Looking for safety talk topics to use at work? Scroll down to browse the list of 250+ completely free safety talks below! Print them off to use for your next safety meeting or safety moment with your employees. Use the links below to segment the talks by the most relevant topic category to easily find what you are looking for.
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Separate Talks by Category: BEHAVIORAL | CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY | GENERAL INDUSTRY | OFFICE | MOTOR VEHICLE | SPANISH
Free Safety Toolbox Talk Topics Complete List
- * Advice for Using These Toolbox Talks *
- Achieving Safety Goals
- Alcohol Use
- Allergies
- Amputations
- Annual Checkup
- Asbestos Dangers
- Attitude and Safety
- Auto Accident Procedures
- Automated External Defibrillators
- Back Injuries and Prevention
- Backing Up Hazards
- Battery Handling
- Battling Complacency
- Bees and Wasps
- Before a Work Task Begins
- Being Client-focused (Construction Industry)
- Being Observant
- Being Present in the Moment
- Being Respectful to Coworkers
- Benzene Dangers in the Workplace
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Burn Hazards and Injury Prevention
- Burn Severity
- Carbon Monoxide Safety
- Carcinogens in the Workplace
- Chainsaw General Safety
- Choices at Home and Safety on the Job
- Clothing and Safety
- Cold Stress Hazards
- Common Cold
- Common Issues with Fire Extinguishers
- Communicating Issues
- Communication and Safety
- Communication Tools and Safety
- Concrete Burns
- Concrete Work
- Continually Learning
- Conveyor Belt General Safety
- Costs of Drugs on the Job
- Dangers of Excessive Sitting
- Dealing with Hazards
- Dealing with Stress from Home
- Defensive Driving
- Diesel Exhaust Dangers and Safeguards
- Diet
- Distracted Driving (Cellphone Use)
- Distracted While Walking
- Distractions Created by Smartphones When Not in Use
- Dog Attacks
- Doing Work Tasks Wrong the First Time
- Driving Safely Where Deer Are Present
- Dropped Objects on the Job
- Drowsy Driving
- Drug Abuse
- Drunk Driving
- Dump Truck Operation
- Dump Truck Overturns
- Dust Hazards in Construction
- Easy Way Instead of the Right Way
- Eating Habits
- Electrical Injuries
- Electrical Safety
- Elimination of Hazards
- Embracing Change in the Workplace
- Emergency Exits
- Energy Drink Dangers
- Everyone is Responsible for the Culture
- Excavation Safety
- Excavator Quick Coupler Device Safety
- Eye Damage Due to Sunlight
- Eye Injuries and Prevention
- Fall Protection
- Falls in the Construction Industry
- Falls on the Same Level
- Fatal Four Hazards (Construction)
- Fatigue on the Job
- Fatigue on the Roadways
- Filter Pot Sock Filter Changeout
- Fire Extinguishers Use and Inspection
- Fire Safety at Home
- Fire Watch General Safety
- Firework Safety and Injury Prevention
- First Aid Preparedness
- First Day Back to Work
- Five Common Contributing Factors
- Five Reasons to Work Safely Today
- Fixed Objects (Motor Vehicle Safety)
- Fixed Open Blade Knives
- Flu
- Food Allergies
- Forklift Fatalities and Injuries
- Four Focus Items for Work Area Inspections
- Front End Loader Safety
- Gasoline Safety
- Glycol Reclamation
- Good Enough Mindset
- Ground Personnel and Mobile Equipment
- Habits and Safety
- Hand Safety and Injury Prevention
- Hand Tool Inspections
- Hazardous Chemicals- Four Routes of Entry
- HDPE Pipe Welding
- Health is Everything
- Heart Attacks
- Heat Stress
- Heat Stroke
- Heavy Equipment (Four Other Hazards)
- Heavy Equipment (Two Significant Hazards)
- Heavy Equipment Operation
- Helping Out
- Hierarchy of Controls
- High Wind Dangers (Construction)
- Horseplay on the Job
- Hose Parting Pneumatic Testing
- Housekeeping in the Construction Industry
- How Observant Are You?
- How We React to Our World
- How What We Do at Home Affects Work
- Human Performance
- Hydration: The Importance of Water
- Hydrogen Sulfide
- Importance of Mentoring
- Importance of Organized Laydown Yards
- Insect Sting Allergies
- Instant Gratification and Safety
- Involve the Right Person
- It Was a Matter of Time
- It Won’t Happen to Me
- Know Your Limits at Work
- Knowing What to do in an Emergency
- Lack of Time
- Ladder Safety
- Lawn Mower Safety
- Lead Paint Dangers and Safety
- Learning From Past Incidents
- Learning the Hard Way
- Leave Yourself an Out
- Lifting and Rigging
- Lightning Safety at Work and Home
- Line of Fire Hazards
- Lube Oil Flushing
- Lyme Disease
- Machine Guarding
- Manual Handling Injury Prevention
- Material Recovery Facilities General Safety
- Mechanical Issue-Related Crashes
- Mosquitos
- Motor Vehicle Safety
- Motor Vehicle Safety (Loose Cargo)
- Muddy Work Areas
- New Employees on the Job
- New Equipment
- Nine Basic Construction Safety Rules
- Noise at Work and Home
- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
- Not a Big Deal Until it is
- Not My Problem
- Occupational-related Cancer
- Office Safety
- One Billion Dollars Spent on Injuries a Week
- One Decision
- One Safeguard Doesn’t Make it Safe
- Opioid Abuse
- Organization of Work Areas
- Orthostatic Intolerance
- Pinch Points and Hand Injuries
- Playing the Lottery and Workplace Injuries
- Poison Ivy
- Pressure to Get Work Done
- Pressure Washing
- Preventing Equipment Damage Incidents in Construction
- Proactive Versus Reactive Safety Approach
- Questions to Ask Before a Work Task
- Rabies in the US
- Radio Communication on the Job
- Rationalizing Unsafe Choices
- Ready For Work
- Recognized Versus Unrecognized Hazards
- Recordable Injuries – Why Employees Should Care
- Relying on Memory
- Report All Injuries
- Respirator Donning, Doffing, and Seal Checks
- Road Rage (Motor Vehicle Safety)
- S.O.R.T Tool
- Safety Can Be Redundant
- Safety Glasses
- Safety Related Paperwork
- Seatbelt Use and Safety
- Securing a Construction Site
- Selective Attention at Work
- Seven Basic General Industry Safety Rules
- Severity and Frequency
- Shift Work Dangers
- Shortcuts are a Choice
- Shoveling Snow
- Silica Dust Dangers and Safety Measures
- Silicosis
- Skid Steer Safety
- Skin Cancer Due to Sun Exposure
- Sleep
- Sling Inspections
- Slip Hazards and Safety
- Slips, Trips, and Falls
- Smoking and Your Health
- Snakes in the Workplace
- Spiders
- Spill Prevention
- Spotter Safety at Work
- Stopping Work
- Stretching Pros and Cons
- Strokes- Signs and Emergency Response
- Struck-by Incidents (Construction)
- Success Through Reaching Potential
- Surveying (Construction)
- Table Saw General Safety
- Take Safety Home
- Taking Action to Work Safe
- Taking Ownership of Safety
- Taking Safety For Granted
- Taking Shortcuts
- Task Planning
- The “WHY” for “WHAT” Needs Done
- The Little Things
- The Negative Side of Quick Reactions
- The Ripple Effect of Safety
- Theft from a Construction Site
- Think of the Next Person
- Three Self-Centered Reasons to Work Safely
- Three Types of Poor Housekeeping Hazards
- Three Way Communication
- Ticks
- Tornado Safety
- Train Safety
- Trip Injuries and Prevention
- Truck Driving – Hazards On and Off the Road
- Two Types of Workplace Stress
- Types of Fire Extinguishers
- Underground Utility Strikes
- Unloading Trailers (Construction)
- Unsafe Acts
- Unsafe Conditions in the Workplace
- Utility Vehicle Safety at Home and Work
- Vehicle Inspections
- Verbal Communication and Workplace Safety
- Verifying Safeguards
- Weakest Link on Your Team
- Weed Wacker Safety
- West Nile Virus
- What Can Hurt Me Today?
- What is Your “Why”
- What Kind of Influence are You?
- Which Safeguard Makes the Difference?
- Why We All Should Care
- Wildlife in the Workplace
- Wind Chill Index
- Winter Weather
- Winter Weather Driving
- Wood Dust
- Work Area Best Practices
- Working Alongside Subcontractors
- Working From Home
- Workplace Inspections
- Workplace Shootings
- Workplace Suicides
- Workplace Violence
- Young Drivers and Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Zero Injuries in the Workplace
What Are Workplace Safety Talks?
Safety talks are short safety messages for the members of a work crew prior to work beginning. These talks can be as short as a few minutes or longer than 20 minutes. On average, they are in the range of 5 or 10 minutes long in duration at most companies when conducted often. The talks can cover a range of topics or just a single focal point.
Below are answers to some other common questions individuals may have about conducting these types of talks for their work crews.
What are Other Names for These Meetings?
There are many names for safety talks. Some of the more common names are safety toolbox talks, toolbox talks, safety moments, safety briefings, safety pep talks, and tailgate meetings. For the most part, many of these names represent the same thing. However, there can be slight differences between companies or industries.
These meetings, no matter what they are called, are the safety message of the day for a work crew prior to the start of the day.
Providing a Safety Moment of the Day
When done correctly, these talks can have a profound effect on the overall safety program at a workplace. Companies that spend time holding these meetings are less likely to have injuries compared to a company that does not hold them on a regular basis.
Conducting meetings often is an effective way to deliver relevant and timely safety messages to an entire work crew. The time spent conducting these talks also goes a long way toward reinforcing prior training efforts.
Even just holding a 5-minute meeting every day equates to a massive amount of knowledge for your workforce over a year’s time. To be exact- it results in over 20 hours of education per employee a year! (5 minutes X 5 workdays per week X 50 work weeks= 1250 minutes… 1250 minutes/60 minutes per hour= 20.8 hours of education) Imagine the difference that education can make if you make the most out of every talk!
What Topics Should You Cover for These Safety Talks?
The topic or topics you should cover for the next safety toolbox talk will vary greatly from what topic(s) another company should be discussing. Some general questions you can ask yourself to narrow in on some topics:
- What training needs to be reinforced?
- What problems have we been having lately?
- What are common injuries in this line of work?
- What have our near misses been a result of?
- What trends are occurring in the workplace or in our industry?
There are many other questions or guidelines you can use to determine what topics or topics you should cover. Keep topics useful, relevant, and timely.
Where Can I Find Free Safety Topics Online in 2023?
This site has one of the largest libraries of free topics found online today. That being said, there are also a number of great resources online to find topics for your next safety meeting. One of our favorite resources for topics is on OSHA’s website. They have a page called Safety and Health Topics that has a large list of high-quality topics.
Some other high-quality and reputable sources for toolbox talks or materials to support talks:
- Mine Health and Safety Administration
- Center for Disease Control
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
Who Should Deliver a Safety Talk?
The person who is directing the work should be the one responsible for conducting or leading the safety talk. The responsibility at many companies, however, falls onto the safety officer or EHS manager instead. The reason for having the individual who is directing the work lead the talk is to show support for the message and efforts to work safely.
If it is constantly the EHS department’s responsibility to present, then employees can be led to believe that the frontline supervisors or managers do not truly support safety. If the workers’ supervisors or managers are not participating in the safety efforts, why should they?
The EHS department should instead serve more of an advisory role to the supervisor conducting the talk. They can provide the supervisor with topics, materials, or information for the talk, as well as chime in as needed to add value.
Do not be afraid to offer employees the chance to present at a meeting. While most employees would never choose to present a topic, you may be surprised to find that many would if given the chance.
How Often Should You Conduct Safety Talks?
There is no short and dry answer to how often your company should be conducting these talks. Some companies do multiple talks daily, and other companies may only do them monthly. A monthly schedule is probably way too sparingly for most companies, and two talks a day may be too often for others.
Companies often settle on conducting daily or weekly talks. At many companies, daily safety meetings prior to work beginning is an appropriate practice. Holding meetings that often may not make sense for all operations, however.
As mentioned earlier, these talks do not have to be extremely long. A lot of value can be added in a short amount of time if the talks are completed often. Employees are more likely to take more away from these talks if they are shorter in duration but are more frequent compared to longer meetings that occur infrequently.
Where Should Safety Talks Be Conducted?
These talks should be held in a place where employees are comfortable and can focus. Meeting rooms or break rooms are common areas where companies choose to hold their safety meetings. Another setting that can be even more effective is the work area(s) themselves.
This should only be done if the work area is comfortable, safe, and convenient for all involved in the talk. Conducting the talk in the work area itself can help employees visualize the information being conveyed, as well as allow the presenter to point out specific examples of what they are discussing.
If holding it in the work area is not an option, pictures or maps of the worksite can be great tools so that employees can visualize what is being said.
What Else Can You Do to Have a Better Safety Meeting or Safety Moment?
There are many things you can do to hold a better meeting. Below are a few quick tips that have not already been mentioned in this post:
- Prepare ahead of time.
- Keep topics relevant and timely to the audience.
- Only take the time necessary to cover the topic; do not drag it out.
- Do not read the talk word for word from the paper.
- Get the audience involved by asking for stories or examples relating to the topic.
- Use visual aids as needed to help get your message across.
- Have fun- don’t take yourself so seriously!
For more tips, check out this post on this site that outlines 10 tips for a better toolbox talk.
Does OSHA Require Safety Toolbox Talks?
While OSHA does not specifically require a company to hold safety talks or toolbox talks in any of their standards, doing so can play a part in helping to ensure compliance with some standards. For example, OSHA requires that employers make employees aware of the hazards of the work that they do and how to eliminate them.
One specific example of this is found in the construction standard under 1926.21(b)(2), where OSHA states: “The employer shall instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury.”
While training will be a large part of ensuring compliance with this specific regulation, safety toolbox talks are also a way to help to ensure compliance. These talks need to have the correct documentation to do so.
How Should You Document Safety Toolbox Talks?
Without documenting these efforts, there is no actual proof they were done. Meaning there is nothing to show OSHA or someone in your company in response to whether or not you were educating your employees on the hazards involved in their work. A lack of documentation can be problematic.
Every time a talk is conducted, a sign-in sheet should be completed by the presenter and signed by everyone present for the meeting. Some guidelines for documentation:
- Include the date and time.
- Include the presenter(s) name(s).
- Have everyone sign the sheet.
- Be detailed about what topics were discussed.
- Attach any materials used for the talk to the sign-in sheet.
- File documentation in chronological order so they can be easily found to be reviewed if needed.
Summary
The answers to the who, what, when, why, and how of safety talks can be as long of a list as the possible topics you could cover in your next meeting. The bottom line is your company should be conducting these talks on a regular basis as well as giving thought on how to continually improve on giving them. Use some of the insight here and tailor it to your company’s needs.
Consider checking out the Members Area of the site. There are plenty of other safety topics covered in there (with additional content added each month) if you find yourself not finding what you need in all of the free content offered on this site!