The Texas Surveyor - January 2022 - Magazine - Page 18
Tailgate Safety Meetings
Joe Breaux, RPLS – TSPS Safety Committee Chair
D
o you or does your employer
schedule regular safety meetings
and tailgate safety meetings, or
are you so busy that you do not have
the time (read this as don’t take the
time) for them? For the sake and safety
of employees and for your company’s
sake I hope that you do have regularly
scheduled safety meetings and that your
survey crew or crews conduct occasional
tailgate safety meetings. We won’t get
into the recommended requirements
Joe Breaux,
of regular safety meetings but read on
RPLS #4293
for more about tailgate safety meetings
and how they play an important part in good safety practices and
keeping survey crew members safer and up to speed on safety
matters.
Tailgate safety meetings, or tailgate meetings, or tailgate talks are
an informal, short, 5–15-minute meetings held on the work site
to bring safety to the forefront and to make sure that everyone in
a survey crew has safety on their mind before work begins at the
beginning of each day or when job conditions change. They are
a great way to start the day or a job by reviewing safety issues
or conditions particular to a work site or that may be unique to
performing a particular job. For a survey crew, a tailgate meeting
should also be held when the job conditions like traffic or weather
change, or when changing job locations brings on new or different
safety concerns.
A tailgate safety meeting is an effective way to communicate to
employees and make them aware of potential hazards or dangers
on a project site, to discuss work-related accidents and on the job
injuries, illnesses or even to go over general safety topics.
Tailgate safety meetings can be utilized to address actual problems
on the job or a client’s particular safety requirements, such as
working on a construction site and especially if working around
moving equipment. The meeting leader can mention the issues,
go over proper precautionary procedures, and then draw upon
the experience of other workers to remind all employees of the
dangers in performing work under the expected conditions or at
the location on which a survey must be safely completed. A tailgate
safety meeting is especially useful for informing new employees.
How to Hold a Tailgate Meeting
Conduct a tailgate meeting at the beginning of the day on the first
job location. Have the entire survey crew stand around the tailgate
of your safely parked survey truck. Note that safely parked means
you are parked in a parking lot or parked away from moving traffic
and in a safe location, not on the shoulder of a busy roadway. Make
sure that everyone in your crew is paying attention and that your
presentation keeps their attention. It is good practice to make this
part of your starting procedure each day.
Continued on page 19
Fig. 1
SAFETY MEETING AGENDA (sample form)
JOB SITE: _______________________________________ MEETING DATE: ________________________
1. Open Meeting and Present Safety topic: _______________________________________________________
2. Read minutes from previous meeting.
3. Persons present:
_____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
_____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
4. Old Business – Status of previous recommendations. Discuss pending old business if any.
5. Accidents – Discuss accidents and near misses that have occurred since the last meeting. Provide a brief
summary of accidents to date by number and type. Note any trends. Discuss corrective action taken or needed.
Concentrate on accident causes to make everyone more aware.
6. Inspection Reports – Report on findings and recommendations of any inspection reports made since last meeting.
7. New Business – Solicit employee suggestions. Discuss new procedures, changes to company safety policy, etc.
TIME MEETING STARTED: _________________________ TIME FINISHED: ________________________
MEETING CHAIRED BY: ______________________________ TITLE: ______________________________
18
The Texas Surveyor | January 2022
