Take the Blindfold Off Your Warehouse Operation
How to Build a Safety Culture That Actually Works With Antwan Davis
Let’s face it—most safety training is boring, reactive, and ineffective. But what if we flipped the script and made safety about people first, not policies?
In this powerful episode of Warehouse Visionaries, Evan sits down with Antwan Davis, founder of Davis Safety & Training Consultancy, military veteran, and passionate safety leader redefining how companies approach safety in warehousing and logistics.
Antwan brings hard-earned wisdom from his military background and hands-on warehouse experience to challenge the traditional “policy-first” mindset. Instead, he shares how building real relationships with workers, making safety training engaging and personal, and shifting company culture from reactive punishment to proactive care is the path to lasting change.
You’ll learn:
- Why safety should be seen as a productivity multiplier, not a barrier.
- How $185 million in citations in 2024 alone make a compelling case for investment in safety programs.
- Why people are more important than processes—and how to build a safety culture from the bottom up.
- Simple ways to make training stick: relatable stories, humor, sports analogies, and building trust on the floor.
- How to approach leadership and floor workers differently—while treating both with empathy and accountability.
“Most people just want to get home. If they feel safe and supported, productivity follows.” — Antwan Davis
If you're ready to ditch the OSHA-scripted lectures and build a real safety culture where people actually care and participate, then this episode is your blueprint.
Transcript
Antwan: If I come in and introduce myself and say, Hey, we're gonna talk about lockout tagout today, or fall protection, people are kind of like, huh, I've already lost a lot of my crowd. I didn't get them into it. You know, I've worked in facilities and been in facilities where a leader walks by, everybody goes the opposite direction. Exercise to avoid them.
Evan: Hey everyone. This is Evan from One Track and you’re listening to another episode of Warehouse Visionaries, where I sit down with leadership in the future of warehousing, talk about how they're doing it so the rest of us can too.
Today I’m talking to Antoine Davis. He’s the founder of Davis Safety and Training Consultancy, and we’re gonna dive deep into how to actually create a safety culture that starts with people, not policies.
Let’s dive in. Antoine, I appreciate you hopping on and joining me today.
Antwan: Thank you. Happy to be here.
Evan: Awesome. Well, do you mind giving yourself a little introduction? Tell everyone in the audience who you are, what you’ve been up to, and what you have cooking now with the new company.
Antwan: Okay. My name is Antoine Davis, born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. I moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2021, right after COVID, to explore some bigger opportunities in safety and to go back to school.
In that process, I got a human resource certificate in human resource management, and also a degree in sociology. I’m one semester away from a bachelor’s degree in human resource management as well.
At the same time, I learned quite a bit with safety that I couldn’t receive in a classroom since I’ve been in Columbus, and it led me to create my own safety and training consultation company — Davis Safety and Training Consultation.
Evan: Very cool. I think one thing that, and I was reading up on you — you sent your bio ahead of time — but one thing I think you left out there is you started in the military, which I think is obviously impressive and has a lot of translations to operations and leadership in general.
I’m curious: how do you think your military experience has shaped how you approach leadership, teamwork, and safety? Just in general, how you approach the workplace?
Antwan: In the military, fortunately, I had my older brother working with me. So many people when I tell them, they’re like, oh, that’s pretty cool. He was extremely hard on me, but he taught me a whole lot about leadership.
One of the biggest things was flexibility. In the military, you’re always flexible. You have to adapt to whatever situation comes to you. And the only thing you have a lot of times is the team that is there with you. The group of people that you have with you is oftentimes the best resource that you have. And if you can’t trust the resources that you have, you can’t be picked out.
Evan: How do you apply that? Because I think everyone always talks about the labor crisis and how it’s hard to find good people. I think there’s a big change in just culturally how new people are entering the workforce and how they respond to different styles.
So if you put yourself in the shoes of a supervisor, operations manager, or general manager in a warehouse, how would you approach this melting pot of different personalities and styles, and rally everyone around a safety culture in a building?
Antwan: The most important thing is actually lifting the people.
One of the things that I learned as a safety person is I can know a whole lot, but I don’t know everything. And there is something that every person can contribute. Learning to take other people’s ideas into account makes them feel extremely important, and helps them to buy in.
Even if it’s just asking people what they believe is important in safety, and then at least bringing it up. Even if you can’t apply everything, if you at least listen to people’s ideas and acknowledge them, it makes them feel important.
Evan: I think that helps create that sense of buy-in. To your point, you can’t do everything. There’s only so much budget and so much resource, and quite frankly, not every idea is a good idea.
But at least if people feel heard, they’re a little more apt to follow the processes because they feel like they had a hand in building it, as opposed to being dictated to.
I think a lot of times employees can feel that way when leadership comes down with a new policy, whereas if you create that two-way street, it’s a better environment for everyone — from the bottom up and top down.
Agreed. So I think that’s one challenge, but there are a lot of other challenges. What are some of the main challenges or barriers that you or your clients face when trying to create safety programs in a warehouse environment?
Antwan: A lot of times the hardest part is creating something that people have to adapt to. Change is often the hardest thing.
Usually the best way to ease change is communication. If I tell you, “Hey Evan, this is what we’re gonna do,” and it happens, you may resist naturally, but you’re more inclined to go through with it if I explain it to you and say, “Here’s what we have coming up.”
A lot of companies are reactive, and safety is often seen as a punishment. For example: “We implemented this new policy because Antoine got hurt last week. Now Antoine’s the reason we’re having this concern.”
Instead, you can word it differently: “We had an incident last week. Here’s how we can prevent this from happening to somebody else.”
COVID was a huge challenge that everybody had to deal with. Nobody was excited about that change. But as we learned more and got better communication — whether from the state or the company you worked for — things got a whole lot easier.
Evan: Why do you think that is the case? That whole reactive mindset around safety in particular?
Antwan: I think it’s a big shift in mindset. For a long time, people saw safety as a hindrance, as a barrier to productivity. I feel the opposite. If people feel safe, if they believe they’re safe, they become more productive.
And now companies are realizing that. Just in 2024, I looked at the OSHA website this morning — there were over 2,050 citations of at least $40,000. Those citations alone cost companies $185 million. That’s just this year.
When companies see that number, they start to view safety like insurance. That $40,000 investment in PPE doesn’t seem so bad compared to a six-figure fine.
Evan: I’ll tell you what, $185 million is a whole lot of zeros. I wouldn’t want to be getting the checkbook out and writing that one.
And that’s an interesting point, because in the logistics world everyone says, “Safety is our number one priority.” But in practice, you often see companies pay lip service to that. Some do it extremely well, but many don’t put their money, time, and resources behind it.
So how would you go about convincing senior leadership to actually prioritize and invest in safety as a core value?
Antwan: One of the things I like to do is get to know the people I’m working with. Everybody says safety is number one, but you have to ask — what does safety mean to them?
At the executive level, sometimes you have to present it as a dollar sign. Show them the ROI. Safety reduces payouts, workers’ comp claims, and costs.
At the management level, it gives them something tangible to work with — they see leadership buying into what matters.
And at the associate level, employees see that leadership cares about them. Most people just want to get home safely to their families. When executives understand that safety works at all levels — financial, managerial, and human — it changes the perspective.
Evan: Yeah, and I find — you brought this up earlier — safety has this domino effect. If people are safer, they’re typically happier at work. If they’re happier and feel secure, they’re more productive. They pay more attention to processes, and turnover is reduced.
It’s like a rising tide that lifts all ships.
But often safety is viewed as a roadblock to operations, when in reality it’s the driving factor of great operations.
Antwan: I agree. That’s why I think a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach is important.
If I talk to a CEO and they don’t support safety, everyone underneath them is going to feel the same way. But if I see the janitor or someone at the bottom really engaged in safety, that means the whole company is likely engaged.
From the outside, a company where even the lowest levels are committed to safety appears a thousand times more safe than one where it’s only talked about at the top.
Evan: And that’s what a real safety culture is. People throw that term around, but in practice, it’s about safety being the number one priority at every level — from top to bottom and bottom to top.
I think we were talking before the episode, and you mentioned that people should be the driving force of safety, not policy. Why do you take that approach?
Antwan: I used to think processes should come first, then people, then tools. But I learned that if you have the right people in place, you can succeed regardless of process or tools.
At one company I worked with, there were eight different primary languages. I couldn’t communicate with everyone traditionally, so I had to learn from the people themselves.
By walking around, listening to their concerns, and acknowledging them, I earned buy-in. For example, I’m six foot four — I could easily reach things, but most of the team was five foot four. What was easy for me wasn’t easy for them. Adjusting for their needs showed I valued their perspective.
Safety policies mean nothing without people to follow them. Culture comes from people, not just procedures.
Evan: As a Panthers fan, I have to say — Cowboys don’t have it the worst! But I get your point about using relatable stories like sports.
Training is tough, especially across multiple sites. What are your best practices for keeping people engaged in safety training when you’re speaking to 20, 50, or 500 people?
Antwan: The key is capturing attention at the very beginning. If I start with “Today we’re talking about fall protection,” I lose people immediately.
Instead, I start with an icebreaker — a question, something interactive. Then I blend in real-life relatable examples, like traffic. Everyone understands traffic. Fast drivers, slow drivers — it’s all safety-related.
That relatability makes safety more engaging than simply reciting policies.
Evan: That’s powerful. And I like that you humanize yourself too — sharing stories about your daughter, your injury, or being a parent. That makes it personal.
So let’s say you’re walking into a new client for the first time. How do you start building a safety program?
Antwan: First, I walk the facility and observe. I don’t point out mistakes. Instead, I note positives — teamwork, cleanliness, approachability of staff.
If I walk in pointing out everything wrong, I’m just another auditor. But if I highlight positives, people feel seen and appreciated. That builds trust.
Everybody likes to hear “thank you.” It doesn’t matter your age or position. Appreciation at work changes everything.
Evan: Yeah, and I think corrective action has its place, but it can’t be the only tool. If policies are decent, the missing link is usually people and buy-in.
Antwan: Exactly. And leaders need to understand accountability starts with them. If employees fail, it’s often because leaders didn’t teach, train, and ensure understanding before holding people accountable.
Shortcutting training to save money always costs more in the long run.
Evan: Right. That shortcut may boost productivity this week, but down the road you’re paying millions in workers’ comp claims.
Alright, last big question: what does safety look like in the warehouse of the future?
Antwan: In the warehouse of the future, safety is embedded in culture. Any person you ask should be able to tell you how safety works in their building.
When safety is part of the culture, it doesn’t reduce productivity or quality — it enhances both.
Evan: I love that. People-first, then processes, then technology. That’s the foundation of the warehouse of the future.
Alright, before we wrap up, what resources would you recommend to people wanting to learn more?
Antwan: LinkedIn Learning has been huge for me. Many libraries even provide free access.
I also encourage people to tailor learning to what they enjoy. Some of my clients love WWE — we talk about wrestling and relate it back to safety. Making it fun and relatable works much better than forcing everyone to read OSHA manuals.
Evan: I love it. Well, Antoine, I really appreciate you coming on. I’ve learned a ton, and I know our audience will too.
So — where can people find you?
Antwan: My website is davissafety.com. We list our services online, but those change based on what companies need — CPR, first aid, leadership training, safety programs, and more. My team is always excited to develop new solutions.
Evan: Perfect. Wishing you and your team all the best.
Here are my top three takeaways from today’s discussion:
- Create a positive safety culture. Safety should be proactive, not reactive. Frame policies as prevention, not punishment. Act like a coach, not an auditor, and celebrate what employees do right.
- Always put people first. Build strong relationships, focus on positives, and make safety relatable with real-life examples. When employees feel valued, they embrace a culture of safety.
- Get buy-in from leadership. Show leaders the ROI of safety — fewer injuries, lower costs, and better productivity. Make training engaging, explain the “why,” and ensure accountability.
Thanks for tuning into this episode of Warehouse Visionaries. I learned a lot from Antoine, and I know you will too.
Remember to check us out at OneTrack.ai/warehouse-visionaries, or follow us on YouTube at OneTrack AI to never miss an episode. And don’t forget to follow Antwan as well.
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