Toolbox Talks

Find Safety Meeting Ideas

Workers need to be trained to recognize and avoid unsafe working conditions. Using common sense is only part of the solution in preventing injuries or accidents. These brief documents provide examples you can use to train workers during safety meetings on various safety & health issues. While the  complete Tool Box Talks document  these materials came from was originally created specifically for the construction industry, the discussions can be relevant for businesses in all industries.

The materials provided here are provided with the permission of Contractors Insurance Service, Inc. and Mr. Ned Devereaux.

General Safety

• Accidents Are Avoidable
• Accident/Incident Reporting
• Sample Report Form
• Care For the Injured
• The Deadly Dozen
• Listen For Danger - Listening Safety
• Near Misses
• Recognizing Unsafe Conditions
• Shop Safety
• What Does An Accident Cost
• Whose Responsibility is it (with Supplemental Information)?
• Why Accidents Occur

Common Sense Subjects

• Safety is Common Sense
• Keeping in Shape
• Warming Up
• Proper Lifting
• Horseplay
• Short Cuts

Protecting the Public

• Protecting the Public
• Children and Construction
• Traffic Control
• Barricades & Warning Devices

Effects of Weather

• Effects of Weather
• Heat Exhaustion/Sunstroke
• Dressing for Winter Work

Electrical

• Electrical Hazards
• Assured Grounding Program
• Power Lines and Mobile Cranes

Fire Protection

• Fire Protection and Control
• Fire Extinguishers
• Refueling Equipment
• Gasoline

Housekeeping

• Housekeeping
• Trash Chutes
• Material Handling
• Material Storage

Injuries, Falls From Elevated Heights

• Training Requirements - Fall Hazards
• Falls
• Ladders
• Fall Causes Death: Ladders Are Killers
• Floors and Other Openings
• Guardrails
• Ramps and Runways
• Full Body Harnesses/Lifelines

Injuries, Being Struck By

• Tool Use and Care
• Heavy Equipment
• Heavy Equipment Hazards
• The Spotter
• Signaling Techniques

Injuries, Being Caught Between or Under

• Excavations
• Excavation: Additional Discussion Points
• Trenching
• Dangers Overhead
• Working in Confined Spaces
• Heavy Equipment
• Heavy Equipment Hazards
• Working Around Cranes

Personal Protective Equipment

• Construction Clothing
• Head Protection - Hard Hats
• Eye Protection
• Foot Protection
• Hand Protection
• Personal Protective Equipment - Concrete Construction
• Knee Pads
• Respirators

Tool Use and Care

• The Right Tool For The Right Job
• Hand Tools
• Screwdrivers
• Wrenches
• Hammers/Chisels
• Nails Are Dangerous Too
• Table Saws
• Electric Power Tools
• Electric Hand Saws
• Portable Electric Tools
• Powder Actuated Tools
• Chain Saws

Vehicle Safety

• The Spotter
• Signaling Techniques
• Vehicle Operations

Additional Topics

• Safety Away From Work
• Compressed Gas Cylinders

Resources

• Quick Reference Guide
• "Tool Box Talk" Training Record
• Safety Training Steps (with Blank Training Outline)

A

Abrasive Blasting

Abrasive Wheels

Acids and Bases

Aerial Lifts

Ammonia/Ammonia Refrigeration

Amputations

Amputations Special Emphasis Program  (see also  Special Emphasis Programs )

Antineoplastic Agents

Arboriculture

Arboriculture Special Emphasis Program (see  Logging and Arboriculture Special Emphasis Program )

Asbestos  (see also  Health Hazards Special Emphasis Program )

Avian Flu

B

Bases (see  Acids and Bases )

Benzene

Beryllium

Blasting and Explosives

Bloodborne Pathogens

Boat Manufacturing

1-Bromopropane

Byssinosis (see  Cotton Dust)

C

Carbon Monoxide

Chain Saw Safety

Chromium, Hexavalent (see  Hexavalent Chromium )

Combustible Dust

Commercial Diving

Communication Towers

Compressed Air and Compressed Air Equipment

Compressed Gases

Concrete and Masonry Construction

Confined Spaces

Construction Special Emphasis Program

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Cotton Dust

Cranes and Derricks

D

Dentistry

Derricks (see  Cranes and Derricks )

Dichloromethane (see  Methylene Chloride )

Diisocyanates (see  Isocyanates )

Dipping and Coating

E

Ebola Virus  (see also  Bloodborne Pathogens )

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution

Electrical Safety

Emergency Action Plans

Ergonomics

Excavation and Trenching

Exits and Exit Routes

Explosives

Eyewash Stations and Emergency Showers  

F

Fall Protection

Fire Prevention Plans

Flammable Liquids

Food Manufacturing Special Emphasis Program

Forklifts (see  Powered Industrial Trucks )

Formaldehyde

GHI

G

Grain Handling Facilities

Grocery and Related Product Wholesalers Special Emphasis Program

H

Halogenated Hydrocarbons

Hand and Portable Powered Tools

Hazard Communication

Hazardous Chemicals Right to Know

Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response

Health Hazards Special Emphasis Program  (see  Asbestos ,  Lead ,  Isocyanates ,  Hexavalent Chromium ,  Silica ) 

Hearing Conservation (see  Noise )

Heat Stress

Hexavalent Chromium

Hierarchy of Controls

Highway Work Zone Safety

Hurricane Assistance and Recovery

I

Indoor Air Quality

Ionizing Radiation (see  Radiation, Ionizing and Non-Ionizing )

Isocyanates

JKL

J

K

L

Laboratory Safety

Ladders  (see  Stairways and Ladders )

Landscape and Horticultural Services (see also  Chain Saw Safety  and  Logging and Arboriculture Special Emphasis Program )

Laser Safety

Lead

Lockout/Tagout

Logging

Logging and Arboriculture Special Emphasis Program

Long Term Care

Long Term Care Special Emphasis Program

M

Machine Guarding

Manlifts

Maritime Industry

Materials Handling and Storage

Mechanical Power Press

Medical Services and First Aid

Methylene Chloride

N

Noise

Non-Ionizing Radiation (see  Radiation, Ionizing and Non-Ionizing )

O

Organic Solvents

Overhead and Gantry Cranes

P

Pandemic Flu

Personal Protective Equipment

Poultry Processing

Powered Industrial Trucks  (Forklifts)

Powered Press Brakes

Pressure Vessels

Process Safety Management

Pyrotechnics

Q

R

Radiation, Ionizing and Non-Ionizing

Recording and Reporting

Respiratory Protection

S

Sandblasting (see  Abrasive Blasting )

Scaffolds

Silica

Special Emphasis Programs

Spray Operations

Stairways and Ladders

Steel Erection

Styrene

Swine Flu

T

Temporary Worker

Trenching (see  Excavation and Trenching )

Tuberculosis

U

Underground Construction

V

Vector-Borne Diseases

Ventilation

Veterinary Services Safety and Health

Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

W

Walking and Working Surfaces

Welding, Cutting and Brazing

Wood Products Manufacturing

Work Zone Safety (see  Highway Work Zone Safety )

Workplace Violence

X

X-rays (see  Radiation, Ionizing and Non-Ionizing )

Xylene (see  Flammable Liquids )

Y

Young Worker

Z

Zoonotic Diseases