5 Industrial Safety Topics for Worksite Training Meetings

For employers, meeting standards regulated by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is critical, but it's just the beginning in helping to ensure a safe workplace. Companies need to keep workers up to date on the latest safety practices, and ongoing training is essential.

Numerous studies have proven that occupational safety training provides tangible benefits for workers and employers alike. OSHA estimates that implementing training programs to prevent illness and injury reduces injuries by 15 to 35%, which can translate into up to $23 billion savings per year in workers compensation claims.

One of the most effective ways to conduct ongoing training is including a regular schedule of safety meetings in your workplace safety program. Also commonly called toolbox talks or tailgate talks, safety meetings can range from formal company-wide safety all-hands meetings, to informal chats to share safety tips—depending on company culture—and they can cover a wide variety of topics.

In this guide, you'll learn about workplace safety topics that should always be top of mind for training meetings, as well as how Samsara Site Visibility can help you proactively identify safety issues and train workers before accidents happen. 

Does OSHA require meetings about industrial safety topics? 

OSHA does not mandate safety meetings, but some states, such as Oregon, do require regular meetings about safety. Even without a federal rule, safety training is strongly recommended for companies in the construction industry as well as companies that OSHA places in the general industry category, like manufacturers. 

Some companies begin every shift with a safety discussion, but it is considered a best practice to have a safety meeting at least once a week. The ideal meeting frequency depends on a company’s industry and work culture.

Anyone can conduct a workplace safety meeting, as long as they are knowledgeable about general safety and the specific safety topic at hand. These meetings are often led by business owners, foremen, or members of the company’s environment, health, and safety (EHS) team. 

Industrial safety topics for ongoing training 

Every safety regulation is important. However, some safety categories are essential to keeping workplaces and employees safe, especially in hazardous work environments. With this in mind, here are five safety topics to prioritize for your safety talks:

1. Personal protective equipment (PPE): A study by OSHA found that only 64% of construction workers on average consistently wear PPE correctly. At the same time, proper use of PPE is one of my most important factors in the prevention of workplace injuries and fatalities. Given this, frequent discussion about PPE—including respirators, hard hats, and goggles—and how to wear it are among the most impactful trainings for workers. 

2. Fire safety: OSHA estimates that 70,000 to 80,000 workplaces experience a serious fire in the United States each year, making fire prevention an important topic for ongoing training. Using safety meetings to periodically review evacuation procedures, location of fire extinguishers, and other fire safety topics can help keep job sites safer.

3. Emergency preparedness: In a recent survey, up to a third of employees across industries said they were not aware of or not sure of an emergency action plan for certain emergency situations. Safety meetings are an ideal time to remind workers about emergency plans for events like severe weather, earthquakes and other natural disasters, and, depending on your industry, serious events like chemical spills and explosions. 

4. Hazardous materials: Hazard communication (often shortened to “hazcom”) plans are required by OSHA if hazardous materials are present on a worksite, but these plans are only effective if employees are trained on them. In addition to making hazard communications part of regular safety meetings, OSHA recommends training workers on hazardous chemicals in their work area before their new assignment and if new hazards are introduced to their worksites.

5. Ergonomics: In addition to "traditional" industrial safety topics like hazardous materials, workers increasingly want to learn more about other aspects of physical and mental well-being. For example, musculoskeletal disorders and sprains make up over a third of occupational illnesses in workers, and almost 80% in construction workers. Ongoing training on how to handle power tools and heavy objects properly can help prevent injuries like these.

Learn how Samsara Site Visibility can improve workplace safety and training

Today's safety managers do not have to rely on generic training materials for worksite safety meetings. Instead, many are turning to technology, specifically AI-powered video footage, to make workplace safety training as effective as possible.

For example, Samsara Site Visibility is an AI-video safety solution that allows safety managers to access video footage at any time from anywhere. Intelligent detection tools and powerful search features give safety professionals the ability to quickly identify both incidents for coaching as well as in-context video footage that highlights best practices. 

With these examples in hand, safety managers can supplement safety training with real, in-context footage from job sites to help workers be safer and build a culture of safety organization-wide. As Beth Woodbury, VP of Safety at Aunt Millie's—a Samsara customer—explains, “Managers can't be everywhere all the time, so having Site Visibility in place helps us better mitigate serious injuries, identify issues before somebody gets hurt, and coach them on safer practices.”

If you’re curious about how Samsara can benefit your worksite safety, contact our team today to learn more or get a free trial.