Toolbox talks are informal discussions that address specific hazards or conditions. They are often delivered before a shift or when there is a change in the job, conditions, or equipment.
Safety toolbox talks are less formal and shorter than safety meetings and other types of training sessions. They serve as an excellent refresher and a way to keep employees on top of changes in regulations, safety procedures, equipment, personal protective equipment, and job assignments and conditions.
While they are commonly associated with construction work, toolbox talks are also effective in manufacturing and other industries. When you’re preparing a toolbox presentation, remember that even though there’s not a lot of content, the words you deliver must be hard-hitting.
Here are the “5 Ps” of a winning toolbox talk:
1. Prepare. Review your knowledge of the subject by rereading the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, the results of incident investigations, and input from safety committee members.
2. Pinpoint. Focus on one practice or process that you wish to communicate.
3. Personalize. Refer to your own operations and site so that workers can relate to the material.
4. Picturize. Use props, physical objects, and tools—not just words—to make your points.
5. Prescribe. State precisely what should and should not be done to avoid hazards and injury. Consider a one-sheet (or card-size) handout that summarizes the content of the talk.
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When you’re done, ask participants to sign an attendance form that tells management and OSHA, should they come looking, that the session was held.
Safety Expert Likes Toolbox Talks
Attorney and Certified Safety Professional Adele Abrams is a big fan of toolbox talks. Abrams, who will present two BLR® safety master classes this fall, explains. “I like them because they are shorter duration, can be tailored to job-specific circumstances, and are a good way of documenting repeated training on a variety of subjects, including task training.”
Abrams adds that toolbox talks can be a good way to get employees involved in your safety program. Providing an appropriate incentive for preparing and delivering a toolbox session is “a way of moving incentives away from lagging indicators like lost workdays and toward proactive activities such as training participation,” she adds.
BLR’s Safety Engagement & Employee Training 360 Master Classes will be held September 30 in New York City and October 3 in Houston, Texas. Topics to be covered during the day-long events include the supervisor’s role in a safe, healthy, and compliant work environment; safety committee success; incentives that motivate without breaking the law; effective discipline; and OSHA enforcement activity and priorities.
Effective 7-minute sessions provide comprehensive safety training at an average cost of $1 a day. Get the details.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll demonstrate a brief training session on Job Hazard Analysis, and we’ll showcase an entire library of toolbox talks that help you train in 7 minutes!