Maxwell D Bertram

Bio

Research Safety and Operations Support Professional

Mr. Bertram is an ESH Professional with over 30 years of experience, with expertise in both Public and Private Sector Environmental, Safety and Industrial Hygiene Management.  He is a Certified Safety Professional and (retired) Certified Hazardous Materials Manager.  He holds a B.S. in Environmental and Occupational Health, an M.S. in Safety Management and an MBA.  He is a Six-Sigma Black Belt with experience in ISO Systems Management (Lead Auditor), Kaizen System implementation and Toyota Production Systems.  He is the Chair Emeritus of the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) Industrial Hygiene, Safety and Chemical Management Community of Practice (IHSCM-CoP).  He has served in many leadership roles in the Tennessee Valley Sector of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (TVS-AIHA), most recently as President.  He is married to Beth Ann Bertram, and is the father of three sons: Joshua Bertram, Alexander Bertram and Magnus Dickinson.

Professional Experience

UT Battelle - 2/2010 - Present - Safety Operations and Services Division

Served as ORNL Chemical and Laser Safety Program Manager and Lead Auditor for ISO/OHSAS Internal Assessments.  Served as Operations and Safety Manager for the ORNL Physics Division.  Acted as site injury/illness investigator, responsible for performing all injury investigations for a US DOE Office of Science Site with over 6000 employee and contractors on site.  Trended data for all health and safety metrics for both internal and external Reporting.  Served on readiness review team for Biomass Steam Generation Facility.     Provided health and safety support for Energy & Transportation Science Division (ETSD) and Electrical & Electronics Systems Research (EESRD) Division.   Helped revise work control document system questionnaire and served as work control Alternate Point of Contact (ALT-POC).  Served as Team Lead for ORNL Hazardous Materials Management Program, overseeing Hazardous Materials Management Information System (HMMIS) managing team of support staff. Represented ORNL on Energy Facility Contractors Organization (EFCOG) Laser Safety and Industrial Hygiene, Safety and Chemical Management Task Team Communities of Practice (IHSCM CoP Chair Emeritus) where we would interact and partner with DOE AU-11 on IH and Safety initiatives. 

 CH2M HILL (now Jacobs Engineering Group) - 3/07- 2/10 - Health and Safety Consultant

 Responsible for Health and Safety consultative services for CH2M HILL’s Industrial Services business unit.  Acted as lead auditor for Health and Safety Compliance Audit Program for various industrial clients (including 29 coal and gas fired power plants, and 12 domestic shipping and cross-docking facilities).  Performed risk assessment work for Canadian bottling company.  Developed Hazardous Occupation Medical Clearance Standards for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).  Developed Health and Safety design specifications for diesel engine manufacturer’s international facility construction program.  Served as lead instructor for regional 8-hour HAZWOPER Refresher courses for CH2M Hill Offices throughout the Southeastern United States. Served as Health and Safety Manager for fuel pipeline construction project across 4 southeastern states.  Acted as Site Safety Manager for HAZWOPER/UXO characterization projects at US DOD facility (USMC Camp Lejeune). 

Aleris International, Inc. (now Novelis, Inc.) - 8/01-3/07 - Division HSE Manager

Responsible for Environmental Heath and Safety management of 13 aluminum and zinc facilities in the U.S., Brazil and U.K.  Chair Corporate Safety Steering Committee. Responsible for Corporate safety reports to Board of Directors.  Directed air emissions testing to conform to recently mandated MACT requirements for secondary aluminum facilities.  Oversaw EHS management of facilities with Title V air permits, LQG Hazardous Waste Status and Process Safety Management programs.  Member of Aluminum Association Casthouse Safety Board, and technical expert for U.S. Regional Casthouse Safety Workshops.

Breed Technologies, Inc. (Now Key Safety Systems) - 3/00-7/01 - HSE Manager

Management staff position, responsible for all environmental and safety compliance matters at this Tier II automotive safety restraint manufacturing facility.  Responsible for the following permits and conditions: Synthetic Minor Air Permit, Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit, NPDES Storm Water Permit and RCRA Large Quantity Generator. Directed implementation of ISO 14001 registration.  Responsible for oversight of all work safety issues including Worker’s Compensation, Safety Training, Industrial Hygiene, and general OSHA compliance.  Co-lead Kaizen ergonomic initiatives.

Titan Tire Corporation of Tennessee (Now Carlisle Tire) - 7/98-3/00 - ESH Manager

Management staff position, responsible for all environmental and safety compliance matters at Titan Tire (now Carlisle Tire) which manufactures tires for industrial equipment and all terrain vehicles.  Facility operated wastewater treatment facility, contained nine separate Title V air sources, was a small quantity hazardous waste generator and operated under Tennessee NPDES Stormwater Permit.  Served as corporate industrial hygienist, performing industrial hygiene surveys at Titan facilities in Mississippi, Iowa and Tennessee.

Solutions to Environmental Problems, Inc. (Now SPECPRO Environmental Services, LLC)- 9/93-9/95 & 4/97-7/98 - ES&H Consultant

Provided the following services as a safety and health consultant: HAZWOPER training, DOT training, wall-to-wall OSHA compliance inspection and consultation, construction site safety oversight, industrial hygiene sampling/monitoring, written safety and health program development, Hazardous Waste Site Characterization Sampling, SARA Title III submittals, and OSHA/EPA due diligence assessments for both public and private facilities.  Assisted a Tier I automotive customer in successful completion of their Voluntary Protection Program application for Tennessee OSHA and provided heavy construction safety oversight on a Department of Energy facility.

Safety and Ecology Corporation (SEC) - 4/96-4/97 - Industrial Hygienist

Provided oversight and support for both the Lockheed Martin Facilities telephone service switch over/fiber-optic upgrade project and the Bechtel FUSRAP (Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program) characterization and remediation activities for the U.S. Department of Energy.  Provided safety oversight for all U.S. West construction sub-contractor activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, performed hazard characterization in buildings designated for intrusive activities, and personnel industrial hygiene sampling.  Acted as the project industrial hygienist for SEC on the Bechtel FUSRAP project, using known soil contamination information to determine potential airborne chemical and radiological exposure potentials from excavation activities.

Systematic Management Services - 10/95-2/96 - Industrial Hygienist

Conducted verification of the closure of federal environmental, safety, and health audits (Tiger Team Audit) in support of the DOE Oak Ridge Site Office  at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Y-12 Facility - 1/91-8/92 - Radiological Control Technician Co-Op

Served as Radiological Control Technician (RCT) conducting health physics field surveys during alternating semesters at the Department of Energy’s Y-12 facility during undergraduate studies.

Education

University of Tennessee

MBA - Master of Business Administration - 2005

M.S. - Safety Education and Service (Concentration in Safety Management) - 1998

East Tennessee State University

B.S. - Environmental Health (Concentration in Occupational Health, Minor in Chemistry) - 1993

Professional Affiliations

American Industrial Hygiene Association - Tennessee Valley Section

President - 2024

Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) 

IHSCM Chair Emeritus - 2023-Present

Safety Fest Tennessee

Executive Committee Board Member - 2017-Present

Other Publications