In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety Podcast, Dr. Mark French takes a deep and heartfelt look at lone worker safety—a topic that tragically resurfaces too often in today’s workplaces. Inspired by a recent real-world incident where a lone distribution worker lost their life after a stack of boxes collapsed, Mark explores how training, resource constraints, and unrealistic productivity metrics can intersect to create deadly conditions.

He reflects on the delicate balance between efficiency and safety—how metrics like trailer “cube-out” levels, while intended to drive performance, can quickly become dangerous when used as mandates instead of learning tools. Mark underscores the importance of true training, not just box-checking exercises, and the need for proper knowledge transfer from experienced mentors to new team members.

The conversation moves beyond compliance to culture—how leadership decisions, investment in learning, and the design of work itself shape the safety and empowerment of every employee. Dr. French challenges organizations to rethink how they measure risk for lone workers and to ensure safeguards, oversight, and meaningful training are in place before tragedy strikes.

The episode closes with a powerful reminder: Safety isn’t about what’s most convenient—it’s about what’s most human.

In this episode of Leading and Learning Through Safety, Dr. Mark French explores the timeless leadership principle of “inspect what you expect,” rooted in the lean concept of gemba—going to where the work is actually done. Safety and lean thinking should be natural partners, but too often leaders set expectations without validating them through presence and follow-up.

Mark recounts observing a construction crew working without proper PPE, despite safety glasses being available. One worker wore them on the back of his head, another tossed new ones aside after seeing no one else using them. This real-world example underscored how expectations without inspection quickly dissolve into unsafe behaviors.

He emphasizes that genuine safety performance is proactive, consistent, and reinforced by leadership presence. When leaders actively validate expectations—whether for safety, quality, or productivity—they create accountability and consistency, while modeling the behaviors they wish to see. Conversely, when leaders only appear during crises or productivity shortfalls, employees learn that safety isn’t truly prioritized.

Mark also highlights the importance of peer influence and “leading up.” Younger leaders look to experienced peers, while supervisors may eventually shift when they see frontline consistency. The process may be slow, but leadership presence builds trust, reinforces values, and fosters long-term cultural improvement.

Ultimately, leadership isn’t about words—it’s about being present, validating expectations, and showing people that safety and values come first. A leader’s presence on the floor is both the simplest and most powerful tool for sustainable performance.

In this episode of the Leading and Learning Through Safety Podcast, Dr. Mark French explores how occupational fatalities and serious injuries are often underreported—or poorly reported—by the media. He emphasizes that every worker who leaves for the day but does not return home deserves more than a passing mention in the news. Instead, incidents are too frequently summarized through obituaries or crowdfunding pages, leaving little information for professionals to analyze, learn from, and use to prevent future tragedies

Dr. French highlights several recent cases: a young father fatally injured in a meat processing facility, an electrician killed on a construction site, a farmer entangled in machinery, and a series of industrial tragedies involving robotics and heavy equipment. Too often, media accounts fail to ask the critical questions—what equipment was involved, were safety systems in place, was training adequate, were emergency responses effective? Without such information, accountability and opportunities for prevention are lost

He also notes a rare case of more comprehensive reporting, where a food facility fatality was covered with statements from both labor organizations and the company. While still limited, this coverage at least acknowledged the gravity of the event.

French closes by urging leaders and media alike to demand more transparency—not to assign blame, but to learn and build safer workplaces. Meaningful coverage fosters accountability, empathy, and prevention. As safety professionals and leaders, we must advocate for deeper reporting so tragedies can drive real change