My Story: Ed Maurer

I began my safety career in 1987 as a U.S. Air Force bioenvironmental engineering (at the time, a combination of industrial hygiene and environmental protection) technician after spending many years as an Air Force H3 and H53 helicopter mechanic. I was inspired to do so by my premilitary experience in the medical field and a long line of firefighters in my family. (And routinely as a flight line mechanic being too hot, too cold, too wet, etc.)

Fascinating and personally satisfying aspects of my Air Force experience included an opportunity to be involved at the forefront of many new programs and research and development projects, as well as mitigation of environmental impacts on not only base communities but also civilian communities that were adjacent to them.

After 21 years of active duty that spanned from the closing days of the war in Vietnam to the years after Operation Desert Storm, I retired as a master sergeant and superintendent, having managed entire environmental, health and safety programs on two bases. I decided to take a break from the field to regroup and destress. I taught high school English, was an adult educator and taught at a Marine Corps staff noncommissioned officer academy before returning to the safety field with a fresh outlook.

That return happened when I was offered a director position with the Suncoast Safety Council in Clearwater, FL, managing both its occupational safety and health department and driving school. When I left that position after the OSH department closed, I started Worker Safety Net, a full-service safety training and consulting company focused on small to medium-sized companies that either couldn’t afford a safety manager on staff or had enough business for large safety companies to consider. I am an OSHA authorized outreach instructor in both construction and general industry.

I have found the work to be very satisfying and know that although I may be just a cog in a larger wheel, like my peers, I can be an essential one that prevents tragedies before they occur.

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Ed Maurer
Owner and Principal
Worker Safety Net
Dunedin, FL