Pick the talk
Match the topic to the work the crew is about to do today, not to the calendar.
Free toolbox talks · PDF, Word & Excel
Free toolbox talk topics: printable safety talks.
Ten-minute OSHA safety talks to give at the job before work starts. Every talk has five key points, three questions for the crew, space for your own site notes and an attendance sign-off. Download one talk or the whole pack.
Free. All 6 talks in PDF, Word and Excel.
- Printable PDF, editable Word and Excel
- One page and ten minutes per talk
- Questions to ask the crew
- Attendance sign-off on every talk
The talks
6 toolbox talk topics
LOTO
Lockout/Tagout
Find every energy source, use your own lock, and prove it's dead.
View talk PermitsHot Work
Do it cold if you can, clear 35 ft (11 m), and keep a fire watch.
View talk PermitsConfined Space
The entry permit, testing the air, the attendant and the rescue plan.
View talk PermitsWorking at Height
Stay on the ground if you can, check your harness, plan the rescue.
View talk LOTOElectrical Safety
Turn it off first, test for absence of voltage, read the arc flash label.
View talk ObservationsLadder Safety
Pick the right ladder, set it at 4 to 1, keep three points of contact.
View talkBackground
What is a toolbox talk?
A toolbox talk is a short safety briefing given at the job, usually before the shift starts. It covers one hazard the crew is about to face, in plain words, and takes about ten minutes.
The best toolbox talk topics match the work in front of the crew today. You'll learn more by asking the crew what could go wrong, and waiting for an answer, than by reading out a script.
When the talk is about lockout or permits, the next step is the real procedure. Zentri LOTO and Zentri Permits keep the equipment-specific procedures and live permits the talks refer to on one record.
How to use them
How to run a toolbox talk
Add your site
Fill in the On this site box with a local example or a recent near miss.
Go to the job
Give the talk where the work happens, so you can point at the real equipment.
Read the points
Read the five key points out loud. Keep it short and plain.
Ask the questions
Ask the three questions and give the crew time to answer. If someone gets it wrong, put it right there and then.
Sign and file
Everyone signs the attendance section. File the sheet with your training records.
FAQs
Toolbox talk FAQs
Pick the hazard the crew faces today. The talks here cover hazards behind many OSHA citations and serious injuries: lockout/tagout, hot work, confined space, fall protection, electrical safety and ladders.
Federal OSHA does not require them by name, though some state plans do: Cal/OSHA requires construction employers to hold toolbox or tailgate meetings at least every 10 working days. Everywhere, they are a common way to deliver and record the training that standards such as lockout/tagout and confined space do require, but a talk does not replace that training.
About ten minutes: long enough for five points and three questions, short enough that people listen.
Many sites hold one a week, and one before any high-risk job. Repeat a talk after a near miss on that hazard.
Keep a record. A signed sheet shows who attended, on what topic, when, and who gave the talk. Every talk has space for 24 names, and the Excel version adds a register of every talk given.
Yes. Download the Word or Excel version, add your own examples and site rules, and keep the five key points intact.
When paper stops being enough
Download all 6 toolbox talks
Running lockout and permits on paper? Zentri keeps procedures, permits and records in one system.