Matt Inderlied
INDERLIED

关于建筑业的西班牙裔工人以及他们的伤害和死亡率更高的人已经说了很多。为这些工人提供安全工作所需的信息是复杂的,因为十分之六的说话很少或没有英语。我与许多这些工人一起工作,并且有另一种解决问题的方式。

when Language Obstructs Safety
照片:Sam Barnes
Employers should ask Hispanic workers to demonstrate safe practices to show that they understand them.

我的系统基于简单的视觉提示和非语言通信。我还认为,在工作地点保持一定的专业距离和礼节 - 而不是让所有人自由开玩笑 - 对每个人都更好。

当雇用一名说话或阅读英语能力的西班牙裔工人时,雇主负责以工人可以理解的方式传达安全信息。经理必须了解工人的思维和过去经验。

在许多拉丁美洲国家,现有的安全法规可能会最少执行;在美国,法规被严重执行。西班牙裔工人可能不一定了解工作地点文化的差异。

Hispanic workers are production-minded and often do what it takes to fast-track the job. They also may ignore crucial safety practices or simply do the work incorrectly because they mistakenly believe that just getting it done will please the boss.

For example, on one job with which I’m familiar, a Spanish-speaking employee was asked to replace a missing pin on a fire extinguisher. To get it done, the worker found a piece of used wire and then inserted it by tightly twisted it through the hole of the trigger, making the extinguisher inoperable. Not surprisingly, the employee had not been properly trained. If there had been a fire in the area where he was cutting metal studs, the extinguisher would have been useless.

牢记这一点,可能必须将非英语工人的仅生产的思想转移到生产和声音安全实践上。

不要做假设

教育水平因工人而异,一些西班牙裔工人可能只接受了学院教育。因此,不应假设所有这些人都精通阅读或编写其母语,这意味着您提供的培训必须简单,恒定并且经常得到加强。

使用可以信任有效,准确地传达信息的坚实翻译人员是一个很大的帮助。另一个好习惯是让员工在完成任务之前,口头重复他或她刚刚被告知的指示。

克服语言障碍的一种非常有效的方法是让工人展示适当的程序,例如,佩戴安全带的正确方法。使用来源的过程,让工人向您教您有关安全的知识。

头点并不总是意味着工人“得到它”。实际上,很多时候一个头点头表示:“不,我不明白,但我无法让您知道,因为您会认为我不会为这份工作做好衡量。”不要以为工人仅仅因为他或她说是的。

By communicating in Spanish, incorporating visuals (for instance, the safety diagram labeled on a step ladder) and consistently reinforcing the message in a simple manner, many frustrating and costly problems can be avoided.

我想指出有关在工作场所相互尊重的文化的观点。友情的想法很好,但它可以不利。我无数次目睹了专业精神和相互尊重变得过分熟悉和不尊重。当小组互动以任何方式(例如通过马匹)降级时,他的西班牙裔工人将失去对权威,降低生产力或在其他地方工作的尊重。如果这成为工作文化的一部分,它可能会产生最终损害您的安全计划的后果。

Go the extra mile to encourage these valuable workers to report accidents, injuries and near-misses. Let them know that it helps the entire project and why. Let them know they are responsible for a safe jobsite. After you provide proper training, hold them accountable for their actions. They will value safety as much as you do.