Beyond Compliance: Building a Strong Safety Culture
Hosted by: Keith Knoke
In this bonus episode, host Keith Knoke from Antea Group USA is joined by Alizabeth Smith to explore one of the most overlooked aspects of risk management: organisational culture. Together they discuss practical examples of how organisations can strengthen safety culture, improve employee engagement, and create systems that reinforce risk awareness across global operations.
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Keith Knoke
Antea Group US
Keith Knoke is an Executive Vice President at Antea Group USA and a Director of Antea Group UK, with more than two decades of experience in environmental, health, safety, and sustainability (EHS&S) consulting. He has led global client programs and advised multinational organizations on enterprise‑wide EHS risk management, due diligence, remediation, and the design and implementation of complex EHS&S programs in regulated environments.
Keith also serves as Chair of the Board for Inogen Alliance, a global network of EHS&S consultancies, where he works closely with international leaders to help organizations manage risk and deliver consistent outcomes across regions. A geochemist by training, Keith is recognized for his ability to bridge technical rigor with practical business strategy—helping organizations strengthen performance, manage risk, and scale responsibly across geographies.
Alizabeth Aramowicz Smith
Antea Group US
Alizabeth Aramowicz Smith, VP Antea Group USA, has more than 25+ years of consulting experience with global technology companies, warehouse/distribution centers, retail, research and development laboratories, chemical manufacturers, transportation parts suppliers, life science corporations, garment manufacturers, the paper industry, and colleges and universities. Alizabeth is an active leader within Antea Group, leading the EHS Auditing and Consulting and Health and Safety Practices, serves on the company’s Technology and Consumer and Industrial Goods Segments, and is a member of the Leadership Team supporting the CEO/President of Inogen Alliance.
She specializes in global environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance management systems development; EHS policy analysis; audits/inspections and results trend analysis; EHS training development and presentation; and management and coordination of all aspects of EHS compliance projects. She is known for innovative thinking on how clients can successfully achieve their EHS goals. In 2023, she was selected for the National Association for EHS and Sustainability Management’s (NAEM’s) Excellence Award to recognize corporate and consulting professionals making positive impacts in various ways — from technical expertise and innovation to leadership effectiveness and program management.
Time Stamps
- 00:00:00 – Introduction to cultural risk management
- 00:00:33 – Case study: when strong systems still failed
- 00:01:25 – Identifying cultural breakdowns and lack of trust
- 00:02:46 – Communication silos in large organisations
- 00:03:55 – Building a global risk register and consistent controls
- 00:05:00 – Why onboarding and training often fall short
- 00:06:09 – Wearables, micro-training, and new approaches to engagement
- 00:07:27 – Executive incentives and unintended reporting behaviours
- 00:09:39 – Leading indicators versus lagging indicators
- 00:11:44 – Case study: transforming culture in a global manufacturing company
- 00:15:04 – Developing future EHS leadership internally
- 00:15:51 – Closing reflections
Guest Quotes
Alizabeth Smith:
“The risk they hadn’t controlled, the risk they hadn’t looked at, was cultural.”
Alizabeth Smith:
“If you don’t deal with communication and consistency, people start believing the program will change in six months anyway.”
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