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Spoken Safety Critical Communications on National Highways Toolbox Talk: Ensuring Clear, Accurate Communication for Safer Worksites
The Spoken Safety Critical Communications on National Highways Toolbox Talk provides essential guidance on effective verbal communication in safety-critical situations within highways and traffic management environments. Developed in line with Raising the Bar 40 (RTB40), this document follows UK safety regulations, including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and HSE guidance on effective communication in high-risk settings. It helps businesses implement clear, consistent communication protocols to reduce misunderstandings, prevent incidents, and maintain safe work practices.
Clear, accurate communication is vital for safety in highways work, where live traffic, heavy machinery, and temporary traffic management setups create high-risk conditions. Miscommunication of instructions or safety warnings can result in collisions, equipment misuse, or worker injuries. This toolbox talk covers the key principles of spoken safety-critical communication, including:
The document explains the importance of the ‘three-way communication’ process: Send, Confirm, Acknowledge. For example, when giving an instruction to stop plant movement, the receiver must repeat the command to confirm understanding, and the sender must then acknowledge receipt. This closed-loop system helps avoid misinterpretation, particularly in noisy or complex environments.
In line with Raising the Bar 40, the toolbox talk also addresses the use of standardised safety-critical phrases across National Highways projects. Workers are trained to use terms like “STOP,” “CLEAR,” “HOLD,” and “ALL-CLEAR” consistently to communicate time-sensitive information. The talk also stresses the importance of cultural awareness and the need for multilingual communication resources when working with diverse teams.
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Our online document generator makes it easy to create customised toolbox talks like this one. By entering site-specific details, you can generate a professional, compliant document in minutes—helping your business maintain consistent, high-quality safety communication across all highways projects.
Useful Resources and Links
Traffic Signs Manual – Chapter 8: Traffic Safety Measures and Signs for Road Works and Temporary Situations:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual
Safety at Street Works and Road Works (The Red Book):
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-at-street-works-and-road-works
HSE Guidance on Effective Workplace Communication:
https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/communication.htm
