The New Language of Construction Safety
From electrical wiring and scaffolding to a wide variety of lethal chemicals, hazards are common on construction job sites. Are workers with limited English proficiency another danger on today’s multicultural construction projects?
In America, predictions are that Hispanics will comprise more than 50% of the construction workforce within the next five years. In the UK there is a growing percentage of migrant workers within the UK construction industry. The accident and fatality rate for Hispanics in construction in the US is already much higher than it is for either African-Americans or Caucasians. What’s the reason for this disparity?
The answers are both cultural and linguistic. The workplace in Latin America is a hierarchy with a well-defined chain of command. Workers go up the ladder with ideas or suggestions to their immediate supervisor. To many Latinos, a “good” employee trusts his supervisor implicitly- without questions. Asking questions can be seen as a threat to the supervisor’s authority instead of a desire for clarification.
The cultural barrier to communications is just as serious as the language barrier where safety is concerned. Even though many Hispanic workers are learning English, for many it is a Herculean task. For average Hispanic adults, the learning curve to speaking English fluently can take up to seven years and sometimes longer.Consequently, implementing training policies that are spoken and/or printed in English only will be ineffective and potentially dangerous.
There are many questions concerning how to deal with the potential dangers associated with non-English speaking workers in the construction industry. There’s no doubt that job sites will always pose some risks, however employers bear the ultimate responsibility for making the workplace as safe as possible.
Cultural diversity and Spanish language training for supervisory personnel will continue to provide some of the answers to this complex 21st century construction issue within the US. A change in awareness may provide others. The situation is similar in the UK but across a more diverse set of European (predominantly) languages.
Think about the ways you can create a new language of safety on your job site. When translators are not available, speak slowly, be direct using short simple sentences, and when possible use demonstrations. Show specific safety techniques and have all employees practice them. This practical training and facilitated communication is an important aspect of the new language of safety.
How to Break the Language Barrier
1. Speak slowly. Non-native English speakers need extra time to process what you are saying. Translating from one language into another isn’t automatic.
2. Be direct. Use short, simple sentences, especially when giving instructions. People learning English get lost in long sentences with complicated grammar.
3. Use a normal speaking voice. Don’t speak in a loud voice. Your employee doesn’t have trouble hearing you. They have trouble understanding you.
4. Use bilingual employees wisely. They are one of your company’s biggest assets. Group non-English speaking employees with bilingual ones. If possible, group people from the same countries together. Their language and accents will be the same.
5. Colour. Identify bilingual employees with a brightly coloured hard hat. When seconds count in an emergency they can be found quickly.
LangCommLive provides an on demand telephone interpreting service which could be invaluable in a training environment or in the event of an emergency. Despite the economic downturn, particularly in construction, the date of one sporting event is fixed for the Summer of 2012. There's a lot of construction work required before the Olympics can commence.
To open an account with LangCommLive and overcome the language barrier, contact us at +44 (0)845 055 9756 or enquiries@langcommlive.com
Visit www.langcommlive.com
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Doing business in Italy or Russia and other Russian speaking countries?
Italian is mainly spoken in Italy, with 58 million native speakers. Italy is an industrialized nation with ready access to internet services. Italy is also a major player in the EU as well as world politics and larger area economies with a significant consumer buying power.
Russian: At least 167 million people speak Russian as their mother tongue. Russian is an official language of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is widely understood in the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaidjan, Turkmenistan, Moldavia and Tadjikistan.
Outside former soviet countries, Russian is the mother tongue of more than 750,000 people in Israel, where you can find Russian-language newspapers and TV channels.
Besides the written word you will enhance the likelihood of business success by embracing the languages and cultures of Italy or Russia. For the language, Telephone Interpreting is probably the simplest course of action: Dial LangCommLive on +44 (0)844 555 5224, enter your account number* and enter the appropriate number to bring in either an Italian or a Russian interpreter. On average it will take 22 seconds for the interpreter to come on line.
*To open an account with LangCommLive and overcome the language barrier, contact us at +44 (0)845 055 9756 or enquiries@langcommlive.com
Alternatively visit www.langcommlive.com
Russian: At least 167 million people speak Russian as their mother tongue. Russian is an official language of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is widely understood in the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaidjan, Turkmenistan, Moldavia and Tadjikistan.
Outside former soviet countries, Russian is the mother tongue of more than 750,000 people in Israel, where you can find Russian-language newspapers and TV channels.
Besides the written word you will enhance the likelihood of business success by embracing the languages and cultures of Italy or Russia. For the language, Telephone Interpreting is probably the simplest course of action: Dial LangCommLive on +44 (0)844 555 5224, enter your account number* and enter the appropriate number to bring in either an Italian or a Russian interpreter. On average it will take 22 seconds for the interpreter to come on line.
*To open an account with LangCommLive and overcome the language barrier, contact us at +44 (0)845 055 9756 or enquiries@langcommlive.com
Alternatively visit www.langcommlive.com
Friday, September 19, 2008
LangCommLive exhibit at Call Centre Expo 2008
LangCommLive took part in its 3rd exhibition this year to promote its telephone interpreting service. The Call Centre Expo was by far our most successful show to date with interest shown from organisations from within the public and private sectors, both in the UK and off-shore. Small in house call centres and help desks, large outsourced call centres and BPO seemed genuinely interested in our service. It was clear that most organisations either have some of their own resource to help them overcome some of the language issues or acknowledged that this was a gap in their own service offering.
Take a look at some pictures of our stand, featuring Gail Clothier and Jannet Tebb, LangCommLive Regional Account Managers, and Andrew Rowley, UK Sales Director.
If you want to learn more on how accessing LangCommLive's telephone interpreting service can help your call centre overcome the language barrier, please contact us on 0845 055 9756, visit our website http://www.langcommlive.com/ or write to us at enquiries@langcommlive.com
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Four!
Here's a quick current-events quiz for American golf fans:
Question: When people turn out for the LPGA tour, they are most interested in:
A) Viewing the athletic prowess of the best women golfers in the world.
B) Hearing them speak good English.
If you're confused by the question - and the choice of answers - then you've passed the test. That's exactly how intelligent people ought to respond to the LPGA's requirement that international players not just speak some English, but be English-proficient by 2009 or be suspended. It's befuddling that the Ladies Professional Golf Association would choose to alienate some of the world's best players for the sake of proper English discourse.
This kind of requirement might have been acceptable in the days of American sports of yore, when there were mostly homegrown players on the field and the few female players were subjected to much more personal scrutiny than the men.
These days, sports organizations, from baseball to soccer, are more concerned with how athletes excel in their particular sports than with their looks, their culture or their language skills.
As they must be. To put together winning teams, U.S. sports organizations are now regularly recruiting players from all over the world. Indeed, there are 121 international players on the LPGA tour. When you're a multinational organization of that scope, you've got to expect some language diversity.
So what gives? LPGA officials' reasoning for why they are treading where no other sports league has, including the PGA, is thin, not to mention patronizing.
"In order for them and the LPGA to be most successful, players must be able to effectively communicate with fans, sponsors and media, the vast majority of whom speak English," LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens said in defense of the new rule, which caused an instant uproar. Funny, the sports world hasn't seemed at all concerned about players' use of translators or language barriers before.
But the LPGA sees itself apart from other sports. "Unlike athletes in other sports, LPGA players must entertain and engage sponsors and their customers on a weekly basis." Is she talking abut professional athletes or strippers here? It's hard to tell. (In any case, the controversy surrounding the new rule has at least one sponsor, State Farm, reconsidering its sponsorship.)
As for charges that this is an English-only rule, Bivens explained that English would be required in three instances: during pro-ams, winner acceptance speeches and media interviews. Players could speak to their caddies, for example, in whatever tongue they like.
Not surprisingly, the LPGA's patronizing tone with this language requirement has caused some uproar from groups representing Asian-Americans and women, such as the Asian American Justice Center and the California National Organization for Women.
The rule seems to have been targeting some of the 45 players from South Korea who have varying English skills and are camera-shy to boot.
But it also targets women athletes, and that is what has so many people upset. No other professional sports league has any similar requirement, though many do have international players with varying degrees of English proficiency.
California state Sen. Leland Yee condemned the action.
This rule reflects poorly on the LPGA, which should rescind it immediately. In this day and age, it's not acceptable to hold women athletes to a different standard than men, and certainly not when it comes to behavior when the games are over.
It would be nice if all the players were able to rattle off in clear English their hopes, their dreams, their strategies and competitors. But it does no service to anyone - the players, the tour, the media, the fans or even those important sponsors - to make decisions about players based on something other than their skill on the green.
There clearly is a language barrier on the LPGA tour, and it has nothing to do with the players.
I'm not sure whether Telephone Interpreting is really the solution to the above impasse, but for most other communication difficulties contact LangCommLive.
www.langcommlive.com
enquiries@langcommlive.com
Question: When people turn out for the LPGA tour, they are most interested in:
A) Viewing the athletic prowess of the best women golfers in the world.
B) Hearing them speak good English.
If you're confused by the question - and the choice of answers - then you've passed the test. That's exactly how intelligent people ought to respond to the LPGA's requirement that international players not just speak some English, but be English-proficient by 2009 or be suspended. It's befuddling that the Ladies Professional Golf Association would choose to alienate some of the world's best players for the sake of proper English discourse.
This kind of requirement might have been acceptable in the days of American sports of yore, when there were mostly homegrown players on the field and the few female players were subjected to much more personal scrutiny than the men.
These days, sports organizations, from baseball to soccer, are more concerned with how athletes excel in their particular sports than with their looks, their culture or their language skills.
As they must be. To put together winning teams, U.S. sports organizations are now regularly recruiting players from all over the world. Indeed, there are 121 international players on the LPGA tour. When you're a multinational organization of that scope, you've got to expect some language diversity.
So what gives? LPGA officials' reasoning for why they are treading where no other sports league has, including the PGA, is thin, not to mention patronizing.
"In order for them and the LPGA to be most successful, players must be able to effectively communicate with fans, sponsors and media, the vast majority of whom speak English," LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens said in defense of the new rule, which caused an instant uproar. Funny, the sports world hasn't seemed at all concerned about players' use of translators or language barriers before.
But the LPGA sees itself apart from other sports. "Unlike athletes in other sports, LPGA players must entertain and engage sponsors and their customers on a weekly basis." Is she talking abut professional athletes or strippers here? It's hard to tell. (In any case, the controversy surrounding the new rule has at least one sponsor, State Farm, reconsidering its sponsorship.)
As for charges that this is an English-only rule, Bivens explained that English would be required in three instances: during pro-ams, winner acceptance speeches and media interviews. Players could speak to their caddies, for example, in whatever tongue they like.
Not surprisingly, the LPGA's patronizing tone with this language requirement has caused some uproar from groups representing Asian-Americans and women, such as the Asian American Justice Center and the California National Organization for Women.
The rule seems to have been targeting some of the 45 players from South Korea who have varying English skills and are camera-shy to boot.
But it also targets women athletes, and that is what has so many people upset. No other professional sports league has any similar requirement, though many do have international players with varying degrees of English proficiency.
California state Sen. Leland Yee condemned the action.
This rule reflects poorly on the LPGA, which should rescind it immediately. In this day and age, it's not acceptable to hold women athletes to a different standard than men, and certainly not when it comes to behavior when the games are over.
It would be nice if all the players were able to rattle off in clear English their hopes, their dreams, their strategies and competitors. But it does no service to anyone - the players, the tour, the media, the fans or even those important sponsors - to make decisions about players based on something other than their skill on the green.
There clearly is a language barrier on the LPGA tour, and it has nothing to do with the players.
I'm not sure whether Telephone Interpreting is really the solution to the above impasse, but for most other communication difficulties contact LangCommLive.
www.langcommlive.com
enquiries@langcommlive.com
Monday, September 1, 2008
British banks set sights on ‘Polish pound’
Here's an interesting piece from the FT from last April 2007.
Britain’s banks are fighting an intensifying battle to capture a slice of the “Polish pound” – the disposable income of the more than 600,000 immigrants from Poland living in the UK.
The “Polish pound” – which a new calculation by the Centre for Economics and Business Research values at more than £4bn a year – offers a rapidly growing and largely untapped market for businesses in a wide range of sectors. With many Poles looking to send money to family or personal accounts back home, banks and financial services companies are at the forefront of the drive to win their custom.
On Wednesday sees the latest bid for their business when Lloyds TSB unveils a current account specifically tailored to new immigrant workers, including a radical money transfer card. It reflects the bank’s belief that offering simpler and cheaper international remittances is the best way to enhance its appeal to central European immigrants.
It has designed the service after 125,000 current accounts were opened with Lloyds TSB by Polish customers last year alone. Poles now make up the bank’s largest foreign national group.
The new Silver account, which has been coupled with a significant recruitment drive for Polish-speaking branch staff and a more accessible credit card, is designed to respond to competitors such as HSBC and Barclays who have also identified the Polish community as a strategic target.
HSBC last year launched its Passport account, which can be opened before a migrant arrives in the UK and offers discounted money transmission services.
Lloyds TSB has responded with its new account offering annual European travel insurance, which has been unavailable to recent arrivals, and a new card similar to a second debit card which can be pre-loaded with cash, sent to family members for use in their home country and topped up by telephone. The bank had found that many Polish customers were sending their debit cards home to family and friends, leaving themselves without a cash card in the UK.
Financial institutions are not alone in spotting an opportunity. Mainstream retailers are increasingly catering to Polish tastes. Tesco says Polish food is the fastest-growing minority range ever launched, while Heinz has introduced Pudliszki, its brand of Polish prepared foods, to British supermarkets.
Without doubt, therefore, telephone interpreting would assist UK Financial Institutions to reach out to all nationalities - not just Polish - around the UK. It is clearly impractical to be able to accommodate the full range of languages spoken across the UK via recruitment alone. Equally, the revenues available from the collective migrant population must be truly vast if the Polish opportunity is in the region of £4bn
To discuss any matter pertaining to languages or to open an account with LangCommLive and overcome the language barrier, contact us at +44 (0)845 055 9756 or write to us at enquiries@langcommlive.com
Visit www.langcommlive.com
Britain’s banks are fighting an intensifying battle to capture a slice of the “Polish pound” – the disposable income of the more than 600,000 immigrants from Poland living in the UK.
The “Polish pound” – which a new calculation by the Centre for Economics and Business Research values at more than £4bn a year – offers a rapidly growing and largely untapped market for businesses in a wide range of sectors. With many Poles looking to send money to family or personal accounts back home, banks and financial services companies are at the forefront of the drive to win their custom.
On Wednesday sees the latest bid for their business when Lloyds TSB unveils a current account specifically tailored to new immigrant workers, including a radical money transfer card. It reflects the bank’s belief that offering simpler and cheaper international remittances is the best way to enhance its appeal to central European immigrants.
It has designed the service after 125,000 current accounts were opened with Lloyds TSB by Polish customers last year alone. Poles now make up the bank’s largest foreign national group.
The new Silver account, which has been coupled with a significant recruitment drive for Polish-speaking branch staff and a more accessible credit card, is designed to respond to competitors such as HSBC and Barclays who have also identified the Polish community as a strategic target.
HSBC last year launched its Passport account, which can be opened before a migrant arrives in the UK and offers discounted money transmission services.
Lloyds TSB has responded with its new account offering annual European travel insurance, which has been unavailable to recent arrivals, and a new card similar to a second debit card which can be pre-loaded with cash, sent to family members for use in their home country and topped up by telephone. The bank had found that many Polish customers were sending their debit cards home to family and friends, leaving themselves without a cash card in the UK.
Financial institutions are not alone in spotting an opportunity. Mainstream retailers are increasingly catering to Polish tastes. Tesco says Polish food is the fastest-growing minority range ever launched, while Heinz has introduced Pudliszki, its brand of Polish prepared foods, to British supermarkets.
Without doubt, therefore, telephone interpreting would assist UK Financial Institutions to reach out to all nationalities - not just Polish - around the UK. It is clearly impractical to be able to accommodate the full range of languages spoken across the UK via recruitment alone. Equally, the revenues available from the collective migrant population must be truly vast if the Polish opportunity is in the region of £4bn
To discuss any matter pertaining to languages or to open an account with LangCommLive and overcome the language barrier, contact us at +44 (0)845 055 9756 or write to us at enquiries@langcommlive.com
Visit www.langcommlive.com
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