If something at Oligo Factory is working the way it’s supposed to—quietly, safely, without drama—there’s a very good chance Michael Burns had something to do with it.

Mike is our Facility Manager and Environmental Health & Safety lead, which is a title that dramatically undersells what he actually does. On any given day, he’s responsible for making sure the building works, the labs are safe, the chemicals are accounted for, the alarms don’t go off unnecessarily (but do go off when they should), and that we remain in the good graces of regulators who do not mess around.

In other words: Mike’s job is to make sure nothing bad happens. And if something does happen, he’s the first one getting the text message.

Ask him what his role is, and you’ll hear a version of the phrase “Swiss Army knife.”

Facilities. EHS. Safety training. Hazardous waste. Emergency response. Equipment installs. Gas lines. HVAC coordination. Compliance calendars. Preventive maintenance. Incident response.

There are days he’s deep in software dashboards tracking chemical usage in real time, and days he’s on a ladder connecting valves on tanks taller than he is. Sometimes he’s reviewing manifests and SOPs; sometimes he’s literally crawling above the ceiling running vent lines so no one ever has to think about what’s happening to solvent vapors at 400°C.

No two days look the same, and that’s exactly why he likes it.

“I really enjoy the problem-solving,” Mike says. “There’s always something new to figure out, something to improve, something to make more efficient.”

Mike’s comfort with chaos didn’t start in a lab. He grew up with four younger sisters and played ice hockey, lacrosse, and football, so being part of a team, adapting quickly, and dealing with the unexpected has always been second nature.

One of the highest compliments Mike gets is also the easiest to miss: most people don’t think about safety systems at all. That’s by design.

Mike runs a robust, multimedia safety training program that everyone at Oligo Factory goes through; not just lab staff, but remote employees too. PPE is placed exactly where you need it. SOPs are clear. Signage makes sense. Alarms are meaningful, not constant.

Behind the scenes, the systems are anything but simple. Chemical usage is tracked drop by drop. Gas detectors are constantly sampling the air. If something drifts out of spec, ventilation automatically ramps up and alerts go out. Issues are caught early, often before anyone in the lab notices anything is wrong.

In nearly five years, after-hours emergency responses average about once a year. When they happen, they’re handled calmly, methodically, and with a heavy emphasis on learning and prevention.

Mike has been with Oligo Factory long enough to see the company move buildings, scale operations, and evolve from smaller chemical volumes to large-quantity hazardous waste generation. With every change comes a ripple effect: new waste streams, new gases, new signage, new reporting requirements, new procedures.

Luckily, Mike thinks several steps ahead.

A new instrument doesn’t just mean plugging something in. It can mean new venting, new gas lines, new monitoring, new waste profiles, and a brand-new installation checklist that’s… long. (No one loves a 52-page checklist. Mike does it anyway.)

Outside of work, Mike unwinds the same way he’s always liked to: fishing when he can, playing men’s league hockey, and spending as much time as possible with his family. These days, that mostly means embracing life as a new dad and getting used to a very different kind of overnight “on call” schedule.

Despite that, Mike still shows up every day with the same steady presence that keeps the rest of the building running smoothly. He’s the kind of person you’re grateful for when everything is fine, and even more grateful for when something isn’t.