Say this

  1. Before you start a job, look around and ask one question. If something moves, falls or springs loose, where does it go? Do not stand there.
  2. Never walk or work under a suspended load. The lifting code of practice says to keep people out of the lifting zone, not just the crane operator's view (WSH Council, Safe Lifting CoP).
  3. Things fall from height every day: tools, offcuts, loose planks. Tie tools on, use toe-boards and keep loose items in containers. Respect the barricades below work at height (WSH Council, Falling Objects).
  4. Vehicles and machines move in ways you do not expect. Stay out of reversing areas and the swing zone of an excavator unless the operator has seen you and stopped.
  5. Stored energy bites too. Hoses under pressure, springs, cables under tension and parts that can drop. Release or block the energy before you put your hands or body near it.
  6. Watch where your hands go. Pinch points sit between a moving part and a fixed one. If your hand would be trapped when the part moves, move your hand first.
  7. If you see a mate standing in the line of fire, tell him. A shout costs nothing.

Ask the crew

  1. Where is the line of fire for the lift happening on site today?
  2. Name one source of stored energy on our job.
  3. What do you do if a load has to pass over the area where you are working?
  4. Where are the drop zones below today's work at height?

Show them

  • Walk to a live work area and point out the drop zone, the swing zone and the safe place to stand.
  • Show a tool lanyard and how to clip it to the tool and the belt.
  • Point out a pinch point on a machine or a door and where hands should be instead.

Sign-off

Site: ______________________   Date: ____________   Briefed by: ______________________

NameCompanySignature

Sources

  1. Code of Practice on Safe Lifting Operations in the Workplaces, WSH Council.
  2. Falling Objects, WSH Council.
  3. Written answer to PQ on struck-by-falling-objects workplace fatalities (8 Sep 2026), Ministry of Manpower.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice. Laws and codes of practice change; always check the current official text and your site's own procedures.

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