Pro Tips for Trainers: Our Frontline Playlist

If you’re trained to provide CPR, do you know the average number of chest compressions you administer per minute? Most people don’t.

What if we ask you to name a song that would help you keep an even tempo as you deliver those compressions? We bet you could answer that, and if you can’t, we’ll give you some options during our free July 8 webinar.

Now, let’s go a step further and imagine a world in which we regularly incorporate music into safety-related training, making sessions more interesting, fun and engaging. Maybe an apprentice plays a song during a job briefing, then leads a discussion about how its lyrics relate to worksite safety. Or perhaps a crew leader shares a favorite song at the start of a monthly safety meeting, explaining its connection to hazard mitigation.

Setting the Stage for Synchrony
Several years ago, during a session at the iP Utility Safety Conference & Expo, William Martin, CUSP, explained that playing music as trainees enter a room creates synchrony among the group. Typically, he said, this results in greater audience participation and more impactful training. At the same conference, Brent Jeffries brilliantly played Journey’s song “Wheel in the Sky” at the start of his session on “The Energy Wheel Reinvented.”

We decided to try this tactic with a group that we were meeting with twice weekly for two months. For the first two meetings, we played a strategically chosen song as people entered the room, which was followed by conversation about the song’s relevance to the training content. We were pleasantly surprised when some group members began suggesting songs and volunteering to lead future meetings.

Because that experiment created so much engagement, we developed a full playlist for the Frontline training program. We’ll share the list during the July webinar; in the meantime, you can check out a handful of the songs below. As you review them, consider how often you find yourself humming a tune. Then think about which of these training approaches you would find more effective as a trainee: (1) an instructor delivering a lecture about the first principle of human performance improvement (i.e., people are fallible and even the best make mistakes) straight from the U.S. Department of Energy’s HPI handbook or (2) a group discussion about song lyrics that reflect our flawed humanity. In our experience, there isn’t a high likelihood that a worker will speak up because they memorized a human performance principle, but they just might speak up to recite some of these memorable song lyrics.

“Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins
Key lyrics: “Out along the edges, always where I burn to be. The further on the edge, the hotter the intensity.”

Suggested use: During training sessions on risk tolerance. These lyrics are a great way to remember that we must identify hazards as specific energy sources and quantify risk as the amount of energy. Mitigating hazards keeps crews off the highway to the danger zone.

“Thunderstruck” by AC/DC
Key lyrics: “I was caught in the middle of a railroad track. I looked ’round and I knew there was no turnin’ back.”

Suggested use: As a reminder that every job task includes a critical step. Without an above-the-line work plan – one that’s confirmed safe before work begins – you could be thunderstruck.

“Superstition” by Stevie Wonder
Key lyrics: “When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain’t the way.”

Suggested use: Prompting employees to verify assumptions. For instance, ask yourself and your TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More), “Are we good at what we do or have we been lucky? How do we make our lucky good and our good great?”

“I’m the Problem” by Morgan Wallen
Key lyrics: “You hate that when you look at me, you halfway see yourself.”

Suggested use: When discussing circles of control, influence and concern. Good or bad, attitudes are contagious. This line from Wallen’s song is an excellent cue to look in the mirror the next time you don’t like what someone else is saying or doing. Are they the problem, or are you?

“Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On” by Mel McDaniel
Key lyrics: “Down on the corner by the traffic light, everybody’s looking as she walks by. They turn their heads and they watch her till she’s gone.”

Suggested use: Helping workers focus on their tasks. Interruptions and other distractions are error precursors that negatively impact decision-making and overall safety.

“Human” by The Human League
Key lyrics: “Human, born to make mistakes.”

Suggested use: As a reminder that safety plans must be designed to manage controls and reduce errors. Plans that rely solely on people working perfectly will ultimately fail, no matter how skilled those people are or how hard they try.

Conclusion
Our objective in writing this article is to challenge readers to find ways to boost interest and participation in workforce training. The two of us don’t have all the answers, but we believe this approach is worth testing across the industry. Try it out, then join us for the July webinar to ask questions and share what you’ve learned. We look forward to seeing you there.

About the Authors: David McPeak, CUSP, CIT, CHST, CSP, CSSM, is the director of professional development for Utility Business Media’s Incident Prevention Institute (https://ip-institute.com) and the author of “Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle” and “Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle.” He has extensive experience and expertise in leadership, human performance, safety and operations. McPeak is passionate about personal and professional development and believes that intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are key to success. He also is an advanced certified practitioner in DISC, emotional intelligence, the Hartman Value Profile, learning styles and motivators.

Doug Hill, CUSP, is a retired lineworker and safety culture champion with nearly 40 years of utility industry experience. He currently delivers training through the Incident Prevention Institute.

About Frontline Fundamentals: Frontline Fundamentals topics are derived from the Incident Prevention Institute’s popular Frontline training program (https://ip-institute.com/frontline-online/). Frontline covers critical knowledge, skills and abilities for utility leaders and aligns with the Certified Utility Safety Professional exam blueprint.

Webinar: Our Frontline Playlist
July 8, 2026, at 11 a.m. Eastern
Visit https://ip-institute.com/frontline-webinars/ for more information.