In the massive world of manufacturing and construction, safety, quality, and productivity are linked. It’s impossible to sacrifice one without sacrificing the others. When organizations put better care and attention into maintaining their safety, quality, and productivity, they are also better able to serve their customers and protect their employees.

Businesses usually will see safety, quality, and productivity as interfering with each other, while they actually operate in concert. Companies must not think of safety as a minor concern, but rather as an incredibly important component to business success.

Safety improves quality and productivity. When operations are unsafe, they aren’t well-managed. Employees will not be motivated nor mindful, and employee churn will be far greater. Quality and productivity both suffer when employees are under stress, unsatisfied, or unable to complete their mission. But when businesses are safe, it frees up employees to focus on their quality and their productivity. The safer the organization is, the less frequently the organization will experience large scale disruption.

Quality improves safety and productivity. Safety is a measure of conscientiousness and proactiveness. High quality work means better results and better products. The higher quality the work, the fewer re-works are needed, and the greater overall productivity is. When quality is high for a business, it can be assumed that standards for the business are generally high, including safety equipment, safety software, and safety processes.

Productivity improves safety and quality. Carelessness is often what begets safety issues. With the appropriate (and productive) safety processes, safety can be improved, and quality can be improved as well. The more productive employees are, the less likely they are to cut corners on things like safety processes. The more productive they are, the more likely they are to put extra attention into the quality of their work.

As you can see, all three of these elements really rely upon each other to improve upon the organization’s outcomes. When one pillar falls, the others follow. But when one pillar is strong, it strengthens the entire business. Companies need to take a look at their safety, quality, and productivity, so they can explore where they may be falling short, and where their business may be destabilized.