From Navy to Oil & Gas: James Junkin's Journey & Safety Advocacy

In this episode, Apolonia is joined by James A. Junkin, the CEO of a risk management and occupational safety and health consulting firm in Louisiana. James is also an advisory board chair of Veriforce, which provides supply chain risk management solutions. 

Today’s topics include: 

* James shares his background in the Navy and how it led him to the oil and gas industry.

* How James was part of the response to the BP oil spill (Deepwater Horizon oil spill) in the Gulf of Mexico.

* Training oil spill response teams.

* James’s mindset shift, which went from focusing on compliance to focusing on getting workers home safe. 

* James credits his success to his mentors and instructors for helping him gain knowledge and build his foundation in safety.

* Workplace safety resistance and the importance of identifying hazards. 

* Apolonia shares her personal experience with the oil and gas industry, including losing her father's best friend in a rig accident when she was in third grade.

* The resilience of blue-collar men in the oil and gas industry and their resistance to prioritizing safety. 

* James argues that some safety professionals have created an "us versus them" mentality, prioritizing worker safety over the system and that this approach hasn’t effectively reduced workplace incidents.

* How focusing on hazard identification and risk assessment earlier in the process, rather than just at the job site, could lead to more effective safety measures.

* The preventability of many workplace fatalities.

* Traditional safety management systems often blame workers for incidents, while new systems prioritize a more holistic approach to safety.

* Safety culture and leadership in high-hazard industries. 

* James emphasizes that there is no such thing as a separate "safety culture" siloed from the rest of the organization.

* Why training programs should address real hazards and not just meet minimum requirements.

* Organizations must learn from past mistakes and proactively plan for increased safety risks during peak work periods, such as holidays.

* Proactive mitigation strategies versus reactive abatement after accidents.

Thanks so much to James A. Junkin of Mariner-Gulf Consulting & Services for being a guest! 

Connect with James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-junkin-ms-csp-msp-sms-asp-csho-494a0046/ 

Apolonia Rockwell is the Founder and CEO of True Safety Services and True Safety University.

Learn more about “Dangerous Jobs with Apolonia Rockwell”: https://www.truesafetyservices.com/podcast 

Subscribe to Apolonia Rockwell’s YouTube channel (where we also post her podcasts): https://www.youtube.com/@apoloniarockwell7484 

True Safety Services is Colorado’s #1 provider in safety training and safety management services. Learn more about True Safety Services: https://www.truesafetyservices.com 

True Safety University is a world class virtual training platform for individuals and companies: https://www.truesafetyuniversity.com 

Connect with True Safety Services:

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/true-safety-services 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/truesafetyservices 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truesafetyservices 

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