Brennan Neville on Building a Safety Culture That Sticks

In this episode, host Mark Mann sits down with Brennan Neville, Environmental Health and Safety Manager at Warehouse on Wheels, to talk about what safety first, safety always means in the shop, close calls as a leading indicator, investigating injuries down to the root cause, and keeping training and compliance consistent across the US, Canada and Mexico. Brennan describes walking into his first location audit without safety glasses to see if anyone would correct him, a grinder kickback that cut a technician’s hand down to the bone, and the in-house videos and maintenance call that keep repairs on WOW’s storage trailers to one standard.

Key Takeaways

1. Safety culture starts with how leaders talk to their people. Brennan started out doing concrete for a mom-and-pop company of about 15 people, where his crew leader was honest even with the young crew about following protocols. In his previous job, where he spent more than 10 years and moved into management, he had his lightbulb moment: safety starts with how you interact with people. Tonality, approach, and the hellos, goodbyes and thanks for a good job are the small moments that make the big impact on a safety culture.
2. Brennan walked into his first audit without safety glasses on. About a month into the role, Brennan walked into his first location with no glasses to see if anyone would say anything. Someone asked where his glasses were. It was a little harsh, and exactly what he wanted: whether you’re on the team or visiting from outside, people correct you. The same mindset holds under pressure. When the team has to get 10 trailers done in a week and a customer calls for a delivery, they come together and don’t break rules to get there.
3. Close calls get a game plan before anyone is hurt. Brennan says close calls are a big indicator some people in his position overlook. A slip with no injury still gets a game plan, and the team checks whether it applies to every territory, since Mexico won’t see much snow. Incidents go out as safety alerts that break down the root cause. He checks the equipment first, the guard, its spec and any modification, then training and competency, and goes straight to the team member for a one-on-one. Like peeling an onion, the core can take a week to reach, or one phone call.
4. A grinder kickback led to bimonthly audits and more training. A technician doing a rear bumper repair with a 6-inch disc on a grinder was posted up underneath when the grinder kicked back and the blade struck his hand, cutting down through the bone. He was wearing safety glasses, a face shield and gloves. The action plan for that location set bimonthly audits by the management team and shop leads to check equipment, tools and the oxy-torch setup, plus more fine-tuned training for the technician, who had been with WOW less than 90 days.
5. Brennan’s team standardizes maintenance across every location. WOW’s GMs talk about a clean, dark, dry and safe product for mobile storage, and Brennan’s team standardizes the maintenance procedures behind it. When a standard changes, an email and a new video go out to every location, and the bi-weekly maintenance call with WOW’s in-house experts flags what needs changing. WOW’s own technicians shoot the training videos, and AI translation puts training out in English, Spanish, French and Vietnamese. When he’s on site doing audits, Brennan checks the quality of the repairs and says he hasn’t found anything yet.

Episode Chapters

Click any timestamp to jump to that section on YouTube.

• 00:00 — Why 14 workers a day don’t make it home
• 02:38 — Meet Brennan Neville, EHS Manager
• 02:50 — From concrete crews to safety leadership
• 05:36 — What surprised him most across 40+ locations
• 06:45 — What “safety first, safety always” really means
• 08:35 — The no-glasses test: building accountability
• 09:02 — Leading vs. lagging indicators & close calls
• 11:34 — The worst injury he’s seen: the grinder incident
• 13:13 — The action plan after a serious injury
• 14:37 — Inside the in-house training program
• 16:39 — Standardizing safety across US, Canada & Mexico
• 17:57 — How to build a culture where people speak up
• 19:33 — OSHA vs. Canada vs. Mexico: regulation differences
• 21:42 — Keeping every trailer safe, clean & dry
• 24:03 — A week in the life of an EHS manager
• 25:32 — The mentor who shaped his career
• 28:02 — Life outside work (and the mini zoo)

Transcript

[00:00] Why 14 workers a day don’t make it home

Mark Mann: What if I told you that every single day in America roughly 14 workers don’t make it home? Not because of bad luck, not because of a freak accident, but because somewhere in the chain, in the yard, on the dock, in a shop, or behind the wheel, safety was treated as a cost instead of a commitment. On this episode, we’re discussing a topic that sits at the very foundation of everything we do: safety.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 5,070 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2005 alone. That’s down about 4% from the year before, which is progress, and we should all acknowledge it, but 5,070 families, 5,070 empty chairs at dinner tables. That’s not a statistic you get to round down and then feel good about it.

At Warehouse on Wheels, safety isn’t a program they rolled out one cold quarter and then moved away from. It’s a core value, one of the foundational principles of who they are and how they operate every single day. You’ll hear it in how they talk about their work. You’ll see it in how the technicians approach every single trailer inspection, every repair, every time they move a unit in the yard. The phrase they live by is simple: safety first, safety always, which brings me to today’s guest.

I’m truly honored and honestly a little bit excited to introduce someone who carries that responsibility every day with both expertise and heart, a lot of heart. Brennan Neville is the Environmental Health and Safety Manager at Warehouse on Wheels, and his portfolio is, I guess if I had to put it in one word, it’s enormous. Brennan is responsible for all aspects of safety, health, environmental sustainability, and training across the entire North American operation. That means he’s thinking simultaneously about a technician in one of our US shops, a driver navigating, you know, an icy winter delivery up in Canada, and the potential hazard of working in proximity to rattlesnakes in our newest location in Monterrey, Mexico. Different countries, different regulatory frameworks, different languages, one standard of excellence. Brennan Neville, welcome to the show.

[02:38] Meet Brennan Neville, EHS Manager

Brennan Neville: Yes, sir. Thank you for having me, Mark.

Mark Mann: Brennan, on behalf of the entire Warehouse on Wheels family, thank you for everything that you do to keep our people safe every day. I mean, you do a great job and we really appreciate it.

[02:50] From concrete crews to safety leadership

Brennan Neville: Thank you. Thank you. To go ahead and get into it, let’s give a little bit of my backstory, kind of my foundation and where the whole safety element started to flourish. So, my first job, I started out doing concrete. Very physical, very laborious, and a lot of dangerous aspects at a young age that were made important to me. I had a great crew leader. His name was Rev. So, Rev, if you’re watching this, just know you’re remembered. And he was always honest, even with us young bucks, about following certain protocols, certain measures. And keep in mind that this was a mom-and-pop type of company. We had, what, like 15 people that worked there. It was, you know, you walked in, you saw the same people every day, and you were with those guys day in and day out. So, that’s really where the safety element started.

And then it kind of went into where my previous job was, where I held a position there for over 10 years, where more of the management came into play. And that’s when I really started to have that lightbulb moment. And when I say lightbulb moment, what I’m getting to is that it’s all about the people. That’s where the safety aspect starts. It’s how you’re interacting with the people. It’s how you’re walking in, rather than just going in, “Hey guys, this is what we got to do today.” It’s your tonality. It’s your approach. It’s how you carry yourself. And more importantly, it’s those hellos and goodbyes, you know, thanking them for doing a good job. It’s those very small, minuscule moments that make the big impact, especially to a safety culture.

But how Warehouse on Wheels came into my life: I saw the position, had a great interview, and the interview alone is what kind of gravitated me in. It was very welcoming, and Mark was in the interview as well, along with our HR rep. And I could tell from just the moment of the interview, I was like, “Hey, this is the place for me. I want to be a part of this.” I immediately got a big family vibe, which is what I loved, which was actually the opposite of what I had before. It was very corporate-y, a lot of red tape. And this is a completely different feeling, and until you experience it, it’s kind of hard to put into words, to be honest.

Mark Mann: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, one of the other core values besides safety first, safety always is people matter. So, we always tie those two together, you know, safety first, safety always, because people matter, ultimately, right? So, yeah, I remember when you started here. Actually, something you may not even remember: tomorrow is your 2-year anniversary.

Brennan Neville: I knew it was coming up.

Mark Mann: Yep, it’s tomorrow. So, congratulations early on 2 years here in environmental health and safety. So, let’s talk about that. So, when you first took over the EHS manager role here at Warehouse on Wheels, what surprised you the most coming in?

[05:36] What surprised him most across 40+ locations

Brennan Neville: The amount of locations, and then also not necessarily the total head count, but the head count that are at those locations. So, let’s just think of Canada. You might have one location that has eight techs and another one might have three techs. And really what was eye-opening is the amount of work these guys are doing. The turnover, the whips that they’re knocking in and out. That’s what blew me away.

What was also very mind-blowing is there was a standardization across the board, whether you’re in Mexico, you’re in Canada, you’re in the States. Very quickly I found out, “Hey, everyone is on board with the safety aspect,” which is, you know, safety first, safety always. There was no shy game in that at all. One thing I really did love was just how welcoming everyone was. At the end of the day, and I know it sounds very cliché to say, but, you know, these guys are techs, but at heart they’re people. They’re just like me and you. They’re in here to come in and do a good job, and it’s my responsibility to make sure that we’re able to make sure Town can get home and play softball with his grandson, and come in and leave the same way.

[06:45] What “safety first, safety always” really means

Mark Mann: Yeah, you know, you talked about safety first, safety always. So, in your own words, that’s not just a slogan. What does that phrase actually mean when you’re out in the field?

Brennan Neville: That’s a great question. So, we’ll actually go down memory lane here real quick. So, my first audit, I would say probably about a month in, Mark, when I went to my first location. Part of my tactic was, you know, let’s be easygoing. Let’s go in. You know, I’m the new safety guy. Everyone’s going to be kind of beyond pins and needles regardless, because here he comes in. So, a little thing I wanted to do is, “Hey, let’s just walk in with no glasses and see if anyone says anything.”

And I did that, and, you know, it worked in theory. Exactly what happened was someone was like, “Hey, where’s your glasses at?” A little harsh, but that’s exactly what I wanted. I didn’t care how mean they were to me or how nice. It was, “Hey, you don’t know me, but still correct me,” you know. And that’s exactly what I was looking for. That’s where that safety first, safety always kind of mindset comes in, where whether you’re part of this team or you’re an outsider visiting, we want to make sure that you’re doing the right parts to keep yourself safe and also our team members inside.

But it goes much further than that, Mark. When our guys are out here, they’re looking out for one another. You know, there’s that team aspect. There’s that, you know, I might have my trailer I’m working on, and Mark, you have your trailer you’re working on as well. But we are going to come together when the times get tough and we’re in the trenches. You know, Chris Martin’s on us and he’s telling us, “Hey, we got to get these 10 trailers done this week.” We’re not going to break no rules. There’s several variables that come into play. A customer might call and we got to do a delivery as well. But we’re going to do everything in our power to come together and make sure that we work safe at the same time. And so that’s that big mindset that we push, and we execute on it very well.

[08:35] The no-glasses test: building accountability

Mark Mann: No shortcuts, right? No shortcuts. And I know you’re wearing your safety glasses right now. So you’re in the shop somewhere. Where are you at?

Brennan Neville: Yeah, so I’m at Jeffersonville right now. This is actually their parts area, and the little golf cart they use to go do yard checks. But yeah, so this is all the parts area. You walk out about 10 feet in that direction and that’s where the bays are. We got about six bays out there that the guys work out of.

[09:02] Leading vs. lagging indicators & close calls

Mark Mann: Excellent. So there’s an important distinction that we make in environmental health and safety between being proactive, right, taking proactive actions to prevent incidents before they happen, and then lagging indicators, like measuring injury rates and incident reports and that stuff. How do you think about that balance at Warehouse on Wheels, and what indicators are you watching as the manager of environmental health and safety?

Brennan Neville: I don’t necessarily want to say other companies, but I feel like some people in this position might overlook it, but a big one is close calls, for sure. And deciphering that information and not necessarily turning it into a big deal, but looking at it and saying, “Okay, hey, we had somebody that slipped and fell. They’re perfectly fine, but where do we go from this? How do we implement a game plan going forward?” And then also looking at it as, “Okay, is this game plan something that’s going to apply to all these territories?” In our case, not so, because, you know, Mexico’s not going to be exposed to much snow. And in their case, they might fall and slip on a rattlesnake, you know? But the way you’re looking at it is finding a baseline and then, “Okay, how do we apply it to what areas?”

Close calls are a huge one, and then obviously the big nail in the coffin is definitely, 100%, incidents, you know, and how are we communicating those? So, in our case, we do safety alerts, where we go through and we break down the root cause of what happened, how it happened, where did that stimulate from.

So, let’s just use an example. Let’s say we had an individual that cut their hand with a grinder. We’re going to look at that grinder. Okay, did it have the guard? Okay, is that guard the right spec? Is it the manufacturer requirement? We want to make sure there’s no modification there. All right, so the guard’s good, the equipment’s good. Okay, where did we lack at? Was it a lack of training? Was it a little bit of team member, you know, competency, not following up there? And so, we’ll get down to the nitty-gritty, and that’s where we will have some tough discussions.

And my place where I have found that you get the most useful information, especially in incidents, is directly to the source. So, that’s going directly to the team member. I’ll have a one-on-one with them. “Give me the lowdown. You know, let me know, Bob, how did your hand get cut? What were you doing before? How did it kind of funnel out? Okay, what was your task?” So it’s getting down really to the nitty-gritty, Mark, and getting every fine detail. And you’re going to hear this metaphor in a lot of different safety-related items, but it’s just like an onion. And it’s peeling back those layers, getting to the core. And sometimes that core can take a week to get to, and sometimes it takes one phone call, and then bam, you got it.

[11:34] The worst injury he’s seen: the grinder incident

Mark Mann: Yeah, so we’ve got a lot of people listening that are all thinking the same thing. They’re all thinking the same question. It’s the question everybody wants to hear you answer. What’s the worst injury you’ve ever seen, Brennan?

Brennan Neville: The worst would probably be the one I was just kind of using as an example. The hand grinder incident we had was pretty rough. You would probably agree. So, we had an individual that was doing a rear bumper repair on the back of one of our trailers. They were using a 6-inch disc on a grinder, and they were grinding it out. Now, the reason why they were grinding is because the bar needed to be flush. You know, they’re following repair standards, want everything to be flush, want everything to be nice, structural integrity, etc., etc.

As they’re posted up underneath, the grinder had a little bit of kickback, and when it kicked back, the grinder kind of tipped backwards, and then bam, strike from the blade right on his hand. And the reason why I’m putting this in that category is because they cut so deep, it went down through his bone. So, it was very, very severe in my book. One of the worst ones we’ve had in probably my time being here, I would say.

Mark Mann: Yeah, and so remembering back to that one, he was wearing everything he was supposed to wear in terms of personal protective equipment, right? He had not only safety glasses on, but he had a face shield on, and he even had gloves on, right? And he was doing everything he was supposed to do, and still. So what do you do, Brennan, in a situation like that, where the guy’s wearing gloves and it kicks back, cuts through the gloves into his hand? What’s the next step? What measures do you put in place?

[13:13] The action plan after a serious injury

Brennan Neville: So, that one, it was really, okay, it came down to the ergonomics. Grinders aren’t the most friendliest tool to use, and really the key element there is the kickback feature, right? So, where it came down to is we came up with an action plan going further, specifically for this location, where we were going to do bimonthly location audits. So, what that means is the management team and those shop leads were going to go around and, okay, let’s pick up the equipment, let’s pick up the tools, let’s check out our oxy-torch setup. Basically eliminating any hazard there, making sure all the tools are in working order.

And then it’s, okay, now let’s give this gentleman some more fine-tuned training. That’s really what it came back to: reiterating the elements of hazards in the shop, which was eliminate those, let’s catch them before any injury stimulates. And let’s also make sure that we can give this gentleman some good training, so he understands how to use this tool going forward. That was one element in this as well: this gentleman was with us for less than that 90-day period. He was relatively new.

Mark Mann: So, let’s talk about training, since you mentioned it. So, walk us through kind of what a robust maintenance and repair training program looks like at Warehouse on Wheels. You do it yourself? What kind of training are you putting out there, especially for new folks? Talk to me a little bit about your training.

[14:37] Inside the in-house training program

Brennan Neville: All right, so I’m going to give you the whole lowdown. So, when people get onboarded, they have an immediate learning path they’ll get. They’ll either have a new hire mechanic learning path, or they will have something more geared towards if they’re going to be more of a management or some of the admin roles. They have training in those categories as well. So, we have two separate pools where we’re pulling from, right?

And then when it comes to our actual techs, our mechanics, to get them seasoned up and get them ready, their training is very heavily focused on what I like to call our blanket training. Our bare minimum: you got to get the standard, you got to understand it before you get out in the shop, which is our PPE standard, right? Everything from our eyewear to wearing our protective ear plugs out in the shop, proper PPE as far as gloves, welding helmets, boots, you know, that’s a gimme as well. And then other items, which are like checking out your torch setup, how to set it up right. We have videos that cover all of this. So, really good, useful content.

Another one that I do not want to forget about, and I want to make sure we give these guys kudos. Mark, if I forget anybody, please call me out. But we have calls with our in-house experts. So, we got like Doug on there, we have Terry as well, and we have that maintenance call, I want to say bi-weekly, every 2 weeks. And it’s just a bunch of experts. I’m in there as well. I learn stuff in that call just about every time, and we’re in there getting down to the nitty-gritty. We’re talking about, “Hey, we’re seeing these trailers are going out this way. Hey, what’s up with this? You know, how do we fix it?”

And not only just having those discussions, we’re also creating training in-house. So, we’ll have our locations where they have seasoned techs. “Hey, Rosie in Phoenix and Jeff, do you guys mind shooting this video doing brakes?” And that’s just an example for you. And so, like, they did the brake video. Or I believe that was Jeffersonville, but vice versa. You get the understanding, and we’re having in-house guys do our training. And so, that’s really where all the authenticity comes from: we’re not outsourcing anything. It’s all in-house. The guys you see in the videos doing the repairs are team members.

[16:39] Standardizing safety across US, Canada & Mexico

Mark Mann: It’s fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. So, talk to me about, because you’re not only training in the US, you’re training across North America. So, you got training going down to Mexico, you got training going up to Canada. How do you standardize all that training? How many languages, first of all, are you doing training in?

Brennan Neville: Yeah, so Canada, we do have a location up in the Quebec, Laval territory. So, there our training will get pushed out in French. Let me backtrack, though. The power of AI, Mark, yellow of AI. So, with AI in place, we plug in our training and we, you know, we’ll tell it, “Hey, if it’s English, we need to get this translated over, etc., etc.” And so, that gives us the ability to pump out training in Vietnamese, Spanish, obviously English, excuse me, and then French as well, for our folks up in the Quebec territory.

And so, that applies to our weekly training. So, our weekly stuff is really training that just kind of keeps the light bulb on. And what I mean by that is just kind of keeping that safety mindset going. A lot of it will be very basic stuff, like staying hydrated, reinforcing proper PPE, what to do with a chemical spill. It’s still kind of small elements that we just don’t want to forget about, and we’re just slowly reiterating over the years. So, like in the hot summer months, we’re going to have a lot of heavy focus on heat illness and hydration coming up.

[17:57] How to build a culture where people speak up

Mark Mann: So, it sounds like you guys have a really, really strong safety culture. How do you get that? How do you build that culture where employees actually speak up? Like you said, you walk into the shop without safety glasses on, and they’re like, “Hey man, get your glasses on.” A lot of places won’t do that. How do you build that culture?

Brennan Neville: It really stimulates from the management team. And Chris Martin’s going to get a lot of references in this podcast, I’m sure. But it’s people like Chris Martin, your Brian Paines, your Bryces, John Berryhills, all these, you know, all these top-of-the-mountain individuals that work for our business that are coming to my head right now, because these are the folks that are out there day in, day out. You know, they may not be out there all day, which is understandable, and they’re definitely not micromanaging you by any means, but it’s making yourself, giving yourself a presence, to where your folks know, hey, if they need to, they can reach out.

Because what that does, that connects that bridge, that gap. And what that gap is, is trust. You have to build that trust. Once that trust is built, then you can get to where you have folks that are 30, 60, 90 days in, and still relatively new. They might see something they think is unsafe, or they’re not too sure on, and, you know, they’re going to feel comfortable enough to approach you or Chris: “I saw that going down over there. Is that how we do things here?” And that’s where that conversation starts to stimulate. And also, if there are folks that have been vets, you know, that have been here 5, 10, 15-plus years, those guys as well, they should be comfortable enough to where, with management involved, they’re going to let you know if there’s an issue.

[19:33] OSHA vs. Canada vs. Mexico: regulation differences

Mark Mann: Yeah, so let’s talk a little bit about regulation, because I know in the United States you have OSHA. You’re following, you know, OSHA standards, OSHA compliance. But I’m sure it’s different in Canada, right? They have completely different regulations. And then in Mexico, completely different. So you have probably had to kind of memorize, you know, this is what it is in the US, but in Canada it’s a little bit different. So when we think about, just think about OSHA, for example, what are those things that keep you up at night? What are you most vigilant about at Warehouse on Wheels in terms of OSHA standards?

Brennan Neville: Our top of the line, for sure, is 100% PPE, because that’s across all boards. All governing bodies, OSHA, or as Canada likes to call it with their letter spin, OHSA, are all very similar standards. As far as, you know, PPE, it’s the standardization across the board. So it’s making sure we’re up to par on that. And that’s also doing, you know, due diligence on my part, in the position I’m in, and making sure we’re not just providing proper PPE, but the best PPE that’s available. That’s like a high ANSI-rated glove. Are we using ANSI 3, ANSI 4? Are they fire retardant? You know, things of that nature.

And it goes much deeper than that. All regs, you know, also embody simple things like your pin guarding, having your guards, anything that you’re using that would be flammable. So, like our oxy-torch setup as well. That’s kind of an umbrella of all locations. Now, where it does get a little finicky is, like, Canada, when it comes to oil waste. So oil waste up there, as well as working from heights: two totally different ball games. So in Canada you get your own, it’s not an EIN number, but it’s just about it. It’s an identification number for you and your company to dispose of your oil, and it’s digitally tracked, and there’s a whole system to it. And also working from heights as well, up in Canada. There’s actually a two-part type of training, so they get working-from-heights training, and then if they were to use a lift, that’s an additional layer of training as well, versus in the States. Totally different ball game.

[21:42] Keeping every trailer safe, clean & dry

Mark Mann: Let’s talk about the quality product that you guys are putting out, because I’ve talked to almost all the GMs. I’ve had them on the podcast; they’re all friends of the show. And they talk about, you know, providing a clean, dark, dry and safe product, right, for storage, mobile storage. And that’s really not just a marketing promise. It has real safety implications, because safe is part of it. So what role does your team play, environmental health and safety? What role do you play in making sure that every trailer that rolls off the yards across North America actually meets that safe standard?

Brennan Neville: So our main purpose, I would say, is really the standardization of our maintenance procedures. So it’s, whether someone new is on board or somebody that we already do have on board, when any of those standards change, those get blasted out worldwide. So what I mean by that is there’ll be an email that gets sent out: “Hey, we are adjusting this. Here’s the new video. Please, you know, have your folks watch it and document,” etc., etc. So it’s just keeping our folks up to date on what our standardization is going to be. And the maintenance call is a big role in that as well, because if we see things that need to be changed, we will, you know, assess it and change it properly.

That’s also making sure we are in guidelines with the FMCSA and also DOT regs as well. That’s a big one as well. So, all of those kind of go hand-in-hand, and we have our counterpart, I don’t want to leave her out, but we got Don Cortessi. So, she helps big time as far as the DOT regulation aspect for our drivers.

But also, when I’m on site doing audits, one thing I do check out, I don’t focus too much time on, but I’ll go by and I’ll look at the quality of the repairs, you know. So, our guys are being safe, morale was good, but at the end of the day, let’s see how effective our work is. Let’s look at the trailers. Are they, obviously, you know, road dry? And let’s get down to it. I have not had any pickups yet or found anything, and I think it’s really due to the purpose of this maintenance call that we do. There’s been a lot of positive outcome from there. It’s almost as if the moment we catch something or we get wind of anything, it’s been late to call. And then from there, we’re already on a game plan: “Okay, let’s get this out. Let’s get this corrected. And let’s get the info to our folks.”

[24:03] A week in the life of an EHS manager

Mark Mann: Yeah, so Warehouse on Wheels is one of North America’s largest mobile storage networks. You guys have 40-plus locations across North America. You’ve got 40,000 trailers. What does a typical week look like for you, and how do you prioritize when everything feels urgent? I’m sure you get phone calls every hour. Everybody’s wanting to talk to environmental health and safety.

Brennan Neville: So, it’s hard to give a clean-cut, dry and standard week, honestly, because it varies so much. For example, as soon as I get off this call, I’m going to do an outreach call to one of our Canada reps, and we were coming up with a game plan for Canada as far as the safety, getting the ball rolling. We have a lot of new, different heads up there as well. So, it’s getting everybody on board. And the person I’ll be reaching out to is the general manager. And then Friday I’ll be prepping for training for next week, also seeing how we look on our monthly audits. So it’s an ever-evolving door.

And honestly, if there’s an injury that takes place, that kind of totally throws a wrench in the whole game plan, because obviously an incident trumps everything else. So if we do get an incident, there’s usually a lot of nail on the chalkboard, where I’m just completely focused on that for a good 24 to 48 hours, getting down to the facts, to the evidence, and covering that.

[25:32] The mentor who shaped his career

Mark Mann: All right, Brennan. So let’s get personal here. Talk a little bit about life outside of work. Well, kind of in work. Who has been one of the most influential mentors in your career when it comes to managing, you know, environmental health and safety and all aspects of compliance? What are some of the most important things that they have taught you?

Brennan Neville: Hands down, I would say, and I’m going to name-drop this individual because hopefully this podcast makes its way home, because he deserves it. But a gentleman named Curtis Evans, ex-military. And I’ll keep it honest with you. My first week when I worked under him, he came out to my area and made me cry a little bit. I was very young. I was 18, 19 years old, you know, fresh meat, fresh management. And he made me realize real quick that there’s no such thing as sugarcoating anything with him. But it also made me earn his respect, and I think it was kind of a yin and a yang, because to this day I could text and call him and reach out for anything I needed.

But the main principles he taught me were very simple and very basic, and it came down to this: you got to take care of your folks. Like, regardless of what’s going on, regardless of how much pressure you have on your back from, from his standpoint, he was saying from himself, you know, “If I’m on you about this or that, it does not matter. You do not bend the rule of anything. You take care of your folks.” And what he kind of had in, like, a cloud above that was the safety aspect. You don’t ever jeopardize, you know, risking or hurting your folks by any means. Because he said, in the long run, your people would get that energy from you. They’ll get that vibe. He was real big on vibes. He was real big on energy.

Also just kind of how you host your meetings. So, a lot of people thought I was crazy, because he was real big on high energy. So, when I held my meetings, I was like kind of shouting. I might have been dancing around. I was very animated. I talked a lot with my hands. But it let all of my folks know that when we started the day, it was game time. It was get it. And it gave me a lot of core things that I carried with me throughout my career. He was somebody that I worked for for roughly three or four years altogether. And again, to this day, I could count on him. I could call him up right now, and he’d answer the phone.

Mark Mann: Great mentors are, you know, they’re hard to come by, right? So, yeah, that’s a great story. As we wrap it up here, outside of Warehouse on Wheels, what do you do to recharge? What are some of your hobbies? What are you passionate about when you’re not thinking about, you know, safety data and compliance calendars?

[28:02] Life outside work (and the mini zoo)

Brennan Neville: So, obviously, it’s going to be a cliché answer, but I like to spend time with my family, you know, decompress, especially after a travel week where I’ve been out of state, on a flight, jet lag. Spend some time with them. I have a 5-year-old, so she definitely stays running me wild, and we’ll leave it at that. She’s always go, go, go. I’m a big gym guy, so I’m not pushing no iron. I’m also tuned through on my car, and both of those are kind of a mental escape for me, just kind of break away, and I decompress. So, that’s really it.

Mark Mann: So, I hear you got a couple of reptiles in your house.

Brennan Neville: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, let’s not leave that element out. So, I also kind of have a mini zoo. So, as soon as I come back from a trip, like, for example, I have a trip I’m planning to get up in a few weeks to go to Quebec and visit those guys, and I’m already thinking in the back of my head, all right, who’s going to take care of the bearded dragon? Who’s going to take care of the snake while I’m gone? And then we have three dogs as well. So, you walk in, you’ll see a bulldog, you’ll see we have a little Japanese Spitz, a Cane Corso as well, which is about the size of a horse. And then you walk into my office and there’s my little bearded dragon sitting there. And then upstairs, the snake, surprisingly, is actually my daughter’s. So, that’s in her room. It’s her snake. The snake’s name is Lucy. I don’t know why she picked Lucy, but it’s Lucy the ball python.

Mark Mann: Awesome. Well, Brennan Neville, environmental health and safety manager, thank you for showing us the Wow Factor in environmental health and safety.

Brennan Neville: Yes, sir. Thank you for having me on.

Mark Mann: All right, folks, that’s it for this week. I’m Dr. Mark Mann, and we’ll see you on the next episode of The Wow Factor.