Features: Issues & Trends — May/June 2006

'No Entiendo'

Safety-conscious contractors are finding new ways to overcome language and cultural barriers
for a growing immigrant work force

By Mary Buckner Powers

Hispanic workers often will not ask questions when they don't understand. Many fear losing their jobs and the ability to support their families. Photo by Antony Rieck Photography courtesy of Haskell Co.

Construction companies have long used education to protect workers from hazards, but as the industry becomes increasingly reliant on immigrant workers, employers must find ways to overcome language, literacy and cultural barriers that often obstruct attempts to protect workers.

About 20% of the U.S. construction work force is foreign-born, with Hispanic immigrants filling 40% of new construction jobs created in 2004. "The work force is getting older," says Brad Giles, vice president, environmental safety and health, Washington Group, Boise. "The average age is 49, and people in the trades are retiring in their mid-50s. That means we'll need 180,000 new workers in the next 10 years. It just hasn't been an industry young folks jump into, so an immigrant work force has filled in."

The influx of immigrants into the work force is also showing up in safety statistics. Fatal injuries involving Hispanic workers rose 56% between 1996 and 2004. Between 2003 and 2004, fatalities among Hispanics rose 11%. About one-fourth of the injuries to Hispanics occur in construction, says the U.S. Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Hispanic workers have a disproportionate amount of injuries and fatalities," Giles says.

Washington Group is working to mitigate the safety issue through the use of classes, printed materials and language training. "We teach Spanish to our supers; we teach English to our work force," says Giles. The company has videos, handbooks and training manuals in Spanish, but the education barrier often limits the effectiveness of the printed materials. "Many of the workers are not educated in their own language," Giles says.

There also are cultural impediments to communications. Hispanic workers often will not ask questions when they do not understand. "They are a culture of people who honor age and authority, so they are less likely to ask questions," says Phalen Frey, corporate safety health and environmental director for Austin Industries, Cleveland. That in turn, leaves the impression the worker has control of the knowledge. "They have to be told up front that they should ask questions rather than go blindly on," Frye says.

Note: Data from 2001 exclude fatalities resulting from September 11 terrorist attacks.  Source: Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

The mores of the Mexican immigrants can be used to forge a culture of safety, says Sylvia Heisey, senior consultant for JMJ Associates, a safety consulting firm in Austin, Texas. "Mexicans are very family oriented, especially Mexican immigrants," she says. "Typically, they send 70% to 80% of their salary home to their families and extended families, who rely on them for support. That family devotion results in their willingness to keep a job at almost any cost.

"In their culture, what you say can get you in trouble. They can't say, 'I don't know how to do the job,' without fear of losing their jobs and their ability to provide for their families," Heisey says.

Cultivating Safety

That fear can be turned around to promote safety. "If you help immigrant workers understand that if they get hurt they won't have a job and can't provide for their family, then it becomes clear to them," says Heisey. "When workers get the connection between injury and not working, and their wife and children and extended family will suffer, then they get it; they have to be careful."

Opening the lines of communication between workers and supervisors is the key to success in both productivity and safety. "Usually, what's happened is no one lets the workers talk. A lot goes missing in a one-way conversation," Heisey says. By opening communication, the barrier of fear is lifted, she says. Workers begin to take charge of their own safety and will ask what they need to do to protect themselves. Usually, all it takes is a question to establish that essential relationship, she explains. "Tell them what the job is and let them tell you what they need to do," Heisey says. "That way, a supervisor learns whether the worker knows what to do and whether they need help."

Companies that have kept down the injury rate in their Hispanic work force are passionate about creating a culture of safety. Safety is a shared responsibility at Cummings Electrical, Irving, Texas, a winner of the AGC/Willis Construction Safety Excellence Award this year. "We win or lose together on safety," says Tim Cummings, president.

KLB Construction, a Mukilteo, Wash.-based highway contractor, implemented a safety program geared toward immigrant workers in September 2003. Since then, KLB has seen more than a 50% reduction in injuries to Hispanic workers, says Zakariah Collins, the company's environmental, safety and health director. The company has had no fatalities and no major injuries that could have been prevented through training.

KLB's improving safety record ultimately earned it the AGC/Willis Construction Safety Excellence Award this year in the highway division with 700,001 to one million work hours. KLB also has the lowest workers' compensation insurance experience modification rate in Washington, a number that Collins says gives his company a competitive edge with state and municipal owners.

The influx of immigrants into the work force is also showing up in safety statistics. Fatal injuries involving Hispanic workers rose 56% between 1996 and 2004. photos by Steve Gould, Aperture Photography, DFW International Airport

Companies that have kept down the injury rate in their Hispanic work forces are passionate about creating a culture of safety. photos by Steve Gould, Aperture Photography, DFW International Airport

In many companies, English speakers are required to learn basic Spanish construction terminology and Spanish speakers were required to learn basic English construction terminology. photos by Steve Gould, Aperture Photography, DFW International Airport

KLB's key to creating the culture of safety is to foster a team atmosphere in which safety is highly valued, says Collins. During a recent safety training exercise in the field, Collins and other senior managers wore work boots with office attire and joined workers in the ditches to show them they genuinely care about their safety.
Collins intentionally mangles Spanish vocabulary to further humanize management and show workers they will not be punished for not understanding the language. "Everyone is treated with respect," he adds. "We tell them safety is important, and we prefer them not to do the work until they can do it safely."

Breaking Barriers

KLB's program stresses overcoming translation barriers. Some safety language, such as "anchorage," does not translate easily into Spanish. "The workers know not to fall off a wall, but they don't understand the verbiage around anchorage unless it is translated by someone very familiar with their language," says Collins. KLB uses picture books to teach safety with key words and corresponding pictures in Spanish and English on facing pages.

The Houston AGC, in conjunction with OSHA, offers English classes for Spanish-speaking workers. "It's free to everyone. To date, more than 2,000 workers have taken the class," says instructor Grace Fox, who works for T.A.S. Commercial Concrete, Houston. "I teach them key English words for safety terms."

The highly successful $2.7-billion, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport project, which had a 3.6 recordable injury rate per 100,000 workhours compared with the 6.9 national average, also focused on teaching key safety terms. "English speakers were required to learn basic Spanish construction terminology and Spanish speakers were required to learn basic English construction terminology," says Brenda Jones, the project's safety manager. About 54% of the 14,272 workers on the job were Hispanic, 6,000 of whom did not speak English. The new airport terminal opened in July 2005.

Perini Corp., Framingham, Mass., develops its safety culture through passion and team building. "If we can get them to buy into us, that we care about them as much as anyone, then it's easy to get them to buy into safety," says Roger Bruce, Perini's safety officer and a member of AGC's national safety committee.

Bruce says the work ethic of the company's Hispanic work force is second to none. "They are willing to work hard and do the hard stuff once they learn what you want," he says.

But companies have to understand their work force. "You can't play a DVD and expect them to absorb the safety information," Bruce says. "We have the DVDs, but we add leadership by promoting those who accelerate the fastest."

After the safety training is completed, the company evaluates the results to make sure workers understand what they've been taught. "We just don't know what they don't understand without checking," Bruce says.

The secret to successful safety training is going the extra step, Bruce adds.

"Train and evaluate. We give someone something to read and make sure they've absorbed it. If not, we'll retrain them."

By opening communication, workers take charge of their own safety and ask what they need to do to protect themselves. photo by Steve Gould, Aperture Photography, DFW International Airport