Toolbox talk topics by season: a year of weekly safety talks
The easiest way to plan a year of toolbox talks is to follow the seasons: cold stress, ice and carbon monoxide in winter; thaw, excavations and power lines in spring; heat, storms and wildfire smoke in summer; and low light, fatigue and getting ready for winter in fall. The lists below come from the weekly talk packs included with our manuals, 52 talks per trade, so each topic is a talk you can run as written. Pick the week's talk from the season, tie it to the work the crew is doing that week, and record who attended.
By Quick Safety Compliance · · 4 min read
How to run a good toolbox talk
- Keep it short and on the work in front of the crew this week.
- Ask questions instead of reading: what could go wrong here, and what do we do about it.
- Use something the crew can see: the ladder, the trench, the harness, the safety data sheet.
- Finish with one action, and check it the next day.
- Record the date, the topic and the names of everyone there, and file it with your safety meeting records.
Winter topics
From the construction pack:
- Starting the Year Safe: Hazard Reporting and Speaking Up
- Cold Stress: Hypothermia and Frostbite
- Slips, Trips and Falls on Ice and Snow
- Carbon Monoxide and Temporary Heaters
- Working in Short Daylight: Lighting and Visibility
- Snow Removal and Snow Loads on Roofs and Structures
- Fire Safety and Temporary Heat
- Winter Driving to and on Site
- From the oil and gas pack: Starting the Year Right: Field Level Hazard Assessments, Cold Stress, Frostbite and Hypothermia, Winter Driving on Lease and Resource Roads and Slips, Trips and Falls on Ice and Snow.
- From the landscaping and snow removal pack: Plow Truck Pre-Trip Inspection, Operating Snowblowers Safely and Shovelling and Manual Snow Removal.
Spring topics
From the construction pack:
- Spring Thaw: Ground Conditions and Site Access
- Trenching and Excavation Cave-ins
- Ground Disturbance and Buried Utilities
- Overhead Power Lines
- Hand and Power Tool Safety
- Wet Conditions, Flooding and Electrical Hazards
- Scaffold Safety
- Mobile Equipment and Blind Spots
- From the oil and gas pack: Spring Break-Up and Soft Ground, Controlling Hazardous Energy and Lockout, Ground Disturbance and Buried Pipelines and Hand Safety and Pinch Points.
- From the plumbing and heating pack: Time Change and Fatigue, Spring Thaw: Flooded Basements and Sump Pumps and Excavation and Trench Safety.
Summer topics
From the construction pack:
- Heat Stress
- Sun Exposure and Skin Protection
- Thunderstorms and Lightning
- Wildfire Smoke and Air Quality
- Silica Dust
- Hazardous Products and WHMIS
- Young and New Workers
- Hot Work and Fire Watch
- From the general industry pack: Sun Safety and UV Exposure, Heat Stress and Hydration, Wildlife Encounters and Lightning and Severe Storms.
Fall topics
From the construction pack:
- Elevated Work Platforms and Aerial Lifts
- Struck-by Hazards: Falling Objects and Head Protection
- Fatigue and Long Shifts
- Shorter Days and High-Visibility Clothing
- Fall Wildlife and Hunting Season
- Fall Weather: Wind, Rain, Frost and Wet Leaves
- Preparing the Site for Winter
- Near-Miss and Incident Reporting
- From the oil and gas pack: Shorter Days and Working in Low Light, Hunting Season Near Leases, Wildlife on the Road During Rut Season and Well Control Awareness.
- From the landscaping and snow removal pack: Leaf Blowers and Fall Cleanup, Aerators, Dethatchers and Overseeding Equipment, Wet Leaves, Mud and Slippery Surfaces and Shorter Days: Visibility and Driving at Dusk.
Topics for any time of year
Some talks belong whenever the crew needs them, not in a season: after a near miss, when a new worker starts, when new equipment arrives or when the job moves to a new site. Keep these ready:
- Your rights: to know, to participate and to refuse unsafe work.
- How to report a hazard, an incident or a near miss, and what happens next.
- Hazard assessments before every task.
- The emergency plan and muster point for this site.
- Impairment, fatigue and mental health.
- From the electrical pack: Lockout and Isolation of Electrical Energy, Test Before You Touch: Verifying Absence of Voltage and Arc Flash: Understanding the Hazard.
- From the plumbing and heating pack: Locating Buried Utilities Before You Dig, Asbestos in Older Buildings and Mould and Water-Damaged Buildings.
Tie the talks to your program
A toolbox talk is the easiest place to show that your written program reaches the crew. Use the talk to walk through the safe work practice for the week's work, review a recent near miss or inspection finding, or remind the crew of the emergency plan for a new site. Over a year, the attendance records show that every worker heard about the main hazards of the job, which is one of the first things a client or auditor asks to see.
Every manual includes 52 toolbox talks for its trade, one for each week of the year, and the 12-Month Safety Calendar sets a monthly focus so the talks, inspections and drills line up.
Alberta Construction Safety Manual
British Columbia Construction Safety Manual
Manitoba Construction Safety Manual
New Brunswick Construction Safety Manual
Read the legislation
Questions
How often should we hold toolbox talks?
Weekly is common and is what the talk packs are built for. Hold an extra one whenever the work changes, a new hazard appears or an incident happens. British Columbia's smaller employers must at least hold and record monthly safety meetings (OHS Regulation, s. 3.2).
Do toolbox talks count as training?
They support it, but they do not replace the orientation, certification or competency checks the work requires. Record them as safety meetings.
Can I get the talks without buying a manual?
The talk packs come with the manuals: every manual includes the pack for its trade.
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