Citation Technologies has a team of highly educated Regulatory Analysts who prepare the content for the company’s EH&S compliance software, the Compliance Suite.

This monthly Q&A series highlights the individual members of this top-notch team.  February’s Analyst of the Month is Patrick Carrube!

Patrick Carrube, Sr. Regulatory Analyst

Citation News Editor: Where are you from?

Patrick: I jokingly refer to my childhood as the “Tale of Two Cities”. I was born in Brooklyn, NY, but the summer I turned 14, my family moved to a small rural town just north of Scranton, PA. I lived in one of the biggest cities in the world, and then in one summer I moved to a town that literally had more cows than people.

It may have been a shock for some kids, but I loved it and even to this day I enjoy many aspects of both city and country living. I still find myself in awe from the immensity of sky scrapers and suspension bridges, but also the calm and quietness of the great outdoors.

What is your education background?

I have a B.S. in Biology from Mansfield University (Mansfield, PA) and a M.S. in Environmental Technology & Management from Arizona State University. I am currently wrapping up my thesis project and would love to continue on to a PhD project, possibly in Sustainability or Environmental Chemistry.

When and how did you become a regulatory analyst?

Like many of the other analysts here at Citation, my career wasn’t a straight shot into Regulatory Analysis.  I actually started my career in the semiconductor industry, working as a R&D Chemist and Technical Engineer. As the group expanded, so did my role.

I found myself heavily involved in the EH&S world and transitioned to Environmental Management. With my technical background and education, it was a relatively easy transition into Regulatory Analysis.

What is your area of expertise and what are the jurisdictions you cover?

My personal areas of expertise would be Hazardous Materials, Hazardous Waste and Waste Management, and Hazardous Communications. Having managed both a research and environmental lab, I am also in tune with the specific HSSE challenges associated with them. My current jurisdictions include: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alberta (Canada),  Quebec (Canada), South Australia, and Botswana.

What is a typical day of work like for you?

I usually start my day by performing some basic pre-flight checks – ailerons, rudders, flaps, afterburners, and the like. I make a call to verify open air space and then make sure I top off the fuselage. I’m just kidding of course. One of the things that I think all the analysts enjoy is that each day brings something new. The majority of my time is spent going through regulatory updates, but I also will build-out and cover a new jurisdiction as needed.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I spend a lot of time with my beautiful wife and two wonderful kids. If I’m not with them, you can usually find me in one of three places: the garage, the woods, or on top of my Harley. I enjoy carpentry, metal-work, and antique restoration. I love the outdoors and am an avid outdoorsman and fisherman. 

What is the strangest regulation you’ve come across?

We see plenty of strange regulations as Analysts and I would have to think long and hard to settle on the “strangest” one. However, one of my jurisdictions is Botswana, where many of the regulations are worded as if they were taken out of a Shakespearian novel. One of the most amusingly worded regulations is:

"Every factory shall be kept in a clean state, and free from effluvia arising from any drain, sanitary convenience or nuisance, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing"

It makes me laugh when I see phrases such as “sanitary convenience” and “without prejudice”. You know exactly what they are trying to say, but where else would you hear a phrase like this?

What are your thoughts regarding the effectiveness of cloud-based technology in the EH&S realm?

While I certainly like to “rough it” on camping trips, I will admit to being a “techie” my entire life. I remember when a CD-ROM drive nearly doubled the cost of a PC and I’ve had smart phones since before they were very smart. I see cloud-based technology (CBT) as an immensely valuable tool for HSSE Professionals.

As we have seen in the regulatory world - including federal, state, and local agencies –the transition to electronic reporting is already underway. I believe very strongly that CBT will be the “norm” in the near future for a multitude of reasons – it is convenient, it is user-friendly, and it ties in well with current computer and IT systems already in place.

By Randal Meske

Managing Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) compliance is not for the faint of heart. It is for intelligent, responsible, dedicated people who mean business.

Mismanagement of EHS compliance, or even just a little bad luck, can not only put whole companies at risk, it can destroy our precious environment and endanger or even kill the very workers that make employers successful.

As far as work is concerned, most people have to worry about sustaining revenue, managing and preventing customer satisfaction issues and keeping their bosses and coworkers happy. It is a very select few, such as soldiers, surgeons, law enforcement personnel, and EHS compliance officers, who bear the stress of 24/7/365 responsibility for people’s health and safety and environmental sustainability.

EHS compliance officers are special people. They aren’t really appreciated when things are running smoothly, yet they have targets on their backs when issues arise.

Compliance is a team effort, so the complexity of their roles is exacerbated given the decentralized nature of managing their functions on a global scale. Although more and more companies are funding their EHS compliance practices more aggressively, it is still often the case that these dire responsibilities lay on the backs of far too few people.

Technical knowledge is required to do the job well, yet people skills are paramount to success in order to solicit cooperation from dispersed and diverse personnel in varied disciplines who may or may not report to the EHS compliance person in charge.

So, these people manage complex operations amidst high risk with limited resources and challenging interpersonal dynamics. They are asked to do the impossible.

In short, EHS compliance officers are super heroes.

One would think that this complex set of circumstances would cause these people to be serious and lacking in humor. The pressure they bear is real, and I wouldn’t blame them one bit for being a little less fun than the rest of us.

That is why I was quite surprised to read the article entitled “If You Think Accountants Are Hilarious, Try These Guys – Search for America’s Funniest Compliance Officer Is Tough; a Whoop for Dodd-Frank” in the Wall Street Journal. Not only do these hyper-responsible people have senses of humor, some of them actually participate in competitions to determine which of them is the funniest. Go figure!

Perhaps good humor is the elixir that helps them survive their tension-filled days. Maybe as a result, they are actually more funny than the rest of us.

Whether your EHS compliance leaders are funny or not is quite irrelevant. What matters is if they are effective despite the vast challenges they face.

These are special people with critical responsibilities. If you haven’t done so lately, the next time you see your EHS compliance person, give them a great big hug and thank them profusely for what they do (If that person in your organization isn’t a hugger, I’m sure a hand shake will do).

Do you know any stellar EHS compliance professionals? Do you have any humorous stories about EHS compliance professionals, experiences, or incidents? Please respond with your stories in the comments below.