Dehydration toolbox talk
Read it out at the pre-start or a toolbox meeting, talk through the questions, and have everyone sign on. It's built from our dehydration page and the 87 SafetyDocs templates that cover it.
- Site
- Date
- Presented by
What it is
Fluid and salt lost through sweating in hot work and not replaced, leading to fatigue, cramps and heat illness.
Controls to check, most effective first
- Provide cool, clean drinking water close to the work area, and make it easy to refill throughout the shift.
- Encourage workers to drink small amounts often rather than waiting until they feel thirsty.
- Schedule regular rest breaks in shade, and increase them as temperature, humidity and workload rise.
- Limit caffeinated and sugary drinks during hot work, and consider electrolyte drinks for long shifts with heavy sweating.
- Teach workers to check urine colour and to recognise headache, dizziness and cramps as early signs of dehydration.
Questions for the crew
- Where could dehydration come up on this job today?
- The most effective control is: “Provide cool, clean drinking water close to the work area, and make it easy to refill throughout the shift”. Can we do that here? If not, why not?
- Which controls for dehydration are missing or not working on this site?
- When would you stop work because of dehydration, and who would you tell?
- How do we report a hazard, a near miss or an incident on this job?
Sign-on record
Everyone who attended signs below. Keep it with your toolbox talk records.
| Name | Company | Signature |
|---|---|---|
A starting point for a talk, not a SWMS or a risk assessment. Add what's particular to your site and crew.