Maximizing profits and minimizing loss can be achieved by a number of methods, but there’s one that most wouldn’t expect—plant floor safety. Safety is, above all, about protecting personnel. Today’s manufacturers, for the most part, view safety as an investment with a positive return in the sense that a safer workplace boosts employee morale; machine and process operators feel more comfortable with the equipment and are aware of the company’s commitment to their safety. The result is increased productivity and savings attributed to a decrease in lost-time accidents, medical expenses, and possible litigation. It took some time before manufacturers realized that safety measures weren’t a hindrance to productivity and that safety was truly an investment with positive return. The acceptance of safety as a good business practice is evident as the number of workplace injuries continues to fall each year. But can that positive return be measured? In any business, there is increasing pressure to determine the most valuable programs, in financial terms, and areas where cuts can be made. In these cases, plant safety programs and safety professionals have historically been easy targets for cutbacks, simply because the true value of safety is not easily calculated. Hard