Unlike some general industry operations, the construction industry is often ever-changing, and with that change brings new and unique hazards to address. Using the talks below can give your work crew guidance on many different hazards they could encounter. Spending time to hold useful safety meetings in the morning before work begins can be an effective way to the 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 consistently address safe behaviors with all field employees.
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
These free printable construction safety talk topics are a subcategory of all of the 250+ free talks, which can be found by clicking here. The site is continually being updated with fresh new topics both for visitors wanting free safety content as well as for the paying members.
Consider Becoming a Member
Browse all of the free safety talks below relating to construction. Visit our members talks page to see what additional talks are offered as part of being a paid member of the site. We are adding new content to the Members Area every single month. Click here to download one of the premium talks – Hardhat Fit and Inspection Safety Talk.
There are also currently 70+ Spanish construction available for members as well. Click here to download the Spanish version of the Dropped Objects Safety Talk.
Check back often to see what is added, and in the mean time, you can email [email protected] with any questions!
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
- Battling Complacency
- Bees and Wasps
- Being Client-focused (Construction Industry)
- Benzene Dangers in the Workplace
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Burn Hazards and Prevention
- Burn Severity
- Carbon Monoxide Safety
- Carcinogens
- Chainsaw Safety
- Clothing and Safety
- Cold Stress Hazards
- Common Cold
- 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
- 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
- Five Reasons to Work Safe Today
- 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
- 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 Major Hazards)
- Heavy Equipment Operation
- Helping Out
- Hierarchy of Controls
- High Wind Dangers (Construction)
- Housekeeping in the Construction Industry
- How Observant Are You?
- 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
- Involve the Right Person
- 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
- Manual Handling Injury Prevention
- Mosquitos
- 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 My Problem
- Occupational-related Cancer
- Office Safety
- One Billion Dollars Spent on Injuries a Week
- One Safeguard Doesn’t Make it Safe
- Opioid Abuse
- Organization of Work Areas
- Orthostatic Intolerance
- Pinch Points and Hand Injuries
- Poison Ivy
- Pressure Washing
- Preventing Equipment Damage Incidents (Construction)
- Radio Communication on the Job
- Ready For Work
- Recognized Versus Unrecognized Hazards
- Relying on Memory
- Report All Injuries
- Respirator Donning, Doffing, and Seal Checks
- S.O.R.T Tool
- Safety Can Be Redundant
- Safety Related Paperwork
- Seatbelt Use and Safety
- 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
- Slip Hazards and Safety
- Slips, Trips, and Falls
- Snakes in the Workplace
- Spiders
- Spotter Safety at Work
- Stopping Work
- Stretching Pros and Cons
- Strokes- Signs and Emergency Response
- Struck-by Incidents (Construction)
- Surveying (Construction)
- Taking Action to Work Safe
- Taking Ownership of Safety
- Taking Shortcuts
- Task Planning
- 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 Safe
- Three Types of Poor Housekeeping Hazards
- Three Way Communication
- Ticks
- Tornado Safety
- Train Safety
- Trip Injuries and Prevention
- Truck Driving
- 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
- Vehicle Inspections
- Verbal Communication and Workplace Safety
- Verifying Safeguards
- Weed Wacker Safety
- West Nile Virus
- Which Safeguard Makes the Difference?
- Wildlife in the Workplace
- Wind Chill Index
- Winter Weather
- Winter Weather Driving
- Wood Dust
- Work Area Best Practices
- Working Alongside Subcontractors
- Workplace Inspections
- Workplace Shootings
- Workplace Suicides
- Workplace Violence
- Zero Injuries in the Workplace