a quick talk in the morning or right after lunch may be what
works best. But don’t be afraid of tailoring your safety program
to the needs of your crew and the level of risk that exists
on your job site.
What to talk about
As the term implies, safety talks involve talking. But what do
you talk about? Lescak has some suggestions.
“Keep the topic practical and relevant so that whatever
you’re talking about, you’re touching on key points and
reminding your workers about how to be safe on the job,” he
said. “Anything new is a good place to start in terms of a topic
– a new worker, a new piece of equipment, a new phase of the
project. Not everyone may know about it, and there are usually
requirements around risk assessments for changes like
that. So talking about anything new is always a good idea.”
Sometimes, the trouble isn’t in the topic of discussion
but how to get the meeting started. A great way to do this,
according to Lescak, is to have safety shares. Crew members
discuss things they’ve seen or experienced on site that either
were great and added to the crew’s success or were concerning
and need to be discussed.
Risk and relevancy to the job are also things to consider
when thinking about the length of a talk. Sometimes, a
10-minute meeting is all that’s needed because nothing about
the site or the work has changed. Your crew are already aware
of the risks and how to do their job safely. In other instances,
a longer meeting may be necessary to discuss new or changing
information relevant to the site or crew.
Keeping focused
Even though safety on the job is an important topic, it isn’t
always the most interesting. Keeping everyone’s attention
through a safety meeting can be pretty difficult if you haven’t
planned accordingly.
“One thing you can do is minimize distractions,” said
Lescak. “Keep it so that your audience won’t be looking in
other directions, focusing on their phones or looking at the
next site over. Use a seasonal theme or a daily theme to keep
it relevant to what they’re doing and to get them involved.”
If you find that the same person is always conducting your
safety talks, switch it up and involve the crew. By having different
crewmembers lead a safety talk, you’re not only breaking
up the inevitable monotony of the meetings, but you’re also
avoiding boredom by actively involving the very people you’re
speaking to. Having senior management lead a safety talk demonstrates
commitment and involvement from the top level.
“In a well put together organization that has a solid safety
program, the message is already coming from the top. Getting
senior management to come in for a talk can help engage an
audience and really drive home your point,” said Lescak.
Other tips for how to avoid audience boredom include
using graphs, pictures and other images; performing a handson
demonstration; and using humour.
“Humour can work well and can go a long way when
it comes to engaging your audience. But you also need to
remember to speak clearly and concisely. Understand what
you have to say, say it quickly and effectively, don’t waffle and
be done,” said Lescak.
FEATURE
“Keep the topic practical and relevant
so that whatever you’re talking about,
you’re touching on key points and
reminding your workers about how
to be safe on the job. Anything new
is a good place to start in terms of a
topic – a new worker, a new piece of
equipment, a new phase of the project.”
– Scott Lescak, Pacific Safety Consulting Group
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
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