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One-page toolbox talk
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Supporting documents
Supervisor field checks and attendance records are included with a free account. No payment is required.
Supervisor field check
A separate check to verify conditions and controls before work. Includes a one-page PDF and editable Word file.
Attendance sheet
A separate sign-in sheet to record the toolbox talk. Includes a one-page PDF and editable Word file.
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A 5–10 minute toolbox talk, plus the time needed for field verification. Toolbox talk downloads are public; supporting records are included with a free Safety account.
Why this matters
A shelter plan is useful only if we can reach the right shelter before conditions become dangerous. Lightning, tornadoes and flooding need different decisions. Decide who watches conditions and calls the stop before the weather changes.
Learning objective: Identify today’s weather triggers, suitable shelter and conditions for an authorized restart.
Key hazards or failure points
Late warnings; unreachable or unsuitable shelter; exposed travel; unsecured materials; flooding; wind beyond equipment limits; restarting before the area is checked.
Practical controls
- Review the local forecast and alerts. Name the weather monitor and backup, communication method and stop authority. Plan enough time to stop safely and reach shelter before the threat arrives.
- For thunder, move immediately to a substantial building or enclosed metal-topped vehicle with windows closed. Open shelters and trees are unsuitable. A vehicle used for lightning shelter is not a planned tornado shelter.
- Identify the site’s tornado shelter and flood-avoidance routes separately. Do not walk or drive into floodwater. Use actual equipment and site wind/weather limits. Secure materials in advance while conditions are safe.
Verify It in the Field
Before work, the leader confirms the alert source works at this location and the assigned monitor can reach the crew. Walk the safe route to the selected shelter; check access, availability and room for everyone.
Ask workers which shelter applies to each expected hazard. Check that equipment limits and shutdown instructions are available and that the plan allows travel time. Do not send someone into an approaching storm to secure materials.
Record the forecast/alert review, shelter, route, contact and stop/restart criteria. Use the separate field sheet to capture actual checks rather than writing only “weather monitored.”
Use the separate field check to record the source and criterion, safe method, checker, actual result and time. Mark VERIFIED, HOLD/NOT VERIFIED, or N/A with a reason. Check every required control; the examples below do not clear the whole task.
| Control | Safe verification | Evidence to record |
|---|---|---|
| Alert communication | Confirm the selected information source and safe test of crew contact. | Monitor, backup and actual communication result recorded. |
| Shelter access | Walk the route before hazardous weather and confirm hazard-appropriate shelter availability. | Location, access, capacity and travel arrangements confirmed. |
| Restart decision | Apply weather guidance, current warnings and the site’s post-event inspection requirements. | Inspection results and designated restart clearance recorded before affected work. |
Stop and reassess
Stop for thunder, threatening conditions, applicable warnings, breached equipment/site limits or failed shelter access. Shelter and account for the crew. NWS advises waiting at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before leaving lightning shelter. Restart also requires applicable warnings to be resolved, post-storm hazards checked and the designated authority’s clearance.
toolbox talk questions
- Which weather change could affect this task before we finish?
- Show the shelter and how we will receive the stop message.
- What must be checked before we leave shelter and restart work?
Before exposure: know the trigger, allow travel time and verify the shelter.
A situation to discuss
Illustrative situation: the planned lightning shelter is a locked building at the far end of the site. A route walk finds the access problem before weather arrives. The leader arranges usable shelter and adjusts the work plan rather than waiting for thunder to test the arrangement.
Leader preparation and practical detail
Choose shelter for the hazard
For lightning, NWS identifies a substantial building with electrical wiring or plumbing, or an enclosed metal-topped vehicle with windows up. For tornadoes, use the designated tornado shelter; a basement or a small interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building, away from windows, may be part of the site plan. A lightning shelter choice is not automatically appropriate for tornadoes or flooding. [1], [2]
A forecast is an input to an action plan
Agree who monitors updates, who has a backup when the monitor is occupied and how all work groups receive the instruction. Account for the time needed to stop the task and get people to shelter. Device notifications can support the plan; they are not a reason to ignore thunder or a threatening change visible at the work location. [4]
Restart includes the workplace
After sheltering, check for changed access, damaged electrical equipment, unstable material and other storm effects before affected work resumes. Appropriate competent or authorized people must inspect conditions within their responsibility. The lightning waiting period is one condition; it does not establish that flooded or damaged work areas are safe. [1], [3]
Apply this briefing to steel and framing work
Steel and precast: plan the stable stopping point
Weather planning must cover the partly erected structure as well as the crane. Before starting the next member or panel, identify how the work will reach a stable stopping point while conditions remain suitable. Include loose decking, temporary supports and unfinished connections in that decision.
The crane competent person addresses wind, ice and snow effects on equipment stability and capacity under 1926.1417. The erection lead confirms the structure’s securing arrangements against applicable erection information and required competent-person or engineering decisions. Steel stability must be maintained throughout erection; precast units require support against overturning and collapse until permanent connections are complete.
Record the applicable equipment and erection criteria, monitoring method, decision maker, securing sequence and checks. There is no universal wind-speed limit for every crane, member or panel. Hold when a criterion is unknown, conditions exceed it or the planned stable stopping point cannot be reached safely. After weather, have the responsible people verify affected supports, connections and secured materials before release.
Sources checked October 9, 2026: OSHA 1926.1417(h), (n), OSHA 1926.754(a), (d), (e), OSHA 1926.704(a).
Record the acceptance source, safe check method, assigned verifier, actual result and time. Hold affected work for an unresolved required control; correct, recheck and rebrief before authorized restart.
Apply this briefing to framing and masonry work
Unfinished wood framing: record the weather handoff
Before leaving an incomplete frame, record its actual stage: walls raised, trusses installed, sheathing secured and temporary restraint still required. The next crew needs that condition, not simply “framing complete.”
The foreperson compares the installed restraint and bracing with the applicable project documents and component instructions. Use the actual design or responsible designer for unresolved stability questions; this talk supplies no brace spacing or wind-speed limit. Identify loose panels and the safe method for securing them before conditions deteriorate. Do not send workers back into unsafe weather to finish securing materials.
After the event, inspect from a safe location for shifted supports, displaced bracing, damaged components and changed access. Keep affected work on hold until the responsible person resolves damage or stability concerns. Where scaffolds are involved, their competent person must inspect after an occurrence that could affect structural integrity. Record the findings and restart authorization.
Continue with roof-truss installation and bracing. References checked October 9, 2026: SBCA's BCSI overview and OSHA 1926.451(f)(3).
Record the acceptance source, safe check method, assigned verifier, actual result and time. Hold affected work for an unresolved required control; correct, recheck and rebrief before authorized restart.
Apply this briefing to masonry and glazing work
Glass installation weather: review the panel, not just its weight
Changing to a wider pane or rotating a glazed module can change the handling problem even when its weight is similar. Before the next lift, the glazing lead and lift team should review panel dimensions, orientation and exposure along the entire route, including the building corner and receiving position. A general forecast does not establish suitability for that movement.
For covered crane work, 1926.1417(h) and (n) assigns weather-related decisions to the competent person. Compare conditions with all applicable crane, lifting-device and installation restrictions; obtain the required technical direction when the actual panel or configuration falls outside the supplied information. Assign the monitoring method, communication and stopping point while the panel can still be secured safely. Do not rely on workers overpowering unexpected rotation.
Record: panel and route, governing weather criteria, monitoring source and actual conditions, competent person/lead, decision and time. Hold pickup for uncertain limits, deteriorating control or insufficient time to reach the planned secured state. Recheck the installation and access before restart.
Record the acceptance source, safe check method, assigned verifier, actual result and time. Hold affected work for an unresolved required control; correct, recheck and rebrief before authorized restart.
Apply this briefing to roofing and siding work
Roof wind and weather: plan the last safe work stage
Before opening another roll or exposing another roof section, ask whether the crew can leave it secure and reach shelter before conditions deteriorate. Partly unrolled membrane, underlayment and lightweight boards change the work as soon as wind catches them. Finishing a temporary dry-in is not a reason to remain exposed when the safe stopping point has passed.
The roofing lead and weather monitor review the local forecast and actual rooftop conditions together. Agree on a work stage that can be secured using the roofing system's instructions and project requirements. Confirm permitted roof loading and the specified material-restraint method; do not invent ballast from spare bundles. OSHA 1926.250 requires stable material storage and safe passageways. Equipment wind limits must come from the actual equipment instructions and applicable operating plan, not a single wind number borrowed from another job.
Test the warning message between the monitor, rooftop crew and ground contact. Identify the descent route and substantial shelter, allowing time for shutdown and travel. National Weather Service guidance supports planning departure before a storm reaches the work. Verify that roof access and the fall-protection arrangement remain usable during that withdrawal; do not plan a last-minute unprotected inspection.
Record: forecast/check time, observed conditions, instruction references, secure stopping stage, monitor and backup, and communication result. Stop earlier if material cannot be controlled, footing changes, warnings fail or there is insufficient time to secure and leave safely. Do not chase escaping material toward an edge. After weather passes, the designated lead verifies access, protection and material stability before authorizing roof work again.
Siding weather: check loose sheets and unfinished attachments
Wind affects more than the person installing siding. A long panel being carried, loose housewrap and a partly attached sheet can each change direction or pull against the worker's position. Before work, the siding lead checks the delivery route, installation sequence and method for leaving unfinished material secure without a hurried return to height.
Compare the actual panel and wrap installation instructions with today's fastening and temporary-securement stage. Do not assume an unfinished assembly has its completed-system wind resistance. Check equipment restrictions in the actual lift instructions or scaffold design. Adding wrap or a tarp to a scaffold changes the wind exposure; it is not an improvised weather shelter.
1926.451(f)(12) prohibits scaffold work during storms or high winds unless its competent-person determination and protection conditions are met; wind screens also require securing the scaffold against the anticipated forces. A harness by itself does not satisfy that whole decision. The scaffold competent person checks conditions and any proposed enclosure against the applicable design. The crew verifies a clear descent route and tests receipt of the weather monitor's stop message before starting.
Record: elevation and material, actual attachment/storage findings, applicable instruction/design references, equipment check, responsible people and time. Include the weather-triggered stopping stage and shelter route. Stop handling when a sheet cannot be controlled, platform conditions deteriorate or the agreed weather limit is reached; do not chase a panel or steady loose wrap from an exposed position. Maintain the ground exclusion area as conditions change. After an event that could affect scaffold integrity, the competent person reinspects under 1926.451(f)(3) before reuse; verify the façade's remaining attachments separately.
Record the acceptance source, safe check method, assigned verifier, actual result and time. Hold affected work for an unresolved required control; correct, recheck and rebrief before authorized restart.
Short supervisor field check
- Current local weather information reviewed; monitor and backup assigned.
- Stop message and crew contact verified at actual work locations.
- Hazard-appropriate shelter, access, capacity and route confirmed.
- Task/equipment limits and time for safe shutdown/travel addressed.
- Accountability, post-weather checks and restart authority understood.
Use the separate form to document evidence, restrictions, corrective-action owner, recheck and required restart approval. An unresolved required control means hold the affected work. Missing evidence is not a pass. Complete all task-specific inspections and permits.
Attendance and follow-through
The separate attendance sheet records participants, language support, questions, actions and late-arrival rebriefs. Attendance does not establish competence or prove controls function. Keep completed records private under the employer’s procedures.
Technical scope and references
NWS advice is weather-safety guidance. The 30-minute period applies to lightning after the last thunder; it is not a universal waiting period for tornadoes, flooding or high winds. OSHA/NOAA FS-3863 is a 2016 fact sheet used for planning principles, excluding dated statistics. Equipment wind limits, stabilization methods and inspection criteria must come from the applicable instructions and site requirements. [1], [2], [3], [4]
References checked October 6, 2026. Apply the jurisdiction, task, employer program and equipment instructions that govern the work. No site-specific manual, permit, engineering determination or product SDS has been approved by this general resource.
- National Weather Service — Lightning Tips — Weather-safety guidance, including shelter and at least 30 minutes after last thunder.
- National Weather Service — Basic Tornado Safety Rules — Weather-safety guidance; separate tornado shelter decision.
- National Weather Service — Turn Around Don’t Drown — Weather-safety guidance; avoid walking/driving into floodwater.
- OSHA/NOAA FS-3863 — Lightning Safety When Working Outdoors — May 2016 guidance; dated injury statistics excluded.
Connect this discussion to your JHA/JSA
Use How to Conduct a Job Safety Analysis to connect today’s work steps, hazards and controls. Revisit Pre-Job JHA/JSA: What Changed Today? whenever conditions change.
Related Todd Jerome Jenkins video: Job Safety Analysis: A Basic Overview.
Related published crew resources: Heat: Conditions Change, Controls Change.
Put one check into practice
Download the free JHA/JSA planning and field-verification worksheet. For today’s task, record an important control, its source and the evidence needed before exposure. Complete the remaining required checks through your task plan.
Continue the toolbox talk
- Emergency Evacuation: Know the Route and Count the Crew
- Heat: Conditions Change, Controls Change
- Pre-Job JHA/JSA: What Changed Today?