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

The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management · 2026-08-20 · 22 min

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Topics in this episode

Risk management Occupational Health and Safety Safety culture workplace safety management EHS programs

Episode notes

"If the system really works, the employees are doing the right thing. Their leaders are doing the right thing and are committed to health and safety as well." - Jeff Schmitt, Director of Corporate Safety and Health at Kyndryl Scaling safety across 60 countries is not about piling on bureaucracy or inflating central headcount. It is about creating operational systems that frontline workers can rely on when unexpected risks emerge. In this episode of The Canary Report , host Michael Zalle sits down with Jeff Schmitt, CSP, to examine what it takes to build a scalable EHS management system. From his roots in a single-stoplight town in Fowler, Michigan, to overseeing global safety strategy, Schmitt brings a grounded perspective to enterprise risk. He shares hard-earned insights from leading EHS programs across semiconductor manufacturing, cleanrooms, and global IT infrastructure. We explore why an EHS management system must serve as an active playbook rather than static compliance paperwork.