Juan Gramajo is a safety professional who believes in prioritizing people above all else. He serves as a senior EH&S specialist focused on management systems and industrial hygiene at the Los Angeles site of Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.
Gramajo started his safety career at the company in 2018, working his way up to his current role. He now manages the employee exposure programs related to hearing conservation, bloodborne pathogens, chemical exposure, thermal exposure, ergonomics, audit preparedness, and ISO compliance. He’s part of a team of seven EHS professionals divided into disciplines and programs, but they work together as generalists on the day-to-day operations of the manufacturing site. Gramajo has also earned his Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist (COHC) credential.
To learn more about Gramajo and his take on industry issues, please read the Faces of EHS interview below:
Q: How did you get your start in the field?
I got my start in the field by asking a simple question: “Who makes sure I’m safe at work?” When I started at my company, I was on the night shift cleaning crew. I noticed some practices that seemed unsafe, but I couldn’t speak to why (regulation, company requirements, etc.). I was informed that the “safety police” are responsible, and to avoid them. They are bad news. Well, eventually I got to know a couple of them, and I learned they are meant to help me stay safe and go home at the end of my shift.
Fast-forward to me jumping between roles as a technician and lead and realizing they should be an ally, not a roadblock. I got involved with the EHS team learning about risk assessments and job safety assessments and joined the medical response team. Before I knew it, I was knee-deep and learning the regulations. Once a role was formally available, I jumped at the chance—and the rest is history.
Q: Who has been your biggest influence in the industry?
The biggest influences to me in the EHS industry have been a former colleague that I started in this profession with and my family. When I started this profession, I met a CIH [certified industrial hygienist] that taught me a lot about the technical parts of EHS. Not just interpretations of the OSHA standards but truly applying science and art to teach people about the dangers and the hazards associated with exposures. Teaching me to pay attention to details and ensure I can effectively communicate to people what is at stake. Keep pushing to be the best I can be, for myself and others.
My family has been a strong influence in this profession. As immigrants to this country, I’ve seen them put their bodies on the line to provide me a better future. And again, I go back to that question: “Who is keeping them safe?” The answer, unfortunately, is “no one” many times. Profit over people, especially with blue-collar or low-wage jobs. I am driven to keep those workers in my power safe, as I’d hope that someone would do for any of my loved ones.
Q: What’s your best mistake, and what did you learn from it?
My best mistake is difficult to single out. I love learning from trial and error—and I have my fair share of them. I think the biggest lessons or mistakes I’ve learned from are those around people interactions and less about applications of EH&S programs and technology. Learning how to effectively and efficiently communicate why health and safety matter to a person is the biggest challenge we face as professionals. Each interaction, no matter how pleasant or unpleasant, teaches me communication skills that center around empathy and open listening. Sometimes, I don’t listen as intently and openly as I can and should, and those are the mistakes that stay with me. The impacts to safety culture are long lasting.
Q: What are some of the biggest EHS issues at your organization?
The biggest EHS issues at my organization are not unique: culture. Each time a new gap is identified, an improvement made, or a new regulation comes out, we get the pushback that all EHS professionals likely hear in their careers: “But we’ve always done it differently and it’s been fine!” It’s fine until someone loses a finger or goes to the hospital. Communicating that we are ever moving forward to improve safety culture is a difficult conversation to have with the “old timers” that have tenure. I value feedback and learning about how things truly are versus how they should be, but getting someone to don and keep their PPE on is an everlasting battle!
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 people. It gives me a tangible metric of the value I provide to this world: Keeping people safe and sending them home in one piece. I can look someone in the eyes and know that I’ve done my best to keep them safe, especially with industrial hygiene sampling.
My least favorite part of the industry is the financial element. Being asked to compromise safety for cost or throughput: “Yes, let’s do it safely—but let’s think about the cost.” It is one of the necessary evils we have to contend with.
Q: What are your thoughts on safety culture? How can company leaders make safety a value within their organization?
My thoughts on safety culture should come as no surprise. A positive safety culture is utmost important if our profession, and our workers, are to be successful in keeping people and planet safe. But it starts at the top. If the leaders don’t buy in, their workers won’t buy in either. To prioritize safety of the workers and planet, a leader must be willing to challenge themselves with difficult conversations. Enforcement is not an EHS role—it is a leadership role. A worker’s tenure and knowledge can’t be valued above their perception on safety and the commitment to safety culture.
Q: What safety concerns or issues do you think need more prioritization in EHS programs?
The safety concerns I think need to be prioritized in EHS programs is the people element. I’ve seen some really amazing programs, very technical and very thorough. But when I ask how they are implemented, I hear, “We tell them to follow this, or else!” That’s not good EHS. If your programs do not address the people element, they are junk!
Some programs are too complex because we focus on the program elements, the regulation, and not the implementation phase. Including your stakeholders and workers in the program drafting process must be innately built. If a program doesn’t work, start again. We try to mold the worker to the programs, and not the other way around—as it should be!
Q: What will be the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles on the EHS industry?
The impact of ESG principles on the EHS industry is tremendous! In a time when politics are very polarizing, we need to pay attention to the local and federal landscape. Every four years, for example, we face the election cycle that ultimately will dictate environmental policy and safety policy. A candidate’s platform will determine the direction our profession will go, and the impact of that policy will have a direct influence on the health of our planet. I want to believe that once “the environment” is no longer “trendy,” we will still have candidates that will platform on, and advocate for, our planet and its people.
Q: How will new safety technologies influence the work being done by EHS professionals?
I believe that new safety technologies will enhance the work done by EHS professionals. With the use of large language models (LLM) or AI, we can filter and sort data at exponentially larger speed and quantity than ever before! But data is only as good as the analyst—and I’m keen on learning how our profession will use these tools to improve the industry.
Q: What are you most proud of?
I am proud of the students out there that see a career in EHS and say, “I want to do that!” I value that future generations want to keep people and the environment safe. In a world where hustle-culture drives people to make money, those that seek to serve above all else, make me very proud!
Q: Do you have any advice for people entering the EHS profession?
My advice for people entering the EHS profession is to put people before everything. It is a lot to ask for and a lot to deliver on. But that is the essence and the core of our profession. We all need to be people persons, to one degree or another. No matter how technical of a person you are (hygienists, for example), if you can’t effectively communicate your knowledge and listen to your “customer”—what’s the point?
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.