At Nutrien, one safety shining star stands out - Ryan Holsopple
Published: Nov 14, 2023
As a Safety Specialist at our Aurora Phosphate facility, Ryan leads with passion and purpose. He is known for his exceptional commitment to our Culture of Care and strives each day to find new ways to strategically engage workers and leaders when it comes to safety. He is a true safety leader at heart.
“Ryan’s dedication to the continuous improvement of safety is evident in the way he conducts himself,” says nominator Jesse Rains, Safety Leadership Coach, Phosphate. “He leads and contributes to several engagement initiatives for Nutrien: Exposure Based Safety (EBS/BBS), Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) in the Routine Team, Safety Team Leaders Committee, and Emergency Response (ERT) and more.”
He has redefined safety training, increased participation, fostered team camaraderie and introduced incentives at Aurora that have increased exposure identifications by an impressive 50% and has been an even more impressive 70% rise in coaching support.
This dedication, leadership and continuous improvement mindset has led Ryan to be one of the recipients of the prestigious 2023 National Safety Council's (NSC) Rising Stars of Safety Award.
“Receiving this award is an extremely humbling honor considering the competition went far beyond our company to include a broad range of the safety industry. What I would consider as merely doing my job, this award has helped me understand that people value what I do,” says Ryan. “I have always got great satisfaction knowing that at the end of the day, I helped someone go home safe or just to do better for themselves. Although, I have never considered 'what's in it for me" I will say the recognition is a major confidence and morale boost. It gives me fuel to continue what I have done my whole life, help and look out for people.”
Ryan is not satisfied with the status quo. He believes that the only way to be successful in safety is through rock-solid safety leadership, coaching and mentoring. The workplace is dynamic, and to ensure safety in this ever-changing environment, individuals must actively spot and address risks. Those working daily are the most impacted by these risk identification opportunities. Without dedicated leaders maintaining a realistic and personalized approach to safety, complacency can set in.
“He is always identifying opportunities to continuously enhance and improve the safety systems,” says nominator Kelle Beatty, Safety and Health Manager, Aurora. “It’s with strong integrity, humility, and authenticity that Ryan leads both on and off the job and is why he exemplifies what this award signifies.”
Ryan's commitment to safety doesn't stop at the workplace. He's an active community volunteer firefighter, dedicating over 100 hours annually to continuous education and response training.
“Ryan is also called upon by the Emergency Response Team supervision to lead initial and monthly refresher training because of his abilities and experience managing emergency incidents prior to joining the Nutrien team,” says Kelle. “Ryan is gifted at developing other people to become safety leaders themselves. He is not static or complacent in his pursuits and his ability to think strategically enhances everything Nutrien puts forth to ensure employee engagement.”
Some last words of wisdom from our safety star.
“I live by the belief that hard work gets noticed (winning this award proves that), never settle for the status quo or don't wait for change: be the change,” says Ryan. “By doing my job well I help others go home to the loved ones they work so hard to support every day.”