Start 2026 Strong: Your Q1 Safety System Review Checklist
- On-Track Safety
- 11 minutes ago
- 5 min read
January is one of the most overlooked opportunities in workplace safety.
Everyone talks about “starting fresh,” but then two things happen: the holidays blur into the new year, and field operations ramp up before the safety program ever catches its breath. The result? Hazards don’t get addressed. Crews fall back into old habits. And safety documentation turns into a backlog instead of a system.
This year, let’s do it differently.
This guide isn’t about massive overhauls. It’s about sharpening what you already have — and making sure your system works on the ground, not just in a binder. Whether you're running a crew of five or managing multiple sites, these are the seven parts of your safety system that deserve a hard look in Q1.
1. Field-Level Hazard Assessments: Are They Real or Just Routine?
FLHAs are one of the most used tools in most companies — but also one of the most misused. If your team is writing the same three hazards every day, or rushing through them after the work starts, it’s time to reset.
A strong FLHA isn’t just paperwork. It’s a conversation in writing — between the worker, the task, and the environment. That conversation needs to reflect the actual risks in front of them.
What to improve:
Add site-specific prompts like cold stress, fatigue, or icy surfaces during winter months
Encourage crews to describe why a hazard is present and how they’re controlling it
Make sure a supervisor is reviewing — and initialing — each FLHA before work begins
How to start: Introduce a revised FLHA format in January that includes cold weather considerations and a “fit-for-duty” check. Don’t just distribute it — explain the why in your next safety meeting. Show examples of vague vs. useful FLHAs.
Use this form starting January 2, and review one with each crew daily for the first week.
2. Toolbox Talks: Stop Just Talking — Start Teaching
If your crew can’t remember the topic 10 minutes after the meeting, the talk didn’t land. And if the talks are always led by the same person, with the same delivery, engagement will fade fast.
Toolbox talks are your most consistent touchpoint with the team. Use them to build culture, reinforce standards, and surface issues early.
What good looks like:
A 10–15 minute session that addresses a real risk happening this week
Short stories or examples from your own sites or recent incidents
Participation — not just reading from a script
How to start: Build a simple January–March calendar of topics that match your work (e.g., winter driving, working in low light, refueling in cold weather). Rotate who leads each one — field supervisors, leads, or even experienced workers. Keep a log of date, topic, and attendees.
3. Training Status: If You Can’t See It, You Can’t Manage It
Who still needs WHMIS? When was your last Fall Protection refresher? Is anyone overdue for a vehicle inspection course?
Too often, companies rely on memory or scattered certificates. When deadlines creep up, it becomes a scramble.
What to do in January: Print or update your training matrix. Cross-check against course expiry dates. Prioritize high-risk or high-penalty items: Fall Protection, Confined Space, WHMIS, Fatigue Awareness, Workplace Violence.
If you’re using On-Track’s free training portal, this becomes even easier — you can assign courses, get alerts, and monitor completions.
Want a simple place to start? Use a spreadsheet, or set up a Free Training Portal with On-Track Safety. It’s not about the tech. It’s about knowing what your people need, and making sure it happens before they’re exposed.
4. Inspections: Are You Catching What Actually Matters?
Workplace inspections should be more than checkbox compliance. If they feel repetitive or rushed, they’re probably not effective.
Winter is the perfect time to rethink how inspections are done. Lighting, heater use, blocked exits, vehicle maintenance, battery charging areas — these are all seasonal risks that can slip through if your checklist isn’t updated.
What to focus on now:
Review your current inspection form. Does it reflect winter hazards?
Clarify who is responsible for what: site leads, supervisors, safety coordinators
Document the follow-through. What was corrected? When? By whom?
How to act: Assign a safety walkthrough to each site for the first week of January. Use this as a reset — not just to check hazards, but to talk with the crew about what needs attention.
5. Forms and Documentation: If It’s Hard to Use, No One Will Use It
Safety forms are notorious for being either too generic or too confusing. Workers don’t always know which ones to use, where to find them, or what “done right” looks like.
Start by reviewing the essentials:
FLHA
Vehicle/Equipment Pre-Trip
Incident/Near-Miss Report
Inspection Checklist
Orientation Checklist
Ask yourself:
Are these easy to find and up to date?
Are the instructions clear?
Do the forms reflect how the work is actually done?
Pro tip: Have a 15-minute “form review” during a January meeting. Walk through one of each. Ask the team what they like, what’s unclear, and what could be improved. These tweaks make a huge difference in usage and quality.
6. Clear Safety Roles: Everyone Has One — But Not Everyone Knows It
“Safety is everyone’s responsibility” only works if everyone knows what that actually means.
Q1 is a great time to define specific safety tasks by role:
Who checks FLHAs each day?
Who leads toolbox talks?
Who ensures training is assigned and completed?
Who documents inspections or near misses?
Simple tactic: Assign one safety responsibility to each site supervisor or lead hand. Make a laminated “weekly safety duties” sheet and post it in the trailer or office. Small structure = better consistency.
7. Winter-Specific Risks: You Know They’re Coming — Plan Accordingly
Cold stress, black ice, vehicle failures, fatigue, low daylight — none of this is new. But too many safety programs treat it like it is every year.
What happens when a vehicle won’t start because no one checked the block heater? Or when someone slips on black ice that wasn’t flagged in the FLHA? Or when a field worker hides exhaustion because they’re trying to power through?
January priorities:
Reinforce cold-weather PPE expectations
Set warm-up break protocols and document them
Deliver toolbox talks on winter driving and fatigue
Make “fit-for-duty” a normal pre-shift conversation
Let January Be the Month You Lead — Not React
Safety programs don’t succeed because of perfect systems. They succeed because someone took the time to look at what’s working, fix what’s not, and make the first month count.
Use this checklist to guide your conversations and actions this month:
Where do we have structure?
Where are we winging it?
Where are we asking workers to take responsibility without giving them the tools?
Fix one thing a week, and by February, you’ll be ahead of most companies who are still just catching up.
📥 Want practical tools to help? We’ve got editable FLHA templates, training trackers, and inspection forms ready to go.
Need a hand? Set up a free call or portal and we’ll show you how to streamline your Q1 safety systems.
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