You can implement every best practice in the book for preventing employee mishaps in the plant or on the route. But if you haven’t built an organizational culture that puts safety above productivity—and by extension, profits—it may not be enough.

That was the underlying message we got from recent interviews with safety specialists, including Russell Holt, whose Springdale, AR, plant of Superior Linen Services has gone 10-plus years without a lost-time incident.

Linen, uniform and facility services companies are particularly vulnerable to safety incidents in today’s era of labor shortages and turnover. Holt says operators can bridge this gap with beefed-up training and compliance. “To ensure safety during periods of staff shortages and high turnover, a proactive approach and a workplace culture that values safety over productivity are needed,” says Holt, chief compliance officer for the Tulsa, OK-based Superior Linen Service.