EH&S can easily become a never-ending cycle of corrective actions, paperwork, and procedures, all without any meaningful change to how work is actually done. This isn’t theory; it’s drawn from lived, anecdotal experience that is valid. In the years I’ve spent practicing EH&S (and I say practicing deliberately; “professional” should be reserved for those who’ve earned designations like CSP or CRSP), I’ve had the opportunity to sit through countless incident reviews, audits, and so-called “lessons learned” meetings. A clear pattern emerges every time: 

We are very good at doing "things" in EHS. 

We generate action items. We update procedures. We retrain people. We close the findings. The system stays busy, and on paper, progress is being made. 

So I want to step back and ask a simpler question: What are we actually solving for? 

It’s a straightforward question, yet it’s the one most often lost in the noise. Somewhere between corrective action trackers and revised procedures, effort becomes confused with effectiveness. Activity starts to masquerade as impact. And that’s where EH&S risks losing the plot.

So this blog isn’t about doing more EH&S. 

It’s about solving. 

Solving the right problems, in the right order, for the right reasons. 

Every topic touched here, such as environmental compliance, sustainability initiatives, health and safety programs, and management systems like incident investigations, MOCs, audits, and internal communication, will be viewed through that same lens: not what was done, but what was actually changed. 

A completed investigation doesn’t automatically reduce risk.  A closed MOC doesn’t guarantee that unintended consequences were addressed. A passed audit doesn’t mean the system works under pressure.  A communicated message doesn’t mean it was understood, absorbed, or applied. 

This blog will challenge the habit of equating activity with effectiveness. It will focus on whether our systems make work safer, cleaner, and more resilient, and not just better documented. 

If we’re not meaningfully changing exposure, decision-making, or outcomes at the point of work, then we’re not solving; we’re just staying busy. 

That distinction matters.