Workflow of the day ·
Toolbox talk: working at height in wet weather
Editor: Owen Hagger
Write a five-minute toolbox talk on working at height when it's wet: slippery platforms, ladders, edge protection and when to stop, adapted to your site.
When to use it
Through autumn and winter, when rain, standing water and wet boots turn scaffold boards, ladder rungs and roof surfaces into slip hazards. Wind often comes with it, and people rush to finish before the weather turns. Use it before a wet spell is forecast or when a gang moves onto roof or scaffold work. The supervisor delivering the talk owns it and should adapt it to the site. AI only drafts it.
The prompt
You are helping a UK site supervisor prepare a five-minute toolbox talk on working at height in wet weather. About the site: [SIZE AND TYPE OF PROJECT, e.g. a three-storey timber frame block of 24 flats] Work at height happening this week: [e.g. roof tiling, scaffold adaptations, gutter fixing from a MEWP] Access equipment in use: [e.g. tube and fitting scaffold, stepladders, a scissor lift] What we already do in wet weather: [e.g. scaffold inspected after bad weather, boards brushed off each morning, roof work stops in high winds] Who decides when work at height stops: [e.g. site manager, scaffold supervisor] Known problem areas: [e.g. ponding on the first lift at the north elevation, muddy ground at the ladder base] Write a talk with: - Why wet weather matters for work at height on this site, in two or three sentences. - The main risks, no more than five, in plain words (for example slippery boards and rungs, wet hands and tools, soft ground under access equipment, wind, poor visibility). - What we do about each one, using only the arrangements I've listed. Where I haven't given an arrangement, write "[SITE ARRANGEMENT TO CONFIRM]" rather than inventing one. - A clear "stop and tell" instruction: when anyone should stop work at height and who they tell. - Three questions to ask the gang to check they've understood. Rules: keep it under 400 words, short sentences, UK spelling, and no legal claims, wind speed limits or statistics unless I've given them. Refer to the site's RAMS, scaffold register and equipment manufacturer's limits rather than restating them.
What it produced
A short talk the supervisor can read out in about five minutes: why wet weather changes the risk at height on this site, up to five risks with the site's own arrangements against each, gaps marked as arrangements to confirm, a plain "stop and tell" rule naming who decides, and three check questions for the gang.
What you still check
- Every arrangement in the talk is one the site actually has, and every "[SITE ARRANGEMENT TO CONFIRM]" gap is filled before you deliver it.
- It matches the RAMS, the scaffold inspection records and the manufacturer's limits for any MEWP or access equipment, including wind limits.
- The person named as deciding when work stops knows they own that call.
- Problem areas named in the talk get fixed, not just mentioned, and everyone who attends signs the toolbox talk record.
Steps
- Check the forecast and walk the work at height areas, noting wet spots, ground conditions and access equipment.
- Run the prompt with those details and fill any gaps it marks.
- Deliver it before the shift starts, ask the three questions and get the record signed.
Go further
- The full workflow, with an example output: Write a Toolbox Talk
- Every workflow for this role: AI for Site Managers
- More ideas like this: daily ideas for Site Managers