Toolbox Talks Continue to Grow
Toolbox Talks safety briefings, hosted by the Construction Center of Excellence (CCE), are serving more users in Spanish and English, and thanks to a recent grant from Washington State Labor & Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), new and updated Toolbox Talks are now slated to continue through November of 2025 to grown this essential construction safety resource.
As safety briefings on potential hazards and preventive measures, Toolbox Talks are an opportunity for leaders and workers on job sites in Washington and throughout the world to review safety regulations, raise awareness of safety protocols and prevent accidents and injuries on the job site. Started in 2013 by the Construction Center of Excellence with 25 site training topics, Toolbox Talks present expertise on specific safety issues, including chemicals, electrical, fall protection, fire safety, tools, and more. The talks, named Charlas de Seguridad, are also translated into Spanish.
Interest in and use of the Talks continues to grow, with DOSH referring safety education inquiries to Toolbox Talks, making the resource the go-to for current and updated safety training. Over a period of 11 months through April 4th, 2024, Toolbox Talks hosted 93,658 views attributed to 37,774 users, and Charlas de Seguridad saw 68,320 views from 34,260 users. With Safety & Health Investment Projects funding from Washington State’s Department of Labor and Industries, the CCE has been able to add new Toolbox Talks regularly, with diverse topics like heat and old hazards, fall protection planning, body harnesses and extension cord safety posted in recent months. In the coming months the CCE intends to add Toolbox Talks in other industries beyond construction, as well as adding Toolbox Talks in additional languages.
“Toolbox Talks remind us of safety issues that we may not deal with regularly in our work, but can save our life in an instant,” said Christina Rupp, Director of the Construction Center of Excellence. “In the next 18 months we’ll expand Toolbox Talks to include gender-based violence, harassment and suicide awareness and prevention, as well as increasing the use of Toolbox Talks beyond active job sites and into apprenticeship preparation and CTE courses statewide.”
According to recent analytics, the most popular Toolbox Talks in English are Common Safety Mistakes, Safe Work Habits, and Personal Protective Equipment. In Spanish Trabajo en Caliente, Inspeccion del Arnes and Habitos de Trabajo Seguros garner the most interest. Users access the talks on desktop and mobile, as well as through dedicated phone apps. And as part of the next round of innovations, Toolbox Talks will be translated into Russian, with a recent CCE study identifying that Russian is the third-most-spoken language on job sites.
Safety professionals from 100 countries accessed Toolbox Talks over the past year. The large majority visit from the United States, with over 29,000 users, but interest is strong from English-speaking nations with Canada, South Africa, India, and the United Kingdom rounding out the top five users. In the top 100 include countries from 6 continents and Oceania, accessing Toolbox Talks from Nigeria to the Netherlands, Colombia to Cambodia.
In Spanish, uptake of Charlas de Seguridad is led by Peru, with over 13,000 users and followed by Colombia, Mexico, the United States and Chile. Seventy two countries make the Spanish list, showing the diversity of Spanish-speaking construction professionals around the world.
Users from across Washington and around the world increasingly access Toolbox Talks to keep their workforce safe, another way Washington State’s Centers of Excellence help industry thrive.