January 10, 2025 • 16 mins
Kickstart your year by aligning your beliefs with your behaviors in the lab. Discover the power of genuine commitment to safety as we, Dan Scungio and Sean Kaufman, guide you through practical safety resolutions that go beyond mere words. We promise you'll learn how to effectively embody safety in your daily practices by replacing outdated habits with sustainable, healthier ones. Together, we'll explore the hierarchy of controls, waste management, and the often-overlooked aspect of psychological safety, inspiring a culture of continuous improvement in the lab environment.
For those new to the field or feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of change, we emphasize the importance of incremental steps. Our approach ensures that lab safety improvements are both achievable and manageable, creating a safe working environment that evolves with you. Join us, the Lab Safety Gurus, as we express our heartfelt gratitude for your support and set the tone for a year dedicated to enhancing lab safety. Get ready to embrace practical tips and personal insights that will keep safety at the forefront of your laboratory work this year and beyond.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Lab Safety Gurus Podcast.
I'm Dan Scungio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And I'm Sean Coffman, and together we're providing
safety insights for thoseworking in laboratory settings,
doing safety together.
Happy New Year, Dan how are youdoing?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Happy New Year, sean.
I am, I'll say, bright-eyed andbushy-tailed and ready to start
the new year.
I'm a little chilly and coldweather is not my favorite, but
I'll push that aside.
Get ready for the warmerweather coming and the start of
a new year.
In everything At home, at work,church and all the places lots
(00:42):
of things going on.
It's pretty exciting how aboutyou?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
No, very good.
I'm looking out of a windowhere in atlanta, georgia, in
snow and and, as you can imagine, because I know it's not much
better in virginia maybe alittle better, but it is
absolute chaos here in georgiawhen snows.
So, uh, it's a beautifulblanket of snow.
Right now we're getting hit bya storm, so I'm just happy to be
warm.
I too, dan, do not like coldweather so yeah, it's just my
(01:09):
background.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
I grew up in buffalo.
I had enough of it then.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, yeah, oh, my god, I can't even imagine so.
Um.
So, dan, you know, being thatit's a new year, uh, let's talk
about new year's resolutions.
But here's I want to.
I want to start start off bydoing something, though I think
I mentioned earlier to you thatI do a radio show, kind of a
little local radio show, andit's actually called Believe and
(01:33):
Behave.
Now, it's about religion andChristianity and it really
challenges people to not justsay they are believers but to
walk in line with the behaviors.
And so, dan, I want to startoff by challenging folks this
year to create a New Year'sresolution that actually goes in
(01:56):
line with believing in safety.
We have a lot of people outthere, even a lot of leaders out
there, that say that theybelieve in safety, that they
think safety is important, thatsafety is absolutely a critical
function, that safety is apriority.
But then we're looking atbehaviors and, oh well, you know
, are they really?
Do they really value safety?
(02:18):
You know?
Do you know what I'm talkingabout, dan?
Have you, have you run into anyof that?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I run into that all the time and I you know,
different folks have differentlevels of what they consider to
be safety, uh, oversight ormanagement, and uh, I'm I'm
surprised, uh quite often about,um, the lack of safety
oversight.
I think there are a lot ofreasons for it and I I'd really
(02:44):
like to hear your point of viewon how you can get.
When I go into the lab and talkto Gene about the schedule, I
(03:12):
have to notice the safety issuestoo and talk about those.
That's wow.
That's putting a lot ofpressure on me as a lab manager,
sean.
I don't know if I can make aresolution and do better, but
how can I?
How can I do that?
There are ways to do it, butI'd like to hear your take.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
No, it's going to be a challenge, dan.
I mean, there's no doubt One ofthe things that we have to do
when making a resolution is wereally do have to.
You do, too, that.
The work that we have inlaboratories, regardless of what
it is, whether it be clinicallabs or diagnostic labs, animal
(03:51):
labs, research labs, medicallabs the work demands, you know,
substantial focus andorganization, and so the
question really is is well, howdo we identify what a resolution
is and how can we make aresolution?
(04:13):
That's going to be somethingthat makes a difference, and so
that's important.
But I think, first and foremost, we have to give people
permission and freedom toidentify things in safety that
they love themselves.
Like you know, dan, for me youknow me, I'm a little biased I
like psychological safety.
You know that's a component ofsafety that I love.
(04:34):
What about you, dan?
What's your favorite, you knowtopic or favorite thing in
safety?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
One of the things I like to think about a lot and
try to discuss and educate on isthe hierarchy of controls, just
how that works in all areas andwhat a great setup that was.
And I wish people you knowcould sort of think about that
more while they're going abouttheir day in the lab.
For sure, it's just a topic Ireally like.
(05:04):
And waste management I lovewaste management.
I don't know why?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
no, I think you know it's.
All of those uh issues are areimportant.
I think when we talk about aresolution, uh, what, what's the
reason, dan, you make aresolution like why do you make
a new year's resolution?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
yeah, you make a resolution because you want to
make a change.
The desire is there.
You may not know how to do itbut you know you want to do it
and maybe part of your, yourthinking process is that you're
going to come up with a plan forhow to do it in the new year.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
But yeah, you want.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
You want to make a change.
You want to do something betterfor yourself, or better for
where you work, or better forthe department, whatever it is.
You want to make a positivechange.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
No very good.
And maybe even you know, Ialways like to say when folks
say their resolutions aresomething like I want to stop
doing something.
As a behaviorist, I always redflags go up in my mind because
typically, if you're doingsomething, you have a need to do
it, and by simply saying I'mgoing to stop doing it, you
don't address the need that'sdriving that original behavior.
(06:10):
And so I always like to saythat a resolution really
shouldn't be stopping something.
It actually should be replacingone behavior for another and
and you see what I'm saying sonot necessarily stopping a habit
, but but replacing a habit fora healthier.
I'll give you, I'll give you anexample, dan, I'll give you.
(06:32):
I was.
I got a harvard education forsan diego state degree.
My, my, the reason why I'm evenin behaviorism is dr richard
epstein from Harvard University.
Bf Skinner's protege was mymentor during graduate school
and really, really brought in asense of behavior and a sense of
understanding behavior duringthat time.
(06:53):
And he said listen, he saidthis to the class when we were
young, young individuals.
We were, all you know, 22 yearsold in graduate school.
He said listen, by the time youreach my age, 30 years from now
, if each and every one of youidentifies a habit in your life
that you do every single day andyou actually decide at the end
(07:16):
of the year to stop that habitand replace it with a different
one, just for a year you don'thave to give it up for the rest
of your life, but just for theyear you will live a much
healthier life.
And, dan, so many years ago Iused to drink a lot of Red Bull.
I did, I did, and it got to theend of the year and I was
(07:37):
evaluating behaviors that I dokind of habitually, because
that's what gets us in trouble.
What gets us in trouble are thebehaviors that we do every
single day, and we then begin tounderestimate the risk that
those low risk behaviors add upto.
So, for example, we've wereally don't look at that as a
(08:03):
substantial risk, becauseusually, more often than not,
it's not.
But if we're doing thishundreds or thousands of times
during a year, there's going tobe a small percentage of time
that we need to be payingattention to detail, otherwise
we may run into an exposure.
But back to my point.
I replaced Red Bull with a lessrisky, more healthy substitute
(08:28):
and I haven't drank Red Bullsince.
And so, as we look at NewYear's resolutions for safety
and laboratories, what is itthat you do every day?
What habit do you do that'severy day?
That can be considered apotential risk, and how can we
minimize that risk with a newbehavior?
What are your?
Speaker 1 (08:48):
thoughts, dan, and there are so many, so many areas
you could go into.
It could be.
It could be the, the clothingyou wear to work.
Um, I just these arecomfortable shoes and and that's
what I want to wear, and I lovecrocs.
I'm just kidding, I don't, butmaybe somebody does, or they're
(09:10):
joggers and their feet only feelgood in these certain kinds of
sneakers that really aren't labappropriate.
Or maybe it's in the realm ofdonning and doffing PPE or not
buttoning your lab coat, or it'salways hot in the lab so you
roll up your sleeves on your labcoat, something like that.
Don't wear face protection whenyou need it.
Uh, don't think about it.
(09:32):
All of that there's.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
So I mean, oh, I mean , I mean, dan, you, you, you
just brought up severalresolutions.
So let's say you're out thereright now and you're like you
know what I'm gonna buy a?
I'm just gonna go out and get agood pair of lab shoes and I'm
going to dedicate myself towearing these lab shoes all year
long.
These are going to be my labshoes.
Or maybe you invest in a goodpair of just glasses you know we
(09:53):
wear sunglasses outside all thetime, but maybe just go and
invest in a good pair of glassesthat you're going to wear in
the lab all year long.
You're going to like, commityourself to that, you know.
Or you're going to commityourself to a lab coat and
making sure that your lab coatis is.
I mean, everything that you'vejust mentioned is an example of
(10:15):
things that people can do toimprove their overall safety,
just by paying attention tothose things and saying you know
, I'm going to commit myself tothat.
I'm going to pick one thing I'mgoing to make sure that every
single time I leave thatlaboratory, I wash my hands for
30 seconds.
Yeah, like, not not 10 seconds.
I'm not going to hurry and I'mnot also going to just run out,
(10:37):
because sometimes I know peoplerun out.
They didn't.
They went into the lab.
I swear I didn't touch anything.
I'm going to leave anyway.
I didn't.
You know, I didn't touchanything.
I washed my hand but like youknow, what if you, you, you
commit yourself to saying, okay,that you know, that's it, I am.
I'm this one thing I'm going tofocus on all year long.
And if you think, dan, after 20years, that's 20 habits that
(11:04):
have been fully developed over a20-year lab career.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
This falls, don.
This is so cool.
This falls right in line withtwo things that I've been
teaching for years.
The first one is focus on theprocess, not the goal.
You'll get further if today,you just focus on the process.
What's one thing I can do todayto get me toward that goal, and
that's what these habitformations are?
(11:29):
I can buy the right shoes andgo wear and start to wear them.
I can practice wearing my labcoat correctly and donning and
doffing correctly.
The other thing I talked aboutearlier was like you know that
manager who walks in the lab anddoesn't notice Joan with her
lab coat not buttoned becausehe's so busy and I always try to
give lab managers and lableaders a break because of that
(11:51):
but those people too can make aresolution and say you know what
I'm going to this week?
Just this week I'm going to,before I say anything to anybody
, when I walk in the lab, I'mgoing to do a quick check and
just look at people's footwear,just for a week.
Just look at footwear and getbetter at that and get better at
(12:13):
noticing it, even when I'mwalking through, trying to talk
about something else like theschedule.
Next week I'm going to look atPPE use.
I'm going to watch how peopleput on their gloves, how they
use them, how their lab coatsare.
Are they buttoned?
Are they wearing them properly?
Are they wearing them?
And when you do that, when youfocus on the process, do one
(12:34):
thing at a time throughout thatyear or over the years, you will
have what I call safety eyesand you'll be able to see those
things without consciouslyhaving to notice them each time
or paying a lot of time,spending a lot of time looking
for them.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
It'll become much more natural, and that's a
resolution that leaders can makein the laboratory 100% and, dan
, you know I've been doing whatDr Epstein taught me for the
last 27 years.
There have been years where Ihaven't had bacon and, trust me,
those were hard years.
Years where I gave up alcoholcompletely I didn't even touch
(13:11):
it.
The years where I've given upsugar and I will tell you now
that, at 51 years old, you knowwhere I'm.
27 years down the road.
I will tell you right now thatI am very disciplined and I have
the ability to control myhabits, and it increases a level
of situational awareness withinme as well.
And I think what's importantfor us as individuals, and as
(13:34):
you've said, is that we don'tget better overnight and we
certainly aren't going to getsafer overnight.
But what we can do is we canchoose to focus on one thing,
and you will be so surprised how, when you stay focused and
disciplined on one thing, it hasan impact on so many other
(13:55):
things around you.
Dan, can I give onerecommendation to leaders out
there?
Yeah, please, I would hopemaybe you could have a
resolution on vulnerability, andlet me explain what I mean by
that.
I want leaders to admit themistakes they've made in the
labs.
I want them to talk to theirstaff about the times where
(14:19):
they've made mistakes, theissues that they may have caused
, that they may have caused andthe reason why I say that, dan,
is it's one of the bestpredictors for psychological
safety is actually having theleaders that everybody's afraid
of be vulnerable and admit thatthey too, at one time or another
in their career, maybe evenrecently, make mistakes, and
(14:40):
that they are open and they'renot afraid to admit that they're
not perfect, and that is notonly a very neat and humbling
resolution, but it's aresolution that triggers trust
among the staff that work in thelaboratory environment.
Dan, I'm going to give you thelast word, but any thoughts that
you have on resolutions.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
I agree with that 100%, sean.
A resolution to not only showyour vulnerability, but maybe
talk about it.
I have definitely made mistakesin the lab safety field and I
want to learn from them and Ihave learned from them, and I
think that's what we should allbe doing.
(15:23):
We're all on a safety journey.
Like you said, safety doesn'thappen overnight and you might
feel like it's really daunting.
You walk into the new lab maybeyou're new to lab safety and
your job is to help make itbetter and you might feel really
overwhelmed by that.
But you don't have to.
You just take it one step at atime, one bite at a time, and
(15:45):
you change one thing at a time.
One bite at a time and youchange one thing at a time.
That's the resolution that'sgoing to take you to where you
want to go.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Well said, Well said.
Happy New Year Dan.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Happy New Year, sean, and.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Happy New Year to all the listeners out there.
We are the Lab Safety Gurus DanScungio and Sean Kaufman.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Thank you for letting us do lab safety together.
Welcome to the Lab Safety Gurus Podcast.
I'm Dan Scungio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
And I'm Sean Coffman, and together we're providing
safety insights for thoseworking in laboratory settings,
doing safety together.
Happy New Year, Dan how are youdoing?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Happy New Year, sean.
I am, I'll say, bright-eyed andbushy-tailed and ready to start
the new year.
I'm a little chilly and coldweather is not my favorite, but
I'll push that aside.
Get ready for the warmerweather coming and the start of
a new year.
In everything At home, at work,church and all the places lots
(00:42):
of things going on.
It's pretty exciting how aboutyou?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
No, very good.
I'm looking out of a windowhere in atlanta, georgia, in
snow and and, as you can imagine, because I know it's not much
better in virginia maybe alittle better, but it is
absolute chaos here in georgiawhen snows.
So, uh, it's a beautifulblanket of snow.
Right now we're getting hit bya storm, so I'm just happy to be
warm.
I too, dan, do not like coldweather so yeah, it's just my
(01:09):
background.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
I grew up in buffalo.
I had enough of it then.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, yeah, oh, my god, I can't even imagine so.
Um.
So, dan, you know, being thatit's a new year, uh, let's talk
about new year's resolutions.
But here's I want to.
I want to start start off bydoing something, though I think
I mentioned earlier to you thatI do a radio show, kind of a
little local radio show, andit's actually called Believe and
(01:33):
Behave.
Now, it's about religion andChristianity and it really
challenges people to not justsay they are believers but to
walk in line with the behaviors.
And so, dan, I want to startoff by challenging folks this
year to create a New Year'sresolution that actually goes in
(01:56):
line with believing in safety.
We have a lot of people outthere, even a lot of leaders out
there, that say that theybelieve in safety, that they
think safety is important, thatsafety is absolutely a critical
function, that safety is apriority.
But then we're looking atbehaviors and, oh well, you know
, are they really?
Do they really value safety?
(02:18):
You know?
Do you know what I'm talkingabout, dan?
Have you, have you run into anyof that?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I run into that all the time and I you know,
different folks have differentlevels of what they consider to
be safety, uh, oversight ormanagement, and uh, I'm I'm
surprised, uh quite often about,um, the lack of safety
oversight.
I think there are a lot ofreasons for it and I I'd really
(02:44):
like to hear your point of viewon how you can get.
When I go into the lab and talkto Gene about the schedule, I
(03:12):
have to notice the safety issuestoo and talk about those.
That's wow.
That's putting a lot ofpressure on me as a lab manager,
sean.
I don't know if I can make aresolution and do better, but
how can I?
How can I do that?
There are ways to do it, butI'd like to hear your take.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
No, it's going to be a challenge, dan.
I mean, there's no doubt One ofthe things that we have to do
when making a resolution is wereally do have to.
You do, too, that.
The work that we have inlaboratories, regardless of what
it is, whether it be clinicallabs or diagnostic labs, animal
(03:51):
labs, research labs, medicallabs the work demands, you know,
substantial focus andorganization, and so the
question really is is well, howdo we identify what a resolution
is and how can we make aresolution?
(04:13):
That's going to be somethingthat makes a difference, and so
that's important.
But I think, first and foremost, we have to give people
permission and freedom toidentify things in safety that
they love themselves.
Like you know, dan, for me youknow me, I'm a little biased I
like psychological safety.
You know that's a component ofsafety that I love.
(04:34):
What about you, dan?
What's your favorite, you knowtopic or favorite thing in
safety?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
One of the things I like to think about a lot and
try to discuss and educate on isthe hierarchy of controls, just
how that works in all areas andwhat a great setup that was.
And I wish people you knowcould sort of think about that
more while they're going abouttheir day in the lab.
For sure, it's just a topic Ireally like.
(05:04):
And waste management I lovewaste management.
I don't know why?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
no, I think you know it's.
All of those uh issues are areimportant.
I think when we talk about aresolution, uh, what, what's the
reason, dan, you make aresolution like why do you make
a new year's resolution?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
yeah, you make a resolution because you want to
make a change.
The desire is there.
You may not know how to do itbut you know you want to do it
and maybe part of your, yourthinking process is that you're
going to come up with a plan forhow to do it in the new year.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
But yeah, you want.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
You want to make a change.
You want to do something betterfor yourself, or better for
where you work, or better forthe department, whatever it is.
You want to make a positivechange.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
No very good.
And maybe even you know, Ialways like to say when folks
say their resolutions aresomething like I want to stop
doing something.
As a behaviorist, I always redflags go up in my mind because
typically, if you're doingsomething, you have a need to do
it, and by simply saying I'mgoing to stop doing it, you
don't address the need that'sdriving that original behavior.
(06:10):
And so I always like to saythat a resolution really
shouldn't be stopping something.
It actually should be replacingone behavior for another and
and you see what I'm saying sonot necessarily stopping a habit
, but but replacing a habit fora healthier.
I'll give you, I'll give you anexample, dan, I'll give you.
(06:32):
I was.
I got a harvard education forsan diego state degree.
My, my, the reason why I'm evenin behaviorism is dr richard
epstein from Harvard University.
Bf Skinner's protege was mymentor during graduate school
and really, really brought in asense of behavior and a sense of
understanding behavior duringthat time.
(06:53):
And he said listen, he saidthis to the class when we were
young, young individuals.
We were, all you know, 22 yearsold in graduate school.
He said listen, by the time youreach my age, 30 years from now
, if each and every one of youidentifies a habit in your life
that you do every single day andyou actually decide at the end
(07:16):
of the year to stop that habitand replace it with a different
one, just for a year you don'thave to give it up for the rest
of your life, but just for theyear you will live a much
healthier life.
And, dan, so many years ago Iused to drink a lot of Red Bull.
I did, I did, and it got to theend of the year and I was
(07:37):
evaluating behaviors that I dokind of habitually, because
that's what gets us in trouble.
What gets us in trouble are thebehaviors that we do every
single day, and we then begin tounderestimate the risk that
those low risk behaviors add upto.
So, for example, we've wereally don't look at that as a
(08:03):
substantial risk, becauseusually, more often than not,
it's not.
But if we're doing thishundreds or thousands of times
during a year, there's going tobe a small percentage of time
that we need to be payingattention to detail, otherwise
we may run into an exposure.
But back to my point.
I replaced Red Bull with a lessrisky, more healthy substitute
(08:28):
and I haven't drank Red Bullsince.
And so, as we look at NewYear's resolutions for safety
and laboratories, what is itthat you do every day?
What habit do you do that'severy day?
That can be considered apotential risk, and how can we
minimize that risk with a newbehavior?
What are your?
Speaker 1 (08:48):
thoughts, dan, and there are so many, so many areas
you could go into.
It could be.
It could be the, the clothingyou wear to work.
Um, I just these arecomfortable shoes and and that's
what I want to wear, and I lovecrocs.
I'm just kidding, I don't, butmaybe somebody does, or they're
(09:10):
joggers and their feet only feelgood in these certain kinds of
sneakers that really aren't labappropriate.
Or maybe it's in the realm ofdonning and doffing PPE or not
buttoning your lab coat, or it'salways hot in the lab so you
roll up your sleeves on your labcoat, something like that.
Don't wear face protection whenyou need it.
Uh, don't think about it.
(09:32):
All of that there's.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
So I mean, oh, I mean , I mean, dan, you, you, you
just brought up severalresolutions.
So let's say you're out thereright now and you're like you
know what I'm gonna buy a?
I'm just gonna go out and get agood pair of lab shoes and I'm
going to dedicate myself towearing these lab shoes all year
long.
These are going to be my labshoes.
Or maybe you invest in a goodpair of just glasses you know we
(09:53):
wear sunglasses outside all thetime, but maybe just go and
invest in a good pair of glassesthat you're going to wear in
the lab all year long.
You're going to like, commityourself to that, you know.
Or you're going to commityourself to a lab coat and
making sure that your lab coatis is.
I mean, everything that you'vejust mentioned is an example of
(10:15):
things that people can do toimprove their overall safety,
just by paying attention tothose things and saying you know
, I'm going to commit myself tothat.
I'm going to pick one thing I'mgoing to make sure that every
single time I leave thatlaboratory, I wash my hands for
30 seconds.
Yeah, like, not not 10 seconds.
I'm not going to hurry and I'mnot also going to just run out,
(10:37):
because sometimes I know peoplerun out.
They didn't.
They went into the lab.
I swear I didn't touch anything.
I'm going to leave anyway.
I didn't.
You know, I didn't touchanything.
I washed my hand but like youknow, what if you, you, you
commit yourself to saying, okay,that you know, that's it, I am.
I'm this one thing I'm going tofocus on all year long.
And if you think, dan, after 20years, that's 20 habits that
(11:04):
have been fully developed over a20-year lab career.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
This falls, don.
This is so cool.
This falls right in line withtwo things that I've been
teaching for years.
The first one is focus on theprocess, not the goal.
You'll get further if today,you just focus on the process.
What's one thing I can do todayto get me toward that goal, and
that's what these habitformations are?
(11:29):
I can buy the right shoes andgo wear and start to wear them.
I can practice wearing my labcoat correctly and donning and
doffing correctly.
The other thing I talked aboutearlier was like you know that
manager who walks in the lab anddoesn't notice Joan with her
lab coat not buttoned becausehe's so busy and I always try to
give lab managers and lableaders a break because of that
(11:51):
but those people too can make aresolution and say you know what
I'm going to this week?
Just this week I'm going to,before I say anything to anybody
, when I walk in the lab, I'mgoing to do a quick check and
just look at people's footwear,just for a week.
Just look at footwear and getbetter at that and get better at
(12:13):
noticing it, even when I'mwalking through, trying to talk
about something else like theschedule.
Next week I'm going to look atPPE use.
I'm going to watch how peopleput on their gloves, how they
use them, how their lab coatsare.
Are they buttoned?
Are they wearing them properly?
Are they wearing them?
And when you do that, when youfocus on the process, do one
(12:34):
thing at a time throughout thatyear or over the years, you will
have what I call safety eyesand you'll be able to see those
things without consciouslyhaving to notice them each time
or paying a lot of time,spending a lot of time looking
for them.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
It'll become much more natural, and that's a
resolution that leaders can makein the laboratory 100% and, dan
, you know I've been doing whatDr Epstein taught me for the
last 27 years.
There have been years where Ihaven't had bacon and, trust me,
those were hard years.
Years where I gave up alcoholcompletely I didn't even touch
(13:11):
it.
The years where I've given upsugar and I will tell you now
that, at 51 years old, you knowwhere I'm.
27 years down the road.
I will tell you right now thatI am very disciplined and I have
the ability to control myhabits, and it increases a level
of situational awareness withinme as well.
And I think what's importantfor us as individuals, and as
(13:34):
you've said, is that we don'tget better overnight and we
certainly aren't going to getsafer overnight.
But what we can do is we canchoose to focus on one thing,
and you will be so surprised how, when you stay focused and
disciplined on one thing, it hasan impact on so many other
(13:55):
things around you.
Dan, can I give onerecommendation to leaders out
there?
Yeah, please, I would hopemaybe you could have a
resolution on vulnerability, andlet me explain what I mean by
that.
I want leaders to admit themistakes they've made in the
labs.
I want them to talk to theirstaff about the times where
(14:19):
they've made mistakes, theissues that they may have caused
, that they may have caused andthe reason why I say that, dan,
is it's one of the bestpredictors for psychological
safety is actually having theleaders that everybody's afraid
of be vulnerable and admit thatthey too, at one time or another
in their career, maybe evenrecently, make mistakes, and
(14:40):
that they are open and they'renot afraid to admit that they're
not perfect, and that is notonly a very neat and humbling
resolution, but it's aresolution that triggers trust
among the staff that work in thelaboratory environment.
Dan, I'm going to give you thelast word, but any thoughts that
you have on resolutions.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
I agree with that 100%, sean.
A resolution to not only showyour vulnerability, but maybe
talk about it.
I have definitely made mistakesin the lab safety field and I
want to learn from them and Ihave learned from them, and I
think that's what we should allbe doing.
(15:23):
We're all on a safety journey.
Like you said, safety doesn'thappen overnight and you might
feel like it's really daunting.
You walk into the new lab maybeyou're new to lab safety and
your job is to help make itbetter and you might feel really
overwhelmed by that.
But you don't have to.
You just take it one step at atime, one bite at a time, and
(15:45):
you change one thing at a time.
One bite at a time and youchange one thing at a time.
That's the resolution that'sgoing to take you to where you
want to go.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Well said, Well said.
Happy New Year Dan.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Happy New Year, sean, and.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Happy New Year to all the listeners out there.
We are the Lab Safety Gurus DanScungio and Sean Kaufman.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Thank you for letting us do lab safety together.
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