Influential Woman · Industrial Manufacturing

Caitlyn Olinto

HSE Manager, Norsk Hydro

St. Augustine, FL 32043

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Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's Degree in Occupational Safety and Health Degree University of Central Missouri Degree 2015 Cert Certified Safety Professional Cert Greenbelt Training in Lean Six Sigma Cert Yellow Belt Training in Lean Six Sigma Cert Radiation Safety Officer Member Board of Certified Safety Professionals Member American Society of Safety Professionals

Her Story

About Caitlyn

As Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager, I'm responsible for all OSHA and EPA regulations, but the real purpose of my job is making sure the employees stay safe and can go home the way they came. I like to give my team real-life perspective by asking them, if you hurt your hand, can you go home and do your dishes? Can you go play video games or go surfing, whatever you like to do? It means a lot to see when people understand the impact you're making in their career and how the changes you put forward actually affect them. A lot of times it makes their job easier, but the convincing for them to understand that is the hardest part. You can tell people a story all day, but until they actually have to deal with that struggle, it doesn't impact them. What I love most about my job is that you're really putting people first and getting people to understand that if we don't have them, we don't have production, because we're not fully automated. My favorite is when you have those stubborn employees that don't think they are gonna get along with you and don't like you, and then you're able to completely change their culture and input into what your job is. That's my passion, and it gives me so much joy and comfort in knowing that's possible.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Caitlyn

01What do you attribute your success to?

I believe that failure's really your only way to learn. If you don't have failure, you don't have learning, and you don't have improving. I try to let people know that even if you make a mistake, that doesn't mean your job's done. It doesn't mean you're getting fired. It doesn't mean you're not improving as a person or as a leader. You're still able to figure out what went wrong, how do I prevent that from happening the next time, and just become better overall. This is something that I try to instill with people at work who have an accident. I tell them, don't be afraid and try to hide it, because you're just hiding from the next person that could potentially get hurt, and maybe it'd be worse than how you got hurt. Obviously you learn as you go, but embracing failure and learning from it has been key to my success.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I have a mixed answer here. One, I'm gonna say jump in, because you're not gonna learn standing to the side. Ask all the questions, immediately jump in. Don't try to let your title or your newness to the company prevent you from learning. And then the other side is you're gonna have to get some thick skin when you're in manufacturing. You're gonna deal with people that don't have people skills, people that have only known this their whole career. You can't be afraid to have those tough conversations with people that just don't have all the words. They may not mean it in a rude way, that may be the only way they know how to talk. Don't take it personal.

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