SpheraNOW: Recent Episodes
SpheraNOW
The SpheraNOW podcast tackles safety, sustainability and productivity issues wherever they may be. We bring in experts from Sphera and from around the globe to address some of the challenges people and companies are dealing with around the world.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
To learn more, visit Sphera's website. For more content like this, check out Spark, Sphera's thought leadership website.
Join Alex Studd, Sphera's product marketing manager for operational risk management (ORM), and Scott Lehmann, Sphera's vice president of product management, as they discuss the key takeaways from Sphera’s seventh annual Safety Report.
Join Sphera Implementation Consultant Dr. Toyin Sanusi, and Rachel Popa, one of Sphera’s content marketing managers, for a conversation on the future of green hydrogen. They define green hydrogen, discuss its advantages and disadvantages in relation to other biofuels and examine the role of green hydrogen in ESG.
Join Sean Daley, Sphera's North American director of sustainability consulting, and Rachel Popa, one of Sphera’s content marketing managers, for a conversation on Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and decarbonizing the supply chain.
Join Andy Bartlett, Sphera’s solution consultant for operational risk management, and Sphera product marketing manager Alex Studd for a discussion on knowledge transfer and best practice sharing in the tenth installment of Andy’s Almanac.
Join Mike Zamis and Sharlene Key for a conversation on greenwashing. They look at why greenwashing happens, how regulations can be used to combat it and how standardized ESG metrics can help prevent it.
Join Sandy Smith and Philippe Guillard as they discuss the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and climate risk in the context of the SEC’s March 21st climate proposal. Don’t miss our earlier episode in this series covering Scope 3 emissions and climate risk, or our episode about Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Andy Bartlett returns to the SpheraNOW podcast to discuss hazardous area management and its implications for business with Alex Studd, one of Sphera’s product marketers. Listen to other episodes of “Andy’s Almanac on Accidents.”
On March 21st, the SEC released its Climate Disclosure Proposal, which if passed would require publicly traded companies to measure and report climate related risks and Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Tune in for a conversation with Sphera’s CEO Paul Marushka, and Philippe Guillard, vice president of Global Solutions and Operations, about what the SEC’s proposal means for business moving forward.
Sphera's chief product officer, Mike Zamis, who's responsible for the strategy and development of Sphera's next-generation ESG solutions, talks about Scope 3 emissions and the climate risk aspects of the SEC’s March 21st climate disclosure proposal.
Business conditions and the regulatory environment have a major impact on your business. Make sure you’re up to speed by listening to Sphera Solution Consultants Andy Bartlett and Abhilash Menon and Solution Executive Tim Floyd as they recap our popular blog on the Top 10 Operational Risks of 2022.
Diva Amon, a marine biologist who went 3,300 feet below the surface in a submersible with Will Smith in 'Welcome to Earth,' joins the podcast to talk about sustainability and the experience.
To err is human, but to err working in a hazardous industry could be downright dangerous. Andy Bartlett explains the human factors part of the Operational Risk Management equation.
Sphera’s James Pearson joins the SpheraNOW podcast to discuss Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), the circular economy and missed opportunities.
Sphera's Sandy Smith offers his thoughts about his experience from one of the most important climate change events to date.
Hannes Partl, Sphera's director of sustainability consulting, gives his take on the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report as well as the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
Andy Bartlett is back to discuss Swiss cheese in the Digital Age, and ways current software and technology could have helped prevent one of the most well-known refinery incidents in history.
Arul Mathur is a high school senior who lives in California. Unlike most students his age, he has invented a Fire Activated Canister Extinguisher (FACE) device designed to help put out wildfires near properties.
Ocearch scientist Bob Hueter joins the podcast to discuss how changing temperatures are affecting these creatures that have swum in the oceans for 400 million years.
Jon Kroll, the executive producer of Gordon Ramsay's National Geographic show "Uncharted," dishes on how the show focuses on safety and sustainability for the season three premiere. He also hilariously delivers a vicarious "idiot sandwich" reference on Ramsay's behalf.
Jennie Romer, a U.S.-based sustainability expert and the author of "Can I Recycle This?" discusses everything from so-called "wish-cycling" to recycling "tanglers" to whether you can recycle a pizza box and much more in this special edition of the SpheraNOW podcast.
For World Day for Safety and Health at Work, Andy Bartlett discusses a persistent problem that has led to countless incidents: shift handovers.
In this edition of 'Andy's Almanac,' Andy Bartlett, Sphera’s solution consultant for Operational Risk Management, discusses the so-called 'Swiss cheese' model and how it could apply to helping companies plan for natural disasters. Listen to parts one, two, three and four.
Process Safety expert Andy Brazier shares lessons from Trevor Kletz and how companies have managed Safety during the pandemic. Oh, and we discuss Cashmere goats.
Workplace legal expert Jon Hyman returns to the SpheraNOW podcast to discuss how employers handled the COVID-19 situation in 2020, whether employers should make vaccines mandatory and more.
Changes to the Globally Harmonized System for chemical classifications occur regularly. Sphera's Carrie Decatur discusses some of the most recent ones and explains how unharmonized GHS can often be.
Originally slated to be a three-part series, Andy's Almanac has been extended. Andy Bartlett, Sphera’s solution consultant for Operational Risk Management, details lessons learned from incidents he has seen during his 40-plus-year career. Listen to parts one, two and three.
Simon Jones, Sphera's director of solution consulting for Operational Risk Management, discusses the 10 key areas that companies need to address to achieve Operational Excellence in their process safety initiatives.
In this three-part series, Andy Bartlett, Sphera’s solution consultant for Operational Risk Management, details lessons learned from incidents he has seen during his 40-plus-year career.
In this three-part series, Andy Bartlett, Sphera’s solution consultant for Operational Risk Management, details lessons learned from incidents he has seen during his 40-plus-year career.
Sphera's Ron Palermo provides his tips on helping companies improve their cybersecurity while staying in compliance.
Accenture's James Brown talks about the emergence of new safeguard health monitoring software, and paddles through the murky waters of so-called dark data where organizations, drowning in data, can't easily access the information they need to improve their safety processes.
Mark Hutcherson, Conoco's director of operations excellence talks about the path to developing a Digital Transformation strategy and psychological safety among other topics.
Sphera's Francis Trudeau and Laura Patrick explain why it's so important to have total control of chemical management and product compliance throughout the supply chain.
In this three-part series, Andy Bartlett, Sphera's solution consultant for Operational Risk Management, details lessons learned from incidents he has seen during his 40-plus-year career.
James Tehrani talks with Sarah Henderson, a Sphera HMMS expert, about what safety questions workers should ask as they return to work and the importance of Safety Data Sheets.
James Tehrani talks with Narenderpal Marwaha, Sphera's principal solution architect, about safe strategies to return to operations safely.
Process Safety Management has many different components. James Tehrani discusses the elements with Andy Bartlett, Sphera's solution consultant for Operational Risk Management.
Unplanned events like COVID-19 show the importance of digital resilience. James Tehrani talks with Scott Lehmann, Sphera VP of ORM product management, to learn more.
Companies are grappling with how to do remote risk assessment because of COVID-19. James Tehrani talks with John Crosman, a Sphera process safety expert, about the challenges.
In this edition of SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor-in-chief talks with Edward Stern, an expert on workplace anti-bullying policies.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor-in-chief speaks with Marc Dillon, Sphera's senior product manager about his 20-year career in risk mitigation, his role in protecting sea turtles ... and how he got married while scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. Yes, we mean it happened underwater.
In this edition of SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor-in-chief talks with Judy Coleman, Sphera's director of professional services in EHS&S, about her role at Sphera and her personal interests, which include her three rescue dogs, boxing and volunteering in Africa.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark’s editor in chief speaks with Ashlee Fidow, a professional stuntwoman with a decade's worth of experience, about safety on the set when performing stunts. Fidow is one of Liu Yifei's stunt doubles in the upcoming live-action film "Mulan."
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor in chief speaks with Dr. Stefan Green, the associate director of the Research Resources Center, Genome Research division, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, about how gene research can help crack the COVID-19 code.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor in chief speaks with Dr. Adrian Mulholland, a chemistry professor at the University of Bristol’s Centre for Computational Chemistry in England, about the VR technology he and his team are developing to research anti-viral medications for COVID-19 and other diseases.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark’s editor-in-chief, talks with Colin Keogh, a mechanical Engineer based in Ireland who co-founded the Open Source Ventilator project. The project is using open source to design emergency ventilators that can be 3-D printed to help meet demand during the global shortage caused by COVID-19.
In this Edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor-in-chief talks with Dr. Chuck Gerba, a professor of environmental science who's known as "Dr. Germ," to get his tips on battling COVID-19 and other germs while working from home.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark’s editor-in-chief talks with employment lawyer Jon Hyman, a partner in the law firm Meyers Roman who is an expert in labor and employment disputes, about potential pitfalls for employers when dealing with COVID-19—which is a coronavirus—or any other potential viruses for that matter.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, Ellen Bremseth, Spera's marketing communications manager, talks with James Tehrani, Spark’s editor in chief about the fall/winter issue of Spark magazine. They talk about the cover story, which discusses Integrated Risk Management 4.0 (IRM 4.0), the Robert Irvine Interview and much more. They also talk about how the Sphera Litter Challenge got started and how you can take part. #SparksAreFlying
In this special edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark’s editor-in-chief, talks with former All-Star Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks about his recent Players’ Tribune article that detailed his experience following a bad outcome from a back surgery in 2011. Discussing so-called "concurrent surgeries" might seem like a bit of a change-up from what we normally talk about here, but we think it’s important to cover risk-related topics in all areas.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor in chief, talks with Christopher Penn, the co-founder and chief data scientist at Trust Insights about how AI and predictive analytics can help mitigate risk in industry and more. If that's not enough, there's even a spirited discussion about AI and cookies that you won't want to miss.
Coinciding with the fall 2019 Spark cover story on Integrated Risk Management 4.0, James Tehrani, Spark’s editor-in-chief, speaks with Jerry Shaughnessy, Sphera’s chief architech, about his background, where companies go wrong with their innovation strategies and how technology will continue to change the game for risk mitigation strategies. Don’t forget to visit sphera.com/spark and register to receive notifications about when this and future issues come out.
In the latest SpheraNOW podcast, Carrie Decatur, Sphera’s senior regulatory analyst, discusses the European Commission’s recent changes to Annex VIII that will, among other things, postpone the first compliance date for harmonizing poison centre reporting for mixtures intended for consumer use. Listen to the podcast to learn more about how to comply with the new poison centre requirements.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Spark's editor in chief, talks with workplace safety author and consultant Phil La Duke about how fatigue can lead to unsafe behaviors and Operational Risks in the workforce. He discusses what he's learned about fatigue and some of the ways companies can help workers get the rest they need to perform at their optimum levels for their benefit and, in the long run, the company's, too. Listen to the podcast to learn more.
Coinciding with the fall 2019 Spark cover story on Integrated Risk Management 4.0, James Tehrani, Spark's editor-in-chief , speaks with David Stroud, Sphera’s vice president of MRO sales, about his background, how Maintenance, Repair & Operations fits into an Integrated Risk Management strategy and what the future might hold. Don’t forget to visit sphera.com/spark and register to receive notifications about when this and future issues come out.
Coinciding with the Spark cover story on augmented, mixed and virtual reality for workplace safety, James Tehrani, the editor-in-chief of Spark, speaks with Cole Sandau, the CEO of Health Scholars, a health care training company based in Westminster, Colorado. Part of their training program includes VR experiences; some of which might surprise you. Let’s just say you’d never want this to happen to you or anyone for that matter on the operating table, but you’d definitely feel better knowing that the scrub nurse or tech on duty knows what to do if it does—quickly. And don’t forget to check out the other bonus content for the May Spark magazine only at sphera.com/podcasts.
Listen to the podcast!
Coinciding with the Spark II cover story on augmented, mixed and virtual reality for workplace safety, James Tehrani, the editor-in-chief of Spark, speaks with Kristi Rawlinson, the head of marketing communications at STRIVR, a 3-year-old VR technology company that produces software designed to improve corporate performance. As Rawlinson says, “We at STRIVR talk about delivering immersive learning experiences through different technologies. Right now, the most relevant and effective we have found is VR.” She also discusses when VR is done right and when it’s done wrong, so tune in to get her thoughts on the matter. And don’t forget to check out the other bonus content for the May Spark magazine only at sphera.com/podcasts.
Listen to the podcast!
In this SpheraNOW podcast, Scott Lehmann, Sphera’s vice president of product management for Sphera’s ORM for Operations solutions, discusses the potential of digital technology to help improve operations, reduce downtime and move to a proactive operational decision-making process. Technology is evolving rapidly—whether it’s with smart sensors, edge computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud, digital twins or any other exciting development—and smart organizations are recognizing the value digital technology brings to Operational Excellence. As Lehmann says, “The digital train is leaving the station, but it’s not too late to still get on board.” Listen to the podcast to learn more.
As a preview of the upcoming Spark cover story on augmented, mixed and virtual reality for workplace safety, James Tehrani, the editor-in-chief of Spark, speaks with Grant Winters, the director of business development in VR and online learning at Industrial Training International, a Woodland, Washington-based organization that offers a host of VR training courses for cranes, lifts and other types of heavy equipment. He explains why he believes VR training in an important development for crane operators to train on and discusses how real it feels when you accidentally tip over a virtual crane. And don’t forget to check out the other bonus content for the May Spark magazine only at sphera.com/podcasts.
In October 2018, Sphera’s media team visited flavor company FONA International’s headquarters in Geneva, Illinois, to learn more about the flavor-making industry. James Tehrani, Sphera’s content marketing manager, spoke with Jennifer Howell, FONA’s director of regulatory innovation. They talk about the complexities of creating new flavors and especially the regulatory challenges. As Howell explains, technology plays a key role in maintaining compliance. Curious about some of the more unusual flavors that FONA has made? We were, too, but you’ll have to tune in to find out what those are.
In this special edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, the editor-in-chief of Spark magazine, talks with world-renowned nautical explorer Dr. Robert Ballard. Among his many major underwater discoveries, without question he is best remembered for leading the expedition that located the RMS Titanic in 1985. Ballard discusses his long career exploring the ocean, how important safety is to every mission he takes on, and his thoughts about climate change. Ballard also explains why the Titanic is still talked about so much more than a century after it sank on its maiden voyage, and there’s much more, too. If you like what you hear, you won’t want to miss hearing Ballard speak in person at inspire San Antonio in May.
In this edition of SpheraNOW, Narenderpal Marwaha, Sphera’s principal solutions architect, discusses the hazards analysis and critical control points (HACCP) technique and its application in the food, biopharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries with Ellen Bremseth, Sphera’s social media specialist.
In the newest SpheraNOW podcast, James Tehrani, Sphera’s content marketing manager, talks with Ellen Bremseth, Sphera’s social media specialist, about the launch of Spark magazine. Spark is Sphera’s entry into the world of periodicals, and Tehrani—who also serves as Spark’s editor-in-chief—and Bremseth discuss the goals and origin of the magazine as well as some of the cool content planned for the first edition from robots to dinosaurs and much more. To download your copy of Spark, visit sphera.com/spark. Intrigued? We know you are! Don’t delay; listen to the podcast today.
In this edition of SpheraNOW, Narenderpal Marwaha, Sphera’s principal solutions architect, talks about moving from lagging to leading indicators to improve safety performance. But how do you pitch the cost-benefit analysis to stakeholders? Getting buy-in from organizations that have been focusing on lagging indicators for some time can be tricky, but there are some important reasons why companies should focus on leading indicators that Marwaha discusses on the podcast. Intrigued? Tune in for more insights. Listen to the podcast.
John Crosman, Sphera’s lead process safety consultant, talks action management best practices, in the latest edition of the SpheraNOW podcast. It’s critical that companies close out actions for risk assessments to ensure follow-through.
But, as Crosman explains, “a lot of us work in our own little bubbles or our own little words, and we forget that there’s a bigger system or a bigger picture at play.” The problem is that action items sometimes don’t translate well between departments or even co-workers. So what can companies do to fix that problem? Crosman has some ideas. You’ll just need to tune in to find out what some of his expert recommendations are.
In this episode of SpheraNOW we discuss the importance of a properly implemented Incident Management System with Katherine Horn, a senior consultant at Huco Consulting.
Part of the discussion centers around challenges and pitfalls when trying to implement an incident management system. Why is it that some implementation projects stall and struggle to get across the finish line and others don’t? Sure, getting buy-in from management helps, but how do you make that case? Good question! You’ll have to check out the podcast to find out how organizations can be successful in getting these projects back on track when issues do occur.
In this episode we speak with Meredith Boyer, a senior consultant at Huco Consulting, about audits and how companies can view them in a positive light to benefit their employees, facilities and the environment.
Yes, we said audits. Boyer is passionate about Environmental Health & Safety audits, and you will be too after listening to her insights. They discuss everything from selecting an internal auditor to the importance of identifying gaps before an agency auditor can find them. So does that mean Boyer prefers an in-house auditing team vs. an external one? Well, you’ll just have to tune in to get her take on that matter.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast we interview Chris Israni, the senior principal consultant at ERM, a leading provider of Environmental Health & Safety consulting services, about building a strong safety culture on an accelerated schedule. It starts with finding the right people—who are passionate about safety—leading the charge. People fall into three broad categories, Chris explains, in terms of learning: visual, auditory and kinesthetic (tactile).
As Chris explains, there are verbal clues that safety professionals can listen for to help them know just what type of learner they’re dealing with. What are they? You’ll have to tune in to find that out that and learn much more about accelerating the adoption of a safety culture.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, Brian Payer, Sphera’s strategic operations program manager, talks about one of the biggest concerns he sees from customers: staying in compliance. With regulations ever-changing and often moving quickly, it’s difficult to keep up. The same way that people go to the doctor every year to get a health assessment, it’s just as important to do a periodic health check on your Environmental Health & Safety solutions to ensure they are operating at peak performance.
“I think it's fun when we find something that the customers don't really know about,” Payer said. “We kind of surprise them. So we can do a little bit of behind-the-scenes work on their configurations and systems, and it's kind of like your lab tests when you go to the doctor.”
Here’s to your system’s health!
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, Kevin Jurica, Sphera’s senior solution manager, discusses the many difficulties companies deal with when navigating compliance issues.
Compliance “is really something that doesn't end. Many companies want the regulatory content they need to help stay in compliance, but they neglect to consider the ongoing challenge of keeping up with regulations. In North America alone, Sphera tracks about 60,000 regulatory changes per year, but companies need to know and be able to track which of those regulations are pertinent to them. Moreover, monitoring changes to regulations alone is insufficient; companines must also account for changes to their operations, changes to their workforce.
In this episode we discuss how companies are effectively using tools and technology to be notified of regulatory changes as they’re published and examine the components that contribute to the success of sustained, rigorous compliance programs.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, Carrie Young, Sphera's vice president of solutions consulting, discusses Risk Benchmarking, a recent innovation in Integrated Risk Management. Risk Benchmarking presents a way to move toward a more predictive mitigation model based on leading risk indicators so companies have a better understanding of potential incidents and near-misses so that they can proactively manage their Operational Risk. Though incident rates and events have plateaued or even decreased for some companies and industries, the number of fatalities has increased over the years across the space. Safety is still a large focus for companies and poses significant challenges. Safety professionals are looking for ways to reverse this trend of rising fatality rates through new tools and techniques such as leading indicators and predictive analytics.
A standardized approach to incident management and a robust technology suite to underpin it puts a company on the path to success. However, measuring this success relative to the progress made by others in the space is also crucial to making sure a company’s safety processes continue to evolve. This is where risk benchmarking comes in. Sphera's annual benchmarking studies are based on a multi-customer dataset to produce actionable metrics and indicators to help drive excellence in safety by examining and evaluating companies on 80-plus metrics to measure adoption and usage, reporting culture, process discipline, risk sensitivity and learning mindedness.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, Mark Harbin, Sphera’s senior consultant for refrigerant compliance software and services, sheds light on the rigors and complexities facing companies in the wake of wide-ranging environmental regulatory changes. To put things in perspective, Harbin explains the evolution of refrigerant regulations and what the current regulatory changes mean for refrigerant and environmental managers.
The landscape for refrigerant regulations has changed dramatically with the rollout of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s expanded regulations for documentation, recordkeeping and reporting. In the wake of these changes, facility managers and owners must revisit their methods and procedures for refrigerant-related work, including appliance disposals and refrigerant disposals, which adds a new layer of recordkeeping that companies must now manage. Organizations must be able to prove that their refrigerants are being handled in the right way.
In this episode, you’ll also learn about common misconceptions about refrigerant compliance management and get recommendations on establishing a robust refrigerant compliance program.
Simply put, refrigerant compliance has become a lot more complicated. Robust software solutions and a change in organizational behavior are now, more than ever, key components of a successful refrigerant compliance management program.
Listen to the podcast.
In this edition of the SpheraNOW podcast, Andy Hosman, Sphera’s vice president for SpheraCloud, explains why it's only a matter of time before we see more and more companies make the transition to wearables in the workplace to help keep workers safe.
We examine some of the challenges facing companies dealing with implementing safety wearables in the workforce, including managing the sheer amount of data generated. We also take a look at the evolution of wearables and discuss how they can improve safety and wellness in the workplace. Augmented and virtual reality, real-time communication and exoskeletons are just some of the emerging technologies that are really changing the game for safety.
The future presents a fascinating intersection of data-driven predictive risk management and the integration of the Internet of Things and other devices. As Hosman explains, the secret to success for employing wearables for workplace safety lies in getting wide-scale user adoption and a establishing a strong safety culture. We invite you to learn more about how the dawn of EHS 4.0. is making the workplace a safer place to be.
Welcome to SpheraNow, the official podcast of Sphera Solutions.
In this series, Sphera’s experts in the areas of Environmental Performance, Operational Risk and Product Stewardship will offer thought-provoking and insightful discussions on key Integrated Risk Management topics that have major implications for large and small companies around the world.
SpheraNow is designed to give environmental leaders, risk managers, health and safety professionals, quality managers and corporate stakeholders the information they need to help keep their workforces safe, their products sustainable and their operations productive.
These episodes will address the most relevant topics affecting all major industries, including Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Life Sciences and many more.
You can find the latest episode on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like us to address, please visit sphera.com and click the Contact Us button. We hope you enjoy the SpheraNow podcast series. Let’s get started; we have a lot to talk about.