Signed on Thursday for a talk given on Monday.
Solved Signed on each person’s phone, in the room, as it is given.
Toolbox talks and the attendance register
Toolbox talks given, understood
Toolbox talks given, understood
and on record.
Unibuild is toolbox talk software for UK trades. Each talk is read on the phone, in the operative’s own language. The key points are confirmed and the signature is taken in the room, on one register for everybody on the gate.
Problems we solve
Eleven toolbox talk problems. All eleven solved.
From the sheet signed on Thursday to the site that quietly stopped briefing.
A site that quietly stopped briefing.
Solved Reminders when a talk is due, and the last one on the dashboard.
Twelve signatures. How much went in?
Solved Key points confirmed on the phone before anyone signs.
Briefed in a language the crew does not read.
Solved Each person reads the talk in their own language.
The same six talks, on rotation, for two years.
Solved The app opens at the next talk set for the site.
Subcontractors sign a register you never see.
Solved Everyone on the gate signs the same register, at no extra cost.
Prove this person had the talk before the incident.
Solved One filter on the person’s record, with the date and time.
Issues raised in the talk go nowhere.
Solved Recorded as actions, with an owner and a due date.
A register that can be tidied up afterwards.
Solved Frozen on submission. Every change is on record.
Every supervisor gives the talk differently.
Solved One approved wording, delivered the same way on every site.
Talks missing from the handover file.
Solved Exported with the RAMS and permits into the health and safety file.
11/11Solved in one module
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In plain terms
A toolbox talk is a short briefing, usually five or ten minutes, given on site to the people about to do the work. It takes one subject at a time, heat stress, abrasive wheels, manual handling, working near a live edge, and its job is to put one control back in the front of somebody's mind on the morning it matters. It is not training, and it does not replace it.
Unibuild carries a library of approved talks, delivers them on a phone at the point they are given, and takes each signature from the person the talk was delivered to. The register is filed against both the operative and the site, so the question of who was briefed on what, and when, has an answer that was recorded in the room.
How the register usually gets filled in
The talk happened on Monday. The sheet went round on Thursday.
And by then it is not a record of a briefing. It is a record of who was still on site later in the week.
The talk
Given properly, at the gate, by a supervisor who knows the job. Nothing wrong with it.
The only part that works
The sheet
A printed register that circulates afterwards and is signed whenever it reaches each person.
Dated when signed, not when briefed
The subbie's team
Signed their own employer's sheet, in their own cabin, and you never see it.
Two registers, one site
The topic
Whatever was in the folder. The same six talks, in rotation, for two years.
Nobody tracks what is due
Filing
Scanned at month end, if the cabin flooded it was not scanned at all.
Gone, and nobody knows which
The auditor asks
Show me that this operative had the working-at-height talk before the incident.
A box file and an afternoon
What the module does
Six things a printed register cannot.
The signature is
taken at delivery
The talk opens on the phone of the person receiving it and they sign on the screen, in the room, at the moment it is given. There is no sheet to circulate and no name added later by somebody who was not present.
- Twelve signatures on a heat stress talk, all timestamped
- Each one against the person's own handset
- So the register records the briefing, not the week
- Which is the only version of it worth keeping
In the room, or not at allLive
A library that
opens at what is next
Approved talks are held centrally and the app opens at the next pinned topic, so the subject is chosen by whoever sets the programme rather than by whatever was left in the cabin folder.
- Pin the talk that matches this week's activity
- Not the same six on rotation for two years
- One approved wording, delivered the same way on every site
- Written once, briefed everywhere
Set centrally, given locallyLive
Filed on the person
and on the job
Each attendance lands in two places at once: against the operative, next to their cards and training, and against the site, next to the RAMS and the permits for that project.
- So "has this operative had that talk" is a filter, not a search
- And "what was briefed on this job" is the same
- The record survives the operative moving sites
- And survives them leaving the business
Two questions, one recordLive
One register for
everyone on the gate
The register records each signatory's own company as free text rather than requiring a staff record, so a subcontractor's operatives, agency labour and visitors sign the same talk as your own people.
- Subbie operatives sign at no extra cost, the fee is per firm
- One site register instead of one per employer
- Which matters most where most of the labour is not yours
- The audit trail covers the gate, not the payroll
Per firm, not per headLive
Frozen once
it is submitted
A delivered talk freezes on submission and needs a new version to amend, so a signature always sits against a specific wording on a specific date rather than against whatever the talk says today.
- Every event logged with user, device, IP and timestamp
- The log is append-only rather than editable
- So nothing can be quietly tidied up afterwards
- Which is the point of keeping it at all
Version, name and minuteLive
Visible before
somebody asks
The last toolbox talk sits on the director's dashboard next to open permits, the RIDDOR rate, expiring tickets and the near-miss count, so a site that has quietly stopped briefing is visible from the office.
- Which is the failure nobody notices until afterwards
- Exported into the CDM file with the rest of the evidence
- Assembled by the work rather than before an audit
- Preparing the file itself stays a duty holder job
Noticed, not discoveredLive
Ask when the last toolbox talk on your quietest site was given.
Not which talks exist, and not how many sheets are in the file. The date of the last one actually delivered on the job nobody has visited this month.
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30 minutes. The demo runs on our own data.
Where it matters
What a toolbox talk is, and what it is not.
Most of the value in getting this right comes from being honest about which of the two you are doing.
It is not training
A talk is a reminder of a control, given close to the work. Training is a course, delivered by a competent provider, with an assessment and a certificate. Confusing the two is how a firm ends up with a thick register and no competent operatives, and it is a distinction an auditor makes immediately. Courses and cards live in the training matrix.
Where the duty comes from
Section 2(2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires an employer to provide such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary. Regulation 10 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires employees to be given comprehensible and relevant information on the risks and the preventive measures. A toolbox talk is one of the ordinary ways a contractor evidences the information and instruction part.
The register is the whole point
A talk given and not recorded is indistinguishable afterwards from one never given. That is why the register exists. A signature collected three days later records when the sheet came round, not when the talk was given.
On a site where the labour is not yours
Fit-out and M&E jobs regularly run with most of the workforce employed by somebody else. Each firm keeping its own register means nobody holds a complete picture of who on that site was briefed on what, which is exactly the picture a principal contractor is expected to have.
Into the CDM file
Talks sit against the project with the RAMS, permits, diary, near-miss reports and plant records, and export as part of the health and safety evidence at handover. The duties that produce each of those documents are listed on the CDM 2015 checklist.
Your talks, your rules, our build
The starter library gives you something to run from week one, and most firms then load their own. The module records what was delivered, to whom and when, and makes the gaps visible from the office. If you want an unsigned talk to stop an allocation, or a topic set for a particular trade, we build it that way for you. Unibuild is bespoke business software for UK trades and specialist contractors: a platform in daily production since 2016, shaped to the way each firm already works.
The talk is one of five things signed on the same phone.
RAMS, permits to work, dynamic risk assessments and near-miss reports run through the same register, against the same project, with the same audit trail.
See the whole module →
Or call the office on UK hours
Free toolbox talks
Toolbox talks, written out, free to give
Each talk is written to be read aloud in five to ten minutes, with why it matters, the points to make, do and do not, and questions for the team, checked against HSE guidance. Read it on the page or download it as a PDF or Word sheet with an attendance record on the last page.
Falls and access
- Working at height toolbox talkFalls are the biggest killer on site. Ladders, platforms, edges, fragile roofs and what to do before anyone steps up.
Health and hazardous substances
- Asbestos awareness toolbox talkWhere asbestos is still found, why disturbing it kills, the survey, and stop work if you find something.
- COSHH toolbox talkHazardous substances on site: labels, data sheets, the assessment, controls, skin and what to do in a spill.
- Dust and silica toolbox talkSilica dust kills more site workers than falls. Cutting, water, extraction, masks and face fit.
- Manual handling toolbox talkBack injuries are the most common site injury. Avoid the lift, assess what is left, and how to lift when you must.
- Noise toolbox talkHearing loss is permanent. Noisy tools, the action values, quieter ways of working and hearing protection.
Site, fire and housekeeping
- Fire safety toolbox talkFire on site: fuel and ignition, hot works, housekeeping, escape routes, alarms and what to do when one starts.
- Housekeeping toolbox talkA tidy site is a safe site. Routes, waste, materials, leads and lighting, and whose job it is.
- Slips, trips and falls toolbox talkSame-level falls are the most common site accident. What causes them, what stops them, and what to report.
Plant, tools and electricity
- Electrical safety toolbox talkSite electricity, 110V, leads and tools, damaged kit, buried and overhead cables, and never working live.
People and wellbeing
- Mental health toolbox talkConstruction workers are at higher risk of suicide. Spotting the signs, talking, and where to get help.
- PPE toolbox talkWhy PPE is the last line of defence, what each item is for, and how to check, wear and look after it.
Sixty topics with a programme for the year, what a toolbox talk is, and the blank toolbox talk template, attendance sheet and register are free too.
Questions
Asked by whoever
Asked by whoever
keeps the register.
How is a toolbox talk signed in Unibuild?
In the room, at the moment the talk is given. Each person signs on their own phone in your firm’s app, or everyone signs one after another on the presenter’s phone or tablet. The presenter’s device suits visitors, agency workers and subcontractors who do not have your app. Each signature carries the person’s name, their company and the time.
What stops a name being added for somebody who was not there?
Each person signs in the room, on their own phone or on the presenter’s. Every signature is recorded with who signed, on which device and when, and a submitted talk is locked, so an amendment needs a new version. That removes the ordinary route by which a register drifts from the truth: a clipboard going round three days later.
Are there free toolbox talks to start from?
Yes. The free toolbox talks on this site are written out in full, from working at height and manual handling to dust, noise and mental health, each with a PDF and Word sheet and an attendance record. Each of the free RAMS guides by trade and hazard ends with a shorter talk for that work too. In Unibuild your own talks are read in each person’s language and signed on the phone.
How do we show the crew understood the talk?
Each person confirms the key points of the talk, or answers a short question, on the phone before the signature is taken. The record then shows understanding, not only attendance.
Can we prove a particular operative had a talk before an incident?
Yes. Each attendance is filed against the operative, next to their cards and training, and against the site, next to the RAMS and permits. Whether that person had that talk, and when, is a filter rather than a search. The record survives them moving sites or leaving the business.
Can we see which sites have stopped doing them?
Yes. The supervisor or the office is reminded when a site’s next talk is due, and again when it is overdue. The last toolbox talk also shows on the director’s dashboard beside open permits, expiring tickets and the near-miss count, so a quiet site is visible from the office.
Can subcontractors and agency labour sign the register?
Yes, at no extra cost, because the fee is per firm rather than per person. The register records each signatory’s own company rather than requiring a staff record. A subcontractor’s operatives, agency labour and visitors all sign the same talk as your own people, so the site keeps one register.
Can operatives read the talk in their own language?
Yes. Each person reads the talk on their phone in their own language, confirms the key points and then signs. The signature is recorded against the same talk as everybody else’s, so there is still one register for the site.
Does it work on a phone with no signal?
Yes. The field app works where there is no signal and syncs with the office the moment the phone is back in range. A talk is one scroll and a signature by design.
What happens to issues raised during a talk?
They are recorded as actions against the site, each with an owner and a due date. The office can see what is still open, and who has it.
Can we use our own talks?
Yes. The library ships with approved talks to start from, and your own wording is loaded alongside them during onboarding, the same way your RAMS templates are. The app opens at the next topic pinned for the site, so the subject matches the week’s work. You own your content and can export it at any time.
How does it reach the CDM health and safety file?
The register sits against the project alongside the construction phase plan, RAMS, permits, RIDDOR records, the training matrix and welfare confirmations. That evidence exports as one PDF for the client or principal designer at handover. Preparing the file itself remains the duty holder’s job. The CDM checklist sets out which duty produces which document.
Where does a dynamic risk assessment fit?
Beside the talk. When conditions change on the day, the supervisor records a dynamic risk assessment on the phone against the same job, with photographs, and the next talk can brief the change. Dynamic risk assessment.
How much does it cost, and can we try it?
Toolbox talks are part of the health and safety module, inside Unibuild’s one monthly figure for the firm. Users are unlimited, so there is no charge per person or per signature, and the figure is fixed for three years. The 14-day trial is the full platform, with no card. How pricing works, or ask for your firm’s quote.
The site modules
The rest of what happens on site.
Same platform, same login. These are the modules that plan the work, record it, and hold the evidence it was done properly.
One level down
A register proves the briefing happened.
A register proves the briefing happened.
What was briefed is a separate question.
What an inspector looks for, which card a person should hold, and where an informal record stops being one.
RAMS that hold upThe difference between a document that exists and one that survives being read.
Health and safety
Which CSCS card, and who actually checks itWhich card a person should be carrying, and what a main contractor checks it against.
Health and safety
When an HSE inspector turns up on siteWhat an inspector asks for, and how a firm looks when the records are elsewhere.
Health and safety
RIDDOR, what has to be reported and by whenWhat has to be reported, by whom and inside what window.
Health and safety
Why WhatsApp fails as a site recordWhy the group chat is not the evidence, however complete it feels at the time.
Choosing software
The certificates that expire without anybody noticingThe renewals that lapse quietly, and the difference between knowing and being told.
Health and safety
Next step
Find out when the last one was.
A 30-minute live demo of a talk given, understood and signed on the phone.
All elevenSolved
- Registers signed days later
- Sites that stopped briefing
- Signed but not taken in
- Language barriers
- The same six talks on rotation
- Subcontractor registers you never see
- Briefings unprovable after an incident
- Issues raised and forgotten
- Registers altered afterwards
- A different talk on every site
- Talks missing at handover
Ask for a quote
Tell us a little about the firm.
Tell us a little about the firm.
We do the rest.
Two minutes. A written figure by email, usually the same working day. Unlimited users, and no charge per operative attending.