Thomas (TJ) Lyons CSP, CRIS

TJ Lyons writes the construction case studies column of IRMI.com.

Mr. Lyons is a safety professional living in Warwick, New York, working for Innovative Technical Solution Inc. of Walnut Creek, California. With a strong background in construction safety and industrial hygiene, he focuses on reducing or eliminating risk through proper planning, implementation of best practices and lessons learned at the project level with a focus on driving from risk management to risk elimination.

Starting as many other safety professionals in the asbestos management and inspection trade in the late 1980s, his career took a turn for the best when he recognized a fall hazard while doing some indoor air pollution work and saw the results of simple fixes to keep good people from getting hurt. Mr. Lyons then went on to head an health and safety consulting office for a firm in Massachusetts focusing on environmental site assessments and testing, training, and indoor air pollutions investigations across New England.

Board certified as an Occupational Health and Safety Technologist and Certified Safety Professional, he is proud to have taken some of these skills to his local community. A past assistant chief, NY State adjutant fire instructor (hazardous materials) and EMT, he sees the need to drive safety from the field to the home as often as possible.

In 2001, Mr. Lyons was awarded the IRMI Gary E. Bird Horizon Award for his efforts in implementing the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program on the first construction project in the state of New York. He has presented at the IRMI Construction Risk Conference and is often found heading up a table at the Construction Café.

Mr. Lyons was a past chapter writer for the American Society of Testing of Materials (ASTM) and for the recent American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Construction Safety Management and Engineering Volume 1 and has recently penned a chapter on preplanning for the second edition currently in the works.

Articles on IRMI.com

Construction Safety

Construction Safety Middle Ground: Why Are Some Sites Safe? (December 2011)

Underground Construction Risks—What's Underground Can Kill (September 2011)

The Experts Often Wear Tool Belts (June 2011)

Construction Safety Contributors—Small Stuff Certainly Matters (April 2011)

Without Gravity, It Would Not Snow, and You Would Not Fall (January 2011)

Ten Questions Every Construction Safety Professional Should Ask (September 2010)

Just Fix It versus Let's Fix It (June 2010)

Selling Safety—You Have To Make the Case (April 2010)

Selling Safety, Softly (January 2010)

Safely Building the Future (October 2009)

Construction Risk Management in a Hard Economy: The Treasures (June 2009)

Construction Risk Management in a Hard Economy: The Risks (April 2009)

Eliminating Equipment Failures by Eliminating Failing Equipment (December 2008)

Construction Project Audits—Examples of Poor Practices (October 2008)

Construction Project Audits (July 2008)

Construction Risk Management: Recognizing Incompetent Workers (March 2008)

Construction Risk Management: Avoiding the Incompetent Worker (March 2008)