Episode 254

12/11/25

Topic: Safety Training That Actually Works

Guest: Todd Burke, COO, & Linda Midyett, Director of Safety

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In this episode we discuss:

• Our sponsors Coalmarch by Workwave, PestSure & Voice for Pest

• PMP Industry Insiders Peer Groups 

• PestSure's background and expertise as a pest-specific captive insurer for 46 years

• Distracted driving and the proliferation of in-cab and outward facing cameras

• Why you don't want to wait for a crash to avoid unsafe behaviors like distracted driving

• How even using hands-free phone calls are considered distracted driving

• How to do training that results in behavioral change

• The most likely way a pest employee will get injured on the job and how to prevent it

• The importance of demonstrations, not just classroom or online training

• Ladder safety and the importance of fiberglass ladders over aluminum ladders

• The results of PestSure's novice driving and cell-free zone initiatives, which led to a 14% reduction in crashes since April 2024

• What a pest company's safety training must include: new hire training, distracted driving, standard regulatory topics and pest-specific topics

• The highest injury types in PestSure's program: 1). vehicle accidents, 2). slips, trips and falls, 3). dog bites 4). musculoskeletal

• Donnie's take on "you get what you tolerate" related to safety

• How your insurance rates are affected by your loss ratios, not necessarily by the investments you make in telematics, cameras, etc.

• How to have a useful post-incident conversation

  
  

Resources mentioned:

• PMP Industry Insiders Episode 86: How Captive Insurance Works

• PMP Industry Insiders Episode 138: How to Upgrade Your Safety Protocols

• PMP Industry Insiders Episode 158: Pest Insurance Market Update

• PMP Industry Insiders Episode 201: Avoiding a 'Nuclear Verdict'

• PMP Industry Insiders Episode 229: What's Trending in Commercial Insurance?

• Todd Burke's contact information: Todd.Burke@alliant.com

Notable: "More and more we're seeing the PMP equip their fleet with in-cab and outward facing cameras ... You get burned a few times from a claims perspective, and you want cameras in your vehicles." —Linda Midyett

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