Julia breaks down the difference between AI, machine learning, neural networks, LLMs, and agents in plain English, then turns to the data: the rate of workplace fatalities in the US has stayed flat for over 20 years, and a worker dies from unsafe conditions every two hours. She explains why she believes it's “amoral not to use AI for worker safety,” and walks through where AI is already making a measurable difference, from job safety assessments to industrial ergonomics to post-incident root cause analysis. Julia also makes the case for why safety AI can't be built the same way as ChatGPT or Gemini, why VelocityEHS has spent 10 years building its own proprietary models, and why humans stay firmly in the loop no matter how capable the technology gets. They close with a rapid-fire round on AI myths, what AI will never replace, and Julia's own path from a hydroelectric powerhouse in northern British Columbia to leading AI strategy in EHS.

Quotes

“Every two hours, a worker is dying from worker safety conditions in the US. It hasn't been going down. We haven't been making progress... I believe it's amoral to not use AI for worker safety.”

“Safety is, ‘Hey, I have this person that I love. Can you help them be safe when they're going to do this job?’ ...in safety, we can't tolerate bad advice.”

“I don't think AI is going to, at any point, impact the necessity to have EHS professionals and safety managers... We're gonna need EHS professionals one way or the other forever.”

Time Stamps

• [00:43] Welcome to Rewiring Risk & Introducing Dr. Julia Penfield
• [02:03] Demystifying AI: LLMs, Neural Networks, and Agents Explained
• [07:25] Does AI Have a Specific Place in EHS?
• [08:09] The Data Behind the Crisis: 20 Years of Flat Fatality Rates
• [10:43] Root Causes of Persistent Injuries and Why AI Is a Moral Imperative
• [15:09] Where AI Moves the Needle: Job Safety Assessments, Ergonomics, and Root Cause Analysis
• [22:22] From Hype to Reality: 10 Years of AI at VelocityEHS
• [25:05] Why Safety AI Can't Be Built Like ChatGPT or Gemini
• [32:14] Where AI Ends and the EHS Professional Begins
• [34:30] Breaking the Quality-vs-Efficiency Trade-Off
• [36:20] Debunking the Sustainability Myth: Not All AI Is Resource-Hungry
• [42:01] Worker Safety vs. Sustainability: Which Wins?
• [43:22] AI Readiness: The Questions Executives Should Ask Vendors
• [47:04] Dr. Julia's Origin Story: From a Hydro Dam Powerhouse to AI in EHS
• [53:03] Rapid Fire: AI Myths, What It Won't Replace, and the Road to 2030
• [55:46] Closing Thoughts and Outro

Links

Connect with the guest and host on LinkedIn!

• Dr. Julia Penfield, Chief AI Officer at VelocityEHS
• Ashley Emery, CMO at VelocityEHS

Learn more about:

• VelocityEHS

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Matt traces his path into EHS back to his early years in unautomated chemical and steel manufacturing, and explains why VelocityEHS's mission to make workplaces safer and more sustainable resonates so deeply across the company. Ken and Matt dig into the hidden costs of disconnected systems, why change management (not technology) is usually the hardest part of modernization, and how AI - when built responsibly, kept private, and never allowed to make decisions on its own - is starting to transform everything from injury prevention to ergonomics to reporting. They close with a rapid-fire round covering the biggest myths in EHS modernization and where the industry is headed next.

Quotes

"It's not just the software, it's how we implement it, how we service them afterward, how we help them discover what they can do next within the platform. We're a results company. We're not a software company.”

"I spent the first six or seven years of my career in some pretty dirty, unautomated, high-risk industries... our mission is to make workplaces safer and more sustainable, and it has a massive, measurable impact on injuries around the world."

“Everything we do is designed to put what AI sees in front of a person, and that person can either agree with it, modify it, or disagree with it. We never have any decisions happening in a black box."

Time Stamps

• [00:00] Welcome to Rewiring Risk with Ken Lupo
• [01:16] Matt's Path Into EHS: From Steel Plants to CEO
• [02:41] The Mission Behind Velocity: Making Workplaces Safer and More Sustainable
• [03:25] What Legacy EHS Tech Actually Looks Like Today
• [04:26] The Hidden Costs of Disconnected Systems
• [06:33] Why Change Management Is Harder Than the Technology
• [10:37] What "Modern" EHS Looks Like: Integration, Security, and Performance
• [15:20] AI-Enabled Reporting and Natural Language Dashboards
• [15:55] Velocity's 8+ Years Building Proprietary AI Models
• [17:42] Leadership View: What Boards Want to See From EHS Data
• [19:42] Building the ROI Case for Modernization
• [25:02] Responsible AI: Why Velocity Keeps Humans in the Loop
• [28:14] Dr. Julia Penfield and the 499-out-of-500 Validation Story
• [29:57] What Good Change Management Looks Like in Practice
• [33:13] Rapid Fire: Myths, Advice, and What's Next for EHS

Links

Connect with the guests and host on LinkedIn!

• Matt Airhart, CEO at VelocityEHS
• Ken Lupo, CTO at VelocityEHS

Learn more about:

• VelocityEHS

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Rewiring Risk is brought to you by VelocityEHS, the global leader in EHS and Sustainability software.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.