Monthly Blog – Toolbox talks

Hopefully my October Blog persuaded you of the value of training workers properly in how to work safely and look after their health. But what then? Amidst a sea of other corporate communications, is it realistic to expect workers to remember every scrap of their health & safety training, and to follow it for the remaining years or even decades that they remain in the same job? Clearly not. The training has to be refreshed at regular intervals. If you wanted to persuade a court, or an insurer, that the reason someone was hurt is because they had not followed (or more likely forgotten) their training, it wouldn’t be long before a behaviourist attests to forgetfulness being a perfectly normal human condition. We do forget training quite quickly unless it is constantly reinforced. Part of the reason is for the brain to protect itself from overcrowding, and it’s one of the reasons that those in high-risk occupations such as airline pilots are regularly returned to simulators to practise emergency routines that might otherwise never be used. Back down on earth, your organisation needs to find an efficient, cost-effective way of refreshing the initial training, and one of the best ways to do this is amidst the workplace itself with machinery, telephones and other distractions switched off for a short period. The refreshers need not take long – little and often is best. My experience has been that a 10-minute pep-talk on a different topic every month often suffices, and carries most credibility if it is delivered by the section head/team leader/supervisor, etc. The term: “toolbox talk” usefully describes such sessions, even if they are held in an office, care home, school staff room etc. as opposed to a tool room. Your organisation can help by providing a short prepared script for team leaders to work from. The talk carries credibility because the boss who has worked his/her way up the same job ladder and understands the work, places his/her stamp of authority that: “This is how we do things safely around here. It’s what I want and I will not tolerate any deviations”.

• There is no need for fancy slides, handouts or visual aids beyond perhaps a flip chart.
• Nor should you fall into the trap of subbing the training to an outside “expert”.
• Whilst staff may nod and smile politely throughout external training, they may privately regard the trainer as lacking in empathy or experience of their particular situation.

Further Information The Health & Safety Executive provides a helpful leadership and worker involvement toolkit and a training pack of slides on delivering toolbox talks. Contact Us Arinite clients appreciate we provide practical, no-nonsense advice about what you need to do to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment. Our team of health and safety consultants take pride in keeping health and safety simple. By clicking the following link you will see which may be helpful. If you need to call upon our expert assistance, or just for an informal chat, please call our office 0207 947 9581, or type an enquiry to: https://www.arinite.com/contact-us/. Jan Mirkowski