Welcome to UHT Construction Supply’s resource for comprehensive Construction Safety Toolbox Talks. Our mission is to promote workplace safety and equip construction professionals with the knowledge and tools to prevent accidents. We offer free, printable pdf toolbox talks and other safety resources to promote safety on the job site.
Importance of Emphasizing Construction Safety
The construction industry is among the sectors with the highest risk for workplace accidents. According to OSHA, construction, transportation, material moving and extraction industries accounted for over 47% of workplace fatalities in 2020. These incidents range from falls, being struck by objects, electrocutions, to getting caught in or between objects. Each accident is not just a statistic, but a life, a worker with a family, and a team member whose whose life was affected by injury. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in construction and heavy industry to emphasize safety.
The Cost of Accidents
The risk of not investing in site safety extends beyond the human toll. Accidents on construction sites carry a heavy financial burden, involving both direct and indirect costs
Direct Costs of Construction Accidents
Direct cost of construction accidents include, but are not limited to:
- Medical Expenses: Expenses related to care of injured employees. This can include cost of workers compensation for recordable injuries
- Fines & Penalties: OSHA may levy fines for each violation up to $13,653 per violation
- Equipment, Material and Property Damage: Many construction accidents resulting in injury to employees also result in damaged equipment, property and material. Indirect Costs of Construction Accidents
Indirect Costs of Construction Accidents
Indirect cost of construction accidents result from the long term damage caused by construction accidents. They include, but are not limited to:
- Loss of Productivity: Employees may experience a loss of morale due to a high rate of accidents or perception of an unsafe work environment
- Increased Insurance Premiums:
- Damage to Company’s Reputation: Companies with high recordable injury rates will find it more difficult to secure future projects and hire quality employees.
The National Safety Council estimates that the average recordable injury costs construction companies over $30,000. Investing in safety is not just a moral obligation but a financially sound decision.
Building a Strong Safety Culture
Develop a Safety Program:
Write a program for your company or project. Establish protocols that conform to OSHA rules for the various elements of your work such as fall protection, excavation protection, confined space, electrical work, equipment operation, etcetera. Create a schedule for regular safety meetings and training. Document that the program is being followed by saving checklists, written JHA’s and recording attendance for safety training sessions. Enforce the safety program. Ensure there are disciplinary measures and rewards.
Hold Regular Safety Meetings and Toolbox Talk Discussions
Develop a schedule to conduct safety talks with employees on a regular basis. Toolbox talks are an effective way to review training, discuss specific safety topics and notify employees of potential hazards related to upcoming or ongoing work. An effective toolbox talk encourages participation and active discussion among team members. Use toolbox discussions and safety meetings to remind employees that safety is a priority. Create a sign in sheet to track attendance and document that the safety meeting took place.
Use Job Hazard Analysis
Use JHA’s to analyze potential hazards before starting a new activity. A great way to implement JHA’s is to issue standardized forms to each crew and have them complete a JHA for each task they plan to perform that day. JHA’s can also be incorporated into work plans to provide space to focus on safety measures for a specific task.
Conduct Regular Workplace Safety Audits
Create a procedure and schedule for regular jobsite safety audits to inspect the jobsite. Safety audits are an effective way to identify potential safety risks and unsafe conditions on the construction site. Safety audits can also be used as a way to ensure things like fire extinguishers, first aid arrangements, PPE, tools and equipment are checked on a regular basis. Develop a safety report for the site after each audit and create a list of action items that include health and safety risks to address or preventative measures that need to be implemented. Its also a good idea to rotate employees conducting the inspection. Carpenters, operators, welders, superintendents and project managers all have different perspectives and knowledge bases. Rotating employees for your jobsite inspections ensures safety is being monitored through fresh eyes and helps reduce blind spots in your safety program.
Provide Training
Conduct formal training sessions for employees on the jobsite. Without formal training, workers are unlikely to have all of the knowledge they need to work safely and the regulations applicable to the work they perform. Many vendors and safety organizations offer training programs to construction companies. Use these resources to ensure effective training is being provided to employees. Common training topics include entry of confined spaces, trenching, fall protection, rigging, first aid procedures, and crane signaling.
Ideas for Safety Toolbox Talk Topics.
Safety discussions, tailgate meetings, toolbox talks, safety briefings: Whatever you want to call them, it is important to hold regular meetings with the workers to discuss safety on the jobsite. Use them to discuss previous safety training, current workplace hazards, previous workplace incidents and specific safety topics pertaining to upcoming work items. These meetings serve to keep safety at the top of everyone’s mind and emphasize that employers are invested in creating a safe work environment. Below is a list of common safety toolbox topics with links to our free toolbox talks. Any of the toolbox talks below are great topics for your next safety meeting.
- Trench and Excavation Toolbox Talk
- Silica Dust Toolbox Talk
- Confined Space Toolbox Talk
- Rigging & Lifting Toolbox Talk
- Fall Protection Toolbox Talk
- Circular Saw Toolbox Talk
- Forklift & Telehandler Operation Toolbox Talk
- Working with Cranes Safety Toolbox Talk
- Ladder Safety Toolbox Talk
- Signs of Heat Exhaustion & Heat Safety Toolbox Talk
- Ergonomics and Repetitive Motion Injuries Toolbox Talk
- Fire Extinguisher Types, Use & Picking the Right Extinguisher Toolbox Talk
- MSDS & Hazardous Substances Toolbox Talk
- Falling Objects and Overhead Loads Toolbox Talk
- Common Causes of Injury and Tips to Prevent Injuries Toolbox Talk
- Serious Injury & Emergency Procedures Toolbox Talk
- Slips Trips and Falls Toolbox Talk
- Electrical Hazards Toolbox Talk
- Fall Protection Harness Inspection Toolbox Talk
- Common Injuries on the Job Site and How to Protect Employees
- First Aid Toolbox Talk
- Accident Reporting Toolbox Talk
- Housekeeping Toolbox Talk
- Road Work Safety
- Powerline Safety
- Winter Site Safety
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Safety Toolbox Talk
Other Tips to Create a Safe Working Environment
Follow through on your safety program to ensure it is effective in protecting employees on the job site. If OSHA conducts an inspection, they may ask for documentation that demonstrates the safety program is being followed and enforced. Safety is an active, ongoing process. Below are some ways to continue the process of monitoring and improving workplace safety.
Encourage Accident and Near Miss Reporting
Develop a reporting procedure for accidents and near misses. Include a detailed account of what happened, the people involved, what caused the incident and any other relevant information. Document what corrective measures were implemented to mitigate risks in the future.
Near misses are incidents where an unsafe condition or even occurred, but the incident did not result in an injury or material damage. It can be tempting to allow near misses to go unreported, but they are a great opportunity to identify hazards that could cause injuries in the future. Follow your reporting procedure to identify the cause and corrective action to prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
Documenting and reporting incidents is a great way to identify and mitigate workplace hazards. These reports create a track record of where the safety program failed and how the team plans to improve in the future. These reports can also be used in future safety training sessions and toolbox talks to increase employee awareness of the incident and how it can be prevented in the future.
Track Progress with Documentation
Document as many aspects of your safety program as possible. Save toolbox talks, site audits, equipment inspections, incident reports, sign in sheets, training sessions etc., to create a record that can referenced at a later date.
When starting a new project or work activity similar to previously completed work, consult your safety documentation from that time period to see what hazards or incidents were encountered and how they were mitigated. Incorporate this prior experience into you work plans
Your safety records can be a great resource to prove you “practice what you preach”. Additionally, safety documents can be shown to potential clients, partners and employees as a way to prove your team is serious about workplace safety. In the event of a OSHA inspection, the inspector may ask for documentation showing that the safety program is being followed.
Enforce the Safety Program
Employees must be incentivized to follow the safety rules to make the safety program effective. Workers may not prioritize safe protocols without positive reinforcement or consequences to give “teeth” to the safety program.
Reward employees for excellent safety performance. Set safety goals for the team. For example:
- 3 months with no incidents,
- 3 safety audits with no violations,
- All inspection & JHA’s completed for 6 consecutive weeks
When these goals are met, employees should be rewarded for their safe work. Free tools, merchandise, monetary bonuses and extra paid time off are all great ways to reward employees for following the safety program.
There also must be consequences for safety violations. Develop procedures to discipline employees based on the number of offenses and the severity of the violation. Be sure to communicate to your team what the disciplinary procedures are in advance. Workers will respect a safety program that incorporates both rewards and consequences. Be sure to emphasize that these measures are being taken to prevent their lives and well being. Be sure to document disciplinary actions to demonstrate that the program is being enforced.
Encourage Participation
Safety programs have the most impact when the entire team is involved and has input. Toolbox talks, JHA’s, safety audits training and other elements of workplace safety programs should not be top-down. The following items are ideas on how to facilitate participation of the entire team in the safety program:
Keep the Entire Team Involved
Rotate workers and supervisors performing the workplace safety audit. If the safety officer is responsible for performing weekly safety inspection of the jobsite, have various members of the team accompany them to assist in auditing the jobsite. One week, have the project superintendent help with the safety audit. Another week, a concrete foreman. Another week, a few carpenters from the structural concrete crew, etc. Have the group responsible for the weekly safety audit present the report to the team during the next toolbox meeting and follow up to ensure the reported action items were addressed.
Develop a Safety Committee
Incorporate a workplace safety committee into the program. Safety committees can take on various forms. One version is to designate several employees each quarter to form the committee for a 3 month period. In this example, management selects employees from various trades and crews across the jobsite with a certain number of craft workers, field supervisors and office personnel. Each month the committee meets to discuss safety issues they have discovered and action plan to address each issue. It can be beneficial to designate a point of emphasis for each committee. If the project requires a lot of underground work during the period a committee is formed, have the members pay special attention to trenching and excavation safety.
Develop a safety committee SOP that works best for your project. It can be a great way to bring in new perspectives and ideas to improve safety in the workplace by keeping the entire team engaged.
Incentivize Participation
Encourage participation during toolbox talks and JHA meetings. One simple way to facilitate this is by asking follow up questions at the end of the meeting. The questions can be about a recent training session, the toolbox topic or request general thoughts on jobsite safety. Encourage participation by handing out prizes for correct answers. Company ball caps, flash lights, tools and gift cards all make great prizes to hand out during meetings.
Wrapping Up Construction Safety
Employers and supervisors in the construction industry have a duty to protect workers from the many hazards and risks they are exposed to on a daily basis. UHT seeks to promote sound safety practice by providing free relevant toolbox talks and other resources. Implement a structured safety program and offer good training to workers in order to prevent workplace injuries and even death.