a hospital, and later as a safety professional for a team of archaeologists, and how these experiences taught him to lead as a partner—not as an enforcer. Ultimately, John reminds us how invaluable curiosity and collaboration are for effective safety leadership.

August 2, 2024Episode 644 min

Season 03 Episode 06: Marni Hogen, Mortenson

As the Vice President of Health and Safety at Mortenson, a leading construction company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Marni Hogen has worked to create a safety culture that emphasizes personal connections, open communication, and employee empowerment. Marni believes that everyone in an organization, regardless of role or job title, has a responsibility for safety, and to truly create an effective safety culture, you must “make safety personal.”In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Marni shares her journey into the safety field, highlighting the critical role of mental health within the construction industry. She discusses how building personal relationships with the workforce, engaging in meaningful conversations, putting people over metrics, and sharing stories that may be tough to tell contribute to a culture of inclusion that makes the workplace more fun. Plus, you’ll hear how she delivers tough news using the “sandwich technique,” and who doesn’t love a sandwich?

September 8, 2023Episode 643 min

Episode 06: Hannah Sesay, Ferguson

Hannah Sesay is the Vice President of Health and Safety for Ferguson. She has over 30 years of progressive experience managing Global Health, Safety, and Environmental Programs. Twenty of which, as a member of executive leadership teams responsible for setting and executing global HSE strategies. Her experience spans multiple industries such as Insurance, food, and beverage; financial; manufacturing, retail, mining; Energy; construction; Aerospace, Defense, Oil, and gas; transportation; and wholesale distribution. Hannah is accomplished in the use of Loss Control and Risk Management skills to eliminate, control, or reduce HSE exposure. She has proven leadership skills acquired through directing cross-functional global teams to design and deploy safe-best practices. As an accomplished leader, Hannah has demonstrated expertise in the following areas: Systems improvement, auditing, Risk mitigation, Integration, due diligence, and performance metrics. Hannah's strength is empowering others to succeed while doing what they do best. She is most passionate about leading cross-functional global teams to execute a vision and inspire them to deliver outstanding performance. Hannah's value to the organization is her drive to lead, win as a team, and deliver exceptional results. Hannah receives her undergraduate degree in Safety Sciences and Environmental Health from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and her graduate degree in Environmental Sciences from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and Rutgers University.