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Chad Rosin: building a strong onsite safety culture

Building a strong safety culture in the manufacturing industry is key to ensuring every team member can work in a safe environment, free of incidents and injuries. Clean, organized spaces with safeguards in place can promote concentration, reduce safety hazards and absenteeism, while improving efficiency. Additionally, several studies have shown a link between health and safety, employee productivity and happiness at work.

With 25+ years of experience in manufacturing and operations, leading several different teams across different businesses, chemical engineer Chad Rosin assumed the role of Site Director at BASF’s facility in Elyria, Ohio. In this position, he is deeply aware of the importance of fostering a safety culture across the location and make sure each and every one of the employees makes it home safely at the end of the day.

A safety-first state of mind

Responsible for over 150 workers at the site, Chad’s main focus is “driving environmental, health, and safety (EHS) and quality excellence in the production of chemical catalysts,” leading the team to ensure operations meet “the highest standards of safety and quality.” Building an EHS culture of excellence involves every person in a site, and it not only means adopting specific behaviors, but it requires a change in mindset.

Leadership is a key aspect to building the culture, as leaders are the ones in charge of conveying the importance of following safety standards. Leaders at the site both set the expectations, and also lead by example. In Chad’s words, “identifying what that safety culture looks like is key and measuring the success is essential to gain trust and ownership. Credibility through demonstrated support for resolving and following up on the safety concerns employees have has encouraged safe behavior based on the overall leadership commitment. Practice what you preach.”

For a leader the best way to ensure safety standards are met is being present, visible, approachable, and accountable. Engage with everyone and be in the field, understanding the processes, and get feedback and recommendations for improvement.

To maintain and expand a safety culture and aspire for excellence we need continuous improvement. The manufacturing industry is constantly changing and at BASF this is no exception. We are changing our processes, the raw materials we use and adopting artificial intelligence (AI), all of which affects not only the way we work but the way we stay safe at work.

To ensure continuous improvement at Elyria, the site destines close to 80% of its yearly capital to safety improvement. Additionally, according to Chad, “we have open lines of communication, barrier removal team (BRT) flags for work notifications, and we utilize our management of change process coupled with collaborative capital planning to continuously drive safety improvement,” as well as a key performance indicator (KPI) framework to track EHS metrics and set targets.

_{The site constructed a model scale of a calciner system for employees to make sure the system is aligned. From left to right: Muhammad Hague, Joe Barnett and Rob Scoggins.}

The challenges and opportunities in safety at a chemical site

When it comes to upholding safety standards and promoting a safety culture at a production site, there can be several challenges.

For Elyria in particular, “the biggest challenge we had at the site was housekeeping and site conditions. The expectations needed to change, and we needed to communicate them across all levels at the site. As a result, leadership presence in the field increased, and safety contacts brought a higher presence in the plant. We restarted our 5S program* throughout operations. We proactively followed up on employee’s safety concerns effectively closing the feedback loop. We said what we were going to do, and we did it."

Chad has demonstrated exceptional leadership at the Elyria site, characterized by his commitment to health and safety, accountability, and inclusivity. He has fostered a positive culture where employees feel empowered to voice their concerns and take proactive measures to ensure a safe working environment.

Michele Barney

Site Director at BASF's Wyandotte site in Michigan

^{Scott Sittinger demonstrates his fire extinguishing skills with incipient fires in a simulator.}

To ensure the Elyria site remains a safe place to work and continues to improve every day, under Chad’s tenure, the team has implemented specific actions, including “Safety Days”, where employees dedicate an entire day to engaging in safety and team building activities, and a culture of excellence workshop with leaders and the EHS team to identify what excellence would look like for the site.

The site has embraced BASF’s Exposure Reduction Process (ERP) program, where the team set records for barrier removal, everyone is accountable for safety contacts and observations, and there is a strong emphasis on stop work authority, where everyone is empowered to stop work if they perceive an at-risk condition, behavior or hazard arising. All of these safety improvements implemented have led to significant positive results for all key performance indicators related to safety while improving employee engagement.

Every site is different and comes with its own set of challenges, but in terms of safety, Chad recommends: “Establish a safety identity: what does a safety culture of excellence look like for your site? Listen to the team, communicate and close the feedback loop, that inherently helps you gain trust. Challenge them and provide consistent accountability. Ultimately be present and visible for the team.”

As leader for BASF, Chad’s main motivation is people. “I value every individual employee at the site and the Elyria community. Ensuring their occupational and environmental safety is a top priority for me, and it is a crucial aspect of the leadership I need to provide. The safety culture at BASF is so strong compared to the other industries I’ve worked in, it’s more inclusive and everyone has a voice.”

^{* The 5S program is a methodology to improve safety, efficiency and productivity, and the 5S stand for Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain.}

Published on May 12, 2025, by Mariana Licio.

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