Job Title / Company:

HSE Manager / Numat

Years as an ASSP:

Member

9

Years in the Safety Industry

9

3 Key Responsibilities of Your Job

Responsible for developing and executing HSE strategy while serving as the primary advisor on risk management, regulatory compliance, and operational safety.

What or Who Inspires You

I am inspired every day by the lives I work to protect. This includes the employees in my organization, but also the downstream users of our products and the community in which we operate. There are few careers as rewarding – albeit unrecognized at times – as health and safety.

Most Meaningful Professional Achievement

I am proud of achieving both the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designations.

Future Career Goal or Aspiration

Continuing to learn about and manage Product Stewardship activities.

Go-to Comfort Food

Savory snacks (e.g., weird chip flavors, buffalo ranch popcorn, etc.)

Hobbies/Enjoy Doing Outside of Work

Reading, traveling, and exploring new restaurants in Chicago.

Recommended TV Series to Watch or Book to Read

There Are No Accidents by Jessie Singer

Grew up in (city, state)

Libertyville, IL

College Attended / Degree Major

University of Minnesota (BS); University of Illinois Chicago (MPH)

Ubong Ekanem – CCPSC®, CSP®, TUV SUD Functional Safety Professional®, CMIOSH

Years as an ASSP member: 1 Year
Years in the safety industry: 19 Years

Key responsibilities of your job

1. Lead and Sustain EHS & PSM Programs
   Implement and maintain robust Corporate EHS and Process Safety Management and develop systems, policies, and training to ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, Illinois state laws, and corporate standards, while driving continuous improvement in safety performance across the Niles Manufacturing Plant.
2. Advise and Partner with Plant Leadership
   Act as a subject matter expert to the Plant Steering Team and department leaders by providing guidance on regulatory compliance, risk management, and operational safety priorities; establish EHS functional goals aligned with corporate objectives; and prepare and manage the plant’s annual EHS budget.
3. Drive Risk Reduction and Safety Culture
   Lead incident investigations, audits, and safety committee initiatives to identify hazards, implement corrective and preventive actions, and foster a proactive safety culture. Collaborate with Engineering, Maintenance, and Operations to ensure mechanical integrity, safe change management, and continuous improvement in plant productivity and associate well-being.

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Edgar Salazar, Safety Manager at Lake Cable

Years as an ASSP member: 1 Year
Years in the safety industry: 10 Years

Key responsibilities of your job

Make sure the company is OSHA compliance
Injury Reduction / Risk Assessment
SOP and ISO compliance
Ergonomics

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Jim McGrady, Safety Manager-The Walsh Group

Years as an ASSP member: 3 Years
Years in the safety industry: 19 Years

Key responsibilities of your job

• Build and maintain the top down safety culture through communication between management and employees, primarily through emphasis on safety as a value.
• Aid in the development, review and verification of workplans and hazard analysis at the overall job and task levels. Communicating these plans to the trades people who do the work is critical. Encouraging and appropriately reacting to feedback from all involved helps to promote effective planning.
• Develop and implement training to ensure that employees at all levels are aware of the hazards associated with the work and competent enough to make the choices that affect their well-being as well as the safety of their co-workers. Inspections and audits is paramount to verifying the effectiveness of the training.

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Rob Stevens, Managing Partner – Sentient Safety (a First Analytics Company)

Years as an ASSP member: 2 Years
Years in the safety industry: 14 Years

Key responsibilities of your job

• Our parent company is called First Analytics. One of my key roles is to help implement our advanced analytics and AI solutions broadly, and in safety/EHS in particular.
• Develop new offerings, markets, and clients for our technology and services. For example, launching our new venture, Sentient Safety (sentientsafety.ai), which is a company created by our parent company, First Analytics.
• Co-manage our company’s operations and administration.

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