WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Hispanic workers and others new to construction sites might be at risk of injury because of unfamiliarity with the jargon they hear in safety training and on the job, according to pilot studies conducted at Purdue University.
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The university news service said Bryan Hubbard, assistant professor of building construction management, and James McGlothlin, associate professor of health sciences, teamed to lead the studies for presentation last week at the National Occupational Injury Research Symposium in Pittsburgh.
Hubbard and his team explored causes of work-related deaths and injuries in the construction industry, which previous studies have indicated usually occur early in a construction worker’s career.
“Safety trainers must cover a lot of material in a short amount of time and, therefore, use a lot of jargon and acronyms,” Hubbard said. “These terms are familiar to them and those in the industry, but our study found that this lingo isn’t understood by everyone on the construction site. Important information is covered in this training, and not understanding any part of it puts workers at risk.”
Hubbard and McGlothlin’s studies looked at terms used in the 10-hour safety training sessions by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that all construction workers are required to complete on safety procedures at construction sites. The studies were funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
