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Toolbox Talk

Before anybody climbs: make sure they have a way back down

A quick tailgate talk for any job with ladders, scaffold, edges, openings, or elevated work.

For Foremen and elevated-work crews
Before anybody climbs: make sure they have a way back down — construction crew safety meeting
Run it before the work starts

Here’s the conversation to have.

Before anybody heads up, walk the work area and point at the places a man could go over the edge, step through an opening, or get hit from below. Don’t let the crew figure it out halfway through the task.

Make sure the way up, the work area, and the protection all match the job in front of you. If the work changes, the weather turns, or access gets moved, stop and look at it again. That is not slowing the job down. That is keeping a bad day from getting worse.

Before you turn the crew loose

What needs to be checked.

  • Walk every edge, hole, ladder, scaffold, and access point before work starts.
  • Make sure the right access and fall-protection gear is on site and ready to use before somebody climbs.
  • Keep people out from under overhead work until you have the falling-object exposure handled.
  • If the job changes, weather moves in, or the crew has to take a different route, stop and reset the plan.
Ask the crew

Don’t just read it. Get an answer.

1. What can put somebody on the ground here today?
2. What has to be in place before the first person climbs?
3. What would make us stop and take another look at this setup?
Reference material

Use these when you need the rule or want to dig deeper.

This is a starting point for the tailgate talk. The crew, the equipment, and the job conditions in front of you decide what has to happen next.