Our people
Meet the team
Safety work is personal. You should know who is walking your site, what they have done before, and why their judgment is worth trusting.
Our consultants
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John Kovalan
President & Owner
- CSP
John has worked in safety and loss control since 1988 and has founded two companies in the field — LP Management Services in 1999, serving national financial institutions, manufacturing plants, and healthcare facilities, and Construction Safety & Risk Management Services in 2005, specializing in audits and training for construction firms around Springfield. Before that he directed loss control at EMCOR Facilities Services, building the safety, health, and environmental program for 500 employees nationwide and supervising 15 field coordinators, following fourteen years as a senior safety specialist with Wausau Insurance. His work spans industrial, construction, facilities, and risk management.
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Conner Peters
Senior Safety Consultant
- CHST
- GSP
- TCS
- OSHA Outreach Trainer
Conner has worked in construction safety since 2016, first as a site safety coordinator for a utility-scale construction contractor and, since 2019, as a senior safety consultant here. He supports more than 25 contractors across heavy civil, mechanical, electrical, healthcare and industrial work, and handles workers’ compensation and claims management alongside his field safety work. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, along with the CHST, GSP and Traffic Control Supervisor certifications. He trains the OSHA 10 and 30-hour construction courses as an authorized outreach trainer, and is a certified instructor for ATSSA flagging, trenching and excavation, confined space, MEWP and forklift operation.
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Jeff Manning
Senior Safety Consultant
- CHST
- Former OSHA
- Army Veteran
Jeff began his safety career with the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA, where he spent nine years working inspections and enforcement. That background gives him first-hand knowledge of federal safety standards and how they are actually applied across industries. He holds the CHST certification and a bachelor’s degree in Health and Safety from Illinois State University, and is a proud veteran of the United States Army.
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TJ Ellis
Senior Safety Consultant
- CHST
- OHST
- Former OSHA
- Navy Veteran
TJ came to safety through the U.S. Navy’s Radiation Safety Office, then spent three and a half years as a Compliance Safety and Health Officer with the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA, starting in Colorado before transferring to central Illinois. He now supports contractors across construction and general industry, bringing the inspector’s side of the table with him. TJ is BCSP-certified as both an Occupational Health and Safety Technologist and a Construction Health and Safety Technician, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Innovation from Columbia College and an associate degree in Occupational Safety and Health from Columbia Southern University.
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Ric Hamilton
Safety Consultant
- Army Veteran
Ric is Springfield through and through — a Southeast High School graduate who went on to the University of Notre Dame, and a U.S. Army veteran who served as a military police dog handler. He spent years at the Illinois State Journal-Register, first as advertising and production manager and then as the paper’s EPA and safety manager, running environmental compliance and workplace safety for the operation. He later owned Joe Rogers Chili Parlor for five years, and has worked alongside John since 2008.
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Shane Landers
Safety Consultant
- Journeyman Ironworker
Shane spent twenty years as a journeyman ironworker with O’Shea Builders, part of a longer career putting up structural steel across central Illinois. He was one of a dozen ironworkers on the Koke Mill Medical Center in Springfield — a 96,000-square-foot build delivered in thirteen months, and the job where he first met John Kovalan, who was then establishing new safety standards for the ironworking crews. Shane has since retired from the trade and works alongside John, bringing an ironworker’s eye to the sites he now walks.
Want this team on your site?
Tell us about your operation and we will match you with the right consultant.