Toolbox Talks: What are they?

Toolbox Talks are the new method of communication for employees at the C.A. Lawton Co.  Each week, a handout is designed and posted by our compliance coordinator, Katherine Jungwirth. This handout is specifically created to freshen everyone’s memory and remind them of specific safety precautions. Lawton’s team digs deep when designing these Toolbox Talks because safety and health is a number one priority.

This week’s Toolbox Talk was introduced by stating 4 out of every 5 accidents are the fault of the person involved in the incident and unsafe acts cause four times as many accidents and injuries as unsafe conditions. With these statistics in mind, employees are encouraged to read through the safety guidelines to ensure they are aware of the potential distractions that may occur while on the job and tips to eliminate them.

Each Toolbox Talk is updated weekly with new information on topics such as “Distractions in the Workplace” or “Random Safety Reminders.” The subcategories include mental distractions, hearing, shortcuts, safety procedures, and cell phone distractions. The random tips for employees on the manufacturing floor include subcategories of cranes, mixers, compressed air, machinery and equipment, lockout tagout, forklift and more. Each category contains a short list of helpful safety tips to prevent any future accidents at Lawton and keep everyone safe.

Despite each employee being responsible for how safely they do their job, it is still necessary to reinforce these other safety measures that might have been forgotten. For example, a safety tip under the category of mixers could be to always wear a face shield when calibrating mixers and never mix acid and resin together. As some of these tips could seem like common sense, such as to always wear a seatbelt on the forklift and balance the load before lifting or moving, it is still extremely important. The overarching goal is to refresh everyone’s attitude about keeping ourselves and each other safe by eliminating distractions while at work. To eliminate distractions, the Toolbox Talk warns employees to avoid dropping their ‘mental’ guard which can pull focus away from safe work procedures. Additionally, the Toolbox Talk reinforces that short cuts that reduce your safety on the job are not shortcuts at all, but an increased opportunity for injury. Through these implications of Toolbox Talks, Lawton employees are given more tools that will help them remain safe and healthy while continuing to produce quality castings.