Keeping employees safe is a key concern for every linen, uniform and facility services operator. However, the tactics that companies use to advance this goal vary significantly. In March’s Textile Services magazine, we highlight the safety practices that several companies pursue in areas including ergonomics, fire-prevention and plant security.

Elevating safety tracking through the use of a dashboard system that gives managers ready access to this data is the focus of a forthcoming article in Textile Services magazine.

Anytime a safety incident occurs in a plant – including ‘near misses’ – laundry operators have a moral duty, as well as a legal obligation, to investigate what happened and why. Then they must take steps to prevent the incident from recurring. That’s the essence of a forthcoming article in Textile Services magazine on how companies can uncover the root causes of safety mishaps in a laundry operation and take steps to mitigate them.

Chris Durrant, 49, an independent contractor working for Kannegiesser ETECH, died on Aug. 6 while testing a dryer in a new facility under construction in Lawrence, MA, for Unitex Textile Rental Services.

TRSA recently held a series of six Regional Town Hall meetings that drew laundry operators and supplier partners from across North America, including a session dedicated to Canadian operators. These virtual gatherings focused on a range of issues such as recruitment/retention challenges, as well as policy developments in areas ranging from a new indoor heat standard to the growing prominence of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programs used by businesses worldwide.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is working on a new heat standard to target indoor workers without climate-controlled environments, including the linen, uniform and facility services industry.

In a Jan. 13 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Biden administration’s vaccination-or-testing requirement for the nation’s largest employers by a vote of 6 -3. The court did allow a different and smaller policy to go forward, requiring vaccinations for most healthcare workers at the facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds.

While the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 7 begins hearing a challenge to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on employee vaccinations/testing, the ETS remains in effect – at least for now. Laundry operators with 100 or more employees who aren’t taking steps to comply with the ETS’ vaccination and testing requirements could face fines, and possibly even criminal penalties, said TRSA’s Kevin Schwalb during a one-hour webinar on OSHA’s ETS.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments to determine the fate of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) calling for employers with 100 or more staff members to require employees to get vaccinated or face weekly testing and mandatory masking. The Supreme Court will hear the case at 10 a.m. EST on Friday, Jan. 7.

UniFirst Corp. recently announced that its centralized distribution center in Owensboro, KY, received the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star certification from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). VPP is OSHA’s highest recognition for the practice of and commitment to exemplary occupational safety and health. Businesses that earn this certification must meet rigorous safety requirements, according to a news release.