TECHNICAL STAFF
Larry D. Tinker CSP Technical Consultant
Mr. Tinker has been a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and a Professional Member - American Society of Safety Engineers since 1988. He has 33 years domestic and international safety, health and environmental experience. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from California Coast University and has completed over eight-hundred hours of continuous education training in Loss Control Techniques, Effective Auditing Skills, Computer Applications and Environmental, Health and Safety Regulations.
He is experienced in accident re-enactment and reconstruction, trial testimony in safety litigation cases, third party independent audits, fire prevention / protection, behavior based safety, personal protective equipment, confined space entry, lockout / tagout procedures, MSHA and OSHA injury / illness recording and reporting and job safety / hazard analysis.
Jack Novak P.E., CIH Environmental Health and Safety Consultant
Mr. Novak’s education was pursued with honors at Illinois Institute of Technology and De Paul University culminating in his receiving the titles Registered Professional Engineer (PE) and Certified Industrial Hygienist (ABIH CIH). His PE registration is all-encompassing, including environmental and metallurgical engineering with static and dynamic analysis. He is registered in Arizona, Michigan and California.
Mr. Novak’s professional experience includes the creation and supervision of the MI-OSHA program of comprehensive inspections in the petrochemical and chemical manufacturing industry. In the aftermath of the Bhopal, India incident, he was named to the national task force that developed the initial OSHA Special Emphasis Program that led to the 1992 Process Safety Management Standard. He enforced the occupational health standards of OSHA and MIOSHA, developed programs, was first line supervisor and personally conducted investigations of all occupational health related fatalities and catastrophes; reviewed site safety plans and inspections of hazardous waste sites; responded to hazardous chemical release incidents; audited process health and safety at facilities handling extremely hazardous chemicals; and coordinated all SARA Title III activity for MIOSHA. He conducted joint inspections with MIOSHA Safety Compliance Officers and with federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission personnel.
Mr. Novak is qualified as an expert witness and provides testimony and depositions in OSHA civil and criminal cases and third party liability lawsuits.
Ron Sciarro Environmental Health and Safety Consultant
Mr. Sciarro’s background includes Emergency Management training from the Phoenix Fire Department and First Responder certifications from the University of Phoenix and Phoenix College. He has developed state approved safety training and compliance programs for the workplace. He is an authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer for both general and construction industries. He was certified as an Emergency Medical Technician and provides hands-on training, including wilderness first aid, to certify first responders,. Among his specialties is teaching organizations effective procedures for handling hazardous materials response of chemical leaks, confined space entry and rescue applications and advanced first responder care.
Mr. Sciarro is the founder and vice president of Workplace Safety Specialists and is a principal in the development of Compliance Manager™, a Microsoft Windows based software system designed to integrate and consolidate an organization’s data to one source to meet numerous OSHA, DOT and EPA compliance requirements.
John W. Bannen Health and Safety Trainer
Mr. Bannen draws upon his education, military background and practical experience in the water and wastewater industry to give students a practical, thorough learning experience. Adult learning techniques are combined with extensive knowledge of environmental, safety and industry regulations to bring clarity to students.
Mr. Bannen’s extensive formal education includes an Associates Degree in Ecological Controls from Community College of the Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He has attended technical courses including OSHA 501, Civil Engineer Management, Backflow Prevention, Fire Suppression System Maintenance and Repair, Quality Assurance Evaluator, Natural Gas Distribution System Maintenance, Asbestos Supervisors Course, Quality Management Awareness Course and Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Systems Training. Current and past licenses include water treatment and water distribution for the States of Arizona and Illinois, Wastewater treatment and wastewater collection system operator and backflow tester from the State of Arizona. Professional affiliations include the American Water Works Association, Arizona Water Pollution Control Association and AZ American Society of Safety Engineers.
Mr. Bannen currently teaches all courses provided by WSS and oversees curriculum development.
Rick Prince Health and Safety Trainer
Rick Prince, a State-certified Firefighter I and II and Emergency Medical Technician, has retired from the City of Chandler Fire Department after over twenty years of service. Mr. Prince has in excess of thirteen years experience as a 240-hour State-certified Hazardous Materials Technician. For the past five years, he has worked as a Technical Rescue Technician, specializing in low and high angle rescue, helicopter operations, swift water rescue, trench rescue and confined space rescue. Mr. Prince has substantial work experience with Motorola, Inc., first acting as the Mesa facility's Emergency Response Team Coordinator and is currently working in that capacity at the Chandler location.
Mr. Prince teaches for Workplace Safety Specialists throughout the United States, including recent classes in Confined Space Rescue for the City of Escondido, CA and the City of Blythe, CA Fire Departments. Other classes he teaches include Asbestos – Concrete Piping, Chemical Hygiene for Laboratories, Chlorine Safety Awareness, Crane and Rigging Safety, all levels of HAZWOPER, Hearing Conservation and Respiratory Protection. For the last seven years, he has also participated in Industrial Fire Brigade training at the Arizona State Fire School.
Mr. Prince’s real-life rescue experience with the Chandler Fire Department complements the classes that he teaches for Workplace Safety Specialists.
Ted Ingalls Environmental Health and Safety Consultant
For the last eight years, Mr. Ingalls has worked as a safety professional and risk manager. He has assisted organizations in improving their EHS management systems and bottom-line performance. He has facilitated numerous safety training programs including excavation and trenching, forklift safety, lockout/tagout, hazard communication, and PPE. He has been a Professional Development Seminar educator for the National Safety Council at the National Safety Congress for the last 10 years.
Mr. Ingalls is the former Assistant Superintendent and Business Consulting Group Leader for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Division of Safety & Hygiene in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Ingalls developed the Division’s Business Consulting Process and authored the State of Ohio’s Ten-Step Business Plan for Safety Management in use throughout Ohio.
Mr. Ingalls currently teaches Accident Investigation and Prevention, Asbestos Concrete Piping, Back Safety Awareness and Lifting Techniques, Confined Space, Electrical Safety, Hazard Communication, Lockout/Tagout, PPE, PSM and RMP, Respiratory Protection, RCRA, Tool Safety Training, Trenching and Excavation and Workplace Violence Prevention.
Robert Burns Safety Trainer
Mr. Burns’ background includes U.S. Naval service as an Engineman and Diver from 1964 – 1968. His Teaching Certificate for Post Secondary Education was awarded from Northern Montana College. He also has an Associate Degree for Digital Electronic Control Systems and Computer Programming from the Montana Vocational Technical Institute. He was a Diesel and Heavy Equipment instructor at Montana Vocational Technical schools. Mr. Burns is a Certified Instructor for Caterpillar Hydrostatic Drive Loaders; Technical, Service and Operator Safety Trainer for Lift Trucks; and Diesel and Heavy Equipment Mechanic for Road Construction and Equipment Dealers. He is certified to teach Hydrostatic Drive Equipment and Train-the-Trainer Forklift Operator Safety. He created and implemented an “Open Entry – Open Exit” modular program for Diesel Truck and Equipment Mechanics.
Mr. Burns has been dedicated to instructing in Heavy Equipment and Operator Safety for Workplace Safety Specialists since 1998.
Paul Thompson Safety Trainer
Mr. Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Education with specialization in Criminal Justice from Wayland Baptist University. He holds a General Instructor certification from the Arizona Peace Officers Standards Board.
He served twenty years in the United States Air Force as a Law Enforcement Specialist and Criminal Investigator, fourteen months as a reserve officer with Youngtown, Arizona Police Department and in 1994 he became a police officer with Scottsdale, Arizona Police Department. He has investigated and reconstructed fatal and serious injury collisions, conducted Hit and Run Follow up investigations and inspected Commercial Motor Vehicles.
His years of experience bring valuable information to his students at Workplace Safety Specialists. He performs training in Commercial Drivers License and Temporary Traffic Control.
John Lerew Health and Safety Trainer
Mr. Lerew’s nineteen years of welding experience, wrought-iron apprenticeship, college-level welding courses and welding company owner/fabricator expertise have provided him the tools that have made him a valuable part of the Workplace Safety Specialists instructor team for over four years. He teaches three levels of welding that cover best practices as well as OSHA and CalOSHA safety requirements regarding arc welding, MIG welding, oxy/acetylene cutting and plasma cutting. He discusses handling, proper storage, shop surveys, hot work permits, PPE, hazardous gases and fumes, and electrocution. In advanced course levels, he includes four hours of hands-on training using site-specific equipment. He includes techniques used in set up of arc and MIG welders, cutting torches and plasma cutters.
He is also a Captain/Paramedic for the Chandler Fire Department with sixteen years in fire service. He is certified in CPR, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Pediatric Education for Pre-Hospital Professionals. He is a Hazardous Materials First Responder, a Certified Arizona Firefighter I,II and III, an Arizona State Fire I and II Instructor, an Accidental Water Immersion Instructor and is certified in Rope Rescue 1. He has been a Firefighter Instructor at Central Arizona College for three years. He is a Medal of Honor recipient for participation in the Rodeo-Chedeski Fire, a Member of the CFD Wildland Committee and an Arizona State certified Wildland Firefighter.
Joann Hitt Lead Basic Life Support Instructor
Ms. Hitt is a faculty member for the Arizona region of the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross. Ms. Hitt is the lead Automated External Defibrillator instructor for Scottsdale Healthcare Network. She is a corporate instructor for the Arizona chapter of the American Red Cross and a certified trainer for the Southwest Safety Training Alliance. She teaches CPR and Standard and Advanced First Aid.
Roger Cox Environmental Health and Safety Consultant
Mr. Cox has spent over 25 years in safety management and consulting. His experience includes training employees in various levels of OSHA, MSHA and HAZMAT. He has created safety policies and procedures and he performs safety audits of facilities and equipment.
Mr. Cox is certified as an OSHA Construction Outreach Trainer and an OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer. He was certified by the U.S. Department of Labor as a Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Instructor.
Carolyn Touchet Health and Safety Trainer
Ms. Touchet’s background includes hands-on experience in the medical, construction and hazardous materials handling fields. She is certified as an Emergency Medical Technician and SCUBA instructor. She studied at the College of Oceaneering where she received her Commercial Diving and Medical Technician Diver certifications. As a commercial diver, she constructed, repaired and inspected oil rigs. She often acted as the Dive Medic Technician overseeing the health and welfare of the entire crew as well as being a member of the HAZMAT spill response team.
She holds Basic Life Support Instructor certification and Healthcare Provider CPR certification.
Mark Dewey Environmental Health and Safety Trainer
Mr. Dewey retired from the State of California police force after 25 years serving in various capacities including Watch Commander. He testified in court proceedings and developed and conducted training, including CPR, first aid and temporary traffic control.
Anthony Morreale Environmental Health and Safety Trainer
Mr. Morreale’s career in safety began in the U.S. Air Force in 1988 at Luke and Nellis Air Force Bases. His safety certifications include instructor for 40-hour HAZWOPER Instructor Trainer, 24-hour Emergency Chemical Spill Response, Confined Space, Hazardous Materials, DOT training, Trench/Competent Person, Construction Outreach Program Trainer OSHA 500 and General Industry Outreach Program Trainer OSHA 501. He has completed his Associates Degree in Applied Science and is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, National Safety Council, American Heart Association. He currently teaches a wide variety of courses for Workplace Safety Specialists.
Jay Leonard Environmental Health and Safety Trainer
Mr. Leonard completed his B.S. and M.A. at the University of Phoenix.
He has over ten years of experience as a Hazardous Materials Certified First Responder and safety trainer in a wide variety of topics including accident prevention, aerial lift safety, back safety and lifting techniquest, CPR and first aid, CDL refresher, confined space, DOT hazmat, fall protection, forklift, hazwoper, heat stress prevention, hazardous energy control (LOTO), PPE, respiratory protection and fit-testing, trench and excavation and workplace violence prevention. He is a dynamic speaker able to reach multi-cultural audience of varying education levels.
His background as a risk manager provides him with the experience necessary to help clients evaluate and improve their safety culture. He has created on-the-job training programs to promote safety awareness and reduce workplace incidents.
Jose Valdez Environmental Health and Safety Trainer
Mr. Valdez has studied at Universal Technical Institue in Phoenix, Arizona and will receive his A.A.S. in Occupational Safety and Health Technology 2009. He holds certifications as an OSHA Authorized Construction Outreach Trainer (OSHA 500), OSHA 30HR General Industry, SSTA Authorized Safety Instructor, American Red Cross CPR and First Aid Certified Trainer and National Safety Council Defensive Driving Course Certified Trainer. He currently conducts training in English and Spanish.
Wayne Ziemann ASP Environmental Health and Safety Trainer
Mr. Ziemann is an Accredited Safety Professional (ASP) through the University of Wisconsin, a title he has held since 1971. His education includes the following degrees: ASEE, AA Business Law, BSEE and a BA in BA in Philosophy. He has over twenty years’ experience in the EHS field and is an OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer. Mr. Ziemann is well versed in State and Federal laws and regulations including OSHA, NFPA, ANSI, MSHA, DOT, JCAHO, EPA, as well as Workman’s Compensation and he has litigated these cases. He is trained in local and EPA wastewater laws and regulations including EPA-SW-846 guidelines. He has conducted numerous OSHA safety and risk management audits plus third party accident investigations. Mr. Ziemann is a member of the following organizations: Arizona Small Business Association safety committee, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), IEEE Automation Group, National Fire Protection Agency (currently on committee studying arc flash and its cause), American Society of Safety Engineers, Member Safety Professionals and the Latino Workforce Committee, Arizona Small Business Association and Safety Committee, International Facilities Managers Association and Human Resource Association.
