About PSS
Safety That Comes From Experience, Not a Textbook
Gary Cooke built Professional Safety Solutions on one principle: safety advice is only worth something if it comes from someone who has actually done the work.
LEAN Greenbelt | MSHA Certified Trainer | OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer | OESAC Accredited
Most safety consultants come from one direction — they studied safety, got certified, and started consulting. Gary came from a different direction entirely. He spent decades doing the work before he started protecting it.
PSS was built for the companies that need real safety expertise but aren't ready — or can't justify — a full-time EHS hire. Small and mid-size contractors, manufacturers, and mining operations face the same regulatory requirements as the big players, but without the internal resources to manage them. Gary built PSS to fill that gap: director-level safety support, sized to what you actually need, delivered by someone who has worked in your industry.
The Path Here
A Career Built in the Field
Discipline, Standards, and Accountability
Gary's career started in the U.S. Army, where he served with The Old Guard — the Army's official ceremonial unit and escort to the President — and the 101st Airborne Division. Military service instilled the foundational principles that still define how PSS operates: clear standards, personal accountability, and the understanding that cutting corners has real consequences.
Operations, Maintenance, and the Shop Floor
After the Army, Gary spent 15 years in manufacturing — wood products and food production — working his way through maintenance management and operations leadership. He's been the person responsible for keeping equipment running, managing crews, hitting production targets, and answering for what happens when something goes wrong. That experience gives him a perspective most safety consultants don't have: he understands the pressure supervisors are under, and he knows how to build safety programs that work with operations instead of against them.
MSHA, Heavy Industry, and High-Hazard Work
Gary transitioned into mining and construction safety, where the regulatory environment is more demanding and the consequences of failure are more severe. He became an MSHA-certified trainer and built deep expertise in the high-hazard work that defines both industries — excavation, confined space, fall protection, and the kind of complex multi-employer jobsite coordination that requires someone who has actually managed field operations.
The Difference
Both Sides of the Safety Coin
Gary has held roles on both sides of the table — as a maintenance manager responsible for equipment and crews, as an operations director accountable for production and safety outcomes, and even in marketing, where he learned how to communicate complex information clearly. That breadth matters. When Gary walks onto a jobsite or into a management meeting, he understands the pressures everyone in the room is facing. He doesn't just know the regulations — he knows what it takes to actually implement them in a real operation.
Military Service
U.S. Army — The Old Guard & 101st Airborne Division
Manufacturing Experience
15 years — wood products and food production
LEAN Greenbelt
Certified in process improvement and operational efficiency
MSHA Certified Trainer
New miner and annual refresher training, Part 46 & 48
OSHA Outreach Trainer
Authorized to deliver OSHA 10 and 30-hour construction courses
OESAC Accredited
Occupational & Environmental Safety Accreditation Council — accredited safety training provider
Operations Leadership
Maintenance manager, operations director, multi-discipline field experience
The Mission
Why Professional Safety Solutions Exists
PSS was built for the companies that need real safety expertise but aren't ready — or can't justify — a full-time EHS hire. Small and mid-size contractors, manufacturers, and mining operations face the same regulatory requirements as the big players, but without the internal resources to manage them. Gary built PSS to fill that gap: director-level safety support, sized to what you actually need, delivered by someone who has worked in your industry.
Ready to Work With Someone Who Gets It?
Whether you need a safety program built from scratch, an audit of what you have, or ongoing fractional support — start with a conversation.