8.0 – Training & Safety Meetings

Griffin Properties’ first priority is to ensure the Health and Safety of all our employees.

In order to achieve this goal, we will ensure that employees are adequately trained and understand the hazards associated with the task at hand.

Standard

Within industry certain training and certification requirements must be met and maintained to ensure that safety is an integral part of all job functions.  Training will be carried out to ensure compliance with mandatory requirements; other training will take place as circumstances dictate and as determined by management.

Management and Supervision must ensure that all employees receive the required minimum training for the job task.  Additionally, a completed record of safety training must be established and retained on file.

Changes in regulations and training requirements will be regularly monitored to ensure that compliance with safety training needs is carried out and maintained.

Griffin Properties’ minimal standards for safety training requirements for all employees are as follows:

• Company orientation
• Site orientation (as needed)
• Site specific orientation (as needed)

The policies contained within this manual precedent over the Occupational Health and Safety Act, regulations and codes of practice. All employees should be familiar with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

SAFETY & TRAINING OF EMPLOYEES

Griffin Properties recognizes that training and education of the company’s employees is a vital part of the safety program.  The company will ensure that supervisory staff has the knowledge and skills to instruct workers in safe job procedures and monitor on-going requirements for safety instruction.  Instruction will be provided to all workers and all workers are required to receive instruction.

Griffin Properties is committed to providing all new and re-assigned workers with an orientation.  The orientation will occur on the worker’s first day of the job or first day of returning to employment and will include the following items:

• Worker familiarization with company policy and a description of the safe work procedures.
• Worker notification of the location of written safety rules and responsibilities.  The worker is to sign an “Acknowledgement Form.”
• Walking tour of the workplace including identification of first aid facilities and locations of emergency equipment.
• Identification of existing and potential hazards at the work site.
• Completion of the Employee Orientation Questionnaire to determine if further instruction or testing is required.  A copy of the signed questionnaire is to be placed in the worker’s personnel file.

TOOL BOX TALK MEETINGS, PROCEDURES & RECORD

TOOL BOX / SAFETY MEETINGS

Toolbox safety talks or meetings are one of the most effective ways for supervisors and foreman to exhibit their own and the company’s commitment to safety.  Toolbox meetings should be conducted with a specific topic for discussion, such as a new safety rule, procedure or a recent accident or near miss.

PROCEDURES FOR TOOL BOX MEETING

Toolbox safety talks are to be held once per week at a set time. Clients may request a more frequent toolbox schedule which will be adhered to.

All workers and supervisors must attend.

Meetings should be less than 15 minutes in duration.

Involve your crew by encouraging questions and discussions.

TOOL BOX MEETING RECORD

Use the toolbox meeting record form to document all topics discussed, the workers attending any suggestions and/or unanswered questions and any corrective actions recommended or taken.

This meeting form will be used to document and track training and instruction given to worker’s, therefore, it is important the topics discussed be recorded.

If you have any suggestions for topics or require assistance in performing toolbox meeting please contact management.

EFFECTIVE CREW TALKS

A crew talk is an information presentation conducted by a supervisor or foreman to his crew on the shop floor or a meeting area.  If there is one most important point on the crew talks, it is that these focus on one and only one main point, rather than everything that may be of a concern.

Experience has shown that regular safety meetings with your crew will produce the following results:

• a) Raises and maintains their safety awareness;
• b) Demonstrates your concern for their safety;
• c) Has motivational value;
• d) Improves all communication through having a forum for an open discussion; and
• e) D
• emonstrates leadership on your part.

Once the safety meetings have become common in your workplace, your safety performance should improve and your production should be enhanced through fewer mistakes, time loss, etc. The first thing to do is to select one pertinent topic.

• Ask yourself how you want your crew to behave after you have discussed your selected topic with them. You need to provide your crew with the essentials to enable them to behave that way.  Make it real to your crew.  If you are talking about come-a-longs, bring one in as a focal point. The same thing goes for a piece of rigging or anything else that is portable.  Otherwise, consider demonstrations, graphs, posters, samples, models, photographs, quizzes, tools, equipment and incidents.
• You don’t have to be formal with your presentation, but on the other hand, don’t be so informal that you ignore your topic plan.  You will develop a style as you become more accustomed to doing crew talks and this will become second nature.
• End your meeting by telling the crew what you expect from them as a result of your talk.