"You don't just train everybody one time and say, okay. Everybody's good. You don't need any more training. You have to constantly be reminding people." - Brian Biancavilla, Director of EHS at Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics
OK, everyone, this one cuts straight to the heart of what actually separates real safety leadership from safety theatre. In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Brian Biancavilla, EHS Director at Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics, and a 35-year veteran of emergency response, hazmat remediation, and EHS leadership at scale. Brian challenges the idea that safety is something you can manage from a spreadsheet or a policy binder, and shows why your frontline teams are your most powerful early warning system, if you’re willing to truly listen and follow through.
We get into building vendor partnerships that actually work, navigating corporate gatekeeping without stalling critical safety investments, and the thinking behind a $400K fire alarm system that became the most advanced in the county. This conversation is about paying attention to the subtleties, investing where it matters, and building people-driven safety cultures that hold up under real-world pressure.
"You don't just train everybody one time and say, okay. Everybody's good. You don't need any more training. You have to constantly be reminding people." - Brian Biancavilla, Director of EHS at Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics
OK, everyone, this one cuts straight to the heart of what actually separates real safety leadership from safety theatre. In this episode of
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Brian Biancavilla, EHS Director at Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics, and a 35-year veteran of emergency response, hazmat remediation, and EHS leadership at scale. Brian challenges the idea that safety is something you can manage from a spreadsheet or a policy binder, and shows why your frontline teams are your most powerful early warning system, if you’re willing to truly listen and follow through.
We get into building vendor partnerships that actually work, navigating corporate gatekeeping without stalling critical safety investments, and the thinking behind a $400K fire alarm system that became the most advanced in the county. This conversation is about paying attention to the subtleties, investing where it matters, and building people-driven safety cultures that hold up under real-world pressure.
Here are some of the topics that Brian and I explore:
- Why using third-party auditors for industrial hygiene surveys is a liability shield
- How to navigate the vendor onboarding gauntlet without losing your best safety talent
- The architecture behind a $400K fire alarm system
- Why your hourly floor workers are your best early warning system
- How to build compliance continuity across high-turnover operations
- The framework for risk-based investment decisions when resources are finite
Brian Biancavilla is the Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Director at Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics, bringing over 35 years of hands-on expertise in hazardous materials, emergency response, and complex EHS management. His career spans from industrial firefighting and clandestine drug lab closures to regulatory compliance across OSHA, EPA, and DOT frameworks, experience that shapes his pragmatic approach to safety culture and risk mitigation. At Trelleborg, Brian has spearheaded a $400,000 fire alarm and voice evacuation system overhaul and champions a philosophy centered on listening to frontline workers and following through on their concerns.
Episode Resources: