Safety With Purpose: Improving Equipment Guarding to Prevent Serious Harm

Crystal has earned a reputation as a thought leader in applying TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis to continuous improvement. Her work reflects a clear commitment to safety with purpose. Her approach to TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis is grounded in personal conviction and executed through disciplined, data-driven improvement that reshaped how her organization prevents serious harm. What stands out immediately is how deeply personal her commitment to safety truly is.

A Personal Mission Rooted in Family Experience

Crystal grew up hearing difficult stories about serious accidents in the plywood mill where both of her parents worked. Her parents were strong advocates for safety, and those conversations at home shaped her values early on. Their influence ultimately inspired Crystal to earn her master’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety, a decision that would guide the rest of her career.

Discovering TapRooT® RCA as a Diagnostic Powerhouse

Crystal was first introduced to TapRooT® RCA by her boss, and from the start, she saw it as much more than an investigation tool. To her, TapRooT® RCA could serve as a comprehensive management system diagnostic. She saw TapRooT® RCA as something structured, teachable, and powerful enough to support objective conversations about system weaknesses.

She loved that the process encouraged people to ask tough questions, challenge assumptions, and focus on building corrective actions that increase the capacity for workers to “fail safely” in hazardous environments.

Crystal eventually became a certified TapRooT® RCA Instructor, training teams within her organization. She’s watched those teams transform how they approach Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs) and potential SIFs. And the results have been extraordinary.

A Dramatic Drop in Serious Injuries

Before the organization gained momentum with its improvement efforts, they experienced nine SIFs in 2024, seven of them amputations. In 2025, that number dropped to one.

One major reason for this dramatic improvement was Crystal’s ability to integrate TapRooT® RCA into a broader machine learning project. By trending investigation data, her team discovered widespread issues with equipment guarding. That insight sparked a proactive project focused on improving machine guarding across the operation.

The impact was immediate and measurable:

• 33% reduction in Total Reportable Incidents
• 16% reduction in Lost Time Incident Rate
• A cultural shift toward proactive collaboration

Workers began involving the Health and Safety team much earlier in the process. They were no longer seen as a background resource, but as an essential partner in risk assessment and problem-solving. The organization’s frontline employees could clearly see that leadership cared enough to invest in meaningful change.

Pre-Startup Reviews: Building Trust and Safety Into Every Project

Building on this success, the organization launched a new Pre-Startup Review process. No equipment could enter full production without sign-off from both the Health and Safety team and Engineering.

At first, operations panicked. They believed this would severely impact production. Management set a two-week turnaround expectation for the checklist reviews. But Crystal’s team not only met that challenge, but they also soared past it.

Average turnaround time: three days.

There were late nights, tight deadlines, and plenty of growing pains, but the effort paid off. The rapid response times and consistent quality of the reviews earned the trust of Operations, helping the process gain quick momentum and full organizational support.

One result speaks volumes:
Before implementing Pre-Startup Reviews, the company averaged eight trim saw injuries per year, including two amputation-level events.
This year, they’ve had zero.

A Team That Changed Lives

Crystal is incredibly proud of her team, and rightfully so. They’ve seen firsthand how devastating serious injuries can be for workers and their families. The commitment, collaboration, and expertise they brought to applying TapRooT® RCA didn’t just solve problems; it prevented life-altering injuries and created a safer, stronger workplace culture.

Their work is a shining example of what happens when passion, data-driven tools, and continuous improvement come together with purpose.

If you would like to learn more about TapRooT® RCA, and what is covered in our training, you can reach out to me at marcus@taproot.com or visit our website TapRooT.com. You will find our course descriptions and a schedule of our public courses around the world.