Aug 12, 2026
You inspect for hazards every single day. When did anybody last inspect the culture? In new research across the United States and Canada, a toxic or unhealthy work culture ranked above unsafe or hazardous working conditions as a reason people would leave a new manufacturing job inside the first three months. Forty-seven percent against forty-three. Most leaders hear that and file it under the soft stuff. Trevor takes a different position. Four points apart is not two problems, it is one. Culture is a safety system. A plant where people do not speak up is a plant where near misses go unreported, and an unreported near miss is an incident waiting for its turn. He walks the mechanism one link at a time, from the grinding shield nobody wants to cross the plant to get, to the fork truck rolling a stop sign on midnights when nobody is watching. Then four questions to take back to your plant, starting with the one most leaders never think to ask: what does your near-miss reporting rate look like next to your incident rate?
Also inside, why the most experienced workers are the most certain that culture is the dealbreaker, and a confession from fifteen years as a materials manager about what really gets communicated when the truck is late. A practical look at safety culture and manufacturing team leadership for plant managers, operations leaders, and frontline supervisors.
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Connect with Trevor:
LinkedIn 👉 linkedin.com/in/trevorblondeel
Website 👉 manufacturinggreatness.com