Good Safety Systems Don’t Ask People to Be Perfect

Safety doesn't become stronger simply because an organization adds more policies, procedures, or training modules. The real test is whether safety is built directly into the way people work every single day.

We sat down with John Kanyan, Director of EHS at PepsiCo, to discuss what it takes to make safety an operational reality rather than an administrative burden. Supporting 19 facilities, John shares how safety leaders can combine system design, technology, and real human judgment across a distributed enterprise.

Build Safety Into Systems, Not Onto Schedules

Too often, safety controls are treated as an afterthought, slapped onto an operational workflow after the process has already been built. A procedure gets written, and someone manually tacks on a PPE reminder or a separate lockout/tagout form.

John advocates for a fundamentally integrated approach. If a task requires lockout/tagout, the standard operating procedure itself should identify the exact lockout point and integrate the safeguard into the step-by-step workflow.

"Teaching safety as a reflex is part of what we do. It's the systems that should be built so that humans can interact with them effectively and understand them." - John Kanyan

When the safest way to perform a job is also the primary way the job is designed, workers don't have to rely entirely on memory or constant supervision. The system actively guides safe execution.

Combine System Safety With Behavioral Safety

A robust safety management system establishes standards and controls, but real people still have to interact with those systems. Daily habits, personal decisions, and risk perceptions dictate whether controls hold up under operational pressure.

Conversely, expecting employees to rely on sheer memory to compensate for poorly designed systems is a recipe for failure. True safety culture happens at the intersection of well-engineered processes and consistently reinforced habits.

"Always take a look at what we're doing because if we're doing it the same way every single time, that doesn't necessarily mean it's the right one." - John Kanyan

When safety systems and behavioral habits align, safe choices become automatic, much like buckling a seatbelt before driving. The goal isn't to force compliance with more rules; it's to make the safe choice the natural choice. 

Use AI Without Losing Human Judgment

Artificial intelligence is rapidly expanding across EHS management, offering fast answers for regulatory queries and documentation. However, relying blindly on automated tools introduces severe compliance risks.

OSHA regulations and letters of interpretation carry subtle nuances that AI models often miss, leading to inaccurate outputs or outright hallucinations.

"There's definitely a loss of nuance with the OSHA regulations and the letter of interpretations and the sometimes AI hallucinations that you can get where it may not be the best information coming out." - John Kanyan

Technology should make safety professionals more efficient, but it must never replace expert professional judgment. Every AI-generated recommendation or regulatory interpretation must be reviewed and validated by a qualified EHS leader before it enters your operational management system. 

What You Can Put to Work This Week

• Audit one core SOP: Review a high-frequency task and embed required safety controls directly into the step-by-step workflow. 

• Institute human validation for AI: Require qualified EHS professionals to verify any AI-generated regulatory guidance before implementation. 

• Eliminate memory-dependent safeguards: Identify where safety relies solely on employee memory and update the physical system or workflow to guide the behavior. 

• Normalize "I don't know": Encourage safety teams to question legacy processes and investigate uncertain regulatory requirements rather than assuming old habits are compliant.

Effective safety leadership isn't about creating more rules and hoping people follow them. It is about designing systems that help people work safely, utilizing technology to maintain accountability, and grounding every decision in professional human judgment. 

Listen to the full conversation with John Kanyan on The Canary Report.

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