CHS's Bryan Wendt Says Your Job Posting Is Your First Safety Decision

The Situation

One unsafe hire can create a safety or liability risk. Three interview questions reveal that judgment before day one, according to Bryan Wendt, propane operations and safety manager at CHS Inc., in his Sept. 17 LP Gas column. The risk starts with how you write the job posting, long before a new hire ever sets foot on a route.

The Facts

Bryan Wendt, propane operations and safety manager at CHS Inc., wrote in his Sept. 17, 2026, LP Gas column: "The first safety decision a propane retailer makes about a new employee may, and should, happen before the person ever applies." He asked whether we seek a "results-oriented, self-starting problem solver" to drive a bobtail, or whether we market around professionalism, procedure, customer care and accountability. The second approach, he wrote, makes us "far more likely to attract people who understand that doing the job safely is the job." Safety flows from every seat on the roster, he wrote: customer service representatives, salespeople, dispatchers, plant employees, service technicians, drivers and managers. A salesperson setting expectations about "tank placement, access, service requirements or delivery timing" prevents customer confusion and lays "the groundwork for a safe, long-term customer." A manager decides whether employees feel supported when they ask questions, report concerns, or stop work over safety. Wendt wrote that employees pay attention to what leaders reward, what they overlook and how they respond when safe decisions create inconvenience. Wendt suggested three interview questions: "Tell me about a time you stopped or slowed down because something did not seem safe?"; "Describe a time when a customer wanted something done in a way that conflicted with the code or a company procedure. What did you do?"; and "How do you handle a full schedule when weather, road conditions or access issues make the work more difficult than normal?" The answers reveal whether a candidate is willing to speak up, follow procedures and use good judgement when the easy choice is not the safe choice. On training, Wendt wrote that it should never exist only to check a box. Good training explains the why behind the process and helps employees understand the real risks that procedures are designed to prevent. Wendt's column (lpgasmagazine.com/how-to-hire-for-safety-in-the-propane-industry) offers a framework, not measured results; it does not quantify how much safer this hiring approach makes a workforce.

Business Impact

Screening for that judgment up front costs you the length of an interview; missing it can cost a safety incident, a liability event, or both once that person is already on the roster. What this means for your business: • Job posting language written around procedure over speed screens for judgment before day one. • Salespeople who set clear tank, access and timing expectations up front prevent confusion that can turn into a safety risk. • Managers who support employees who stop work over a safety concern keep that judgment intact on the job. • Wendt says good training explains why procedures matter rather than only checking a box.

Key Takeaways

• Wendt says licenses, experience and technical skills are not enough on their own; behavior-based questions can show past responses to safety pressures.
• Safety runs through every seat — CSRs, salespeople, dispatchers and managers, not just drivers.
• Wendt says good training explains why procedures matter rather than only checking a box.

Action Steps

1. 1.Rewrite one open job posting this week around professionalism, procedure, customer care and accountability.
2. 2.Add Wendt's three behavior questions to your interview sheet before your next hire.
3. 3.Brief your sales team this week on setting tank placement, access, and delivery timing expectations with every new account.
4. 4.Review one training drill this week and confirm it explains the why behind the procedure, not just the steps to follow.

Competitive Advantage

Wendt found that strong driving habits typically travel with hires who already show patience, attention to detail and respect for procedure in other roles — traits you can screen for in a service tech or CSR interview before that person ever sits behind a bobtail.