The Marble Institute of America has added free safety meeting outlines to its ever expanding list of exclusive content in the Members’ area of its website.  The safety meeting outlines or toolbox talks (as they are commonly referred to) provide everything a stone fabricator or distributor would need to conduct safety meetings at their facility. Each safety meeting contains an executive summary, an accident summary relating to the topic at hand, an outline for the meeting itself and a sign-in sheet.

MIA Industry Research & Information Manager, Mike Loflin, said, “It is our goal to encourage every MIA member company to conduct these monthly meetings. By providing every employee of every MIA member access to these valuable tools, companies will have no excuse for failing to educate their employees on safety in the workplace.” Loflin added, “All of the safety information is the cumulative work of our Safety Committee. The Safety Committee is a highly dedicated group of volunteers from the distributor community who identified a serious need for safety resources within the stone industry. Over the past several years they have delivered the goods and continue to bring new content to their fellow members each month.

With 14 safety meeting outlines already on the website, the MIA has raised the bar once again with the roll out of meetings 15 and 16. Each features video support (in English and Spanish), as well as an exclusive safety-related offer from the MIA bookstore. Here are the executive summaries of the two newest meetings:

• Meeting 15- Moving large, heavy loads is crucial to today's natural stone industry. Much technology has been developed for these operations, including careful training and extensive workplace precautions. There are significant safety issues to be considered, both for the operators of the diverse "lifting" devices, and for workers in proximity to them.
• Meeting 16- This toolbox talk is designed to help everyone realize the dangers when consumers are present; identify the special safety procedures needed when consumers are present; and understand there is no place for complacency in the stone business.

MIA Vice President, Jim Hieb said, “The MIA is constantly searching for new ways to provide value and tangible benefits to our members. Our technical and safety committees have provided leadership on the most valuable documents/resources that have been added to the Members’ area. Last month the Design Manual was added; this month we added the safety meetings; and there are several more enhancements planned through the remainder of the year. The bottom line is value...MIA members want value and we will give it to them.”