Here are some handy tips to get the most out of your toolbox meetings. Toolbox meetings are a great way to discuss health and safety matters relevant to the site and its workers. It's a great way to communicate and consult with your workers and other contractors on-site.
A few recommendations to get the most out of your toolbox meetings include:
Engage with workers before the toolbox meeting to find out what topics they want to discuss. Get their buy-in and keep them actively involved.
Ask your workers what hazards they have spotted recently and how they think the risks should be managed.
Discuss any upcoming changes, such as new hazards, high-risk work coming up on-site, or procedure changes.
Talk about recent incidents and what the investigation found. Discuss what changes will be made to prevent it from happening again.
Share recent findings from site reviews.
Use the HazardCo newsletter as a resource. We share blogs and tips about health and safety that provide great content for your toolbox discussions. You can view past blogs here. Our members are automatically subscribed to the newsletter, but if you haven't been receiving it, or want to add others to the list, please reach out to us.
Discuss how to build a mentally healthy work site. We've developed a helpful resource with tips on building and maintaining a mentally healthy workplace.
Subscribe to WorkSafe NZ newsletters, media releases, and safety alerts via their website. These updates keep you informed about your industry and provide useful information for your projects. For example, you could discuss a safety alert with your workers and see how to prevent a similar incident at your site.
Check out WorkSafe NZ's building and construction resources. Their website has valuable information that you can share with your workers.
These are just a few ideas to get the most out of your health and safety meetings. You can record the meeting on the HazardCo App and take notes on what was discussed so you have a record of it. Remember to use the talk-to-text function on your phone, which saves you from typing everything out on your keyboard.
Check out our Toolbox Meeting Guide, which has some useful topics.