Toolbox Talks

Safety Meeting Toolbox Topics and Tailgate Talks

Hand Tool Safety

Some of the most obvious misuses of tools at home or on the job result from being in a hurry. You grab a file and use it to pry open a box, and sometimes people use anything they can get their hands on for a hammer–including their own hands.

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Don't Take Hand Tools For Granted

Household jobs are usually light. So you sometimes can get away with using tools improperly or substituting one tool for another. Construction work, however, makes rugged demands on tools. If you misuse a tool, or use one that's wrong for the job or in poor condition, it can result in injury or spoiled work.

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Shop Hazards

An “incident” is defined as “any observable human activity sufficiently complete in itself to permit references and predictions to be made about the persons performing the act.” (Whew—that’s a mouthful!) Therefore, it is safe to say that incidents or accidents usually do not just happen, they happen for a reason and are commonly due to unsafe acts or conditions.

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Other Resources

Electrical Safety - How About Your Workplace

The National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), studies electrocutions occurring between 1982 and 1994. The NIOSH researchers analyzed 224 electrocutions that resulted in 244 workplace fatalities. The information they learned provides valuable lessons for everyone that works with or around electricity.