Mobile plant and vehicles
☐ Pedestrian and forklift separation · ☐ Reversing and blind spots · ☐ Seatbelts in plant · ☐ Pre-start inspections · ☐ Loading and unloading trucks · ☐ Speed limits on site · ☐ Spotters and exclusion zones · ☐ Fatigue and driving · ☐ Securing loads · ☐ Working near overhead power lines
Working at height and access
☐ Ladder selection and use · ☐ Edge protection · ☐ Harness inspection and anchor points · ☐ Scaffold tags · ☐ Fragile roofs and skylights · ☐ Elevated work platforms · ☐ Dropped objects · ☐ Housekeeping on walkways and stairs · ☐ Floor openings and penetrations · ☐ Rescue plans for height work
Hands, tools and machinery
☐ Pinch points and crush zones · ☐ Guarding: never bypass · ☐ Isolation and lockout before clearing jams · ☐ Hand tool condition · ☐ Angle grinders and discs · ☐ Knives and blade safety · ☐ Glove selection · ☐ Stored energy · ☐ Compressed air · ☐ Conveyor safety
Manual handling and ergonomics
☐ Team lifts and lifting aids · ☐ Pushing and pulling · ☐ Repetitive tasks and rotation · ☐ Workstation set-up · ☐ Carrying on stairs · ☐ Awkward loads · ☐ Warming up for physical work · ☐ Reporting early discomfort · ☐ Trolley and pallet jack use · ☐ Overhead reaching
Chemicals and hazardous substances
☐ Reading a safety data sheet · ☐ Labelling and decanting · ☐ Spill response · ☐ Chemical storage and segregation · ☐ Skin and eye protection · ☐ Dust and silica · ☐ Welding fumes · ☐ Gas cylinders · ☐ Asbestos awareness · ☐ Confined space atmospheres
Fire, electrical and emergencies
☐ Fire extinguisher types and PASS · ☐ Evacuation routes and assembly points · ☐ Hot work permits · ☐ Electrical leads and test and tag · ☐ Switchboard access · ☐ First aid kit locations · ☐ Emergency contacts and reporting · ☐ Flammable liquid handling · ☐ Lightning and storms · ☐ Power outage procedures
Health and wellbeing
☐ Heat stress and hydration · ☐ Cold weather work · ☐ Fatigue and shift work · ☐ Noise and hearing protection · ☐ Sun protection · ☐ Mental health and asking for help · ☐ Drugs and alcohol · ☐ Hand hygiene and illness · ☐ Sleep and the drive home · ☐ Eye protection
People, communication and culture
☐ Why we report near misses · ☐ Stop work authority · ☐ New starters and buddies · ☐ Lone work · ☐ Contractors and visitors · ☐ Complacency on routine tasks · ☐ Taking shortcuts · ☐ Radio and hand signals · ☐ Looking out for each other · ☐ What a good Take 5 looks like
Procedures and permits
☐ Permit to work basics · ☐ Isolation and tag-out · ☐ Change of conditions: when to re-assess · ☐ Following the SWMS · ☐ Barricades and signage · ☐ Working alone at night · ☐ Shift handover of hazards · ☐ Housekeeping as a control · ☐ Management of change · ☐ Reporting damaged equipment
Seasonal and site-specific
☐ Summer heat plan · ☐ Wet weather and slips · ☐ Bushfire season · ☐ Holiday period staffing · ☐ Shutdown and maintenance work · ☐ Snakes, spiders and wildlife · ☐ Public interface and traffic · ☐ Night work lighting · ☐ Harvest or peak season pace · ☐ The last incident on this site
How do you choose next week's topic?
- Any near miss or incident this week: that is the topic.
- Anything unusual in next week's work: that is the topic.
- A seasonal hazard arriving: that is the topic.
- Otherwise, the theme with the most open safety actions on the board.
- Only then, the next unticked topic in the theme you covered least this year.
Toolbox talk topics inside daily management
The topics come from the board: near misses, observations and audit findings raised at the huddle during the week decide the next talk. The talk's own actions go back on the board. Over a year the ticked list shows the coverage, and the Tier 2 meeting sees which themes keep generating actions.
Step by step
- Check this week's near misses. If there was one, it is the topic.
- Check next week's work. A new task, contractor or shutdown sets the topic.
- Check the season. Heat, storms, holidays and shutdowns each get a talk before they arrive.
- Check the board. The theme with the most open safety actions is next.
- Use the list. Pick the next unticked topic in the least-covered theme and run it with the template.
A worked example
A food plant's supervisors had drifted to the same six topics all year. Pinning this list to the Tier 1 board and ticking topics as they were run showed that nothing had been said about chemicals since the previous spring, two weeks before a caustic splash incident in CIP. The plan was changed to one topic per theme per quarter, chosen at the Tier 2 meeting from the month's near misses, and the ticked list became part of the monthly safety review.