Having your work reviewed by industry leaders is always gratifying, but it is a particular honor when that review comes from someone of Tim Fisher’s stature and appears in the August 2026 issue of the Professional Safety Journal (PSJ). As a peer-reviewed publication from the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), PSJ is a premier resource for occupational health and safety professionals. In his review of my book, Health and Safety Programs in Small and Medium-sized Businesses: Setting Them Up and Making Them Work Effectively, Tim highlights how structured safety management systems can be practical, scalable, and directly aligned with national standards like ANSI/ASSP Z10 for businesses of all sizes.
Below is the full review by Tim Fisher as published in PSJ.
Book Review
HEALTH & SAFETY PROGRAMS IN SMALL & MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES
Setting Them Up & Making Them Work Effectively
By Gregory G. Zigulis, 2026, Routledge
A review by Tim Fisher
ASSP has received multiple inquiries and suggestions about Health and Safety Programs in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: Setting Them Up and Making Them Work Effectively from EHS professionals in the private and public sectors, with much emphasis on the ANSI/ASSP Z10 standard and the ISO 45001 standard, both of which focus on occupational health and safety management systems. Much of this interest is global in nature and is being driven by the potential of the ISO TC283 Committee (creator of ISO 45001) creating a standard or technical specification addressing EHS management for small to medium-sized organizations.
The author, Greg Zigulis, has been a leader in the development of occupational health and safety anagement systems for business overall, but he has shown much dedication and commitment to small and medium-sized organizations.
In this book, Zigulis notes and fosters the relationships between EHS performance and the applicable ANSI/ASSP consensus standards that address safety and health management. The book dedicates significant space to how these standards are used and implemented in smaller organizations. The author also addresses a critical gap for organizations that lack dedicated safety expertise but need to build functional, compliant safety systems. Emphasis is given to specific points:
- Rather than providing a generic list of templates, Zigulis offers a primer on thebusiness drivers and injury prevention concepts that underpin a successful safety culture.
- The book takes the “white noise” out of regulatory complexity and makes safety programs understandable and actionable for leaders without a technical background.
- The book explores foundational elements such as identifying requirements, understanding injury causation and prioritizing program rollout.
- The guidance is grounded in more than 40 years’ experience, aiming to create programs that actually work rather than just “binders that gather dust.”
- The book emphasizes how safety programs can provide true value to the organization beyond mere compliance
Zigulis is a long-standing member of the ANSI/ASSP Z10 committee and the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ANSI for theISO TC283 Committee. The methodology in his book is deeply intertwined with these professional standards. While the author has extensive experience with global occupational health and safety management systems, this book prioritizes the Z10 standard since it is an American national standard. The book presents considerations for EHS professionals, including:
- Z10 integration. The book’s framework aligns with the ANSI/ASSP Z10.0-2019 standard, which focuses on implementing occupational health and safety management systems.
- Bridging the gap. While the full Z10 standard is often seen as geared toward larger corporations, Zigulis uses this book to make these high-level concepts accessible for smaller enterprises.
- PDCA cycle. The book promotes the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle, a core principle of the Z10 standard that drives continuous improvement rather than a “set it and forget it” approach.
- Subject-matter-expert-specific guidance. The strategies in the book mirror the intent of ASSP Z10.101, a guidance document specifically designed to help smaller organizations adopt Z10 principles.
- Key themes. Both the book and the ANSI standards emphasize management leadership and worker participation as the primary pillars of an effective program.
This book provides insight into safety and health management for small to medium-sized businesses, many of which can be applied at organizations regardless of size. While many books address safety and health management, very few of them seek to incorporate the importance of implementation of the voluntary national consensus standards. EHS professionals and those stakeholders addressing EHS management should consider reviewing this book for solid implementation practices that can lead to more organizational
efficiency and effectiveness.
Tim Fisher, CSP, CHMM, CPEA, ARM,FASSP, has been with ASSP since 1995. He provides direction in the overall administration and operation of the technical aspects of ASSP-related standards programs and publications.