Ideas for Making Safety Meetings Meaningful
Employee safety should always be a priority, and safety meetings are a great way to keep everyone protected and knowledgeable. There are many inherent dangers for warehouse employees, and preventing work-related injuries, deaths, and illnesses should be addressed during your regular safety meetings.
Meeting Topics
You want your safety meetings to be relevant to your employees and their needs. Consider one or all of the following common safety meeting topics. Many of PFlow’s other blogs tackle the following issues and can be used for reference.
- Forklift Training
- Ergonomics and Proper Lifting
- Hazard Awareness
- Preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls
- What to do in Case of a Workplace Injury
- Working with and Around Moving Equipment
- OSHA Certification
Cycle through the above topics often. This should all become second nature to your employees and benefit everyone in the warehouse in the long run.
Hosting Interactive Meetings
Safety meetings don’t have to be boring. An interactive meeting will have your employees engaged and motivated. Incorporate some of the following interactive elements into your next safety training meeting.
Training Games
Training games require you to get creative and plan ahead. Plenty of inspiration can be found online. Some commonly used games include bingo, trivia, and TV Game Show games such as Jeopardy. Consider offering a prize or incentive to keep your employees’ attention and increase their desire to win.
Encourage Active Participation
Just like students in the classroom, employees who actively participate are more like to retain what they have learned. Encourage employee participation by asking questions, sharing personal anecdotes and stories, and assigning tasks during the meeting.
Create a Dialogue
Don’t lecture at your employees. You’re more likely to lose their attention if you deliver a long, dreary monologue. Encourage two-way discussions and questions.
Demonstrations
Everyone learns and retains information differently, but demonstrations are appreciated by most. If you have a meeting about hazard awareness, demonstrate to your employees what exactly you are talking about. If you’re talking about protective gear, bring said gear and have your employees try it on.
Storytelling
Everyone loves a good story. Put your ideas into perspective by sharing one of your own. Better yet, ask your employees if they have a relevant story or situation they have experienced in the warehouse that they can share about the topic being addressed.
Safety meetings don’t have to be boring and dry. The subject matter of these meetings is extremely important but that doesn’t mean you need to give your hardworking employees a lecture. Use the ideas above or brainstorm some of your own. Engaging in some fun and interactive activities is a great way to get safety training information across and also gives you a chance to build relationships with everyone in the warehouse.
PFlow values safety in all our lifts – and the safety of your employees. Make sure any VRCs or vertical lifts are safe for your team. If you’re using a PFlow lift, you can check out our safety features, or just contact us with questions.