The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management

Hosted by Michael Zalle, Founder and CEO of YellowBird, The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management features the sharpest minds in risk management and workplace safety. Each episode dives into bold, real conversations that challenge outdated safety models and cut through compliance theater. You’ll hear from guests who bring a powerful mix of tech-driven insight, human-first experience, and hard-won lessons from the field.Ideal for those leading safety initiatives in construction, logistics, manufacturing, or looking at safety from within the insurance industry, this podcast delivers the insights you need to stay ahead. Tap into real world case studies, stay on top of emerging technologies, and get field-tested strategies that are redefining how safety programs are built and scaled. Real experts. Real outcomes.Your playbook for the future of safety starts here.

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management is a business podcast hosted by YellowBird, with 66 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

YellowBird hosts The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, a business show with 66 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #58

  Building a Safety Culture That Holds Up Under Pressure with Jeff Schmitt

  Aug 20, 202622 minS1

  "If the system really works, the employees are doing the right thing. Their leaders are doing the right thing and committed to health and safety as well." Words of wisdom from Jeff Schmitt, CSP, Director of Corporate Safety and Health at Kyndryl. Scaling safety across 60 countries is not about adding more rules or hiring dozens of EHS professionals. It is about building structured playbooks that teams can actually execute when conditions change. In this episode of The Canary Report, host Michael Zalle sits down with Jeff Schmitt to explore how to build operational safety systems across a distributed global workforce. With over 20 years of experience, Schmitt shares practical lessons on managing risk across employees, contractors, customer sites, and high-risk data centers. We discuss rebuilding safety systems after a corporate spinoff, aligning with ISO 45001 standards, and why true safety ownership belongs to the frontline.

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  Episode #57

  From Auditor to Field Advocate: Transforming Safety Culture

  Aug 13, 202636 minS1

  I think safety leadership definitely starts with incident prevention through human connection. I spoke with Joseph Klinzing from GE Healthcare to learn about his journey from the US Army to managing rigging operations and crane operations. We discussed how switching from an auditor to an advocate transforms workplace safety culture. Building trust with the team really does wonders for safety compliance. Joe shares how his military background informs his safety professional career today.

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  Episode #56

  Addressing Live Traffic in Construction with Christopher Diaz from Balfour Beatty

  Aug 6, 202629 minS1

  Safety Leadership and Zero Harm are at the heart of my conversation with Christopher Diaz from Balfour Beatty. We talk about his forty year career in Workplace Safety and his transition from pulling nails to executive leadership. Chris explains why we must look beyond the traditional Fatal Four risks to include live traffic. He also tells a story about building bridges in Rwanda and I personally find it very moving because they show how safety values are universal.

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  Episode #55

  The Financial Stakes of Risk Management in a Self-Insured Captive

  Jul 30, 202632 minS1

  Workplace safety culture and risk management are the primary drivers of my conversation with Robert Poole from D. H. Griffin Companies. Managing construction safety programs and incident prevention takes on a whole new meaning when your daily job involves controlled implosions. Robert explains how his team handles huge technical exposures while maintaining an exemplary record. We cover the unique challenges of being a self-insured organization and how that financial structure changes their entire approach to safety compliance.

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  Episode #54

  Your Safety Culture is Defined by What You Tolerate

  Jul 23, 202629 minS1

  One of my recent realisations is that workplace safety culture isn’t built on the words we say but on the actions we allow. I invited Jim Wathen from CW Driver to share how he transformed his team into safety champions over two decades. Jim explains how he uses a safety champion mindset to manage forty active job sites with only three people, and he says that it comes down to one simple thing. Taking care of your people every single day.

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