Brett Burkard hasn’t forgotten what a mortar sounds like.
Before he was running Titan Environmental, he was out in the field—helping build water systems in places where safety wasn’t a meeting, it was a matter of survival.
“You can’t fake awareness,” he says. “You’ve either built it into the way you work, or you haven’t.”
Risk Doesn’t Always Come With a Siren
Sometimes it’s quiet. Subtle. Easy to overlook.
Like a 4,000-pound roll swinging lazily from a hook. A crew that’s tired, rushing, trying to beat the clock. A blade that slips—not because someone didn’t care, but because someone didn’t pause.
That’s why Brett made safety meetings a daily thing. No fanfare. No fluff. Just honest check-ins. At first, the crew rolled their eyes. Said it was a waste of time. But then… weeks passed. No injuries. No “that was close.” Just steady, solid work.
“One of them said, ‘We haven’t had an incident in weeks.’ That’s when I knew it had landed. It wasn’t a checklist anymore. It was part of them.”
The Quiet Danger? Getting Too Comfortable
Robin Postnikoff knows that comfort can be more dangerous than chaos. At MI Safety, he’s seen how fast “I get it” turns into “I wasn’t ready.”
That’s why he built training that goes beyond the classroom. Online courses for the theory. Practical, hands-on checks for the real world. Because in his words: “You can explain driving. But until you’re behind the wheel on ice with traffic flying past—you don’t really get it.”
He’s not just guessing. He’s backed by legislation, too. Alberta safety standards are clear: if your training doesn’t include a real-world test, it’s not complete.
People Deserve More Than Good Luck
Whether it’s an oilfield or a warehouse, a busy job site or a quiet roadside crew—the same truth holds: the teams that stay safe aren’t lucky. They’re prepared
They practice. They talk. They build habits that hold up under stress. They train for bad days, not just good ones.
So here’s the real question: would your crew spot the danger coming? Would they know what to do? If your answer is anything but a clear yes, it’s time to drill again.
Because real work isn’t a rehearsal. It’s the main event. And the people doing it deserve to be ready.
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