Toolbox Meetings

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Toolbox Meetings

• What is a toolbox meeting?
• An informal 5 to 15 minute meeting held by
  supervisors used to promote safety.

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Purpose

• A toolbox meeting is a platform used to
• discuss safety and work-related
• accidents.
• It is your opportunity to provide safety
• awareness and training in a short concise
• meeting.

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Famous Adage

• Just like children, adults, more often the men
  need to be reminded of what needs to be done and
  how to do it. It never hurts to remind them.
• My Wife

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Why Have Them?

• Used to address actual safety issues
• Draws on the experience of other associates
• Provides constant reinforcement to new associates
  that safety matters
• Provides an atmosphere of ownership for
  associates that normally are not vocal
• Statistics show that continual safety awareness
  reduces accidents

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When To Have Them?

• Toolbox meetings should be conducted each
• week. Preferably on Mondays so you start the
• week off with safety on your mind.

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What To Talk About

• Work practices
• Machine operation
• Tools
• Materials
• Attitudes
• Safety Hazards
• The important thing is that you are
• CREATING SAFETY AWARENESS, AGAIN.

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• Talk about something you feel needs talking about
• If there has been an accident talk about
• - What happened
• - Where it happened
• - How you can prevent it from happening
• again (lessons learned)
• Encourage associates to suggest topics.

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How To Run A Good Meeting

• Hold the meeting in a conducive area
• Read your material ahead of time
• Be careful asking another person to read the
  material they may not read well
• Conduct the meeting at the beginning of the
  shift, after lunch, or after a break
• Choose your topic carefully. It should pertain to
  your work environment.

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• Dont choose too broad of a topic, e.g., you
  cant cover hand tool safety in one meeting.
• However, you can cover one specific hand tool
  in a short meeting.
• AGAIN whats important?
• YOU ARE CREATING SAFETY AWARENESS

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Benefits Of Toolbox Meetings

• Addresses the Duty of Care Laws
• Helps reduce risk of incidents and near misses
• Can actually eliminate workplace hazards
• Encourages reporting of incidents
• Can provide evidence to show that measures to
  identify and reduce risks have been taken
• Why could this be of importance?
• Offers variety to work schedule

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• Causes associates to think about expensive and
  time wasting incidents e.g., slips, trips,
  falls, poor housekeeping, failure to conduct
  pre-start safety checks
• Toolbox meetings can be built up to offer a
  progressive pathway from basic reminders to more
  advanced safety training
• Most importantly
• YOU ARE CREATING AWARENESS

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Topics

• So, tell me Dan, what can I talk about?
• Where can I get these toolbox topics?
• There are numerous topics you can cover.
• HR has a folder of over 60 toolbox
• topics for the supervisors that need them.

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• Remember, safety is 50 awareness and 50
  physical action.
• If you have the awareness, the physical action
  will follow suit.
• No awareness, no safety!

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Hazard Identification

• Why is so important that hazards are identified?
• To prevent accidents!

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• What exactly do we mean by hazard identification?
• We mean the hazards that exist in your work area
  that are constant.
• Each work area has its own unique set of
  constant hazards.

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• Constant hazards are things like
• Pinch points on conveyors
• Electrical hazards
• Holes in the floor
• Trip hazards
• Forklift traffic
• Overhead crane usage
• Fluids leaking from machines
• The use of sharp hand tools
• Chemicals

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Identification Recognition

• You cannot prevent accidents in your work area
  from physical hazards if you have not identified
  the hazards.
• You cannot expect your associates to stay clear
  of hazards if you have not told them (recognized)
  the hazards.

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• So we know the importance of identifying and
• recognizing the hazards in our work areas, but
• how do go about communicating this
• information to your associates?
• Form a team of your associates in your area to
  identify the hazards
• Document the hazards
• Remind the group each week of the constant and
  new hazards each week during your toolbox meeting

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• Or
• Post your hazards on a board in your area.
• This also will alert others to your hazards
• Cover the hazards in your pre-shift meetings or
  production meetings

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• The best way to avoid a hazard is to rid yourself
• of the hazard.
• Ask maintenance to correct the problem
• Change procedures
• Engineer out the problem
• Never put production over safety!

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Changing Hazards

• Hazards may change daily.
• Parts stacked in an unusual place
• New processes
• New job assignment
• New tools
• Maintenance work being performed

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New Associates

• 60 of accidents happen to new associates in the
  first 90 days of employment.

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• New employee orientation/safety training is not
  enough!
• You must brief your new associates on all the
  identified hazards in your work area before they
  start work
• Stress the importance of working safely

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Cost Avoidance

• Toolbox meetings are added value to your
• safety program. They are a cost effective
• method to help reduce your workers
• compensation cost.
• Lets look at some hard dollar facts.

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• 1999 24 - 142,750
• 2000 49 - 405,250
• 2001 40 - 443,750
• 2002 34 - 604,000
• 2003 05 - 52,500
• Difference in one year 2002 vs 2003
• 551,550

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Premium Effect

• 3 year average/SIC code
• New client premium estimated -
• based on of man hours worked
• Future premium reductions as claims drop
• Example Average premium for SIC with the history
  of claims made over the last 3 years 350,000
  to 400,000 per year.
• Possibly save as much 35,000 - 50,000

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• Thank you for working safely!