--- title: "Get your Health and Safety back on track with Toolbox Talks" description: "Has Covid distracted your day-to-day Health & Safety? Over the past 12+ months everyone’s focus has quite rightly been on the control of Covid; ensuring, where permittable, that business has been able to continue whilst suitable arrangements are implemented to manage the risks." canonical: "https://www.safety-management.co.uk/news/get-your-health-and-safety-back-on-track-with-toolbox-talks" type: "Article" publishedAt: "2021-06-24T14:44:15" modifiedAt: "2021-06-24T14:52:14" keywords: "Covid, Health and Safety, health and safety, toolbox talk" --- # Get your Health and Safety back on track with Toolbox Talks Has Covid distracted your day-to-day Health & Safety? Over the past 12+ months everyone’s focus has quite rightly been on the control of Covid; ensuring, where permittable, that business has been able to continue whilst suitable arrangements are implemented to manage the risks. Canonical URL: https://www.safety-management.co.uk/news/get-your-health-and-safety-back-on-track-with-toolbox-talks ## Article Has Covid distracted your day-to-day Health & Safety? Over the past 12+ months everyone’s focus has quite rightly been on the control of Covid; ensuring, where permittable, that business has been able to continue whilst suitable arrangements are implemented to manage the risks. While the pandemic has certainly interrupted some scheduled and regular Health and Safety activities, such as training courses, it is important that businesses are not distracted from ‘normal’ day to day Health & Safety responsibilities. The competency of our workforces needs to be maintained to make sure that complacency is not allowed to develop. This is where Toolbox Talks come in. Originating in the Construction sector, a **[Toolbox Talk](https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/resources/toolboxtalks.htm)** is a short presentation to the workforce on a single aspect of Health and Safety. They only need to be 10 – 20 minutes long and delivered by a Supervisor or Manager to their team. Examples of Toolbox Talks that we have supplied for our clients include: - **[Toolbox Talk: Wood Dust](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Toolbox-Talk-Wood-Dust.pdf)** - **[Toolbox Talk: Hot work](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Toolbox-Talk-Hot-Work.pdf)** - **[Toolbox Talk: Housekeeping](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Toolbox-Talk-Housekeeping.pdf)** Toolbox Talks are a flexible method of engaging with the workforce. Even during Covid restrictions, it is possible to effectively deliver these talks to small groups of workers in the right environment. It is imperative that the content of the talks are: - Relevant to work activities and the work environment - Delivered verbally by the appropriate personnel Poor examples of Toolbox Talks are when safety updates are printed out and left in a communal space for workers to sign that they have read them. This isn’t engaging or a responsible enough approach. SML can support your business activities in providing Toolbox Talks to suit your undertakings. If required, we can also support your Management team in the delivery of these. **[Contact us](/contact#contact-form)** today to find out more. ## Related guidance - [Practical Health & Safety Support: Knowing Where to Start and What to Do Next](/news/practical-health-safety-support-knowing-where-to-start-and-what-to-do-next): Managing health and safety can feel straightforward when everything is running smoothly. Policies have been written, risk assessments have been completed, and there have been no recent incidents. However, many organisations reach a point where they begin to ask more fundamental... - [Why Retained Health & Safety Support Gives Leaders Greater Confidence](/news/why-retained-health-safety-support-gives-leaders-greater-confidence): For senior operations, health and safety and facilities leaders, the challenge is rarely a lack of documentation. Most organisations already have policies, risk assessments and procedures in place, and many have competent people responsible for maintaining them. The more difficu... - [How Workplace Safety Audits Help You Focus on What Actually Matters](/news/how-workplace-safety-audits-help-you-focus-on-what-actually-matters): A workplace safety audit is often associated with compliance, paperwork and preparing for inspections. While these are all important aspects of health and safety management, they are not the primary reason for carrying out an audit. The real value of a workplace safety audit UK... - [What Should You Do After a Near Miss in the Workplace? A Practical Guide for Businesses](/news/what-should-you-do-after-a-near-miss-in-the-workplace-a-practical-guide-for-businesses): A near miss in the workplace is an incident that had the potential to cause injury, ill health, damage to property or interruption to business operations but, fortunately, did not result in harm. While it may be tempting to regard these incidents as isolated events because no on... ## Explore local coverage - [Explore local coverage](/locations): Browse support across regions, towns, services and sectors. - [Health & Safety Consultancy in Bedfordshire](/services/health-safety/bedfordshire): Health & Safety Consultancy coverage linked to Bedfordshire businesses and surrounding towns. - [Construction support in Bedfordshire](/sectors/construction/bedfordshire): Construction guidance connected to Bedfordshire operations and site risk. - [Health & Safety Consultancy in Bedford](/services/health-safety/bedfordshire/bedford): Health & Safety Consultancy support for Bedford and nearby areas including Luton, Dunstable.