Free Safety Information
Tool Box Meetings for Team Building and Commitment
Holding tool box meetings is an excellent and quick way of increasing safety involvement and awareness at grass roots level. However, there are a few simple tips to follow if you want to use this tool effectively.
First of all toolbox meetings are usually run in small work groups by the supervisor, leading hand, team leader etc. of the group. The meetings are short, about 5 to 10 minutes, and informal.
The basic idea is to provide a direct method of communication and exchange of information between management, supervision and the shop floor with the purpose of improving safety and health by directly involving workers in issues that are important to them. Using tool box meetings is an ideal way to get employees involved in matters relating to their own safety, finding solutions to problems, as well as building a committed and productive team.
Tool box meetings can also be used to deliver training and to remind your people about on the job safety. But, please, keep the training short, snappy and to the point - using the prepared AchieveSafety Tool Box talk material will make this easy for you.
Clearly, employee input is essential in developing effective safety solutions and in the continual improvement process of improving on the job safety. Here are a few pointers:
Organisation of Meetings
- Tool box meetings should be held at regular intervals, be informal and sometimes impromptu, with some meetings being held as the need arises.
- Meetings may be run by managers, supervisors, leading hands, team leaders, health and safety committee members or by an employee who has an important issue for discussion.
- Meetings can be held anywhere provided there's enough space, it's quiet enough and it won't interfere with other people working nearby but not attending the meeting.
- Formal meeting rooms are not necessary, hence the title, "tool box" meetings.
- Tool box meetings normally last from 5 to 10 minutes. They are not meant to be a lengthy training session but rather a quick exchange of ideas on how some aspect or aspects of safety can be improved or fixed.
- A brief written record of the meeting should be kept together with the names of attendees, points raised and conclusions reached being recorded.
Suggested Topics for Discussion
- the causes of recent workplace accidents, injuries, near misses and possible preventive actions to be taken
- feedback on safety performance e.g. Lost Time Injury Frequency & Incidence Rates
- raising people's awareness of their responsibility for working safely e.g. housekeeping, wearing personal protective equipment, following the rules and procedures etc.
- invite people to raise safety issues about which they are concerned
- invite comment on workplace modification, new plant or equipment
- ask for employee input on reducing manual handling problems or how to modify tasks to reduce risks.
For more information on this topic see Tool Box Talks
AchieveSafety - www.achievesafety.com
