Office safety meeting topics
The office risks are the ones nobody practices: getting out, putting out a small fire, and the slow injuries from a bad desk.
Exit routes
Exit routes stay free and unobstructed, with nothing stored in them even temporarily; they are lit, and each exit is marked with a sign reading "Exit", with direction signs wherever the way is not obvious. [OSHA]
Ask: Walk your usual route to the exit in your head. What is stored in it right now?
The emergency action plan
Where a standard requires one, the plan is written and available to employees, and it covers how to report an emergency, evacuation routes, who stays to run critical operations, how everyone is accounted for, who performs rescue or medical duties, and who to ask about it. [OSHA]
Ask: Who is our head count person, and where do we gather?
Fire extinguishers
Where extinguishers are provided for employee use, the employer teaches the general principles of using them and the hazards of fighting a small fire, at hire and at least yearly, and extinguishers are visually inspected monthly. [OSHA]
Ask: Who here has actually squeezed the handle on one, and would you know when to leave instead?
Workstation setup
OSHA's computer workstation eTool lists the design goals: top of the monitor at or just below eye level, head and neck in line with the torso, shoulders relaxed, elbows close to the body and supported, lower back supported, wrists in line with forearms, room for the keyboard and mouse, and feet flat on the floor. [OSHA]
Ask: Which of those eight does your desk fail?
Workplace violence
OSHA counts threats, verbal abuse, harassment and intimidation as workplace violence, not only assault; a zero-tolerance policy covering workers, clients, visitors and contractors is one of the best protections, and workers should know how to report and what the warning signs are. [OSHA]
Ask: If a visitor started threatening someone at the front desk, what is our procedure?
Stress and mental health
OSHA lists stress, grief, sadness and anxiety alongside clinical conditions as mental health challenges that affect performance, engagement, communication and daily functioning, and notes that workplaces can be a source of resources and solutions as well as of stress. [OSHA]
Ask: What is one thing about how we schedule work that adds stress and could be changed?
First aid
Where no clinic or hospital is near, someone is adequately trained to give first aid and supplies are readily available; where corrosives could reach eyes or skin, a flushing facility is in the work area. [OSHA]
Ask: Who is trained, and where is the kit?
Warehouse safety meeting topics
OSHA names forklifts and overexertion as the two most common sources of warehouse injury, so most of these are about trucks and lifting.
Forklift operators
Only operators who have completed the training and evaluation drive, with a performance evaluation at least every three years and a certification record of who was trained and when. [OSHA]
Ask: Whose evaluation is due this year?
Forklifts and pedestrians
Drivers slow and sound the horn at cross aisles and anywhere vision is blocked, travel with the load trailing if it blocks the view, and allow no unauthorized riders. [OSHA] OSHA names being struck by forklifts and other handling equipment among the most common warehouse injuries. [OSHA]
Ask: Where do walkers and trucks share space, and how is it marked?
Daily truck inspection
Every truck is examined before it goes into service, at least daily, and a truck found defective or unsafe is taken out of service until repaired. [OSHA]
Ask: Where do the checklists go, and who reads them?
Racking and stacking
Material stored in tiers is stacked, blocked, interlocked and limited in height so it is stable, aisles stay clear and marked, and storage areas are kept free of the build-up that causes trips and fires. [OSHA]
Ask: Which rack or stack would you not stand next to?
Lifting and overexertion
Musculoskeletal disorders, mainly from overexertion in lifting and lowering, are the most common warehouse injury, and lifting, bending, reaching overhead, pushing, pulling, awkward postures and repetition are the risk factors. [OSHA] [OSHA]
Ask: Which pick location makes you reach or twist the most?
Indoor heat
Warehousing is on OSHA's list of industries where workers have suffered heat illness indoors; cool water, longer breaks as heat rises, and a cool place to rest are the controls. [OSHA] [OSHA]
Ask: Where is the hottest spot in the building in July, and who works there?
Chemicals on the shelves
Safety data sheets for every hazardous chemical are kept on site and readily accessible during each shift, and every container is labeled with its identity and hazards. [OSHA]
Ask: Pick a product on the floor. Could you find its SDS in under two minutes?
Shop and plant safety meeting topics
Machines, energy, noise and the PPE program. These are general industry rules (29 CFR 1910).
Machine guarding
Guarding protects the operator and anyone in the machine area from the point of operation, nip points, rotating parts and flying chips and sparks. [OSHA]
Ask: Which guard in this shop is off, bypassed or taped?
Lockout/tagout
Written procedures, training for authorized and affected employees, a fixed sequence ending in verification, and locks removed only by the person who applied them. [OSHA]
Ask: When did we last audit a lockout against its procedure?
Noise
A hearing conservation program is required at an 8-hour average of 85 decibels, with monitoring, hearing tests, hearing protectors at no cost and training. [OSHA]
Ask: Where in the shop do you have to shout to be heard?
PPE hazard assessment
The employer assesses the workplace for hazards that need PPE, selects it, and trains each user on when, what, how, the limits and the care. [OSHA]
Ask: When was the assessment last updated, and what changed in the shop since?
Respirators
A written program, medical evaluation before fit testing, a fit test before first use and yearly, no facial hair in the seal, and a seal check every time. [OSHA]
Ask: Who wears a respirator here, and when was their last fit test?
Hand protection
Gloves are selected on the hazards actually present: cuts, abrasions, punctures, chemical and thermal burns, absorption and temperature extremes. [OSHA]
Ask: Which job uses the wrong glove because it is the one in the cabinet?
Walking surfaces
Floors are kept clean and dry as far as feasible, surfaces are free of sharp objects, loose boards, spills and ice, and a hazard is fixed or guarded before anyone uses that surface again. [OSHA]
Ask: Where does oil or coolant end up on the floor?
Construction safety meeting topics
For the sit-down meeting, not the morning huddle. These are about the program: reporting, investigating, analysis and planning. The hazard-by-hazard talks are on the toolbox talks hub.
How incidents get reported
OSHA's construction recommended practices ask for a simple way to report injuries, illnesses, close calls and hazards, an anonymous option, a prompt response, and regular feedback to workers on what was done. [OSHA]
Ask: What happened to the last three things people reported?
Investigating close calls
Investigations look for root causes, use a trained team with both management and workers on it, cover near misses as well as injuries, and report the results back. [OSHA]
Ask: Who is on our investigation team, and have they been trained?
What the job hazard analyses found
OSHA says to involve employees in the analysis, review accident and near-miss history with them, and give priority to the jobs with the highest injury rates and the greatest potential for severe injury. [OSHA]
Ask: Which job on the current project has no JHA, and why?
Competent persons
The construction standards call for competent persons, named by the employer, to inspect the site, its materials and its equipment often and on a regular basis. [OSHA]
Ask: Who is the competent person for scaffolds, excavations and fall protection on each site, by name?
The season plan
Heat: water, rest, shade, and treating new workers as unacclimatized for their first one to two weeks. [OSHA] [OSHA] Cold: warm break areas, dry clothing and the buddy system. [OSHA]
Ask: What changes on our sites in the next 60 days, and what does the plan say?
Temporary and new workers
Host employers treat temporary workers like any other worker for training and protection, with the staffing agency and the host sharing responsibility. [OSHA]
Ask: Who trained the last temp we brought on, and on what?
Topics for any workplace
Rights, reporting and emergencies apply to every room.
Reporting an injury without fear
Employers must have a reasonable procedure for reporting work-related injuries, tell every employee what it is, and must not discharge or discriminate against anyone for reporting. [OSHA]
Ask: Does everyone in this room know the procedure, including the night shift?
What gets reported to OSHA, and how fast
A death: inside 8 hours. Someone admitted to hospital, an amputation or a lost eye: inside 24 hours. [OSHA]
Ask: Who makes that call for us, and does their backup know?
Your rights at work
Workers have the right to training in a language they understand, to safe machines, to required safety equipment, to request an OSHA inspection, and to report an injury and see the records, without retaliation. [OSHA]
Ask: Is the poster up, and in the languages people here read?
Severe weather
Hearing thunder means getting to an enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle and staying there for 30 minutes after the last thunder; the emergency action plan should say where and when. [OSHA]
Ask: For people working outside, which door do they head for?
A 20-minute agenda
OSHA's recommended practices ask employers to hold safety and health meetings during regular working hours, to give workers time to take part, and to report back regularly on what was done about their concerns. [OSHA] This agenda is built around those three things.
| Minutes | Item | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | Last time | Read the actions from the last minutes, with names. Say which are done and which are not, and why. |
| 3 to 6 | Since last time | Injuries, close calls and hazard reports since the last meeting, and what was done about each. OSHA's practices ask for close calls to be investigated too. [OSHA] |
| 6 to 14 | One topic | One topic from the lists above. Read the point, say where it applies here, ask the question, and let the room answer. |
| 14 to 18 | Open floor | Anything anyone wants raised. OSHA's practices say workers are often best placed to spot hazards and program gaps, and that input dries up if people fear blame or retaliation. [OSHA] |
| 18 to 20 | Actions | Every item that needs doing gets a name and a date. Read them back. |
The management side of this is the reporting system. OSHA's practices put it in one sentence:
“Develop and communicate a simple procedure for workers to report any injuries, illnesses, incidents (including near misses/close calls), hazards, or safety and health concerns without fear of retaliation.”
Keeping minutes
OSHA's recommended practices list minutes from safety and health committee meetings among the sources of information about hazards in a workplace. [OSHA] That is what minutes are for: not proof a meeting happened, but a record of what was raised and what was done. Keep them short enough that someone will actually read them at the next meeting. Record:
- Date, location, who ran it, and who attended (the sign-in sheet at the bottom of this page does the last part).
- Each incident, close call or hazard reported since last time, and its status.
- The topic covered and the sourced point you read, so the next person does not repeat it.
- Every concern raised in the open floor, in the words it was raised in.
- Every action, with a name and a date.
- Anything workers were told about the outcome of earlier concerns, since reporting back is what keeps people reporting. [OSHA]
Nothing in the minutes should identify who reported a hazard unless they want it to. OSHA's practices recommend an anonymous reporting option for exactly that reason. [OSHA]