Morgan Alexander doesn’t believe in shying away from challenges. In fact, he embraces them and encourages other safety professionals to do the same.
Alexander is the health and safety manager at ViWinTech Windows & Doors, a Kentucky-based manufacturer with over 300 employees. He joined the company about two-and-a-half years ago, and his duties include overseeing ViWinTech’s health and safety programs and policies, ensuring compliance, conducting risk and hazard assessments, investigating incidents, processing workers’ compensation claims, managing PPE, and more.
Alexander has been in the EHS industry for about eight years with various safety roles in the manufacturing and construction sectors. He has earned a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety and health (OSH) from Murray State University, graduating with Rho Sigma Kappa honors; an Associate Safety and Health Manager (ASHM) certification from the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management; and a Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) designation from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. He has also completed a series of OSHA training and is a proud member of the American Society of Safety Professionals.
To learn more about Alexander and his take on industry issues, please read the Faces of EHS interview below:
Q: How did you get your start in the field?
In 2015, I accepted a football scholarship to play for the Racers at Murray State University. At the time, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life or what career path I wanted to pursue. I lived and breathed football, and my focus was on football, until I obtained a couple of severe concussions during my first season as a Racer.
With much consideration through my doctors and coaches, they decided it was medically unsafe for me to play football anymore, and it was at that point that I had to determine what I wanted to do with my life. At the time I was still unsure, but my sister Maegan—who had just applied to the OSH program at Murray—suggested that I try out the general safety class and see what I thought about OSH. So, that’s exactly what I did.
After taking the first class, I knew that OSH was the career path for me. The very following semester I declared my major and applied for the program! I have always had a heart for people, so ensuring the health and safety of workers is a career that I find great enjoyment in. Seeing the impact of a safe workplace is extremely rewarding to me! I am reminded that I have a calling to help people, and through my career, I am so blessed to have an opportunity to help people on a daily basis.
Q: Who has been your biggest influence in the EHS industry, and why?
Absolutely my older sister, Maegan (Alexander) Procasky was and is my biggest influence in the EHS industry. She is the reason why I initially chose the career path, and she was one of my biggest encouragements throughout school. Her support has played a vital role in my success. I still will sometimes call her and ask her questions regarding health and safety, and it is so cool to share the same profession as her! She has always excelled, and I am thankful to have my biggest influence and role model as my own sister.
Q: What’s your best mistake, and what did you learn from it?
One of my “best mistakes” was taking on a project that was significantly outside my comfort zone. While the initial results weren’t perfect, the experience forced me to rely on my faith heavily, required me to develop new skills quickly, taught me the importance of asking for help when needed, and ultimately expanded my capabilities beyond what I thought was possible. It showed me the value of embracing challenges and learning from potential setbacks to grow professionally.
Q: What are some of the biggest EHS issues at your organization?
When I began as the health and safety manager here at ViWinTech, the biggest EHS issues initially were program organization and structure, high OSHA recordable injury rates, and an overall poor employee morale towards safety.
In the past two-and-a-half years, ViWinTech has improved significantly in the field of safety. Upon joining the company in mid-2022, I immediately realized that in order for major change to occur, hundreds of small changes had to take place. Baby steps were the key to the success, as trying to do too much all at once only led to overwhelming frustration.
The program was restructured, new forms and policies were made, PPE became a priority, and relationships were built. In 2022, our company had an OSHA incident rate of 4.7 and a DART rate of 2.8, totaling 15 recordable injuries for the year. In 2023, we improved, with an OSHA incident rate of 1.7 and a DART rate of 1.3, totaling five recordable injuries (one-third of the previous year). And last year, in 2024, we had an astounding OSHA incident rate of 0.35 and a DART rate also of 0.35, totaling only one recordable injury for the entire year!
These numbers speak for themselves. I am so thrilled with these improvements, and I hope to continue to build upon them with future growth! Coming into a company that needed major improvements was highly rewarding, and I would like to encourage other safety professionals not to shy away from jobs that may seem daunting at first.
Working through the obstacles was extremely challenging, but these challenges have grown me not only as a person, but also as a health and safety manager. I could not have accomplished any of this without the help of Jesus Christ and my team here at ViWinTech. The company gave me the support I needed to lead the safety program to a better place, and we are continuing to improve each and every day.
Q: What’s your favorite and least favorite part about working in the industry? Would you change anything?
My favorite part about working in the industry is the ability to help others. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always felt that my purpose on Earth was to help others, so to have a career that positions me to help promote the well-being of others is amazing.
My least favorite part of the industry is seeing people get hurt. No matter how close to perfect any safety program is, accidents will happen and injury is inevitable. My goal as a safety professional is to close that margin of error to be as small as possible and to reduce the risks and severity of the injuries that do happen!
Q: What are your thoughts on safety culture? How can company leaders make safety a value within their organization?
A strong safety culture is the basis to a strong safety program. Improve the culture, and you will automatically improve the program. A couple of ways I have helped make safety a value within our organization is revamping our safety awards program (rewarding two employees monthly for excellence in the field of safety) and also arranging safety parties with company-provided lunch and raffle drawings for the entire plant every 120 days without an OSHA recordable injury. Employee appreciation is huge and should be valued by company leaders. Rewarding employees for their safe work speaks volume, and it allows for an opportunity for me to personally say “thank you.”
Both of these things have helped tremendously; however, the No. 1 way to improve the safety culture is walking around, talking to the employees, checking on them, and building real relationships with them on a day-to-day basis. Letting employees know that you care makes a difference that cannot be supplemented by anything else.
Q: What safety concerns or issues do you think need more prioritization in EHS programs?
Not really a concern or issue, but I think that more EHS programs should prioritize their employees. One way to do this is by listening to them. Many times the employees have great feedback on workplace situations, accident investigations, or near misses that is very beneficial. Over the past couple of years, I have encouraged feedback from my employees, as it has helped me to learn and given me insight that I might not have received on my own.
Q: How will new safety technologies influence the work being done by EHS professionals?
New safety technologies are likely to significantly shift the role of EHS professionals from primarily spontaneous incident response to a more proactive and data-driven approach, allowing them to identify potential hazards, predict risks, and implement preventive measures through advanced analytics, real-time monitoring, and automated safety systems, enabling a greater focus on safety culture development and employee engagement.
However, with that being said, I am a big believer that if it’s not broken, then don’t try to fix it. In other words, if the structure that you are using is successful for you and your company, it is often best to leave it as is. I have sampled many Safety and Learning Management Systems with very promising new technologies over the past couple of years only to find that my current ways of doing things now is the best for us at the moment. I am always looking for ways to improve, but new doesn’t necessarily always mean better.
Q: What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the reduction of workplace injuries over the past two years at ViWinTech.
Q: Do you have any advice for people entering the EHS profession?
If you think it’s difficult, good! Because nothing worth any value comes easy. Starting off is often the most challenging but remember that you don’t have to learn everything all at once. Growth takes time, and the developmental stages of your career are the most important. Find a mentor that you can talk to outside of your company but also find support from a higher-up within your company. Go to your mentor if you are ever in need of wisdom or advice and go to your in-company support for help. Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help.
Are you or a colleague an EHS professional interested in being profiled for the Faces of EHS series? Please contact Joe Bebon at JBebon@BLR.com.
The post Faces of EHS: Morgan Alexander on Challenging Oneself appeared first on EHS Daily Advisor.