Warning Signs Don’t Shout — Until It’s Too Late
Brett Burkard still hears the blasts.
Before he built Titan Environmental, he was building infrastructure on military bases. Not in office parks — in combat zones. Where PPE came with plates and helmets, and one slip-up didn’t mean paperwork — it meant body bags.
And the lesson he brought back?
“You don’t improvise awareness. It’s either in your head already, or it’s too late.”
Danger Doesn’t Always Announce Itself
Sometimes it wears hi-vis and hardhats.
Sometimes it’s:
- A giant plastic roll swinging from a chain
- A cheap blade slicing just a little too close
- A tired crew making just one shortcut too many
That’s the daily frontline. The real risk isn’t some dramatic accident — it’s the normal stuff getting just a little too sloppy.
That’s why Brett drilled safety into the daily routine. Every day. No exceptions. Even when the crew groaned about “wasting time.”
Until the silence meant something.
“They rolled their eyes,” Brett said. “Then one day, they realized no one had been hurt in months. It wasn’t luck. It was awareness.”
The Real Killer? Getting Comfortable
Robin Postnikoff has seen it too. As head of MI Safety, he knows what happens when people think “it won’t happen here.”
Too many safety courses stop at theory. Robin doesn’t.
“You don’t learn to drive by watching a PowerPoint. You learn by hitting the brakes on a sheet of ice.”
That’s why his system blends online training with real-world validation. Hands-on tests. Field checks. Not just a certificate — proof you can handle it under pressure.
Because if you’ve never had to react under stress, you won’t when it matters.
The Real Killer? Getting Comfortable
Here’s the thing: readiness isn’t built on policy. It’s built on practice.
Whether it’s a battlefield or a back alley job site — the people who make it out saw it coming. Not because they were lucky. Because they were trained to see it.
So ask yourself:
- When was the last time your crew drilled for a worst-case?
- Do they react from instinct — or freeze and guess?
- Are they alert — or on autopilot?
If your answer is “kinda” or “maybe,” you’ve got work to do. Because when the real thing hits, there’s no time to read the manual.
