Scroll down to view our list of over 150 completely free construction safety toolbox topics! Pick a topic to print and use at your company’s next safety meeting. Safety education and training are vital in any workplace, but this is especially true in the construction industry.
Unlike some general industry operations, the construction industry is often ever-changing, and change brings new and unique hazards to address, such as working in hot weather. Using the talks below can give your work crew guidance on many different hazards they could encounter. Spending time to conduct useful safety meetings in the morning before work begins can be an effective way to reduce the risk of employees being injured on the job.
What is a Toolbox Talk?
In the construction industry, a toolbox talk is a short safety message used to address hazards, share best practices, and reinforce safety requirements prior to employees beginning their workday. A frontline supervisor or safety representative is normally the individual responsible for choosing a relevant safety topic to present to the work crew.
These toolbox talks take place in the field and can be as short as five or ten minutes long. Toolbox talks, which are also referred to as safety talks, are an effective method to address safe behaviors with all field employees consistently. Dedicating time to conduct these meetings can have a profound effect on a company’s safety program.
How Often Should Safety Talks Be Carried Out?
Safety talks are often done prior to the start of every work shift in the construction industry. There are also many construction companies that choose to hold weekly safety talks. While there is no set guideline as to what the frequency should be, daily or weekly safety talks are generally more effective than waiting long periods of time between talks occurring.
Spending just five minutes a day, five days a week, talking about safety equates to over 21 hours of safety education for each employee over a period of one year! Making the most of this time can have a significant positive impact on safety at a worksite.
What Do You Need for Construction Toolbox Safety Talks?
Choose a relevant topic to the work that is being completed and relate it back to specific examples of what is taking place on your particular job site. Involve the workers in a discussion by asking questions and asking for experiences relating to the topic of the day. Involve front-line supervisors or higher-level management in the talks to ensure the field workers understand that operations fully support safety efforts.
How to Track Safety Talks in the Construction Industry
All safety training efforts should be thoroughly documented. Safety talks are no different. The most common way to track safety meetings is through a simple sign-in sheet. The sign-in sheet should include the date, time, safety topics discussed, discussion notes, and presenters’ names at a minimum.
An example of a safety talk sign-in sheet can be downloaded by clicking here. All employees who are present for the safety talk should sign the sign-in sheet. Your company’s standard operating procedures should provide guidance as to how long and where safety documentation is retained.
Our Construction Safety Talks
The list of free printable construction safety talk topics below is a subcategory of all of the 250+ free talks.
The site is continually being updated with fresh new topics both for visitors wanting free safety content as well as for paying members. Members get access to 100s of additional safety talks and other resources that are not found on the free site. There are also currently 80+ Spanish construction available for members as well. Click here to download the Spanish version of the Dropped Objects Safety Talk.
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Free Construction Safety Toolbox Talks Currently Available to Print
- Alcohol Use
- Allergies
- Amputations
- Annual Checkup
- Asbestos Dangers
- Automated External Defibrillators
- Back Injuries and Prevention
- Backing Up Hazards
- Battery Handling
- Battling Complacency
- Bees and Wasps
- Being Client-focused (Construction Industry)
- Benzene Dangers in the Workplace
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Burn Hazards and Injury Prevention
- Burn Severity
- Carbon Monoxide Safety
- Carcinogens in the Workplace
- Chainsaw General Safety
- 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
- Costs of Drugs on the Job
- Dangers of Excessive Sitting
- Dealing with Stress from Home
- Diesel Exhaust Dangers and Safeguards
- Distracted Driving (Cellphone Use)
- Distracted While Walking
- Distractions Created by Smartphones When Not in Use
- Doing Work Tasks Wrong the First Time
- Dropped Objects on the Job
- Drowsy Driving
- Drug Abuse
- Dump Truck Operation
- Dump Truck Overturns
- Dust Hazards in Construction
- Easy Way Instead of the Right Way
- Electrical Injuries
- Electrical Safety
- Elimination of Hazards
- Emergency Exits
- 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
- Fire Extinguishers Use and Inspection
- Fire Watch General Safety
- First Aid Preparedness
- First Day Back to Work
- Five Common Contributing Factors
- Fixed Objects (Motor Vehicle Safety)
- Fixed Open Blade Knives
- Flu
- Forklift Fatalities and Injuries
- Four Focus Items for Work Area Inspections
- Front End Loader Safety
- Gasoline Safety
- Ground Personnel and Mobile Equipment
- Habits and Safety
- Hand Safety and Injury Prevention Safety Talk
- 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
- Housekeeping in the Construction Industry
- How Observant Are You?
- Hydration: The Importance of Water
- Hydrogen Sulfide
- Importance of Organized Laydown Yards
- Insect Sting Allergies
- Knowing What to do in an Emergency
- Lack of Time
- Ladder Safety
- Lawn Mower Safety
- Lead Paint Dangers and Safety
- Leave Yourself an Out
- Lifting and Rigging
- Lightning Safety at Work and Home
- Line of Fire Hazards
- Lyme Disease
- Machine Guarding
- Manual Handling Injury Prevention
- Mosquitos
- Motor Vehicle Safety
- Muddy Work Areas
- New Employees on the Job
- New Equipment
- Nine Basic Construction Safety Rules
- Noise at Work and Home
- Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
- Occupational-related Cancer
- Office Safety
- One Billion Dollars Spent on Injuries a Week
- Opioid Abuse
- Organization of Work Areas
- Orthostatic Intolerance
- Pinch Points and Hand Injuries
- Poison Ivy
- Pressure Washing
- Preventing Equipment Damage Incidents in Construction
- Radio Communication on the Job
- Ready For Work
- Recordable Injuries – Why Employees Should Care
- Report All Injuries
- Respirator Donning, Doffing, and Seal Checks
- S.O.R.T Tool
- Safety Glasses
- Safety Related Paperwork
- Securing a Construction Site
- Selective Attention at Work
- Severity and Frequency
- Shift Work Dangers
- 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
- Snakes in the Workplace
- Spiders
- Spill Prevention
- Spotter Safety at Work
- Stretching Pros and Cons
- Strokes- Signs and Emergency Response
- Struck-by Incidents (Construction)
- Surveying (Construction)
- Table Saw General Safety
- Task Planning
- The Negative Side of Quick Reactions
- The Ripple Effect of Safety
- Theft from a Construction Site
- Three Types of Poor Housekeeping Hazards
- Three Way Communication
- Ticks
- Top Five Reasons to Work Safely Today
- 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 Conditions in the Workplace
- Utility Vehicle Safety at Home and Work
- Weed Wacker Safety
- West Nile Virus
- Which Safeguard Makes the Difference?
- Wildlife in the Workplace
- Wind Chill Index
- Winter Weather
- Wood Dust
- Work Area Best Practices
- Working Alongside Subcontractors
- Workplace Inspections
- Workplace Shootings
- Workplace Suicides
- Workplace Violence
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