Safety talks by month
May safety topics for plants and warehouses
May is National Electrical Safety Month. It is also the month to get ready for heat: fans come out, dock doors stay open and summer hires start. These nine talks are split between cords and panels and the first hot work of the year.
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.
May 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.
Where the dates fall in May
National Electrical Safety Month
All of May
Safety and Health Week
May 3 to 8 in 2027 (it was May 4 to 9 in 2026)
Days it can fall onDate set by the organiser each year
National Electrical Safety Month
When: All of May
Who runs it: Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI)
Fans, chargers and extension cords all appear in May, so the cord talks have something to point at.
Source for National Electrical Safety Month (opens in a new tab)
Safety and Health Week
When: May 3 to 8 in 2027 (it was May 4 to 9 in 2026)
Who runs it: Started by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering as NAOSH Week
A week for site events. Use it for a floor walk with the crew, not a poster.
9 safety talks for May
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. Check the cord before you plug in
The hazard: Extension cords and plug-in tools get dragged, pinched and run over. OSHA requires them to be visually inspected for external defects before use on any shift, and a defective one removed from service.
What to say: Run the cord through your hand before you plug in. A cut jacket, a bent pin or a loose plug means you hand it in.
Ask the crew: Which cord or tool here should have been pulled already?
2. The cord that became permanent
The hazard: A cord run to a fan in May is often still there in October. OSHA does not allow flexible cords as a substitute for fixed wiring, run through doorways, windows or holes in walls, or attached to building surfaces.
What to say: A cord is for a temporary job. If one is tied to a rack or run through a doorway, tell me and we will ask for an outlet.
Ask the crew: Where is there a cord that has become permanent?
Source: OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.305(g)(1)(iv) (opens in a new tab)
3. Keep the panel clear
The hazard: The open floor in front of a panel looks like free storage. OSHA says the working space around electric equipment may not be used for storage, and that space is at least 30 inches wide.
What to say: Nothing is parked in front of a panel or a disconnect. No pallet, no cart, no fan. Nobody should have to move something to reach a breaker.
Ask the crew: Which panel here has something in front of it right now?
Source: OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.303(g)(1)(ii) (opens in a new tab)
4. Fans and chargers from home
The hazard: Personal fans, power strips and chargers turn up in warm weather. OSHA requires listed or labeled equipment to be installed and used in accordance with the instructions in its listing or labeling.
What to say: If you brought it from home, show it to me before it is plugged in. Use equipment the way its label says.
Ask the crew: What is plugged in at your station that the company did not issue?
5. Fan guards
The hazard: Floor and pedestal fans come out of storage with bent or missing guards. OSHA requires fan blades less than 7 feet above the floor to be guarded, with openings no larger than one-half inch.
What to say: Check the guard before you switch a fan on. If it is missing or a finger fits through it, tag the fan and hand it in.
Ask the crew: Which fan in your area has a damaged guard?
6. Where the water is
The hazard: People drink more when water is close. OSHA requires potable water in every place of employment and prohibits a common drinking cup.
What to say: This is the water point for this area. Use your own bottle or the cups. If a cooler is empty or a fountain is broken, tell me that shift.
Ask the crew: How far is the nearest drinking water from your station?
7. Open dock doors with no trailer
The hazard: Dock doors are left open for air. An open door with no trailer is an edge. OSHA requires protection from falling at an unprotected side or edge that is 4 feet or more above a lower level.
What to say: An open door with no trailer gets the chain or the gate across it. Never back a pallet jack toward an open edge.
Ask the crew: Which dock door is open most often with nothing parked at it?
8. First days in the heat
The hazard: OSHA says almost half of heat-related deaths occur on a worker's first day, and over 70 percent in the first week. Its guidance for new workers is 20 percent of the normal time in the heat on day one, adding 20 percent each following day.
What to say: If you are new, or new to this hot area, your first day in the heat is short and we build up. Tell me if you have been away from hot work.
Ask the crew: Who here is new to hot work this month?
Source: OSHA, Heat: Protecting New Workers (opens in a new tab)
9. Sun on the yard and the dock apron
The hazard: Yard and grounds work is in full sun. NIOSH advises extra care between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., sunscreen of at least SPF 30 reapplied at least every 2 hours, and a wide-brim hat.
What to say: Sunscreen is at the first aid station. Put it on before you go out and again after lunch. Wear a brimmed hat where the job allows one.
Ask the crew: Which outdoor jobs here could move to earlier in the day?
Source: NIOSH, Sun Exposure and Outdoor Workers (opens in a new tab)
A week-by-week plan for May
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 | Electrical Safety Month opens and Safety and Health Week falls here. | |
| Week 2 | Personal fans and chargers start to appear at stations. | |
| Week 3 | The building is being set up for hot weather. | |
| Week 4 | Just before the summer hires walk in. |
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
May safety topics, answered
May is National Electrical Safety Month, run by the Electrical Safety Foundation International. Safety and Health Week also falls in early May.
It is the week once called NAOSH Week, started by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering. The organiser lists May 3 to 8 for 2027.
Before the first hot spell, not during it. OSHA's guidance on new workers is about the first days of hot work, so give the talk before those days arrive.
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.