While many general industry operations do not change much day to day, there are still a significant amount of hazards present that could injure workers. Every year the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases injury statistics that reach into the hundreds of thousands when it comes to workers injured on the job. While the construction industry experiences the majority of workplace fatalities, they all too often occur in general industry as well. Often times, it is the same type of hazards that cause these fatalities over and over again. Safety education and remaining vigilant in mitigating hazards through following safe work practices is critical in preventing injuries in all industries.
Why Safety Toolbox Talks Are Important
As stated above, there are many hazards that can injure workers on the job. While many general industry job sites are not as dynamic and ever-changing like construction sites are, there are many unique hazards that workers can encounter. Holding useful safety meetings prior to work beginning is an effective way to help prevent injuries on the job. Even spending just five minutes per day before work starts to discuss safety equates to over 1,250 minutes of safety education in a year’s time for each employee! That is over 20 hours!
Make the most of this time by choosing topics that apply to the work going on and the issues your employees may be encountering. Do not be afraid to stray away from the routine topics to provide a fresh take on safety for those general industry workers who have been around a long time and have “heard it all”.
Dealing with Complacency Towards Safety?
If you have covered many of the more basic type of safety talks, consider covering a behavioral-related talk. These talks provide more of the “WHY” behind safety, instead of only focusing on the physical hazards that your employees may have heard over and over again. Complacency will creep in if you do not find an unique way to spin safety or provide a new perspective on a tired discussion point. Those workers who have been completing the same work tasks over and over are bound to zone out during another slip, trip, and fall toolbox talk if you do not change it up from time to time.
Use the safety talks listed below for your next safety meeting or safety moment. For additional safety talks browse the list of all the free safety talks posted on the site! If you want to get more safety talk topics and support the site, consider becoming a member!
- Alcohol Use
- Allergies
- Amputations
- Annual Checkup
- Asbestos Dangers
- Automated External Defibrillators
- Back Injuries and Prevention
- Battling Complacency
- Benzene
- Bloodborne Pathogens
- Burn Hazards and Prevention
- Burn Severity
- Carbon Monoxide Safety
- Carcinogens
- Clothing and Safety
- Cold Stress Hazards
- Common Cold
- Communicating Issues
- Communication and Safety
- Communication Tools and Safety
- 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
- Easy Way Instead of the Right Way
- Electrical Injuries
- Electrical Safety
- Elimination of Hazards
- Eye Injuries and Prevention
- Fall Protection
- Falls on the Same Level
- 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
- Gasoline Safety
- Habits and Safety
- Hand Safety and Injury Prevention
- Hand Tool Inspections
- Hazardous Chemicals- Four Routes of Entry
- Health is Everything
- Heart Attacks
- Heat Stress
- Heat Stroke
- Helping Out
- Hierarchy of Controls
- How Observant Are You?
- How What We Do at Home Affects Work
- Human Performance
- Hydration: The Importance of Water
- Hydrogen Sulfide
- Importance of Mentoring
- 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
- Line of Fire Hazards
- Manual Handling Injury Prevention
- Material Recovery Facilities General Safety
- Mechanical Issue-Related Crashes
- New Employees on the Job
- New Equipment
- 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
- 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
- Selective Attention at Work
- Seven Basic General Industry Safety Rules
- Severity and Frequency
- Shift Work Dangers
- Shoveling Snow
- Silica Dust Dangers and Safety Measures
- Skid Steer Safety
- 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)
- Taking Action to Work Safe
- Taking Ownership of Safety
- Taking Shortcuts
- Task Planning
- The Little Things
- The Negative Side of Quick Reactions
- Think of the Next Person
- Three Self-Centered Reasons to Work Safe
- Three Types of Poor Housekeeping Hazards
- Three Way Communication
- Tornado Safety
- Train Safety
- Trip Injuries and Prevention
- Truck Driving
- Two Types of Workplace Stress
- Types of Fire Extinguishers
- Underground Utility Strikes
- Unsafe Conditions in the Workplace
- Vehicle Inspections
- Verbal Communication and Workplace Safety
- Verifying Safeguards
- Weed Wacker Safety
- Which Safeguard Makes the Difference?
- Wildlife in the Workplace
- 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
