Safety talks by month
July safety topics for plants and warehouses
July needs no observance to fill a talk calendar. Heat inside the building is at its worst, and plants that run a summer shutdown have maintenance crews and contractors opening up machines while the regular operators are on vacation. These nine talks cover indoor heat and the lockout, hot work and lifting that come with shutdown work.
Last reviewed:
Print 30 toolbox talks, one page each
For plants and warehouses, with a sign-in sheet. Free after one short form.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
July dates and observances
Only observances confirmed on the organiser's own page are listed, each with its owner and a link. Where a date moves from year to year, the year is given. Check the source before you print a calendar.
We did not find a national workplace safety observance for July that we could confirm on the organiser's own page, so none is listed. The only running date is the hurricane season.
Where the dates fall in July
Atlantic hurricane season
June 1 to November 30, so all of July
Days it can fall onDate set by the organiser each year
Atlantic hurricane season
When: June 1 to November 30, so all of July
Who runs it: NOAA National Hurricane Center
Coastal sites keep the plan from June current. Nothing new is due this month.
9 safety talks for July
Each talk gives the hazard, words a supervisor can say at the start of a shift, one question to put to the crew, and the rule or guidance it rests on. Say it in your own words and wait for an answer to the question.
1. The forecast is not the plant
The hazard: OSHA points out that a weather report cannot gauge conditions inside a building. Ovens, furnaces and hot equipment add their own heat, and heavy work carries the highest risk.
What to say: The number on your phone is for outdoors. We measure at the line, next to the hot equipment. If your area feels worse than yesterday, tell me and I will take a reading.
Ask the crew: Where is the hottest place you work, and at what time of day?
2. Breaks get longer as it gets hotter
The hazard: People skip breaks to finish an order or leave early. OSHA says rest breaks should increase as heat stress rises, and that skipping breaks is not safe.
What to say: On hot days the break schedule changes and I will post it. Take every break, in the cool area. Working through does not get you out sooner.
Ask the crew: What stops you taking a break when it is hot?
Source: OSHA, Heat: Water. Rest. Shade. (opens in a new tab)
3. Try it before you touch it
The hazard: A lock on the wrong disconnect looks the same as a lock on the right one. Before work starts on locked-out equipment, OSHA requires the authorized employee to verify that it is isolated and de-energized.
What to say: After the lock goes on, try the start button and check for stored energy. Only then do hands go in. Do this every time, including after lunch.
Ask the crew: How do you verify zero energy on the machine you work on most?
4. Your lock, your key
The hazard: Shutdown jobs put several trades on one machine. OSHA requires each lockout device to be removed by the employee who applied it, and group lockout to give every person the same protection as a personal lock.
What to say: Everyone working on the machine hangs a lock. Nobody works under someone else's lock, and nobody removes a lock that is not theirs.
Ask the crew: Have you ever worked under another person's lock? What happened?
5. Contractors and our lockout
The hazard: Outside crews arrive with their own locks and their own habits. OSHA requires the on-site employer and the outside employer to inform each other of their lockout procedures.
What to say: If a contractor is working near you, ask what they have locked out. If you see one working on live equipment, stop the job and call me.
Ask the crew: Which contractors are in your area this week, and what are they working on?
6. Hot work and the 35 feet around it
The hazard: Shutdown welding happens next to cardboard, pallets and oily rags that are normally nowhere near a flame. OSHA requires combustibles to be moved at least 35 feet from the work, or protected where they cannot be moved.
What to say: Before a torch is lit, walk 35 feet in every direction. Move what burns, cover what cannot be moved, and look below floor openings as well.
Ask the crew: What is within 35 feet of the next hot work job?
Source: OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(vii) (opens in a new tab)
7. Slings before the lift
The hazard: Shutdown lifts use slings that sat in a cage all year. OSHA requires each sling and its attachments to be inspected for damage each day before use by a competent person, and everyone kept clear of suspended loads.
What to say: Check the sling and the hardware before the first lift of the day. Damaged slings are cut up, not put back. Nobody walks under the load.
Ask the crew: Who is the person who inspects slings on this job?
8. Compressed air for cleaning
The hazard: Blowing down a machine or your own clothes is tempting when everything is sticky with heat. OSHA allows compressed air for cleaning only when it is reduced to less than 30 psi, with chip guarding and PPE.
What to say: Use the reduced-pressure nozzle and wear eye protection. Never point an air line at yourself or anyone else.
Ask the crew: Which air guns here are not the reduced-pressure type?
9. Covering someone else's machine
The hazard: Vacation cover puts people on equipment they do not normally run. OSHA requires lockout retraining whenever there is a change in job assignment.
What to say: If you are covering a machine this week, I go through its lockout points with you before you clear a jam. Ask before you open a guard.
Ask the crew: Which machine are you covering that you were never trained on?
Source: OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7)(iii)(A) (opens in a new tab)
A week-by-week plan for July
One way to spread the talks over the month. It is an example order, so move a talk when your own shutdown, weather or shift pattern says it belongs in a different week.
| Week | Talks | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Set the hot-day break schedule before the worst heat. | |
| Week 2 | The days before shutdown, with the contractors in the room if possible. | |
| Week 3 | While the welding and lifting are going on. | |
| Week 4 | Start-up and clean-up, with cover staff on unfamiliar machines. |
Safety topics for every month
The year by month, with the hazards each month's talks are built around. For talks sorted by length and by workplace, go to the safety topics library.
The year in safety talks
Guides that go with these talks
FAQ
July safety topics, answered
Not one that we could confirm on an organiser's own page. Choose July talks by hazard: heat inside the building and the maintenance work that happens during a summer shutdown.
Verifying isolation before work starts, one lock for each person, telling contractors about your lockout procedure, clearing 35 feet around hot work and inspecting slings each day.
No. OSHA says a weather report cannot gauge conditions inside a building. Measure near the work, close to ovens, furnaces and other hot equipment.
Print 30 toolbox talks, one page each
For plants and warehouses, with a sign-in sheet. Free after one short form.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
See it on your own safety routine
Bring the safety problem you are stuck on, and we will show you on a call how LeanSuite handles it.