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SAFETY MOMENT, MAY 14

Secure the load

Safety moment, May 14

Secure the load

A truck is heavy, hard to stop and hard to see around. Drivers share yards and docks with forklifts and people on foot. A mistake with a brake, a chock or a load can hurt someone fast. Good habits at the dock and on the road keep drivers and everyone around them safe.

SAFETY MOMENT

May 14

The hazard

A truck is heavy, hard to stop and hard to see around. Drivers share yards and docks with forklifts and people on foot. A mistake with a brake, a chock or a load can hurt someone fast. Good habits at the dock and on the road keep drivers and everyone around them safe.

The action

Make sure the load is stable and safely arranged. Use the right straps, chains or tie-downs for the load and check them at the start and during the trip. For forklifts, only stable or safely arranged loads should be handled. Load securement rules for trucks on public roads come from the Department of Transportation, not OSHA. (29 CFR 1910.178(o)(1))

ASK THE CREW

What is on your walk-around checklist, and what do you check last?

From the talk: Truck driver safety. Read it in full, free, with the questions and the sign-in sheet.

HOW TO USE IT

How to give a safety moment

  1. Gather the crew where they work, before the shift or the meeting starts. Read the hazard out loud.
  2. Ask the question and let two or three people answer. What they say about their own work counts for more than what you read.
  3. Name the action and point to one place on today's job where it applies, so everyone knows what to do differently.
  4. Write the date and the names on a sign-in sheet.

A safety moment is short and does not replace the full talk. When you want to go through a topic with the crew, pick a free toolbox talk.

PRINT AND EDIT

365 safety moments, $29

One moment for every day of the year in the same format as this one: the hazard, the action, the question and the source talk with its citation. Print a page a day or show a slide.

  • 365 safety moments, one per day
  • Dated PDF calendar, a page a day
  • PowerPoint with one slide per moment
  • English and Spanish
  • Each moment links back to its cited toolbox talk

Instant download. 30-day refund, no questions.

Free 52-week toolbox talk calendar (PDF)