Working in High Winds — Non-Crane

Talking points

1. Wind affects every elevated task — scaffold work, roofing, curtain wall installation, material handling at height — even when wind speeds are below crane shutdown thresholds.
2. Sheet materials — plywood, drywall, metal panels, insulation boards — act as sails. A 4x8 sheet of plywood in a 30 mph gust can exert hundreds of pounds of force on the person holding it.
3. Secure all loose materials, tarps, and debris at the end of every shift. What is sitting safely on a platform in calm air becomes a projectile in a gust.
4. Scaffolding with solid enclosures (shrink wrap, containment tarps) catches wind like a wall. Monitor wind speed and consider partially opening enclosures to reduce wind loading in storms.
5. Establish site-specific wind speed action levels — typically 25 mph for elevated work, lower for material handling. Use an anemometer, not your judgment, to measure wind speed.

Ask the crew

What is the wind doing today — and do we have materials at height that could become projectiles?

Standards this talk is built on

• Section 5(a)(1)

A toolbox talk is a short safety briefing. It supports the training a standard requires; it does not replace it.

Sign-in sheet

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