Building Safety Programs That Work for Small and Medium Businesses
Safety expert Greg Zigulis shares practical strategies to help SMBs move from reactive compliance to structured, effective safety programs.
- By David Kopf
- Apr 06, 2026
Small and medium-sized businesses make up a significant portion of the workforce, but many lack the dedicated safety resources needed to build effective health and safety programs. That challenge is the focus of the latest episode of the OH&S SafetyPod.
Greg Zigulis, MS, CSP, CIH, President of Sixth Sense Safety Solutions and author of “Health and Safety Programs in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses,” discusses how organizations can move beyond basic compliance toward more structured, effective safety efforts.
The interview highlights why safety responsibilities are often assigned to employees without formal training, and how that can lead to reactive approaches focused on paperwork rather than hazard prevention. Zigulis emphasizes that safety programs should be guided not only by regulatory requirements, but also by broader business drivers and risk management goals.
He also explains the difference between individual safety programs and a broader safety management system, and why understanding injury causation is critical to preventing incidents before they occur. For organizations with limited resources, Zigulis stresses the importance of prioritizing hazards with the greatest potential for serious injury while engaging employees to identify risks and solutions.
Download or stream this episode today from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and more.
About the Author
David Kopf is the publisher and executive editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine.