Workplace Safety

Always moving forward on our safety journey

Our quest for continuous improvement includes our steadfast dedication to safety, with many industry leaders looking to us as an expert in this arena. All Cintas facilities uphold internationally recognized safety standards, and they’re expected to adhere to them every day.

In fact, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has consistently honored us with the “VPP Star Recognition for Workplace Safety” award. And with more than 100 Cintas locations recognized we rank 1st in the nation for the number of sites receiving this coveted distinction. We’re also recognized in several countries for our dedication to safety and health, with awards from Honduras and Mexico.

 

All Cintas facilities uphold internationally recognized standards, and they’re frequently assessed for adherence to safety guidelines. We also make sure our employees are empowered to help make their workplaces safe every day. Just one example is our Executive Safety Council — which is chaired by our CEO and gives key partners the opportunity to define strategies and lead effective change.


Established in 2008, our Safety Vision directs us in achieving three important goals:

  • Every Cintas location is injury-free.
  • Every partner is engaged in continuously improving safety.
  • Our company is widely recognized as one of the world’s leaders in safety and health performance.
 

A Ready™ workplace focused on training

It takes a diligent safety culture to achieve operational excellence, and this is clearly evident at Cintas. Safety is embedded throughout our company with principles and practices in full force across every division.

To help foster confidence in the safe performance of job duties, every one of our employee-partners receives extensive training — and it has certainly paid off. Since 2007, our Total Recordable Injury Rate has decreased more than 65%.


We strive to be injury-free through our:

  • Management Safety Leadership Skills Course: Our passion for safety starts from the top. All members of our Senior Management team are required to take this comprehensive overview of proven principles, which are featured as part of the Harvard School of Public Health Safety & Health curriculum.
  • Maintenance Safety Certification: All of our maintenance employee-partners must successfully complete this certification — arming them with the knowledge they need to consistently act with safety in mind.
  • Prevention Audits: While our certification process measures the safety knowledge of our maintenance teams, our prevention audits focus on the potentially high-risk tasks they typically encounter every day.
 


VPP Star Certification
Certificate of Recognition


WE’RE ALSO ENGAGED IN CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING SAFETY AND HEALTH THROUGH OUR:

  • Transformational safety processes that seek to actively involve our employee-partners.
  • Safety Improvement Committees comprised of frontline partners defining strategies and leading effective change.
  • Ergonomic Excellence Centers, where our partners are trained by our corporate ergonomics staff to develop and implement solutions for safer job performance.

A world-class commitment to safety at work

Cintas has a strong commitment to safety engagement at our facilities. So it’s not surprising that more than 80 of our U.S. locations have received OSHA’s “VPP Star Recognition for Workplace Safety” — the ultimate award for the practice of exemplary occupational safety and health. Of course achieving this distinction is no small feat, given the fact that it can take several years to complete the rigorous onsite evaluations conducted by OSHA and other agencies.

Our dedication to world leadership in safety and health is demonstrated by:

  • Giving back to the profession: Our award-winning, highly-credentialed Safety & Health (S&H) team provides education sessions at numerous conferences and symposiums. Along with serving on professional S&H boards, Cintas has more than 40 VPP Special Government Employees (SGEs) across our organization — all of them mentoring companies on how to become safer places of work.
  • Setting new standards: At the request of the Honduran government, we helped establish a standard for safety and health — and we became the first workplace in Honduras to receive the “Safe Company with Safe Work” designation.
  • S&H industry innovation. Cintas regularly leads the industry in developing S&H processes and equipment. We’re regular contributors in industry training sessions and have developed:
    • • The Safeload system for safer, more ergonomic handling of soiled laundry
    • • The patented Graceport device for safe electrical maintenance
    • • Contractor safety qualification processes
    • • The wash-alley safety system for safe access to industrial laundry equipment

Driven to promote safety across our fleets

Many of our employee-partners operate vehicles to deliver our products and services to customers, with a fleet traveling millions of miles every year. With such a mobile workforce, adhering to on-the-road vehicle safety is simply imperative. Specifically, we follow these important practices:

 
  • Driver Safety TrainingAll Cintas drivers complete classroom and on-the-road safe driver courses, and our service drivers receive regular evaluations while driving their routes.
  • Three Points of ContactTo help reduce slips, trips and falls, we install grab bars on the outside of our service vehicles — along with handrails on the descending side of the passenger steps. This allows our drivers to keep their feet and at least one hand in contact with the steps and a railing or grab bar at all times.
  • SafeloadWith our innovative Safeload system, soiled uniforms are stored in heavy-duty cloth bags hanging from rails inside our vehicles — resulting in a safe work environment with a clear walking path for our Service Sales Representatives (SSRs).
  • Pre-trip/Post-trip InspectionsOur extensively trained drivers perform a thorough physical inspection of their vehicles every day, before they put their trucks into service and after their routes are completed. If any safety issues are detected, the vehicle can’t be put back into service until all repairs are completed.

Relevant Data

  • Cintas employee-partners receive safety training covering more than 30 topics each year.
  • All Cintas managers are required to attend OSHA’s 10-hour Safety Improvement course.
  • Cintas was the first in the uniform laundry industry to receive OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star certification — the highest honor for exemplary safety and health.
  • More than 80 Cintas locations have received OSHA’s esteemed “VPP Star Recognition for Workplace Safety” award. We rank 2nd in the United States for number of sites receiving this distinction.
  • Cintas locations in Canada, Honduras and Mexico have all been awarded safety certifications at the highest levels.
  • Since 2007, our Total Recordable Injury Rate has dropped an exceptional 67.3%.
  • More than 45 of our partners are designated as OSHA Special Government Employees (SGEs) – with the responsibility of mentoring companies in safety and health.
  • We designed a patented safety device to help keep our partners safe from electrical hazards.
 

Relevant Awards

  • The Cintas won the 2019 Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association, Inc.’s Innovation Award for its ergonomics program
  • Our La Ceiba, Honduras location won 2019 Ergo Cup® Excellence Award Winner for Presentation Quality
  • More than 100 Cintas locations have received OSHA’s “VPP Star Recognition for Workplace Safety” award.
      – We rank 1st in the nation for this highly esteemed OSHA recognition.
  • The Cintas Maintenance Safety Certification Program was recently given a Special Recognition Award for Safety at the International Maintenance Conference.
  • Our Greensboro, NC location won the International Ergo Cup, and two partners on our team received Practitioner of the Year at the Applied Ergonomics Conference.
  • We developed a Maintenance Safety Certification that received a Special Recognition Award at the Uptime Maintenance Conference.
  • We were the first recipient of the Honduran “Safe Company with Safe Work” designation.
  • We received the award for Mexican VPP – PASST Programa de Autogestión en Seguridad Y Salud en el Trabajo (loosely translated to Self-Management Program in Safety and Health at Work).