Free construction template
Toolbox talks are short safety briefings delivered on site before work starts. Use our free template structure and topic ideas, or deliver ready-made toolbox talks directly from The Site Book with digital sign-off tracking.
No credit card required. 90 ready-made topics included.
A toolbox talk is a short, informal safety briefing — usually 5 to 15 minutes — delivered to workers on site before they start a task or at the beginning of the day. The purpose is to raise awareness of a specific hazard or safety topic relevant to the work being done that day.
Toolbox talks are not a legal requirement in themselves, but they are one of the most effective ways to meet your duty under CDM 2015 to provide information, instruction, and training to workers. They are expected on virtually every commercial construction site and are increasingly common on domestic projects too.
The key to a good toolbox talk is relevance. It should cover the hazards workers will actually face that day — not a generic safety lecture. Keep it short, keep it specific, and record who attended.
The most common topics for construction toolbox talks. The Site Book includes 90 ready-made topics you can deliver straight from the app.
Edge protection, ladder safety, scaffold inspections, fragile surfaces, and rescue procedures. The leading cause of fatal injuries in construction.
TILE assessment (Task, Individual, Load, Environment), safe lifting techniques, team lifts, and mechanical aids. The most common cause of workplace injuries.
What PPE is required for different tasks, how to inspect it, when to replace it, and why it is the last line of defence — not the first.
Hot works procedures, fire extinguisher types and locations, evacuation routes, assembly points, and fire watch periods after hot works.
Housekeeping standards, cable management, wet surfaces, uneven ground, and lighting. The most common non-fatal injury on construction sites.
Identifying hazardous substances, reading product labels, exposure routes, control measures, and what to do if someone is exposed.
110V vs 240V, RCDs, visual inspection of leads and tools, isolation procedures, and what to do if you hit a buried cable.
Trench collapse risks, shoring and battering, edge protection, service strikes, and the importance of ground investigation before digging.
Exposure limits for noise and hand-arm vibration (HAVS), tool rotation, hearing protection, and the early signs of vibration white finger.
Where asbestos is commonly found in pre-2000 buildings, what to do if you suspect ACMs, who can and cannot remove asbestos, and the legal requirements.
A good toolbox talk record should include these sections.
What the talk is about and when it was delivered. Keep it focused — one topic per talk.
The main safety messages delivered during the talk. Bullet points, not essays. Workers need to remember these on site.
Space to record any questions raised by workers and the answers given. This shows the talk was interactive, not just a lecture.
Any follow-up actions identified during the talk — equipment to inspect, procedures to update, training to arrange.
Signatures from every worker who attended the talk. The Site Book handles this digitally — workers sign on their phone.
There is no fixed legal requirement, but best practice is to hold a toolbox talk at least weekly on active construction sites. Many principal contractors require them as a condition of working on site. On shorter domestic projects, a talk at the start of the job covering the key hazards and site rules is usually sufficient. The important thing is that they happen regularly and cover the risks that are actually present on your site.
Yes. A signed attendance record is essential evidence that the talk took place and that workers received the safety briefing. If the HSE investigates an incident, they will want to see evidence that workers were informed about the relevant hazards and controls. The Site Book handles sign-off digitally — workers sign on their phone or tablet, and the record is stored against the project automatically.
Toolbox talks should cover the hazards that are relevant to the current phase of work on your site. If you are about to start working at height, do a talk on working at height. If new substances are being introduced, cover COSHH. Common topics include working at height, manual handling, PPE, fire safety, electrical safety, excavation safety, slips trips and falls, noise and vibration, asbestos awareness, and housekeeping. The Site Book includes 90 ready-made toolbox talk topics you can deliver straight from the app.
No credit card. Pick a topic, deliver it on site, and workers sign off on their phone. Every talk is recorded against the project for your audit trail.